Decision

Ravenscroft Re-Build Co-operative Limited (C3826) - Regulatory Judgement: 15 January 2025

Updated 15 January 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Ravenscroft Re-Build Co-operative Limited (Ravenscroft) following responsive engagement and an investigation into potentially serious governance and financial viability failings. As a result of our investigation, we have concluded that Ravenscroft is not delivering the required outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

As Ravenscroft owns fewer than 1,000 social homes, it is a small landlord. We do not issue grades to small landlords and only publish or update regulatory judgements where we consider there to be serious weaknesses or failings in a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.

Summary of the decision

It is our judgement, from the evidence gained during the investigation, that Ravenscroft does not have effective governance arrangements and has failed to manage its resources effectively. It faces significant liquidity issues, putting social homes at risk. Further, Ravenscroft has failed to have a robust risk and internal control framework in place, leaving it exposed to fraud and potential material loss of public funds. There is also a lack of assurance that Ravenscroft has effective governance and/or financial capacity to ensure that it is meeting all legal requirements that relate to the health and safety of tenants in their homes.

How we reached our judgement

Our regulatory judgement is based on all the relevant information we obtained during the investigation and responsive engagement.

Summary of findings 

Landlords are expected to operate effective governance arrangements that deliver their aims, objectives and intended outcomes for tenants and are expected to be accountable to tenants, the regulator and relevant stakeholders. Landlords are also expected to manage their affairs with an appropriate degree of skill, prudence and foresight, and operate with an appropriate and robust risk and control framework.

Ravenscroft has not demonstrated effective governance in accordance with its registered Association Rules, which state that the co-operative is run by and on behalf of its members (defined as tenants or prospective tenants). A lack of oversight by a properly functioning Committee of Management made up of elected members in accordance with its Association Rules has resulted in a fundamental failure of governance. Annual statutory accounts are overdue, financial records have not been maintained appropriately, and we lack assurance that members have been kept informed of its financial position. There is evidence suggesting material sums of money are unaccounted for and that Ravenscroft is potentially at risk of insolvency.

Landlords are also expected to manage their resources effectively to ensure their viability is maintained and that social housing assets are not put at undue risk. Ravenscroft’s financial position is acute, and it is unable to meet its financial obligations, including those under its lender agreements, as and when they fall due, without the support of third parties. There is also evidence that raises probity concerns which, combined with an ineffective risk control framework, have left Ravenscroft exposed to potential fraud.

We lack assurance that Ravenscroft has systems and resources in place to ensure accurate and regular reporting to demonstrate compliance with its landlord health and safety requirements. In the circumstances where Ravenscroft is in serious financial difficulty, we further lack assurance that it has the ability to deliver services, meet repairs costs and otherwise meet obligations to ensure tenant safety.

Our focus has been to work with Ravenscroft to ensure the social housing assets and tenants remain in the sector and insolvency is averted. Ravenscroft has held discussions with a larger local landlord over a proposal to achieve this. While Ravenscroft’s current preference is to remain independent, this may not be possible in the circumstances and further regulatory interventions are being kept under review.     

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Ravenscroft was established in 1987 and has been a registered landlord since 1988.

Ravenscroft owns 26 social housing homes in the Kirkby area of Liverpool and is classed by us as a small landlord.

Ravenscroft does not have any employees.

Our role and regulatory approach

We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants.

We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations).

We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment.

We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page.

We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our new inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes.

The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.

For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the standards.

Further information

• Regulating the standards

• Regulatory standards for landlords