Social housing providers need to have good governance to provide better quality homes says RSH report

A new annual review of regulatory casework which includes over 100 regulatory judgements from inspections has been published (9 September 2025) by The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

The report covers the year since its new inspection programme began on 1 April 2024 following the inspection of over 1,000 homes.

The report highlights a number of issues of governance, financial viability and the consumer regulation of social housing. It is hoped that publishing this data will provide important insights for social landlords, to help them to increase the supply of better-quality homes for tenants.

For landlords (including councils, housing associations and for-profit providers) there are a number of important points which they now must implement which includes: 

• Having strong governance and managing risks effectively. This includes keeping ‘robust’ data on the safety and quality of tenants’ homes and other key issues. 
• Managing financial visibility so they can prioritise efficiency and value for money, maximising resources to invest in current and future homes. 

RSH’s economic standards only apply to local authorities in relation to the rent standard, but it does highlight much wider lessons from the regulation of governance which they can use to improve outcomes for tenants. 

This report will be useful to all registered providers of social housing, who have a number of areas where they need to stay compliant, by providing real-life case studies and learning from the experiences of others in the sector. 

Social housing providers play a vital role in all of our communities but it’s financially very challenging for them at the moment. Across the board, social housing providers are all facing higher costs, coupled with greater regulation and compliance. This is against a back drop of needing to factor in improving environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and demonstrating value for money.

Greater access to up-to-date information will help providers to improve decision making within their organisation. This can be tricky for many social housing providers to balance, and we are happy to work with them to help their teams keep on top of their responsibilities and also help stress test scenarios for the future.

The future for many social housing providers may include exploring joint ventures, partnering structures or mergers. Whatever the strategic direction, ensuring regulatory compliance and understanding the potential of tax efficient trading and development will be a key part of their success. 

Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can help your organisation navigate the challenges ahead with confidence.