Regulator downgrades housing association after £2m rent overcharging

The Regulator of Social Housing has issued a regulatory downgrade for a housing association after finding that it overcharged rent by at least £2m.

Beyond Housing operates across the Redcar and Cleveland and North Yorkshire areas, providing affordable housing to more than 30,000 customers.

Following a self-referral by the housing association, the RSH concluded in a regulatory notice that:

a) Beyond was not compliant with the Rent Standard and prior to the re-introduction of the Rent Standard, between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2020, Beyond was not compliant with the legislative requirements of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 (the Act).

b) Since 2010 Beyond charged inaccurate rents as a result of incorrectly classifying units of general needs accommodation as intermediate rent.

c) The error in classification originated in Coast & Country Housing Limited which merged with Yorkshire Coast Homes Limited to form Beyond in 2018. It related to 486 properties funded with grant through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) purchase and repair / lease programme. In accordance with HCA guidance the properties should have been Affordable Rent lettings.

d) At least £2m had been overcharged by Beyond in respect of these issues.

A small number of tenants were undercharged.

The Regulator downgraded Beyond for governance from G1 to G2. The RSH also confirmed the housing association’s existing V1 grading for viability.

Beyond said that it would contact all current and former customers who have been affected to share with them the value of the refund they are entitled to.

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, customers will be advised of this, Beyond said.

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.

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.”