South Lakes Housing

No. Homes 3,241

CEO Cath Purdy

Website www.southlakeshousing.co.uk

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South Lakes Housing is a nonprofit organization management company based out of Bridge Mills, Kendal,Cumbria, United Kingdom.

RSH Narrative Regulatory Judgement

  • Provider: South Lakes Housing

  • Regulatory code: 4686

  • Publication date: 15 November 2022

  • Governance grade: G1

  • Viability grade: V2

  • Reason for publication: Viability regrade

  • Regulatory route: Stability Check and Reactive Engagement

Regulatory judgement

This regulatory judgement regrades South Lakes Housing’s financial viability from V1 to V2 and confirms its existing G1 grade for governance.

The regulator has assurance that South Lakes Housing (SLH) continues to comply with the financial viability elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. SLH has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security in place and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants under a reasonable range of scenarios.

SLH is investing significantly in its existing homes, including an accelerated programme to improve energy efficiency. This investment reduces interest cover and, coupled with the economic uncertainty in relation to inflation and interest rates, means that SLH has reduced capacity to respond to adverse events.

The regulator’s assessment of SLH’s compliance with the governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard remains unchanged. On the basis of the Stability Check, the regulator has concluded that there is no evidence to indicate a change to SLH’s current governance grading.

Other providers included in the judgement

None

About the provider

Origins

SLH was established following a stock transfer in 2012 and is a charitable not-for-profit community benefit society. SLH focuses on providing affordable housing in and around the South Cumbria area.

Registered Entities

SLH is the only registered entity.

Unregistered Entities

Cumbria Housing and Property Services is SLH’s only subsidiary and provides repairs and maintenance services.

Geographic Spread and Scale

SLH owns and manages around 3,180 units in the South Lakeland district. The majority of units are general needs housing.

Staffing and Turnover

For the year ended 31 March 2022, the group reported a turnover of £20m and employed 116 full-time equivalent staff.

Development

SLH has a target of delivering around 400 new homes between 2022 and 2025. This mainly comprises general needs, affordable rent and shared ownership units.

Housing Ombudsman