Sovereign Housing Association is one of the top 10 largest housing associations in the country and a mainprovider of affordable housing across the south and south-west of England. It currently owns and managesalmost 60,000 homes, working with a large number of local authorities and other partners.
RSH Narrative Regulatory Judgement
Provider: Sovereign Housing Association Limited
Regulatory code: 4837
Publication date: 15 November 2022
Governance grade: G2
Viability grade: V2
Reason for publication: Viability regrade
Regulatory route: Stability Check and Reactive Engagement
Regulatory judgement
This regulatory judgement regrades our previous assessment of Sovereign Housing Association Limited’s viability from V1 to V2 and confirms its existing G2 grade.
The regulator continues to have assurance that Sovereign Housing Association Limited (Sovereign) complies with the financial viability element of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and that its financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Sovereign has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.
Sovereign is increasing investment in its existing homes and undertaking a business transformation programme, which is intended to achieve future operational and financial efficiencies. These additional costs, together with higher inflation and interest rate pressures in the current economic environment, weaken Sovereign’s interest cover position, increase the materiality of its exposure to sales risk and reduce overall capacity to respond to adverse events
The regulator’s assessment of Sovereign’s compliance with the governance element of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard is unchanged. In our previous regulatory judgement for Sovereign, published in June 2022, we concluded that it needed to improve the effectiveness of its oversight of landlord health and safety by strengthening its governance and compliance framework to ensure that it is based on robust and reliable data. Sovereign is also committed to undertake work to ensure that it understands how its overall internal controls and assurance framework failed to manage this strategic risk over a number of years and to apply learning to strengthen its wider internal controls and assurance framework.
Sovereign has developed a governance improvement plan that it continues to progress.
Other providers included in the judgement
Sovereign Living Limited
About the provider
Origins
Sovereign is a charitable community benefit society and was formed over 30 years ago to receive the transfer of homes from West Berkshire District Council. It has subsequently grown through mergers and development. The most recent merger was with Spectrum Housing Group Limited in November 2016.
Registered Entities
The group has one registered subsidiary, Sovereign Living Limited, which is a non-charitable community benefit society. The schemes developed through Sovereign Living are limited to the delivery of affordable home ownership on behalf of the parent. Its turnover was £15.8m for 2021-22.
Unregistered Entities
Sovereign has 13 wholly owned subsidiaries (four of which are dormant) and eight Joint Ventures (JVs). The subsidiary activities are not material to the group. JV activity is routed through the Sovereign Housing Partnerships Limited subsidiary, which is a member of seven 50/50 JVs. Three JVs are currently active.
Geographic Spread and Scale
Sovereign has 60,000 homes and operates across the South of England.
Staffing and Turnover
In 2021-22, Sovereign employed 2,014 full-time equivalent staff and generated a turnover of £422m.
Development
Sovereign aims to increase its planned annual development from 1,400 new homes in 2023 up to 2,400 new homes by 2028.
Housing Ombudsman
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202016624)
The complaint concerns the landlord’s decision to decline the resident’s applications to purchase the property under the Preserved Right to Buy (PRTB) and Right to Acquire (RTA) schemes.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202014664)
This complaint is about: The level and reasonableness of the resident’s service charges. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns regarding: Roof repairs. External painting of the block. The standard of the grounds maintenance service. Car parking.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (201910574)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of: Mould and damp at the property. Issues with the heating and hot water at the property and its efficiency. Tree maintenance and the provision of a survey report. The landlord’s complaint handling.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (201907579)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about: Flooding and water ingress at the property. The cooker at the property. The electrics at the property. The permanence of her occupation at the property. Water ingress at her previous property. Complaints handling.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202004908)
The complaint is about the landlord’s: Response to the resident’s request for cooling equipment in his bathroom. Handling of matters after its final complaint response on 25 August 2020.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202005862)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s: reports about repair works required at her property; reports about the landlord’s employee’s behaviour; reports about antisocial behaviour (ASB) from her neighbour; request to be transferred to an alternative property.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202010817)
The complaint is about: The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of an erection of a gate and her reports of noise nuisance in relation to a neighbour’s dogs. The landlord’s complaint handling.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202007515)
The complaint is about the landlord’s: Handling of the resident’s request for the data it held about him. Response to the resident’s concerns about the heating system in his home. Response to the resident’s concerns about the conduct of the operatives visiting his property.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202007083)
The complaint concerns: How the landlord handled repairs to the resident’s property following his reports of damp and mould. How the landlord handled the resident’s request to be rehoused. The handling of the formal complaint.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202120855)
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about antisocial behaviour by a neighbour, in relation to the neighbour’s dog and fence.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (201913564)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s: concerns about the gradient of his garden and the need for it to be levelled; request for a reimbursement of flooring costs;
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202011600)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of a flea infestation inside her property and in the surrounding communal areas.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (201914045)
The leaseholder (shared owner) has complained that the landlord took too long to respond to two queries during the sale of their home.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202115743)
The complaint concerns the resident’s belief that their former property was unsafe.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202115437)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of a broken window within the property during its defect period.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202016492)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident's concerns regarding storage of his bicycles in communal areas of his building.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202005006)
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of an anti-social behaviour report made against the resident.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202001875)
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reports of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202012693)
The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for closing vents to be fitted to a double door in the living room of their property.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202003404)
The complaints are about:
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202005644)
The complaint concerns the information about the property provided by the landlord, prior to the residents starting their shared ownership lease.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (202106885)
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of soundproofing to the resident’s home.
Sovereign Housing Association Limited (201914495)
This complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s anti-social behaviour reports.