The Regulator of Social Housing has come down hard once again on a lease-based provider, this time finding Empower Housing as non-compliant with governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

It comes after the organisation was under review, and just a week after fellow lease-based provider EPIC suffered a similar fate.

The Regulator concluded that Empower:

• Failed to ensure that it has effective governance arrangements in place that deliver its aims, objectives and intended outcomes for tenants in an effective, transparent, and accountable manner.
• Failed to demonstrate that it has an appropriate, robust, and prudent business planning and risk and control framework in place. Empower has also not been able to demonstrate that it is managing its affairs with an appropriate degree of skill, independence, diligence, effectiveness, prudence, and foresight.

They also found that the organisation was non-compliant with the Rent Standard, being “unable to provide adequate assurance that the accommodation it provides meets the Government’s definition of Specialised Supported Housing (SSH) and so that it is excepted from the requirements of the Rent Standard.”

Some of the weaknesses shown led the Regulator to rule that “there has been a significant failure by Empower to safeguard taxpayers’ interests and the reputation of the sector”.

You can see the judgement in full here.