28 May 2025
Summary: Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) awards MTVH first consumer standards grade
We are today responding to the publication of a regulatory judgement by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) awarding MTVH an unchanged financial viability grade of V2, a first consumer grade of C2 and a governance grade of G2.
The RSH’s judgement follows its latest planned inspection of our organisation, including a review of our compliance with the new Consumer Standards for the first time. This inspection included the RSH speaking with our residents and we are grateful to them for being giving of their time to provide feedback. All the feedback we receive from our residents helps to shape the services that we provide.
We welcome the feedback and recommendations from the RSH, and we are already using these insights to inform our existing work to continuously improve how we serve our residents.
Under the Consumer Standards the RSH assessed our performance against the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.
The RSH confirmed that we understand the condition of our homes and that this informs the provision of good quality, well maintained and safe homes for residents. In addition, our residents have meaningful opportunities to influence our strategies, policies, and decision making, and we make changes to services as a result.
We are also judged to be delivering on the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, including through our partnership working with other organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents and promote wellbeing.
In those areas of the Consumer Standards identified for improvement we are already taking action. Programmes are underway to accelerate the completion of non-urgent repairs and remedial actions and reduce the number of complaints requiring an extension before resolution.
The RSH commented that we have a skilled and independent board, providing effective scrutiny and challenge to the executive team and our governance arrangements were judged to be effective in delivering our strategic objectives, social purpose and value for money. We have already taken action to deliver greater board oversight of the safety and quality consumer standard, and to fine-tune our financial stress testing in response to the RSH’s comments.
Our financial viability remains at V2, and the regulator confirmed we have the reporting and oversight mechanisms in place to manage the risks related to our operating model.
Althea Efunshile, Chair of MTVH, commented: “I’m pleased that these grades confirm MTVH is compliant against all the regulator’s standards. The judgement also indicates areas where we can improve, and we are already using these insights to enhance how we look after our residents and their homes.
We are committed to improving our performance across all of the standards and are reflecting the RSH’s feedback into our existing plans for continuous improvement. For example, an external Governance Review already planned for 2025 will now take into account the regulator’s comments on board reporting and financial stress testing.
The regulatory regime has been significantly strengthened with the introduction of the Consumer Standards. We welcome this comprehensive co-regulatory approach and look forward to working collaboratively with the RSH to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents.”
Mel Barrett, Chief Executive of MTVH said: “When I joined MTVH in September 2024 I was clear that listening to our residents and reflecting their views in every decision we take would be at the heart of my leadership approach. This has already resulted in the creation and implementation of a new Customer Experience action plan.
The RSH’s gradings provide a clear benchmark to measure our progress against in the years ahead and its detailed and constructive inspection provides valuable insights as we work to serve our residents better every day.
To maintain our existing homes, look after our residents, and build the new homes the country needs requires financial resilience. We were pleased therefore to maintain our V2 grading but call on the government to provide further funding for new affordable housing to enable us to continue to balance these priorities successfully.”