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English regulator launches as standalone body

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has officially launched as a standalone organisation.

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Regulator launches as standalone body #ukhousing

The legal changes have come about today as the RSH has been spun off from the Homes and Communities Agency, as first revealed in January this year.

The shake-up is the result of a 2016 review of the HCA, calling for an independent regulator of social housing.


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A letter from Fiona MacGregor, formerly executive director of regulation and now chief executive at the RSH, to colleagues and stakeholders confirmed the change said it will not “alter our fundamental objectives or powers.”


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RSH letter to stakeholders - 1 Oct 2018.pdfPDF, 186 KB

“As a standalone body our focus remains to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs and we remain subject to the duty to minimise interference and regulate in a manner that is proportionate, consistent, transparent and accountable,” she wrote.

She also called stakeholders to respond to the government’s consultation on its Social Housing Green Paper, launched in August, and the call for evidence reviewing social housing regulation.

Click here to read an exclusive article by Fiona MacGregor

Jargon-busting: some regulatory terms and what they mean

Jargon-busting: some regulatory terms and what they mean
  • Co-regulation: this means boards are responsible for deciding how to meet the regulator’s standards – the regulator does not prescribe how to do this
  • Gradings under review list: a public list of providers under investigation who are at risk of being judged non-compliant with regulatory standards
  • In-depth assessment: a planned inspection, in which the regulator assesses a providers viability, governance and approach to value for money
  • Narrative regulatory judgement: a detailed explanation of the reasons behind a regulatory judgement. Narrative judgements are published where a providers’ viability or governance ratings have changed, or where RSH has particular issues or concerns.
  • Reactive engagement: refers to the regulator reacting to complaints or allegations about a provider and taking action
  • Stability check: an annual assessment of all providers owning 1,000 social homes or more. RSH uses accounts and statistical return data to check for any changes in a providers’ risk profile.
  • Strapline regulatory judgement: where a provider is meeting the standards, and its governance or viability ratings have not changed since its previous judgement, the regulator does not publish a full judgement explaining its reasons for the gradings. Instead it just publishes the gradings themselves, in a ‘strapline’.

 

Regulatory judgements published on 26 September

Registered ProviderGovernanceViabilityExplanation
Bernicia GroupG1V1No change
Orwell Housing AssociationG2V1Governance downgrade
Castles & Coasts Housing AssociationG1V1Governance upgrade
OptivoG1V1No change
Rosebery Housing AssociationG1V1No change
Two Rivers HousingG1V1No change

Regulatory judgements in England explained

The Regulator of Social Housing publishes regulatory judgements for all providers owning 1,000 or more social housing homes.

These judgements set out whether the provider is complying with the regulator’s governance and financial viability standards.

The regulator carries out an assessment either through a scheduled in-depth assessment, or reactive engagement (in which the regulator acts following information about a provider).

It then awards the provider a rating from one to four for financial viability (V) and a separate rating from one to four for governance (G).

Providers must score two or higher in both categories to be judged as complying with the standards.

As providers have increasingly taken on more risk to cross-subsidise social and affordable housing delivery through market-facing activity, the regulator has changed a number of associations’ viability ratings from V1 to V2.

The regulator often categorises this kind of regulatory action as ‘regrades’ rather than downgrades. Click here to read more.

 

Key to ratings:

V1/G1: Compliant

V2/G2: Compliant

V3/G3: Non-compliant and intensive regulatory engagement needed

V4/G4: Non-complaint, serious failures, leading to either intensive regulatory engagement or the use of enforcement powers

 

Rating straplines in full:

Governance ratings:

G1: The provider meets our governance requirements.

G2: The provider meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.

G3: The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the provider is working to improve its position.

G4: The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

 

Financial viability ratings:

V1: The provider meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.

V2: The provider meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.

V3: The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and, in agreement with us, the provider is working to improve its position.

V4: The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

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