The RSH inspects housing providers like us every four years, to assess how well we’re delivering our regulatory requirements.

There are three key areas, with each being awarded a score between 1 and 4, with one being the highest.

Governance (G) – Assesses how well we’re run.

Viability (V) – Assesses how financially strong we are.

Consumer (C) – This is a new rating which assesses housing associations against the new consumer standards and it came into force on 1 April 2024. You can read more about these here. These standards strengthen the accountability for housing providers in delivering good quality homes and services. We were one of the first providers to have this included as part of the inspection.

Our regulatory grading was published today, 25 September, and we are pleased to share that we maintained our G1/V2 ratings, and we were also awarded a C1.

The RSH gathered information through observing our Resident Experience Committee and a Board meeting, speaking to residents, interviewing the Executive team and reviewing documents.

In its judgement, which you can read in full here, it recognised that:

G

• That we demonstrated the effectiveness of our governance arrangements, and that we effectively manage our risks to deliver our strategic objectives and improve our services to residents.
• There’s comprehensive performance and risk monitoring and construct challenge on areas of underperformance.

V

• That we have the financial capacity to manage a range of risk scenarios and have access to sufficient liquidity.
• We have a fully funded business plan and effective treasury management arrangements.

C

• We know the condition of our homes well, so can make accurate decisions on investment into maintaining and improving these.
• That we provide an effective repairs and maintenance service and take into account resident vulnerabilities.
• We offer support to residents throughout tenancies, including the support fund and specialist officers.
• That our complaint approach is well publicised, and our Resident Experience Committee monitors performance of this.
• That we gather residents’ views in a range of ways, with evidence of how we use this to make changes to services.
• That we hold some resident information so we can tailor services to meet diverse needs.

Andrew Smith, chief executive, said “We’re delighted that the Regulator of Social Housing has recognised the strength of our governance and financial performance, with our continued investment in our existing homes and our ambitious programme to deliver around 210 new homes a year. They also recognised how we engage with our residents, understand their needs and work with them when things go wrong to put it right and learn.”

Next steps

It’s great to know that the RSH is confident that we are meeting the new consumer standards. But that doesn’t mean our work will stop to ensure that we are providing the best service possible.

Over the next few months, we’ll continue collecting more information about residents to ensure we can tailor our services to their needs and requirements. This includes understanding what service adjustments we need to make and we’re doing some further work around how we can support our most vulnerable residents

We will shortly also be doing some consultation around resident engagement. We’ll be publishing this before Christmas, so please get involved and let us know how you want to do this.  You can read more about our how you get involved with us here.

Please continue to provide your feedback to us, whether this is through a compliment or complaint, a survey after you’ve had a service from us or if you’re contacted to complete a Tenant Satisfaction Survey. Through your feedback, we can continue to see what works well and what we need to improve.

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