Regulator of Social Housing publishes latest judgements

“These factors, set in the context of economic pressures, weaken Muir’s financial performance and reduce its capacity to manage adverse events,” it said.

Muir, which owns 5,800 homes across the North West and East of England, reported turnover of £33.4m for the year ended 31 March 2023 and aims to develop 500 new affordable homes by 2027.

Since its last assessment in 2022, Beyond Housing had strengthened its risk and internal control framework, including rent-setting, the RSH said.

It has demonstrated “continuous improvement in its governance processes and wider risk management approach”, while its performance and reporting framework support “effective board oversight of risks” and delivery of its strategy, the RSH said.

Riverside had assured the regulator that its governance arrangements “enable it to adequately control the merged organisation and to continue meeting its objectives”. The landlord merged with 17,000-home One Housing in December 2021.

Riverside had improved the management of risks across the group, the RSH said, including those relating to financial and treasury information.

It has acted on pre-merger due diligence findings and the board has implemented changes to improve its data and strengthened its reporting and oversight of strategic risks.

A spokesperson for Muir said: “Since our last review, we have continued to prioritise robust governance and took the decision to invest more in our existing homes and be more ambitious with our programme to develop new homes. This, linked with the current economic operating environment, has led to our V2 rating.”

Debbie Griffiths, chair of Muir, said: “I’m pleased with the G1/V2 outcome of our recent IDA [in-depth assessment], which reflects our current strategy. We recognise the challenging operating environment and, having chosen to maximise our investment in existing and new homes, we have also ensured that we remain financially sound”.

Catherine Dixson, chief executive of Muir, said: “We continue to work hard on maintaining homes and delivering new homes for those that need them, together with improving services for Muir residents; these ratings reflect that.”

Elizabeth Froude, chief executive of Platform Housing Group, said: “We are extremely pleased to have had our rating reaffirmed as G1/V1, especially in the ever more difficult operating area we work in. This is a true reflection of the hard work of the whole team at Platform who remain focused on keeping our customers and organisation safe, strong and resilient.”