Halton Housing (L4456) - Regulatory Judgement: 15 January 2025
Updated 15 January 2025
Applies to England
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Our Judgement
| Grade/Judgement | Change | Date of assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer | Not assessed yet | ||
| Governance | G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements |
Assessed and unchanged | January 2025 |
| Viability | V1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. |
Regrade | January 2025 |
Reason for publication
We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Halton Housing (Halton) following a stability check and responsive engagement completed in January 2025.
This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grading of G1 and a financial viability regrading to V1.
Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for Halton were last updated in September 2023 following an In Depth Assessment (IDA) to confirm grades of G1 and V2. IDAs were one of our previous assessment processes now replaced by our new regulatory inspections programme from 1 April 2024.
Summary of the decision
Our judgement is that Halton meets our governance requirements. From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grading is required. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for Halton.
Our judgement is that Halton meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios having strengthened its financial performance. We have therefore issued a V1 for Halton.
How we reached our judgement
We carried out a stability check to assess whether there are any material risks that may result in a change to Halton’s financial viability or governance gradings, as part of our annual stability check programme. We also carried out responsive engagement that focused on Halton’s viability grading. The stability check and responsive engagement were completed in January 2025.
Our regulatory judgement is based on all the relevant information we obtained during the stability check and responsive engagement, as well as analysis of information provided by Halton in its regulatory returns and other regulatory activity. This includes financial plans, financial statements and other regulatory returns.
In assessing Halton’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in its regulatory returns did not appear inconsistent with its existing published governance grade.
We have not yet assessed this landlord against the consumer standards.
Summary of findings
Governance – G1 – January 2025
From the stability check, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grading is required.
Viability – V1 – January 2025
Our previous narrative regulatory judgement, published in September 2023, identified that Halton had increased its planned investment in its existing homes. This level of investment had weakened Halton’s interest cover performance and limited its ability to manage adverse financial scenarios.
Based on evidence gained from the 2024 stability check and responsive engagement, we have assurance that the materiality of these risk exposures has reduced. Halton has completed an efficiency programme that has resulted in cost reductions and its plan now demonstrates increased forecast financial capacity, based on reasonable assumptions for inflation and interest rates.
Halton meets the financial viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and its financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Halton has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.
Background to the judgement
About the landlord
Halton is a charitable community benefit society that was formed in December 2005 to take the transfer of housing stock from Halton Borough Council.
Halton is the only Regulator of Social Housing registered entity in the group.
Halton has two unregistered entities. Open Solutions (OSUK) Limited, undertakes the development, ownership and operation of market rent and market sales activities. HHT Development Ltd provides design and construction services for Halton’s development programme.
According to the 2024 statistical data return Halton owns or manages 7,403 homes, with the majority located in the borough of Halton in the North West.
At 31 March 2024 Halton employed 302 full-time equivalent staff and reported a turnover of £52.2m.
Halton intends to deliver around 500 new homes between 2024 and 2031. This mainly comprises general needs affordable rent and shared ownership units.
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.