TSA finds failings at south west landlord
The Tenant Services Authority has identified failings in the way Somer Housing Group is run.
The group, which manages 11,000 homes in the south west comes under fire in the regulator’s latest judgement on its governance.
The TSA downgraded Somer’s governance performance due to disagreements at board level which reached an impasse after the board for one of its subsidiaries, Somer Community Housing Trust, opposed decisions made by the group board.
The judgement says there are ‘indications that relationships at group board level have started to break down’. It also criticises the group for failing to comply with some aspects of its code of governance.
It highlights ‘significant weaknesses and deterioration in service delivery’ found in an Audit Commission short notice inspection of Somer Community Housing Trust in March 2010.
The group has now volunteered to address the problems identified in the report. It has appointed three independent members to the group board, who will form the majority membership of a governance review panel to oversee improvements in governance arrangements. The panel will also commission an external governance review.
The TSA says the group meets its requirements on financial viability. It will continue to monitor the way the association is addressing its weaknesses.
A spokesperson for Somer Housing Group said: ‘We accept the TSA’s judgement as a fair reflection of our current position and we are pleased that our financial viability is seen as very strong.
‘We are determinedly pursuing the voluntary undertaking we have give the TSA, appointing new board members to Somer Housing Group’s board with considerable skills in governance and in social housing.
‘We have also commissioned an external review of our governance, which will be completed by the end of November, and have started the process to recruit a permanent chief executive to deliver its recommendations.’
Separate judgements released on Axiom Housing Association and Thames Valley Housing Association found both organisations were performing well against the TSA’s standards on governance and viability.
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Readers' comments (2)
Junior | 03/09/2010 1:16 pm
Well at least the Tenant's know what going on by reading this statement with our all we hear is hear say and gossip. The Tenant Service Advisor Manager is not answering our correspondence nor is the Peter Marsh
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Anonymous | 06/09/2010 12:52 pm
i dont know the facts in this instance but it is normally a healthy sign when a subsidisary board acting in the interests of the subsidiary body for whom they re responsible opposes decisions of ther main board
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