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Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C1 Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence.	Upgrade	August 2026
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Based on previous assessment	March 2026
Viability	V2 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.	Based on previous assessment	March 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for East Midland Housing Group Limited (emh group) following responsive engagement completed in August 2026.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer upgrade of C1, a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for emh group were last updated in March 2026 following a stability check to confirm grades of G1 and V2. Emh group previously had a consumer grade of C2 from an inspection completed in November 2024.

Summary of the decision

Following the programmed inspection completed in November 2024, our subsequent responsive engagement with emh group was focused on the delivery of its improvement strategy. We have concluded that emh group is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. Emh group has made the planned improvements to strengthen its arrangements for ensuring that tenants’ views are taken into account in strategic decision making about how landlord services will be delivered. There have also been improvements in its customer contact service and complaints handling, which have led to a reduction in complaint volumes. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C1 upgrade for emh group.

Our judgement is that emh group meets our governance requirements. Based on our previous assessment, emh group’s governance grade remains G1.

Our judgement is that emh group meets our financial viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. Based on our previous assessment, emh group’s viability grade remains V2.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of emh group, which completed in November 2024, to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements. During the inspection, we considered all four of the consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. The inspection identified issues relating to the outcomes of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. These weaknesses related to limited opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise emh group’s strategies, the performance of the customer contact service, and an increase in the overall number of complaints. On this basis, we concluded a consumer grade of C2 for emh group.

Following the inspection, we continued our engagement with emh group to obtain assurances that the weaknesses were being addressed in a timely manner. We undertook responsive engagement that included discussions with emh group and reviewed further evidence. The evidence demonstrated enhanced opportunities for tenants to influence strategic decision-making, improved performance in the customer contact service and a reduction in complaints. We have assurance that the weaknesses identified in the inspection have been addressed, and have concluded an upgrade to C1.

Our regulatory judgement is based on all the relevant information we obtained during the inspection, our subsequent responsive engagement, which included observing emh group’s Resident Influence Committee meeting and speaking with its tenant members, and an analysis of information supplied by emh group in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

In confirming emh group’s governance grade as part of the stability check, which concluded in March 2026, our work was limited to verifying that the information contained in emh group’s regulatory returns did not appear inconsistent with its existing published governance grade following our inspection.

Our judgement about how well emh group is delivering the viability outcomes of our Governance and Financial Viability Standard, as part of the stability check completed in March 2026, is based on a review of a range of documents provided by emh group, as well as analysis of information supplied by emh group in its regulatory returns.

Summary of findings

Consumer – C1 – August 2026

During our inspection, completed in November 2024, we gained assurance in relation to the Safety and Quality Standard. Emh group provided evidence-based assurance that it has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas. Emh group demonstrated that it has appropriate processes in place to identify and prioritise action necessary to address health and safety issues in its homes. It has obtained external assurance over the processes and information underpinning its health and safety performance monitoring and reporting.

We reviewed evidence that shows emh group has an accurate record of the condition of its homes at an individual property level through physical surveys of its homes and has a process for keeping this information up to date. Emh group uses its understanding of the condition and safety of its tenants’ homes to make decisions on future investment to maintain and improve homes.

Emh group demonstrated that it provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants. It takes action to improve the service for tenants when issues occur. We reviewed evidence that gives appropriate assurance that emh group’s approach to repairs is informed by the needs of its tenants and makes use of the tenant information it holds to tailor its services appropriately.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, we gained assurance that emh group works with relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in its neighbourhoods, and we were provided with examples of this happening in practice. We saw evidence that emh group has engaged with its tenants to review its approach for reporting anti-social behaviour and hate crime incidents. We have evidence that emh group has restructured its service model in this area, which includes an increase in resources, to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

We found weaknesses in relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, as we did not have assurance that there was a wide range of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise emh group’s strategies. Tenants did have opportunities to contribute their views on policies and services, but emh group needed to improve how tenant input was considered within the governance structure and at emh group board level.

Through our subsequent responsive engagement, we have gained assurance that emh group is taking tenants’ views into account through a number of different mechanisms. We have assurance that tenants’ views are taken into account in its strategic decision making about how services are delivered. Tenants have meaningful opportunities to contribute to decision-making at group board level, including through the Resident Influence Committee, which reports directly to the group board.

During the inspection, we found weaknesses in the performance of the customer contact service and a significant increase in the overall number of complaints. Through our subsequent engagement, emh group has provided evidence that enhancements to its customer contact service have improved performance and responsiveness, contributing to a sustained reduction in complaint volumes. It has also demonstrated how learning from complaints is informing further service improvements.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, emh group works in partnership with local authorities to ensure a consistent approach to lettings and that its homes are let in a fair and transparent way. We saw evidence that emh group understands the diverse needs of its tenants and the communities it operates in and through the tenure mix in the development of new homes. We have assurance that emh group considers tenants’ diverse needs in the design and delivery of services, and that it monitors its performance in continuing to deliver outcomes to tenants in this area.

Governance – G1 – March 2026

From our stability check completed in March 2026, there was no evidence to indicate that a change in governance grade was required.

Prior to the stability check, we issued a regulatory judgement in November 2024 following our programmed inspection of emh group. The findings of that judgement about emh group’s delivery of our governance requirements are set out below.

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection, there is assurance that emh group’s governance arrangements enable it to effectively manage its risks and adequately control the organisation, allowing it to deliver its objectives. We saw evidence that emh group’s board provides challenge on performance against the organisation’s strategic targets and consideration of risk appetite in strategic decision making.

Emh group has provided appropriate assurance that its board proactively reviews the approach to delivering against its purpose and regularly considers alternative options to ensure emh group is achieving value for money in making best use of resources.

Emh group evidenced that it has clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. There is assurance its board and committees work in line with its delegations, and that they consider emh group’s risk management and control framework. There is evidence of discussion and board challenge of the controls and assurance on strategic risks including a focus on those that relate to safety and other risks to tenants.

The most recent external review of emh group’s governance took place in May 2024. Board member skills, experience and knowledge are aligned with the activities of the organisation and there is a structured approach to developing and appraising skills to support succession planning. We have seen evidence of this through group board observation, meetings with non-executive directors and the executive team as well as reviewing relevant documents including meeting minutes.

Emh group’s board seeks and gains an appropriate level of evidence-based assurance across a range of areas. There is evidence of how this assurance has been used to make improvements to its approach to service delivery, and to mitigate against risks.

Emh group’s board’s ownership of stress testing, mitigation strategies and wider governance over risks through regular and structured review of golden rules is evident. Reporting to emh group’s board provides sufficient detail for the board to ensure effective oversight.

Viability – V2 – March 2026

Based on evidence gained from the stability check, we have assurance that emh group meets the viability requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

There is appropriate assurance that emh group’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Emh group has an adequately funded financial plan, sufficient security in place to support its plans, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.

Emh group continues to meet our viability requirements and has financial capacity to deal with a range of adverse scenarios. However, in the short-term, emh group has plans for significant investment in its current homes which reduces its capacity. In addition, emh group anticipates generating surpluses from the sale of existing homes. While emh group is not reliant on sales, it represents an uncertain cashflow for the organisation which needs to be managed. We have assurance that emh group has reporting and oversight in place to manage the risks of its disposal programme.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

According to the 2026 statistical data return emh group owns 19,389 social homes in the East Midlands region.

Our role and regulatory approach

We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants. 

We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations). 

We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment. 

We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page.

We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our new inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes.

The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.

For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the standards

Further information