Regulator launches probe into Anchor’s governance as safety failings found

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has opened an investigation into whether Anchor has breached the governance and financial viability standard after finding several failures relating to safety.

The RSH has placed the later living specialist on its ‘gradings under review’ list meaning the giant later living and care specialist is potentially non-compliant. The RSH does not initially give the reasons why associations are placed on the review list but said it relates to governance.

It also today awarded Anchor a low ‘C3’ grading for consumer regulation, meaning it has serious failings and must improve.

The 54,000-home provider, which self-referred to the regulator, was found to have a third of its homes without a “current satisfactory” electrical safety inspection report.

Anchor was also found to have a significant backlog of electrical remediation actions and weaknesses across landlord health and safety, including fire safety and water hygiene. It had incomplete and unreliable information on damp and mould.

RSH said: “We do not have assurance that actions required from health and safety assessments are carried out within appropriate timescales.

“There is insufficient evidence in the design and delivery of landlord services of an effective approach to identifying the risks to tenants’ safety through assessments and then eliminating or mitigating against those risks.

In response, an Anchor spokesperson said one if its contractors was found to be failing to carry out electrical safety inspection reports to specification.

The landlord outlined several measures it has taken to improve, including strengthening management, bringing in new contractors to tackle the electrical report backlog with a view to clearing it by the end of 2025, instigating weekly meetings of senior managers to monitor progress and issuing a procurement notice to widen its number of electrical safety contractors.

Anchor said it is also overhauling its damp, mould and condensation procedures and its new repairs platform, with technology platform Plentific, will launch on 30 April.

Christopher Kemball, chair of Anchor “Our board and management take these failings very seriously. We have appointed a specially constituted committee of the Board to oversee the implementation of our remediation plans.

“These issues are also prioritised at all Audit & Risk committee and Board meetings, and the Board receives weekly updates on progress from the executive.”

In other regulatory judgements published today, Wandsworth Council in London and Central Bedfordshire Council both received ‘C3’ consumer gradings.

Wandsworth Council was found during an inspection to have not carried out an electrical safety test on around 40% of its homes and 80% of communal areas. It had surveyed only 6.5% of its 17,000 homes in the last 10 years. A spokesperson for Wandsworth Council said it is taking “swift and decisive” action to make improvements, including doing a full stock condition survey and increasing the number of electrical safety tests carried out.

Central Bedfordshire Council was found to have more than 1,800 overdue repairs orders and more than 300 outstanding fire safety actions. RSH also found a lack of monitoring of damp and mould cases and limited opportunities for tenants to scrutinise the landlord’s performance.

RSH said both councils are working constructively with it to rectify the failures.

ForHousing has been ungraded from ‘G3’ to a complaint ‘G2’ after restructuring its organisation to remove an unregistered parent and strengthening its control frameworks.

>>See also: ‘One in five of us is over 65. In 10 years, it’s going to be one in four’… Anchor CEO Sarah Jones on why affordable later living housing matters

>>See also: Why are councils getting low consumer regulation gradings?

West Lancashire Borough Council and Westminster Council both received the top ‘C1’ gradings.

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at RSH, said: “As we approach the end of the first year of our programmed inspections, we are continuing to see a broad spectrum of gradings - though it is still too early to draw concrete trends.   

 “While our engagement is the most intensive with landlords that fail to meet the outcomes of our standards, even landlords that receive a C1 grading have room for improvement.”

Full list of today’s judgements below.

 *indicates grading under review