Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) has had its governance rating downgraded to G3 after an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing found major regulatory concerns.
The RSH said that significant improvements need to be made to NHG’s business planning and its control framework, and that NHG’s risk management, internal controls and assurance framework are not robust enough to allow the landlord to identify and manage risks.
The RSH said it found limited evidence that NHG’s board was providing effective oversight of landlord health and safety compliance. The social housing provider will now be required to work with the RSH to improve its position.
The inspection found that NHG failed to deliver outcomes to meet the RSH’s new customer standards, including:
A substantial backlog of overdue fire remediation actions
A lack of data on whether legal requirements had been met in a large number of third-party-managed buildings
A repairs backlog
A lack of up-to-date accurate data, with only around half of homes having had a survey in the last five years
The RSH acknowledged that NHG is already taking steps to address the situation but said that the scale of improvement required was “significant”.
Patrick Franco, chief executive of NHG, said: “I am pleased the regulator has noted our proactivity and cooperation throughout the inspection process, and we will work at pace with them now, as well as with residents, colleagues and other key stakeholders, to deliver our plan.”
“Today’s regulatory judgement is very disappointing for Notting Hill Genesis, but it confirms the need for us to redouble efforts in our ongoing drive to become a more resident-focused organisation.”
NHG also received a low C3 score for consumer regulation, which means that significant improvement is required to address serious failings. The RSH also awarded Southwark Council, West Northamptonshire Council and Southampton Council with C3 consumer scores.
Southwark Council failed to refer itself despite over half of its homes not having smoke alarms fitted and more than half not having electrical condition tests in the last five years. The landlord also had close to 2,000 overdue fire safety remedial actions.
Almost half of Southampton Council’s homes were found to not meet the Decent Homes Standard, while the RSH also found that it had a poor routine repairs performance as well as issues with handling complaints from tenants.
West Northamptonshire Council had referred itself to the RSH highlighting an issue with its health and safety compliance and data quality. In addition, the RSH found a lack of assurance over safety checks for fire, electrical, water, asbestos, lifts and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and that there was limited evidence of remedial work being completed in an acceptable timescale.
