G15 landlord could be downgraded to non-compliant following RSH investigation

News11.09.237.00 AM by James Riding

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has placed a G15 member on its gradings under review list amid an investigation that may result in a downgrade to non-compliant.

A2Dominion has 38,000 homes

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The Regulator of Social Housing has placed a G15 member on its gradings under review list amid an investigation that may result in a downgrade to non-compliant #UKhousing

The RSH said that A2Dominion, which currently holds a V2 viability grading and a G1 governance grading, was being investigated in relation to an issue that may result in a downgrade to a non-compliant grade.

Non-compliant grades are when a provider falls to G3/G4 for governance or V3/V4 for viability under the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

The outcome of the investigation will be confirmed in a regulatory judgement once completed.

Ian Wardle, chief executive of A2Dominion, said: “We’ve already been working closely with the regulator and will continue to do so following their decision to review our grading. This includes some matters that we have brought to their attention. We know we have some areas to improve upon and this will continue to be our focus.”

A2Dominion was formed in 2008 through the merger of A2 and Dominion and now has around 38,000 homes.

In its most recent annual results, to the end of March 2022, A2Dominion reported turnover of £465.8m, up from £303m the previous year, while its surplus rose from £6.4m to £42.1m.

Last year, the group was among three landlords that were late in submitting their accounts to the RSH. At the time, A2Dominion said the delay was connected to staffing problems at BDO, the firm that carries out its audits.

The RSH also revealed that it was reviewing the gradings of a small landlord based in the South East of England. Rosewood Housing currently has fewer than 1,000 social homes and therefore does not have a current published regulatory grading or judgement.

A spokesperson for Rosewood Housing said: “We are working with the regulator in its investigation.”

Update: at 09.20am, 11.09.23

This story was updated to correct A2Dominion’s current gradings. A2Dominion is currently graded V2 G1, not V1 G1 as previously stated.