RSH publishes regulatory judgement for East End Homes Limited

In a regulatory judgement published today (Thursday 25 May), the Regulator of Social Housing has found that East End Homes Limited (East End Homes) is non-compliant with the governance element of the economic standards and downgraded it to G3 status.

Following an in-depth assessment and investigation, the regulator concluded that East End Homes does not have adequate governance, risk management or control frameworks in place. In addition, the regulator does not have assurance that the provider’s board has managed the organisation with appropriate skill, independence or foresight.

East End Homes has failed to demonstrate that it is appropriately identifying and managing its risks. Issues with the provider’s data have resulted in a weak understanding of its tenants’ homes, and it is unable to assure the regulator that they meet the Decent Homes Standard.

As a result of the regulator’s investigation, East End Homes has commissioned external consultants to develop an improvement plan and an asset management strategy. The provider is also carrying out condition surveys of its tenants’ homes.

Harold Brown, RSH’s Senior Assistant Director for Investigations and Enforcement, said:

Our investigation found issues in the way that East End Homes is run, including weaknesses in its board, an inadequate approach to risk management and poor-quality data on its tenants’ homes.

East End Homes is working to improve the way it is governed, and we will continue to monitor the provider as it works to return to compliance.

Notes to editors

1. Registered providers of social housing with more than 1,000 units are awarded both governance (G) and financial viability (V) grades for their compliance with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. Grades of G1 and G2 indicate compliance with the governance element of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, while grades of G3 and G4 indicate non-compliance. Similarly, V1 and V2 grades indicate compliance with the financial element and V3 and V4 grades indicate non-compliance.

2. East End Homes’ previous grades were G1 / V2. It has now been downgraded to a non-compliant grade for governance (G3). Its viability grade remains at V2. However, there remains low headroom against key covenants, and it is forecasting weak financial performance. While it has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios, it has material risks and needs to manage these to ensure continued compliance.

3. More information about how RSH regulates against its standards is available in Regulating the Standards.

4. RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver and maintain homes of appropriate quality that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

5. For press office contact details, see our Media enquiries page. For general queries, please email [email protected] or call 0300 124 5225.