Decision

Sparrow Shared Ownership Limited (4636): Regulatory Judgement - 17 December 2025

Updated 17 December 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

This judgement concerns an organisation that is designated a for-profit registered provider.

The registered provider is not at the head of its group. It is a subsidiary organisation within a larger group of connected companies.

The registered provider is not intended to operate as a standalone entity in the group structure. It requires the ongoing support of related parties to fulfil its functions and / or meet its objectives. The nature of this support is described in this judgement.

This judgement concerns the registered provider only and does not represent an assessment of the non-registered entities within the group.

	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.	First grading	December 2025
Governance	G1* Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	First grading	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.	First grading	December 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Sparrow Shared Ownership Limited (Sparrow) following an inspection completed in December 2025.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C1* , a governance grade of G1*  and a financial viability grade of V1*.

This is the first time we have issued a regulatory judgement in relation to this landlord under its current ownership.

Sparrow is a for-profit registered provider that has been registered since 2010. Since registration there have been two changes in ownership; the last being in August 2024. At that point Sparrow was known as Sage Housing Limited, it had been subject to an In Depth Assessment and was graded G1* /V2* in December 2023. On the 12 August 2024, the shares in Sparrow were purchased by Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS). The change in Sparrow’s ownership resulted in material changes to its governance, operational and funding structure on which the December 2023 judgement was based. As a result, that judgement was withdrawn in August 2024.

Summary of the decision

From the assurance gained during the inspection, based on the evidence provided by the landlord, we have concluded that overall Sparrow is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C1* grade for Sparrow. 

Our judgement is that Sparrow meets our governance requirements. Sparrow has provided evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of its governance arrangements and that it continues to effectively manage the risks of its activities, allowing it to deliver its strategic objectives. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1* grade for Sparrow.

Our judgement is that Sparrow meets our financial viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. Sparrow has a strong financial profile, and its stress testing demonstrates that financial capacity is built into its business plan. Sparrow has provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and adequate funding in place. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V1* grade for Sparrow.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of Sparrow to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements, as part of our planned regulatory inspection programme. During the inspection, we 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, spoke with tenants, held meetings with Sparrow including its non-executive directors, interviewed staff, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Sparrow. 

Our regulatory judgement is based on a review of all of the relevant information we obtained during the inspection as well as analysis of information supplied by Sparrow in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

Summary of findings  

Consumer – C1* – December 2025

Sparrow owns only Low-Cost Home Ownership (LCHO) homes. Sparrow has obtained appropriate advice and can demonstrate it understands its landlord responsibilities. Its repairs and health and safety duties are limited to communal areas in a small number of apartment blocks. Sparrow meets the safety and quality standard, complies with statutory health and safety requirements, and operates an effective repairs service in these areas. For a small number of customers in blocks owned by third parties, Sparrow has provided evidence that it holds those parties accountable and escalates issues appropriately. The Decent Homes Standard does not apply to LCHO homes, our assessment of Sparrow’s delivery of the Safety and Quality Standard reflects this. Also, the requirements of the Tenancy Standard are not applicable to LCHO homes.

Overall, Sparrow’s approach is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards in relation to transparency, influence and accountability. Sparrow provided evidence that it treats customers with fairness and respect and is continuing to increase its understanding of them. Sparrow demonstrates an active approach to considering customers’ diverse needs in the design and delivery of services and monitors its performance in continuing to deliver outcomes to tenants in this area.

We saw evidence that Sparrow regularly reviews performance information on complaints handling. It provided evidence that it learns from information on complaint types and outcomes, using this to make improvements. We saw evidence that Sparrow had used this information and feedback to develop its operational model and approach to delivering landlord services.

Sparrow’s complaints handling is performing well against targets and although it has had limited access to feedback from tenants it has addressed this by putting a new feedback system in place.  

Sparrow demonstrated that it provides a range of meaningful opportunities for its customers to share their views and provide scrutiny, including through an established Customer Scrutiny Panel. There was evidence that feedback from tenants and scrutiny panel reviews influences Sparrow’s decision making. Sparrow was able to demonstrate changes to communication and policies made in response to customer scrutiny reviews.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Sparrow has provided evidence that it has appropriate oversight of the management of anti-social behaviour (ASB) across its homes and works in partnership with appropriate local authority departments, the police and other relevant organisations to deter and tackle ASB.

Governance – G1* – December 2025

Sparrow is a subsidiary of Sparrow Housing Group Limited (SHGL), an organisation that is not registered with the RSH. We saw evidence that appropriate agreements containing information requirements, escalation and resolution provisions are in place with SHGL and support the delivery of intended outcomes for customers. Sparrow was able to demonstrate that it has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its ownership structure. 

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection there is assurance that Sparrow’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage its risks and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. Following the change in ownership in August 2024 Sparrow reviewed its structure and delivery arrangements. Sparrow’s board has overseen delivery of the changes agreed as a result of this review, with key decisions taken during the process supported by independent assurance. Sparrow’s board demonstrated that it provides challenge on performance against the organisation’s strategic targets and consideration of risk appetite in strategic decision making.

Sparrow was able to provide evidence that it 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.  Sparrow needs to ensure it continues to evolve its governance arrangements in line with future changes in its risk profile.

Board members’ skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and there is a structured approach to developing and appraising skills to support succession planning. We saw evidence of this through board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and the executive team as well as reviewing relevant documents including meeting minutes.

Sparrow has an appropriate risk management and control framework. There is evidence of robust discussion and board challenge on strategic risks and of risks being managed effectively in practice.

We saw evidence that Sparrow’s board actively seeks and gains an appropriate level of assurance across a range of areas. There is evidence of how this assurance has been used to ensure it fully understands its range of landlord responsibilities, and to make improvements including on the approach to ASB, and stock condition data.

Board ownership of stress testing, mitigation strategies and wider governance over risks through regular and structured review is evident. Reporting to Sparrow’s board provides sufficient detail for it to have effective oversight.

Viability – V1* – December 2025

Based on the evidence obtained in the inspection we have concluded that Sparrow has provided appropriate assurance that it meets our financial viability requirements. It has a strong financial profile, with a track record of meeting or exceeding its business plan. Sparrow’s business plan is based on reasonable assumptions. It demonstrates that it has the financial capacity to deliver its current three-year corporate plan. Stress testing confirms that it can withstand a wide range of adverse financial scenarios.

Sparrow is fully financed by equity funding and has no external debt. We have assurance that Sparrow has access to sufficient liquidity with funding in place to meet all business plan requirements for the duration of its current corporate plan.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Sparrow is a UK-registered company limited by shares. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SHGL, which is a Real Estate Investment Trust registered in Jersey, through which the USS holds its investment in Sparrow.  

Sparrow owns around 3,000 shared ownership homes across England. These are all post initial tranche sales. These homes consist of around 2,500 houses and 500 flats in 85 blocks. 72 of these blocks are owned and managed by Sparrow and 13 are legally owned and managed by third parties. Sparrow operates across England in 115 local authority areas.

At 31 December 2024 Sparrow employed no staff. Sparrow had net assets of £343m.

Sparrow’s 2025-27 corporate plan assumes no net growth in the number of homes owned.

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 Regulatory 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