Decision

Sanctuary Housing Association (L0247) - Regulatory Judgement: 26 November 2025

Updated 26 November 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C2 Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.	Based on previous assessment	January 2025
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	November 2025
Viability	V2 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.	Assessed and unchanged	November 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Sanctuary Housing Association (Sanctuary) following a stability check completed in November 2025.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2. Sanctuary has a consumer grade of C2 from a planned inspection completed in January 2025.

Summary of the decision

Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out the stability check, our judgement is that Sanctuary meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. However, it needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. We have therefore concluded the landlord’s grade is unchanged and issue a V2 grade for Sanctuary.

From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grade is required. Sanctuary’s governance grade remains G1.

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

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the landlord’s most recent consumer, governance and viability grades were C2, G1 and V2, which were issued in January 2025 following an inspection.

During this inspection, we also considered all four of the consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.  

During the inspection we observed a board meeting, attended a tenant scrutiny panel, spoke with tenants, held meetings with Sanctuary and its non-executive directors, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Sanctuary.

How we reached our judgement

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

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

In confirming Sanctuary’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in Sanctuary’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

Consumer – C2 - January 2025

Below are the findings of our most recent regulatory judgement about Sanctuary’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards, which assessed Sanctuary’s consumer grade as C2. The regulatory judgement was issued in January 2025 following a programmed inspection.

During the inspection, Sanctuary provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems for ensuring the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and communal areas. Sanctuary also demonstrated that it understands the condition of its homes and that this informs its provision of good quality, well maintained and safe homes for tenants. This includes ensuring its homes meet the Decent Homes Standard.

However, weaknesses were identified in the provision of an effective, efficient and timely repairs and maintenance service, and improvements are needed to deliver the outcomes of the Safety and Quality Standard. This was seen through tenant satisfaction levels, performance information and complaints. In particular, there is more work to do so that Sanctuary can meet its own repairs timescales for non-urgent works while responding effectively to tenant vulnerabilities. While Sanctuary has already initiated improvements, including a new IT system and operating model, it is too early to see the required outcomes being delivered for tenants. We will continue to engage with Sanctuary while it is working to improve its repairs service.

Sanctuary provided assurance that it is delivering the outcomes of the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, including through its partnership working with other organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents and promote wellbeing. We also saw evidence that it is allocating and letting its homes in a fair and transparent way and supporting its tenants to maintain their tenancy.

In relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, we gained assurance that Sanctuary was delivering the required outcomes. The tenant voice was evident through its strategies, policies, and decision making, with meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise services. This was demonstrated through both central and regional engagement structures in line with Sanctuary’s size and geographical spread.

We saw evidence that Sanctuary uses the information and data it holds, about the diverse needs of its tenants, to assess whether housing and landlord services deliver equitable outcomes, that is underpinned by its outcomes-focussed reporting framework. Sanctuary also provides tenants with accessible information about its performance and services.

Recent work by Sanctuary to improve its complaint handling service has resulted in improved performance with an increase in complaints being handled within the required timescales. Alongside an ongoing focus on quality, we saw evidence that Sanctuary addresses complaints fairly, effectively, and promptly.

We continue to actively engage with Sanctuary to monitor its progress in improving its delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards.

Governance – G1 - November 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 January 2025 following a programmed inspection of Sanctuary. Below are the findings of that judgement about Sanctuary’s delivery of our governance requirements.

Sanctuary has provided assurance that its governance arrangements are effective in delivering its strategic objectives, social purpose and value for money. It has demonstrated that its actions are consistent with its code of governance and its legal and regulatory obligations, seeking external advice as appropriate. It has provided evidence that it has an effective business planning, risk management and control framework, with a good understanding of its risk profile and mitigations. We also saw evidence that Sanctuary is effectively managing the integration of the social housing providers that came into the group in 2023 and 2024.

Sanctuary’s stress testing meets the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and demonstrates that it has the financial capacity to withstand a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. Mitigating actions are credible, developed and understood and the board is fully engaged in Sanctuary’s stress testing and mitigation planning.

Sanctuary has a skilled and independent group board, that actively seeks assurance in relation to group activities and financial viability and effectively scrutinises its performance. It is supported by an appropriate committee structure, providing further oversight in relation to the delivery of outcomes for tenants under our consumer standards. We have assurance that Sanctuary’s governance arrangements are suitable to deliver the improvements required in line with its C2 grade in a transparent and accountable manner. The board annually reviews its own effectiveness and performance with regular external reviews of its governance arrangements, most recently in September 2022. In line with the organisation’s risks and activities, Sanctuary has addressed potential gaps in board member skills and experience through its succession planning.

Viability – V2 - November 2025

Based on evidence gained from the stability check, we have assurance that Sanctuary meets the viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. Sanctuary’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Sanctuary has access to sufficient liquidity, an adequately funded business plan and is forecasting to continue to meet its financial covenants.

Sanctuary continues to meet our viability requirements and has financial capability to deal with adverse scenarios. Sanctuary’s financial plan is based on the delivery of its strategy, which involves disposing of assets that are not central to its purpose. Transformation and integration programmes are in place to generate efficiency savings following the addition of social housing providers into the group in 2023 and 2024. Sanctuary is also increasing investment into its existing homes including fire remediation.

Sanctuary continues to develop new homes, including those for outright sale which exposes it to housing market risk. Sanctuary’s stress testing demonstrates it has the financial capacity in the business plan to mitigate a reasonable range of adverse scenarios, but it will need to manage these material risks.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

According to the 2025 statistical data return Sanctuary owns 85,765 homes in England across 238 local authorities.

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

• Regulating the standards

• Regulatory standards for landlords

Related documents

• Decent Homes Standard