Decision

Walsall Housing Group Limited (L4389) - Regulatory Judgement: 14 January 2026

Updated 14 January 2026

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C1 Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence.	Based on previous assessment	December 2024
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	January 2026
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	January 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Walsall Housing Group Limited (whg) following a stability check completed in January 2026.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V1. WHG has a consumer grade of C1 from a planned inspection completed in December 2024.

Summary of the decision

Based on the relevant information and evidence we reviewed in carrying out the stability check, our judgement is that whg 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 whg.

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

This regulatory judgement is based on a stability check which does not include a reassessment of whg’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 C1, G1 and V1, which were issued in December 2024 following an inspection.

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

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

How we reached our judgement

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

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

In confirming whg’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in whg’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 – C1 – December 2024

Below are the findings of our most recent regulatory judgement about whg’s delivery of the outcomes of our consumer standards, which assessed whg’s consumer grade as C1. The regulatory judgement was issued in December 2024 following a programmed inspection.

During the inspection, whg provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas. There is evidence that whg keeps an accurate record of the condition of its homes at an individual property level through physical surveys and has a process for keeping this information up to date. whg has demonstrated that it uses its understanding of the quality and safety of its homes to make decisions on future investment.

whg has demonstrated that it provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants and takes action to improve the service and outcomes for tenants when issues occur. whg identified issues with outstanding repairs and took proactive steps to address this to improve the outcomes for tenants.

whg demonstrated that it is working in partnership with appropriate partners to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods where it provides homes. We saw evidence that whg takes account of tenants’ views to help drive service improvement and outcomes for tenants.

Overall, whg is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards in relation to transparency, influence and accountability. whg provides a range of opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise strategies, policies and services, with its customer voice strategy setting out how it considers the views of the wider tenant population. There is evidence that whg uses performance information and analysis to improve its services and outcomes for tenants, with the whg board receiving regular reporting across these areas. whg also provides a range of relevant and accessible information to tenants in various formats. whg’s approach to complaints handling is also clear and in line with the requirements of the standard, with lessons learned from complaints used to improve its services.

Governance – G1– January 2026

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 December 2024 following a programmed inspection of whg. Below are the findings in that judgement about whg’s delivery of our governance requirements.

Based on evidence gained through inspection there is assurance that whg’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage its risk and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. whg’s board demonstrated that it provides challenge on performance against the organisation’s strategic targets and consideration of risk appetite in strategic decision making.

whg has provided adequate assurance that its board proactively reviews its approach to delivering against its purpose and considers alternative options to ensure it is making the best use of resources.

We saw evidence that whg has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. The relationship between its board and committees is working in line with its delegations to strengthen assurance in key areas of risk and compliance. Board member skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and there is a process in place for developing and appraising skills to support with succession planning. We have seen evidence of this through board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and the executive team, as well as reviewing relevant documents including meeting minutes.

Continuing governance improvement is evidenced through annual effectiveness reviews and in-depth periodic external governance reviews. Following an external review in May 2022, we saw evidence of the recommendations from that review forming an action plan that was followed through and monitored by the whg board, with the next external review to take place in 2025.

whg has demonstrated that there is an appropriate risk management and control framework that aligns to its strategic risks, with evidence that this flows from whg’s board through the organisation. WHG’s board actively seeks and gains an appropriate level of assurance across a range of areas and risks are managed effectively in practice. 

whg evidenced board ownership of stress testing and mitigation strategies and demonstrated that these are used to inform decisions, supplementing the wider control framework. We saw evidence that reporting to the whg board provides sufficient detail for the board to ensure effective oversight across the organisation

Viability – V1– January 2026

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

We issued a regulatory judgement in December 2024 following a programmed inspection for whg. Based on the evidence reviewed during the stability check our view of whg’s delivery of our viability requirements remains the same.

Based on evidence gained through the inspection, we have concluded there is appropriate assurance that whg’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. WHG has appropriately evidenced that it has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security in place to support its financial plans, and whg is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants under a wide range of adverse scenarios. whg’s board has effective oversight of covenant compliance with actual and projected covenants monitored regularly and reported quarterly to the board.

whg has a strong financial profile, with financial capacity built into its business plan and strong levels of forecast headroom with no reliance on sales. whg forecasts adequate interest cover whilst continuing to deliver its development programme and investing in its existing stock to meet both de-carbonisation and stock quality aspirations.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

According to the 2025 statistical data return whg owns 22,114 homes in the Midlands.

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