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Three providers deemed non-compliant by regulator after account filing failures
Three housing associations have been deemed non-compliant by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) on governance and financial viability after they failed to submit financial accounts on time.
In its latest round of regulatory judgements, the English regulator gave Brent Community Housing, Toddington United Almshouse Charity, and Wrott and Hill Charity the same non-compliant rating after each provider did not file financial statements within six months of it’s the latest accounting period, despite repeated reminders.
All three associations are small, owning and managing less than 1,000 homes. Brent Community Housing is a housing co-operative group that houses single people with difficulties securing affordable housing in the north London borough. While Toddington United Almshouse Charity houses widows in need in Dunstable, and Wrott and Hill Charity provides homes to those in need in Dartford, Kent.
Under the rules laid out by the regulator, a key assurance of financial ability for associations of this size is properly signed accounts. If the regulator has not received such accounts, it cannot assess the financial viability of an association and as a result the landlord will be deemed non-compliant on financial viability.
It is also a requirement of the Housing and Regeneration Act that registered providers submit accounts no later than six months after they are finalised.
The conclusions of the regulatory finding was that the associations failed to meet the governance elements of the financial and governance standards, and it did not have sufficient assurances that the providers could comply with these standards.
The regulator will now consider what further action it will take against the three housing associations.
The regulator has previously had problems with smaller housing associations filing their accounts late. In 2015, when the RSH was part of the Homes and Communities Agency, it had to reprimand nine different associations for late submission of accounts.
Inside Housing has contacted Brent Community Housing, Toddington United Almshouse Charity and Wrott and Hill Charity for comment.
There were five other housing associations that received regulatory judgements from the regulator this morning. This includes Notting Hill Genesis, which kept its ‘G1 V2’ grading but had the basis for its viability rating changed.
The regulator also revealed that the association planned to scale back its building programme “significantly” because of changing market conditions.
LiveWest, Bromsgrove District Housing, Jigsaw, and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group all had their existing G1 V1 ratings confirmed.
Regulatory judgements published on 31 July 2019
| Provider | Governance | Viability | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Community Housing | N/A | N/A | Economic standards - non-compliant |
| Bromsgrove District Housing Trust | G1 | V1 | No change |
| Jigsaw Homes Group | G1 | V1 | No change |
| LiveWest Homes | G1 | V1 | No change |
| Notting Hill Genesis | G1 | V2 | No change - but changed basis for viability rating |
| Toddington United Almshouse Charity | N/A | N/A | Economic standards - non-compliant |
| Wrott and Hill Charity | N/A | N/A | Economic standards - non-compliant |
| Wythenshawe Community Housing Group | G1 | V1 | No change |
