Regulator of Social Housing

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement, looks back on the first year of inspections since new legislation came into force, in this article with Inside Housing https://lnkd.in/eV2HKxup

We have published regulatory judgements for seven housing associations. Following programmed inspections, Cross Keys Homes, LiveWest Homes, Midland Heart and Thirteen Housing Group all received C1, G1 and V1 gradings. Places for People Group received C1, G1 and V2 gradings. Together Housing Group received C2, G1 and V2. A C2 grade means that there are some weaknesses in its delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards. Following a two-year period of intensive engagement, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has been given a G2 grading for governance and we removed a previous regulatory notice. We removed regulatory notices for Babergh District Council and Mid-Suffolk District Council. Read the full judgements here: https://bit.ly/3XqmMDP

We have published the findings from our latest quarterly survey on the fire safety of 11 metre plus buildings in the social housing sector. All social landlords are required to submit quarterly data to us and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the fire safety remediation of relevant buildings for which they are responsible. Of the 17,299 relevant buildings reported, 99.9% had fire risk assessments undertaken and 11.1% (1,920) were reported as currently having a life critical fire safety defect relating to the external wall system. 73.6% of relevant buildings with a LCFS EWS defect are expected to be remediated within five years. Landlords have said that remediation timelines can slip due to factors such as navigating complex legal arrangements, difficulties sourcing contractors and supply chain delays. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/41GFKZ7

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Project Support Officer to join us in a permanent role, working as part of our Data and Statistics team, dedicated to identifying the data collection requirements on which we base our regulation of the social housing sector. Find out more and apply: https://bit.ly/4ivtyBA Applications close 23/03/25.

Reinvestment in new and existing homes reached record levels as housing associations continued to focus on development, building safety, energy efficiency and stock decency, according to our new Value for Money report. We publish Value for Money metrics annually so boards and other stakeholders can assess how each housing association is performing against its peers. Key findings from the latest report include: ➡ Around 10% of providers (excluding for-profit organisations) develop nearly half (45%) of new social homes. ➡ Tall buildings are associated with high costs. Providers with over 10% of homes located in a block more than 7 storeys in height reported a headline cost of £9,343 per unit. Providers with over half of their stock categorised as house or bungalow only reported a headline cost of £4,812 per unit. ➡ Geography matters. London has the highest capital reinvestment into existing homes, which increased by 13% to £1,680 per unit - almost 50% above the England average - but this reduced their capital reinvestment per unit into new development by 8%. ➡ Aggregation hides variation. EBITDA MRI Interest Cover has continued to fall at a sector level, though there was a wide gap between providers in the upper quartile (153%) and those in the lower quartile (76%). Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3XPvkVT

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Data Analyst to join us in a permanent role, working as part of our Data and Statistics team, dedicated to the cleaning, compilation and analysis of data on which we base our regulation of the social housing sector. Working in a hybrid fashion and out of one of our offices in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester or Bristol, you’ll join our team to support the systems which collect regulatory data from registered providers, compiling this data in tools and formats that can be readily used across RSH’s directorates. Find out more and apply: https://bit.ly/4hjAVL2 Applications close 23/03/25.

We use inspections of landlords to help us form our view about how well a landlord is delivering the outcomes of some or all of our standards. Find out more about how our inspections work: https://bit.ly/41qfm5y

We have published the results of our latest quarterly survey of private registered providers’ financial health. The report covers the period 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024. The report shows that landlords also invested £3.9 billion on building and acquiring new homes (up from £3.2 billion in the previous quarter), though the year to December 2024’s investment of £13.7 billion was £0.9 billion lower than the year to December 2023. Social landlords are making vital improvements to tenants’ homes and building new homes for the future. They continue to invest record amounts in new and existing stock, though there are indications that development spend has peaked. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/41fuFxZ

We have published regulatory judgements for 11 social landlords: ▶️ ForHousing has been upgraded from G3 to G2 ▶️ West Lancashire Borough Council received a C1 grading ▶️ City of Westminster Council received a C1 grading ▶️ Mansfield District Council received a C2 grading ▶️ Waverley Borough Council received a C2 grading ▶️ The London Borough of Wandsworth received a C3 grading ▶️ Central Bedfordshire Council received a C3 grading ▶️ Anchor Hanover Group received a C3 grading ▶️ Peabody Trust retained its G1/V2 gradings ▶️ One Manchester retained its G1/V2 gradings ▶️ Bolton at Home retained its G2/V2 gradings We have also placed Anchor Hanover Group on our gradings under review list. We are currently investigating matters which may impact on whether the landlord continues to meet the governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. For full details of the judgements, visit our website: https://bit.ly/3XqmMDP

Are you a strong HR generalist looking for your next opportunity? We are looking for a HR Business Partner to join the team. This is an exciting role where you will partner with key areas of the organisation to provide strategic HR support. Find out more and apply: https://bit.ly/4hzm7sM