Decision

Richmond Housing Partnership Limited (L4279) - Regulatory Judgement: 17 December 2025

Updated 17 December 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

Grade/Judgement Change Date of assessment
Consumer   Not assessed yet  
Governance G2
Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.
Assessed and unchanged December 2025
Viability V1
Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
Assessed and unchanged December 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Richmond Housing Partnership Limited (RHP) following a stability check completed in December 2025.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grade of G2 and a financial viability grade of V1.

Summary of the decision

Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out the stability check, our judgement is that RHP meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. We have therefore concluded the landlord’s grade is unchanged and issue a V1 grade for RHP.

From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grade is required. RHP’s governance grade remains G2.

This regulatory judgement is based on a stability check which does not include an assessment of RHP’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for RHP were last updated in April 2025 following a stability check and responsive engagement to issue a governance grade of G2 and a financial viability grade of V1.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out a stability check of RHP as part of our annual stability check programme.

Our judgement about how well RHP is delivering the viability outcomes of our Governance and Financial Viability Standard is based on a review of a range of documents provided by RHP, as well as analysis of information supplied by RHP in its regulatory returns.

In confirming RHP’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in RHP’s regulatory returns did not appear inconsistent with its existing published governance grade.

Our stability checks do not assess a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Summary of findings

Governance – G2 – December 2025

From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate that a change in governance grade is required.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, we issued a regulatory judgement in April 2025 following responsive engagement with RHP and a stability check for RHP. Below are the findings in that judgement about RHP’s delivery of our governance requirements.

Based on the evidence gained from our responsive engagement, there is assurance that RHP’s governance arrangements are meeting the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. However, we have concluded that it needs to improve aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance with the standard.

RHP needs to improve the effectiveness of its risk management and controls framework so that it can deliver improvements and consistency in outcomes to tenants. Whilst RHP’s board actively seeks to address issues once identified, this has not always resulted in improved outcomes. Strategic planning and management of key risks, particularly relating to repairs, needs to improve so that RHP can consistently apply lessons learnt across the organisation.

We are satisfied that action is being taken to improve RHP’s repairs and complaints handling outcomes so that sustainable improvements in outcomes for tenants can be delivered.

RHP has been proactive in referring information and is engaging positively with us to resolve the issues identified. We will continue to work with RHP to seek assurance that sufficient improvements in how its arrangements operate in practice are being delivered at an appropriate pace.

We continue to actively engage with RHP to monitor its progress in improving aspects of its governance arrangements.

Viability – V1 – December 2025

Based on evidence gained from the stability check, we have assurance that RHP meets the viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

RHP has a strong financial profile, and its stress testing demonstrates that financial capacity is built into its business plan. RHP has provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and adequate funding in place.

RHP’s latest business plan forecasts continued covenant compliance while demonstrating it has sufficient capacity to provide for future decarbonisation commitments.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

According to the 2025 statistical data return RHP owns 8,007 homes across four boroughs in South West London and in the South East.

Our role and regulatory approach

We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants.  

We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations). 

We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment. 

We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page. 

We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes. 

The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.  

For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the Standards.

Further information