Press release

Julian Ashby stands down as Chair of Regulation Committee

The Regulator of Social Housing issued a statement about the resignation on 19 January

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

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Julian Ashby has announced today that he is standing down as Chair of the Regulation Committee with immediate effect.

Julian’s tenure at the Regulator of Social Housing was due to end in March this year and he will be taking up a new appointment as Chair of Paradigm Housing Group Limited from April 2018. Mr Ashby has chosen to stand down at this point to ensure that there is an appropriate and transparent separation between chairing the regulator and taking up his new role.

The Deputy Chair, Simon Dow, will chair the Regulation Committee whilst a longer-term appointment is completed in the next few weeks.

Mr Ashby has been Chair of the Regulation Committee since 2012 when the regulator became part of the Homes and Communities Agency. He successfully led the committee through extensive changes, including a complete revision of the regulatory framework in 2015 and the changes made following the ONS reclassification of housing associations to the public sector. He also oversaw the regulator’s successful response to the failure at Cosmopolitan, and the introduction of the system of In Depth Assessments.

Julian Ashby said

I have thoroughly enjoyed and been privileged to have had the opportunity of chairing the Regulator of Social Housing. We have ensured that the regulator has kept pace with developments in the sector, and through the introduction of requirements such as stress testing have helped the sector withstand its various challenges while continuing to build and manage the homes that the country so badly needs.

I would like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of my fellow committee members and all staff at the Regulator of Social Housing. It is through all their efforts that I feel I leave the regulator in a strong position as I move onto new challenges. I wish them all the best in the future.

Simon Dow said

Julian has provided excellent leadership of the regulator over the last six years. His experience of the social housing sector and his balance of support and challenge have proved invaluable in maintaining the effectiveness of regulation through a period of significant change.

Further information

  1. Appointments to the Regulation Committee are made on open competition, conducted by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

  2. The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.

  3. The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

For more information visit the RSH website.

Our media enquiries page has contact details for journalists.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.

Updates to this page

Published 23 January 2018