Decision

NSAH (Alliance Homes) Limited (L4459) - Regulatory Judgement: 18 December 2024

Updated 18 December 2024

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Current grade	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer		Not assessed yet
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and Unchanged	December 2024
Viability	V2 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.	Regrade	December 2024

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for NSAH (Alliance Homes) Limited (NSAH) following a stability check and responsive engagement.

This regulatory judgement confirms a governance grading of G1 and a financial viability regrading to V2.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for NSAH were last updated in November 2023 following a stability check review to confirm grades of G1 and V1.

Summary of the decision

Our judgement is that NSAH meets our governance requirements. From the stability check review, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grading is required. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for NSAH.

Our judgement is that NSAH meets our financial viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. NSAH’s financial profile reflects the investment it is making in existing tenants’ homes and the development of new homes, meaning that it needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V2 regrade for NSAH.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out a stability check review to assess whether there are any material risks that may result in a change to NSAH’s financial viability or governance gradings, as part of our annual stability check programme. We also carried out responsive engagement that focused on NSAH’s viability grading. The stability check review and responsive engagement were completed in December 2024.

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 NSAH in its regulatory returns and other regulatory activity. This includes financial plans and financial statements and other regulatory returns.

In assessing the landlord’s governance grade as part of the stability check, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in the landlord’s regulatory returns did not appear inconsistent with the landlord’s existing published governance grade.

We have not yet assessed this landlord against the consumer standards.

Governance – G1 – December 2024

From the stability check review, there is no evidence to indicate a change in governance grading is required.

Viability – V2 – December 2024

Based on evidence gained from the stability check review and responsive engagement, we have assurance that NSAH meets the financial viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and that its financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. NSAH has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.

NSAH is increasing investment in its existing homes which is weakening its interest cover. NSAH’s development programme includes homes for shared ownership sale, exposing it to housing market risks. It also has a reliance on other sources of non-social housing income to support the social housing business. These factors, set in the context of economic pressures including inflation and interest rates, impact on NSAH’s capacity to respond to adverse events.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

NSAH is a community benefit society focused on the delivery of core landlord services and shared ownership homes.

NSAH is the only RSH registered entity in the group. It has five unregistered subsidiaries:

• Alliance Homes Partnerships Limited provides maintenance and repairs services to the Group,

• Alliance Homes (Ventures) Limited generates electricity via photovoltaic panels,

• Alliance Living Care Ltd (non-trading entity),

• Alliance Homes Sales Limited (dormant entity), and

• Alliance Homes Design and Build Company Limited (dormant entity).

According to the 2024 statistical data return, the group owns 7,026 homes across Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and Bristol. NSAH reported a turnover of £55m for the year ended 31 March 2024 and employs the full-time equivalent of 358 staff. NSAH plans to develop around 900 homes between 2025 and 2030.

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