Soha Housing, the 7,500 home social landlord based in Didcot, has received an emphatic ‘thumbs up’ from the Regulator of Social Housing.
Assessors visited the company in January and February to scrutinise it at a planned In-Depth Assessment. This is a check which typically takes place with about six weeks’ notice every three or four years.
The Regulatory Judgement, as the Government’s official view of a social housing provider is known, meant retention of Soha’s status as a G1 (the best governance rating) and V1 (the best rating for financial viability) housing association.
Kate Wareing, Chief Executive of Soha said, “Soha is proud to be local and community-owned. We are a not-profit organisation owned by our residents and reinvesting all our surpluses in building new homes in our communities and providing support. This is an especially important element of our work at the moment when so many of us are facing financial challenges.
“This judgement is reassuring, particularly in the current more challenging economic context, as it provides vital independent endorsement to residents that we’re well-run.
“For lenders, this demonstration that we’re financially stable and well run allows us to continue to build good quality, affordable new homes for those in housing need. We are also investing hugely in upgrading our least energy-efficient homes to make them more comfortable with cheaper energy bills. In a climate of rapidly rising private sector rents, Soha has managed to keep its rent increases for both tenants and shared owners for the coming year to 5%, below the rate at which most other housing associations nationally have had to raise their rents.”
The government’s list of regulatory judgements on all social housing providers is here: Regulatory judgements and regulatory notices: A to Z list of providers – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)