The Regulator of Social Housing has judged ForHousing as non-compliant following a breach of the economic standards.
The regulator has downgraded ForHousing’s governance rating to G3, with the provider previously holding a compliant G2 status.
ForHousing retains its V1 viability rating.
The regulator previously identified issues with ForHousing’s internal controls, decision making, and organisational structure.
ForHousing agreed to address these issues, but the regulator has since concluded that the provider has not delivered the expected improvements.
The regulator concluded that insufficient oversight in ForHousing’s governance arrangements, as well as a lack of accountability in the group structure, have allowed a number of potential and ongoing financial, reputational, and organisational risks to “crystallise”.
This includes the agreement of executive contracts, incentive schemes, and severance arrangements that were not aligned with the provider’s codes of governance, or the standards the regulator expects from registered providers.
In response to the regulator’s investigation, the regulator says ForHousing has started to strengthen its independence within the group by introducing new governance arrangements and making new board appointments.
Harold Brown, the regulator’s senior assistant director for Investigations and Enforcement, said: “Our investigation has found issues with the way ForHousing is run, including a lack of independence in its decision-making and a lack of accountability in the group structure.
“ForHousing has started to improve its governance arrangements and we will continue to monitor the provider as it works to return to compliance.”
ForHousing response
Commenting on the judgment, Paul Kennedy, chair of the ForHousing board said: “We fully accept and understand the outcome of the regulatory assessment, which has concluded that the group structure and legacy decisions have impacted on some outcomes for ForHousing.
“The current board and executive team remain committed to work with the regulator to learn from the judgement and continue to make improvements, building on positive changes that have already been made.
“The regulator’s assessment of ForHousing’s compliance with financial viability remains at V1. We are financially secure and able to deliver our business plan.
“The change in our governance rating does not impact on our ability to provide quality services.
“We will continue to work in partnership to positively impact the lives of social housing tenants.”
Image: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
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