Decision

Regulatory Notice: Beyond Housing Limited (28 September 2022)

Updated 27 March 2024

Applies to England

RSH Regulatory Notice

• Provider: Beyond Housing Limited
• Regulatory code: LH4401
• Publication date: 28 September 2022
• Reason for publication: Economic Standards
• Regulatory route: Reactive Engagement

Other providers included in the judgement

None

Regulatory Finding

The regulator has concluded that:

a) Beyond Housing Limited (Beyond) is not compliant with the Rent Standard and prior to the re-introduction of the Rent Standard, between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2020, Beyond was not compliant with the legislative requirements of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 (the Act).

b) Since 2010 Beyond charged inaccurate rents as a result of incorrectly classifying units of general needs accommodation as intermediate rent.

c) The error in classification originated in Coast & Country Housing Limited which merged with Yorkshire Coast Homes Limited to form Beyond in 2018. It relates to 486 properties funded with grant through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) purchase and repair / lease programme. In accordance with HCA guidance the properties should have been Affordable Rent lettings.

d) At least £2m has been overcharged by Beyond in respect of these issues.

The Regulator’s Findings

We have concluded that Beyond has not complied with the Rent Standard 2020 or the legislative requirements of the Act in respect of 486 properties which should have been treated in line with the requirements for Affordable Rent tenancies. The total amount of overcharging is £2.89m.

In March 2022, following the identification of the issue, Beyond self-referred the matter to the regulator. An external review has been carried out including specialist and legal advice. The review identified that the properties were misclassified prior to their first let and that this error was not subsequently identified and corrected. Work is ongoing to fully understand the impact on current and former tenants, including evictions that took place during this period.

Failing to ensure that rents and service charges are correctly set is a serious matter, resulting in undue financial strain on both tenants and the public purse.

Once the issues were uncovered by Beyond, it promptly reported the matter to the regulator and developed a wide-ranging action plan. The key actions include:

• establishing the level of overcharging for each affected tenant including former tenants and the estates of deceased tenants;
• commencing a programme of reimbursements to tenants, local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions, as appropriate;
• resetting the rents in question to the correct levels and improving audit and validation of rent setting and annual rent charges; and
• ensuring arrangements are in place to gain assurance on rents across all of its homes.

About the provider

Beyond is an exempt charity and community benefit society which owns and manages over 14,000 homes. Beyond operates across Teeside and North Yorkshire. The majority of its homes are for general needs but it also provides homes for older people, shared ownership and minor amounts of supported and market rent accommodation.

About our Regulatory Notices

Regulatory notices are issued in response to an event of regulatory importance (for example, a finding of a breach of the Rent Standard or of a consumer standard that has or may cause serious harm) that, in accordance with its obligation to be transparent, the regulator wishes to make public. More detail about Regulatory notices is set out in Regulating the Standards.