Regulator praises social housing providers
Assessments by Regulator of Social Housing awards highest grading to Gentoo Group in Sunderland and Weaver Vale Housing Trust in Cheshire.
The Regulator of Social Housing is the government body responsible for ensuring the sector is viable, efficient and well governed, so able to deliver quality homes and services for its current and future tenants.
Photo by RDNE Stock project
To do this, the regulator sets standards for landlords (which can include local authorities or private registered providers such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives or profit-making organisations. To ensure standards are being met, the regulator inspects properties and reviews data that landlords are required to submit.
The regulator has just published reports on four such landlords.
Weaver Vale Housing Trust was found to meet all requirements for consumer, governance and viability – and so was awarded the highest-level C1, G1 and V1 gradings. Established in 2002, owns and manages some 6,500 social housing homes, the majority in Cheshire West and Chester, with some 250 homes across Cheshire East and Warrington.
Wayne Gales, Chief Executive at WVHT, says: ‘The gradings are a testament to our hard-working colleagues and all of our involved customers from across Weaver Vale’s communities who give their time, commitment, and share lived experiences to help shape and improve our services. It also demonstrates the success of our customer feedback framework which we re-launched in April 2023.
‘Whilst we are delighted with this news, we recognise there’s always work to do to ensure we continue to provide the best possible customer experience we can and ensure our homes remain safe and meet the needs and aspirations of those we serve and communities in which we work.’
Gentoo Group was awarded C1 and G1 ratings for consumer and governance, though on viability it was awarded the lower V2 grade, as the regulator concluded that it ‘needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance’. Gentoo operates 29,000 social housing homes, most of them in Sunderland with a small number in four other local authority areas in the north east.
Louise Bassett, Chief Executive of Gentoo, says: ‘I am pleased the regulator has recognised the strength of our governance and the improvements in our financial performance. We have been on a journey over the past 18 months to improve our service to customers and I am delighted to see this has also been recognised by the regulator. However, whilst we are making good progress, there is still much to do. More than ever, I am committed to continuing to improve our services to customers and deliver on our customer promise and I will not rest until we have achieved this.’
Southern Housing owns and manages some 78,000 social housing homes in London, the south-east of England, Midlands and Isle of Wight. It was award a G1 rating for governance and the regulator acknowledged that it had addressed raised in a regulator notice from 2021 related to rent. The C2 grading for consumer was in recognition of ‘some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed’, while the V2 grade for viability was because the regulator felt Southern Housing ‘has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.’
Paul Hackett, Chief Executive of Southern Housing, says: ‘Our new board and executive team were determined to secure G1 at our first regulatory inspection. We’re therefore delighted the regulator has recognised the hard work of everyone connected to Southern Housing in awarding this rating. This is just the beginning of our journey and we’re resolute in pushing forward with delivering the services our residents tell us they want. We’ve not shied away from taking decisive action in our drive to achieve our ambitious plans, including replacing under-performing contractors.’
Lastly, Bolsover District Council was awarded a C2 grade, the regulator concluding that ‘there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.’ The council owns and manages some 5,000 social housing homes, providing general needs and older persons/sheltered accommodation.
Cllr Steve Fritchley, Leader of Bolsover District Council, says: “The council is very pleased with this outcome especially as it is the first inspection and grading under the new standards. We feel it reflects our commitment to continuously improve the housing stock and housing services, ensuring that we put always put tenants at the heart of what we do.’
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