Regulator publishes an overview of its plans to engage with social landlords

Risk assessment May 2017The Scottish Housing Regulator has published an overview of its engagement plans during 2017/18 following an annual assessment of the risks facing all social landlords.

The report provides a full list of the landlords the Regulator will engage with this year and also sets out its reasons for engagement.

This year, the Regulator will engage with 56 registered social landlords (RSLs). It will have high engagement with seven of these RSLs and medium engagement with 49.

It will have high engagement with Wheatley Group because it is the biggest RSL it regulates and the biggest developer of new affordable homes.

The Regulator has also used its statutory intervention powers in Antonine, Arklet, Ferguslie Park, Molendinar Park, Wellhouse and Wishaw & District housing associations – though the intervention in Wellhouse ended in November 2016.

It will also engage with 20 local authorities, having a higher level of scrutiny for four of these and monitoring the performance of 16.

The Regulator will have a more intensive engagement with Glasgow City Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council to obtain assurance about the action they are taking to improve their homelessness services and outcomes for homeless people. And it will engage with Highland Council and Shetland Islands Council to help understand aspects of the quality of their housing services for tenants as reported in their Annual Return on the Charter (ARC).

Helen Shaw, assistant director (finance and risk), said: “This year, we’re engaging with more landlords to seek assurance about financial health and governance. Landlords are working in increasingly complex businesses working in a range of challenges, particularly around development. Many landlords are increasing their development plans or getting back into development for the first time in a long, while.

“We’re engaging with more RSLs to get assurance about how this increased risk is being managed and to seek assurance that RSLs are well governed and that governing bodies have oversight of their business plans to ensure that they are managing the risks they face.

“How local authorities deliver for people who are or may become homeless continues to be a priority for us and is the main reason for our engagement with local authorities.”

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