Cobalt Housing Limited has been given a consumer regulation upgrade to C1 in the latest regulatory judgements published by RSH today (Wednesday 10 June).
RSH concluded that Cobalt has made the planned improvements to its repairs service and provided assurance that it is delivering this service in an effective, efficient and timely manner to meet the outcomes of the consumer standards.
The landlord, which manages and maintains around 6,000 affordable homes around Liverpool, also has a governance grade of G1 and financial viability grade of V2.
RSH found Cobalt has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.
Inclusion Housing Community Interest Company (Inclusion) has been upgraded from G3/V3 to G2/V2 following our assessment of improvement work it has undertaken since the regulatory judgement in 2019. Inclusion manages around 5,000 homes and predominantly provides specialised supported housing for vulnerable adults.
Inclusion has made sufficient progress to demonstrate it meets RSH’s governance requirements but needs to further improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance. We will be monitoring Inclusion’s delivery of its action plan and financial performance as it continues to improve how it manages and mitigates risks arising from its long lease arrangements
Inclusion also meets the financial viability requirements as it has the financial capacity to manage a reasonable range of adverse scenarios and has access to sufficient liquidity. However, it needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.
Grainger Trust Limited, the registered provider subsidiary of Granger PLC, had its governance grade of G2* and a financial viability grade of V1* reconfirmed following a stability check. The landlord has a consumer grade of C2* from an inspection completed in July 2025.
And RSH has also removed a regulatory notice for Sheffield City Council as the specific gas safety issues that led to the notice, published in 2023 under RSH’s previous consumer remit, are now resolved. The council’s consumer grade of C3 from June 2024 remains unchanged.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The full list of judgements published today is provided in the table below. The use of an asterisk (‘*’) against a grade indicates that the assessment refers to a provider that is designated as being for-profit.
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On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced revised consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
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More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
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RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
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RSH publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings. More information can be found on our How we approach regulatory judgements and gradings page.
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