RSH takes enforcement action against Auckland Home Solutions CIC
The regulator has served an enforcement notice for Auckland Home Solutions CIC (Auckland) and made three statutory appointments to its board.
The Regulator of Social Housing has published an enforcement notice for Auckland Home Solutions CIC (Auckland) and made three statutory appointments to its board.
Auckland, a lease-based provider of specialised supported housing, has failed to assure the regulator that it is managing its affairs appropriately, with the necessary skills and expertise. As a result the regulator has appointed three new board members to improve Auckland’s capacity and capability, and to help address its failures.
The new appointments are:
- Paul Fiddaman (Chief Executive, Karbon Homes)
- Heather Ashton (Executive Director of Business Change and Improvement, Thirteen Group)
- Steve Hallowell (Director of Treasury and Investor Relations, Home Group)
The regulator is also using its powers to make Auckland commission an independent review and develop a clear action plan and timetable to return to compliance with the regulatory standards. This must include measures to improve board effectiveness, business planning, and management of risks to ensure the provider’s long-term viability. Auckland is also required to engage with the regulator before acquiring any new homes.
The regulator concluded in August 2021 that Auckland had breached the governance and financial viability standard and did not meet the rent standard. Since then the regulator has engaged intensively with Auckland to address its persistent non-compliance, but it has been unable or unwilling to do so.
The regulator continues to lack assurance that Auckland has effective governance arrangements in place, an appropriate business planning, risk and control framework, or that it is complying with the rent standard. Auckland has also not demonstrated that it is appropriately managing actual or potential conflicts of interest. In addition, Auckland has failed to submit its statutory accounts to the regulator and they are now more than six months overdue. As a result, the regulator is now taking statutory action.
Harold Brown, Senior Assistant Director for Investigation and Enforcement, said:
Auckland has breached our standards across a range of areas, and we have serious concerns about its governance, business planning, and approach to setting rents. Auckland has persistently failed to address these issues, so we are now taking enforcement action to make it improve.
This sends a message to social landlords that, when they cannot or will not return to compliance with our standards, we will use our powers if necessary to make them put things right.
Notes to editors
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Auckland is small lease-based provider of specialised supported housing. It has fewer than 1,000 homes, and therefore it does not have governance or financial viability grades. When a small provider breaches the regulator’s standards, the regulator publishes a regulatory notice. RSH published a regulatory notice for Auckland on 13 August 2021 following a breach of the economic standards.
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Auckland is a community interest company (company number 07345564) and a subsidiary of The Social Housing Family CIC.
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The regulator has set out its concerns about the long-term viability of the lease-based model, in its April 2019 addendum to the sector risk profile.
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A registered provider is responsible for ensuring that it manages itself effectively, achieves the standards set by the regulator, and engages positively with the regulator’s regulatory framework. Where a failure against a standard or other problem has been identified, the regulator expects providers to respond in a prompt and effective manner. It may be necessary for the regulator to step in and exercise its powers under S219 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (the Act) when a provider fails to do so.
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Sections 219 to 225 of the Act allow the regulator to require a registered provider to take specified action to resolve a specified failure or other problem.
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RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver and maintain homes of appropriate quality 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.
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For press office contact details, see our Media enquiries page. For general queries, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.