The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published findings for 18 social landlords in its latest round of regulatory judgements.

Responding to the news that it had been given a C3 grading after failing to meet the outcomes in the consumer standards, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Executive Mayor, Lutfur Rahman, said: “It was clear to me that many residents were not being provided with the high quality and well-maintained homes they deserve, which is why I was determined to bring Tower Hamlets Homes in house after my election, to enable the Council to take charge of the situation. I also introduced a record £140 million investment to upgrade existing council homes, while also investing to build 4,000 new affordable homes.

“Following this decisive action to insource the service and the independent reviews we commissioned, we decided to self-refer to the Regulator of Social Housing.”

Meanwhile, Simon Hendey, Strategic Director at Winchester City Council which was also given a C3 grading said:  “The regulator’s response has confirmed what we realised when we referred ourselves to them in January.  We took it very seriously then and we’re taking it very seriously now. We put in place an action plan as soon as we knew where we stood: almost all safety checks are now complete. The remaining few assessments will be completed by the end of August. The stock condition survey is on track and underway.”

Reading Borough Council also received a C3 grading. Matt Yeo, Lead Councillor for Housing, responded: “We welcome the additional input and assistance from the Regulator for Social Housing on the steps we are already taking to make further improvements for our tenants. The regulator has acknowledged in its report that we have already embarked on that journey, but not sufficiently far enough at this time to provide a higher grading.

“I’m confident that the steps we have already put in place, and strengthened following the inspection report, will get us to where we, and the regulator, want us to be. We additionally welcome the continued and regular dialogue with the RSH planned for the future to ensure we can deliver a more efficient and responsive service to our tenants in the shortest time possible.”

Following a self-referral, the RSH found that Mid Devon District Council had overcharged rent for over 1,200 tenants and undercharged over 1,600. As a result, it has failed to meet the outcomes of the rent standard. The council is continuing to investigate these issues and has advised the RSH that it will confirm the refunds due to individual tenants.

The regulator also found weaknesses in how housing associations Community Housing Group and Richmond Housing Partnership are managing their strategic risks. Each landlord needs to improve their internal controls assurance so that consistent improvement is seen in outcomes for tenants. The RSH has downgraded both landlords to a G2 grading for governance as a result.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest received a C2 grading in the latest batch. Councillor Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, said “We welcome the findings of the Social Housing Regulator. We are pleased with our progress we’ve made so far and feel the C2 rating reflects this, but we are also aware there is still more to do. We will work closely with residents, tenant management organisations and partners to help provide a better service for our residents and are committed to addressing the areas of improvements identified in the report. Our comprehensive improvement action plan is already underway to address the issues raised in the inspection.

“Finally, thank you to residents, staff and housing partners who helped us through the inspection process. We are committed to continuing to learn from resident feedback and providing opportunities for residents to influence service improvements.”

The RSH expects all housing associations and other private registered providers to have G1 governance grades and says it continues to drive improvements in social landlords, with Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association and Watmos Community Housing upgraded to G1 following improvements in their governance.

Jonathan Higgs, CEO of Raven Housing, said: “We are delighted with the outcome of this inspection. To receive ratings C1, G1 and V2 is fantastic, and reflects the hard work and dedication of everyone here at Raven. During the regulator’s thorough inspection they were able to get under the skin of Raven, and I was really pleased to hear them talk about Raven as an organisation that isn’t resting on its laurels, but is looking to build on what is already a strong position.”

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “We continue to take action on a wide range of issues when landlords fail to meet our standards.

“Our judgements show the importance of good governance in driving improvements for tenants and ensuring landlords are on top of their strategic risks. A clear theme is the need for accurate, up-to-date information about key risks – whether they are financial or relate to tenants’ health and safety.

“Through our regulation we will continue to support a sector that is well run and financially viable. This is the foundation for providing good-quality homes for tenants and building new homes for the future.”

The RSH has also removed a previous regulatory notice for the London Borough of Croydon as the landlord has delivered the required improvements.

Full list of judgements:

Social landlord	Consumer grade	Governance grade	Viability grade	Process
Brentwood Borough Council	C2	–	–	Inspection
Broadland Housing Association Limited	C2	G1	V2	Inspection
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council	C2	–	–	Inspection
Hastoe Housing Association Limited	C2	G1	V2 (regrade from V1)	Inspection
Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association Limited	–	G1 (upgrade from G2)	V2 (based on previous assessment)	Responsive engagement
London Borough of Tower Hamlets	C3	–	–	Inspection
London Borough of Waltham Forest	C2	–	–	Inspection
Mid Devon District Council	–	–	–	Responsive engagement (rent standard)
Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Limited	C1	G1	V2	Inspection
Raven Housing Trust Limited	C1	G1	V2	Inspection
Reading Borough Council	C3	–	–	Inspection
Richmond Housing Partnership Limited		G2 (downgrade from G1)	V1	Responsive engagement
South Liverpool Homes Limited	C1	G1	V1	Inspection
St Mungo Community Housing Association	C2	G2	V2	Inspection
Teign Housing	C2	G1	V2	Inspection
The Community Housing Group	C2	G2 (downgrade from G1)	V2	Inspection
Watmos Community Homes	C1	G1 (upgrade from G2)	V2	Inspection
Winchester City Council	C3	–	–	Responsive engagement