Four landlords receive C1 grade as two upgraded to compliant

The RSH also found that around half of the council’s communal areas and a quarter of its homes do not have a current satisfactory electrical condition report.

However, it said the council has since improved its understanding of the condition of its homes and its oversight and delivery of repairs and maintenance services.

According to the judgement, Nottingham has surveyed 85% of its homes in the past five years.

The local authority has also improved the delivery and monitoring of outcomes from tenant engagement, insight and scrutiny activity. 

During the 2025 inspection, the regulator found problems with the council’s approach to capped gas supplies where it could not gain access, and in its monitoring of carbon monoxide and smoke detections.

However, the council has since adopted an “improved person-centred” approach to managing enforcement cases arising from health and safety checks.

The regulator said the council still has some weaknesses and it will continue to work with it on tenant engagement, adaptations, and repairs and maintenances services as they are improved.

Jay Hayes, Nottingham’s executive member for housing and planning, said the council is “really pleased” that the regulator has recognised its progress in improving services.

He said: “This upgrade is an important step forward and reflects both the hard work of our staff and the valuable input of residents.  

“We know there is still more to do, and we are absolutely committed to continuing this momentum. Our focus is on delivering consistently high-quality, responsive services that our residents can rely on, and making sure tenants are at the heart of everything we do.”

East End Homes dropped from a top governance grade in 2023 to non-compliant after the regulator found it did “not have adequate governance, risk management or control frameworks in place”. 

Since then, the 3,700-home landlord has completed a programme of governance improvements, including a skills-based board recruitment and a review of board and committee responsibilities and delegations. 

“There is now also a structured approach in place to develop and appraise the skills, experience and knowledge of board members to support succession planning,” according to the judgement. 

However, the RSH found that while business planning and stress-testing has improved, East End Homes “needs to demonstrate that its revised approach is fully embedded within its wider risk and control framework”.

The landlord retained its V2 viability grade.

Gloucestershire-based Two Rivers, London-based CCHA and Merseyside-based Prima retained G1 governance and V1 viability grades.

John Ghader, chief executive at Prima, said: “Being awarded C1 the first time we have been inspected is exceptional and [is testament] to the commitment of our staff, who put tenants are the forefront of everything they do.

“We have a longstanding, embedded culture of providing a really personal approach, so we get to know tenants and their homes in detail, then act on what they tell us.

“An example is customers saying home quality and maintenance matters most to them and that they want us to be locally based, which is why we brought this in house, so we have complete control and can deliver the best level of service.

“While this is a moment to reflect and celebrate, we have a clear yet highly ambitious plan in place to do even more, and will continue investing in our people, tenants, homes and communities.”

Livv, based in Merseyside, had a G2 downgrade and V2 regrade.

It comes after Livv self-referred to the regulator about errors in reporting against one of its covenants. The RSH said it needs to improve its governance arrangements, in particular aspects of its internal control and assurance framework. 

Livv said: “Achieving a C1 consumer grading is a significant milestone for us, recognising the quality of our homes and services, improvements in repairs, and the way we use customer insight to shape what we do.

“Our V2 grading reflects the financial pressures we are managing, including continued investment in existing homes and new development.

“Our G2 governance grading follows a proactive self-referral and reflects our commitment to transparency and improvement. We already have a clear plan in place to strengthen governance and treasury-related controls, and we’ll continue to work closely with the regulator as we deliver this.”

Alongside these judgements, three more landlords received a C2 on their first grading – Advance Housing and Support, the Cambridge Housing Society and Wandle Housing Association.

Advance had a V2 regrade and retained its G1 governance grade, Cambridge Housing stayed at G1/V1, and Wandle retained its G1/V2 grades.

Kate Dodsworth, deputy chief executive of RSH, said: “It’s encouraging when we see landlords getting things right from the outset or demonstrating to us that they are clearly heading in the right direction.

“It shows they are understanding what’s expected of them – listening to tenants, treating them with fairness and respect, and using feedback to improve services, all underpinned by strong governance and financial resilience.”

The RSH also removed a regulatory notice for Ravenscroft Re-Build Co-operative, as the landlord has “taken corrective action” to address its issues and is “able to demonstrate it is delivering the outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard”. 

Ravenscroft does not have any grades as it has fewer than 1,000 homes.