London housing association to be wound up after failing to meet lease obligations

The housing association was deemed non-compliant with the RSH’s standard in July 2019 for failing to submit its annual accounts, therefore failing to provide assurance of its financial viability. The latest judgement, published today, says that the group remains non-compliant and that breaches of the regulatory standards persist.

The judgement mentions a number of issues with the governance of the association. It says that BCH has been operating with a “lack of effective board oversight in a range of areas”.

It said that this amounts to a “fundamental failure of governance and operational control”.

It added: “The impact of this failure is that BCH did not have appropriate probity arrangements in place, and as a result, a material sum of money is unaccounted for.

“While BCH does now have arrangements in place to allow it to take decisions about its future, this was a serious failure in governance.”

The housing association was put on the RSH’s ‘gradings under review’ list in December 2020. The most recent investigation found that BCH has not managed its resources effectively to ensure its viability, and that it has also failed to ensure that its governance arrangements are effective.

It concluded that BCH had been unable to demonstrate that it has managed its affairs with an appropriate degree of skill, independence, diligence, effectiveness, prudence and foresight.

BCH also failed to demonstrate prudent business planning and to implement a risk and control framework that ensures sufficient liquidity at all times, the regulator added.

BCH was first registered in January 2013 and is a fully mutual co-operative, meaning it is owned by its members and is directed by a management committee drawn from its membership.

Inside Housing has approached BCH for a response.