Serious weaknesses in financial governance and risk management have prompted the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) to downgrade GreenSquareAccord (GSA) to G3/V3
This is the second time the housing provider has been downgraded following an inspection. In October 2025, GSA was downgraded from G1 to G2 for governance and a V2 for financial viability.
GSA was given C2 for consumers standards in October 2025; a rating that remains unchanged in this latest inspection, published yesterday, since it was not part of the investigation. RSH also cited weaknesses in the landlord’s quality of information and internal controls.
GSA, which manages around 25,500 social homes across the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire, said it was “disappointed” by the outcome, but nevertheless fully accepts the findings.
The housing provider has commissioned reviews and set up improvement programmes, but RSH found insufficient evidence that these had led to sustainable improvement.
The regulator confirmed GSA has a history of weak financial performance and of failing to meet its targets. It also has limited capacity to absorb a reasonable range of adverse scenarios.
GSA remains compliant with its lender covenants. However, RSH said continued compliance and viability depend on the delivery of significant disposals, cost reductions, and transformation programmes.
Jonathan Walters, chief executive of RSH, said: “Landlords need both strong governance and sound finances to protect tenants and homes. In this case, our investigation has found a continued failure to address previously identified weaknesses in governance.
“This is unacceptable. Our serious concerns over GSA’s governance have undermined our assurance in the organisation’s financial resilience and long-term viability.”
RSH placed GSA on its gradings under review list in May 2026 to investigate whether the landlord was meeting the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard through responsive engagement.
It has now concluded that GSA does not meet the standard. The landlord has been downgraded to G3/V3 and removed from the list.
RSH will continue to engage intensively with GSA as it implements required recovery and transformation programmes. It expects the board to consider all available options to ensure the landlord’s long-term viability. A failure to respond positively to RSH’s findings could lead to further regulatory action.
Ruth Cooke, chief executive of GSA, said: “We acknowledge [the] judgement from the Regulator of Social Housing and fully accept the findings that have been identified.
“While we are disappointed with the outcome, we recognise the areas where we need to improve and are committed to taking the necessary action. Over recent months, we have been working closely with the regulator and have already made progress in strengthening our governance, financial oversight and internal controls.
“We have a comprehensive improvement programme in place and are focused on embedding lasting change across the organisation. Our Board and Executive Team are fully committed to delivering these improvements and demonstrating sustained progress over time.
“We will continue to work closely with the regulator as we deliver our improvement programme and the ambitions set out in our Simpler, Stronger, Better strategy. Throughout this work, we remain focused on providing safe, quality homes and services for our customers.”
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