Regulatory change to G2

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has issued Beyond Housing with a regulatory downgrade for governance from G1 to G2. It also confirmed the existing V1 grading for viability.

Beyond Housing has breached the Rent Standard and was not compliant with the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 (the Act). The findings are set out in a Regulatory Notice published today. The RSH concluded that we need to improve some aspects of our governance arrangements to support continued compliance.

In March 2022, Beyond Housing made a self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) relating to errors on rents charged to 468 homes. This resulted in some customers being overcharged and a small number being undercharged.

For customers who have been overcharged

Beyond Housing will contact all current and former customers who have been affected to share with them the value of the refund they are entitled to.

• Contact with current customers has already begun
• Former customers will be contacted between August 2022 and March 2023.

Where a refund is due, payment will be made within 28 days of the initial contact with the customer.

In the case of customers who received full or partial housing benefit payments to cover their rent, some or all of the refund may be owed to the local authority or the Department for Work and Pensions. Where this is the case, they will be advised of this.

For customers who have been undercharged

Any underpayments will not be recovered; however, the correct level of rent will be collected from 1 April 2023.

• Customers affected by this will be contacted prior to April 2023.

Rosemary Du Rose, CEO of Beyond Housing, said: “Following a recent audit, we discovered that a number of our customers have been charged an incorrect amount of rent.

“We are very sorry this error occurred and are focused on resolving the matter as quickly as possible to ensure that the affected customers receive any refund due.”