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Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C2 Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.	First grading	July 2026
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	July 2026
Viability	V1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.	Regrade	July 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for English Rural Housing Association Limited (English Rural) following an inspection completed in July 2026.  

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C2, a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability regrade to V1. 

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for English Rural were last updated in November 2025, following a stability check which confirmed grades of G1 and V2.

This is the first time we have issued a consumer grade in relation to this landlord. 

Summary of the decision

From the evidence and assurance gained during the inspection it is our judgement that there are some weaknesses in English Rural’s delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C2 grade for English Rural.

Our judgement is that English Rural meets our governance requirements. English Rural has provided evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of its governance arrangements and that it continues to effectively manage the risks of its activities, allowing it to deliver its strategic and charitable objectives. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for English Rural.

Our judgement is that English Rural meets our financial viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. English Rural’s financial profile reflects its increased investment in existing homes, and its stress testing demonstrates that financial capacity is built into its business plan. English Rural has provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and has adequate funding in place. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a regrade to V1 for English Rural.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of English Rural to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements, as part of our planned regulatory inspection programme. 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.

During the inspection we observed a board meeting, spoke with tenants, held meetings with English Rural including its non-executive directors, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by English Rural.

Our regulatory judgement is based on a review of all the relevant information we obtained during the inspection as well as analysis of information supplied by English Rural in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

Summary of findings  

Consumer – C2 – July 2026

Through the inspection we saw evidence that English Rural has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas, and effective mechanisms to give the board assurance that controls are operating effectively. English Rural evidenced that it understands its health and safety responsibilities and that it is delivering the actions arising from legally required health and safety assessments. We saw evidence that English Rural has a process in place to assist its tenants in need of housing adaptations and that this process is effectively communicated.

In relation to the Safety and Quality Standard, English Rural provided evidence-based assurance that it keeps an accurate record of the condition of its homes at an individual property level through physical surveys. These surveys include an assessment of compliance with the Decent Homes Standard. English Rural evidenced that its approach to assessing the condition of its homes is kept up to date using information from a range of relevant sources. We have assurance that English Rural’s financial plan is aligned to its programming of asset works.

During the inspection we found evidence of some weaknesses in the delivery of an effective, efficient and timely repairs service, including the delivery of damp and mould cases within corporate timescales. English Rural’s repairs service is not performing in line with targets and there is some inconsistency in outcomes across different locations. English Rural has identified the causes of these weaknesses and an improvement programme is in place that includes revising its service delivery contract arrangements and introducing a revised contractual framework. English Rural needs to demonstrate that an improved repairs service can be consistently sustained over the longer-term. The board will need to ensure that reporting on the repairs service provides sufficient assurance on quality and consistency across the service.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, we saw evidence that English Rural allocates its homes in a fair and transparent manner, in accordance with the purpose of the accommodation, the needs of individual households, and the sustainability of the community. English Rural has processes in place to support tenancy sustainability and has controls to ensure it is delivering required outcomes.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, English Rural evidenced that it works in partnership with appropriate organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods where it provides homes.

English Rural evidenced that it treats its tenants with fairness and respect and has made improvements to ensure it addresses complaints fairly, effectively and promptly. English Rural demonstrated that it learns from complaints so it can continuously improve its services.

However, there are also weaknesses in delivering the outcomes of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Tenant engagement mechanisms are established but there is limited evidence that tenants’ views and scrutiny feed into strategic decision-making or measurable service improvements. We gained assurance that English Rural has proactively identified and is taking steps towards increasing the accuracy and relevance of information held on the diverse needs of its tenants. However, although we saw examples where service delivery is tailored to take account of individual needs, improvement is required so that English Rural can evidence that it considers individual characteristics of tenants to ensure it is providing equitable service outcomes across its portfolio. There are also changes needed to ensure that English Rural’s communication with its tenants is consistent across different service areas.

English Rural has demonstrated awareness of these issues, with appropriate plans in place to address them with early indications of improvement in some areas.

Our regulatory engagement with English Rural will continue while it progresses with improvements toward meeting the outcomes of the consumer standards.  

Governance – G1 – July 2026

Based on evidence gained through the inspection, we have assurance that English Rural has effective governance arrangements in place that enable it to manage risks and deliver its strategic objectives. English Rural seeks continuous improvement of its governance arrangements through regular governance effectiveness reviews and acts on recommendations.  

English Rural has provided assurance that its board proactively reviews its approach to delivering against its aims, objectives and intended outcomes for tenants and regularly considers alternative options for achieving value for money in making the best use of its resources.

English Rural was able to provide evidence that it has established and maintains clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities within its leadership and governance structure. The relationship between its board and committees is working in line with its delegations to strengthen assurance in key areas of risk and compliance.

Board members’ 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. A material number of board member changes are planned in the next 12 months, and this will need to continue to be carefully managed by English Rural.

English Rural has a risk management and control framework that aligns to its strategic risks. There is evidence of robust discussion and board challenge of the controls and assurance on strategic risks, and of risks being managed effectively in practice. 

We saw evidence that English Rural’s board actively seeks and gains an appropriate level of assurance across a range of areas. There is evidence of how this assurance has been used to make improvements including on the approach to stock condition data, and financial resilience.

Board ownership of stress testing, mitigation strategies and wider governance over risks through regular and structured reviews of golden rules is evident. Reporting to board provides sufficient detail for the board to ensure effective oversight.

Viability – V1 – July 2026

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection we have regraded our viability judgement from a V2 to a V1.

English Rural’s financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. English Rural provided evidence of an adequately funded business plan, with sufficient security in place and is forecast to meet its financial covenants under a wide range of adverse scenarios. We saw evidence that the board has effective oversight of financial performance and covenant compliance, with regular reporting in place.

English Rural has a strong financial profile and its stress testing demonstrates that financial capacity is built into its business plan. English Rural has provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and adequate funding is in place.

English Rural’s business plan presents a forecast financial position that includes an increase in investment in existing homes, meeting the minimum energy efficiency standard for homes by 2030 and net zero carbon requirements by 2050. This is alongside a development programme with no reliance on sales.  

In the context of this increased cost base and reduced exposure to sales risks, English Rural forecasts sufficient headroom against its tightest lender interest cover covenants in the medium term.

English Rural has a robust approach to stress testing led by the board and only the most severe, prolonged multi-variant scenarios forecast a serious impact on the business plan. Its forecast headroom is sufficient to absorb the financial impact of downside risks against its tightest interest cover covenant.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

English Rural owns around 1,500 social housing homes across 48 local authority areas focussing on rural communities.

English Rural generated a turnover of £11.8m in the year ended 31 March 2025 and employed the full-time equivalent of 28 staff. It has one dormant subsidiary.

English Rural has plans to develop 151 homes between 2026 and 2031.

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 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

• Regulating the standards
• Regulatory standards for landlords

Related documents

• Decent Homes Standard