Regulatory downgrade reflects current challenges
Following a three-month review, today the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has downgraded our governance and viability ratings from G1 to G3 and V2 to V3.
The RSH is responsible for regulating social housing providers across England, ensuring that they provide a high standard of service to their residents. The governance rating assesses the strength and effectiveness of the organisation, while the viability rating assesses whether the provider is financially sound and able to deliver services over the long-term.
The Regulator’s latest judgement reflects concerns about THCH’s long-term financial viability.
Mark Thrasher, Chair of the Board said:
“We’ve welcomed the opportunity to engage with the Regulator in a transparent way. Our Board recognises that historic strategic financial decisions have not been robust enough.
Significant building safety investment, inflation, a rent cap, the cost-of-living crisis, and a shortage of affordable homes is having a considerable impact on the long-term survival of housing providers our size. While a downgrade is disappointing, against this backdrop, it was anticipated and accurately reflects our challenges. We haven’t been naïve to this and have been open about actively seeking opportunities to ensure a sustainable future.
We take the Regulator’s judgement seriously and are committed to addressing its concerns to improve our resilience. It’s positive that the Regulator is confident we have the capacity, capability, and resources to do just that. We remain focused on providing good, safe homes and services to our residents in Tower Hamlets.”