Regulatory judgement: one year on

In June 2025, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) provided its regulatory judgement of Anchor.

The judgement found that while we remained financially viable, we were not meeting all the requirements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. This meant we needed to strengthen how we governed the organisation, managed risk, assured compliance and demonstrated that we had effective controls in place across the business.

In response, Anchor's Board agreed a comprehensive improvement plan with the Regulator in October 2025. The plan set out the key actions needed to address the findings and return Anchor to full compliance.

Since then, colleagues across every part of the organisation have worked hard to deliver the improvements required. This has involved significant change, investment and collaboration across teams, with a strong focus on strengthening resident safety, compliance, governance and the quality of our services.

The plan is overseen by the Board, a dedicated committee led by Non-Executive Directors and our Residents' Council, with regular oversight and challenge from the Executive Leadership Team to ensure improvements are delivered and embedded across the organisation. We also continue to meet regularly with the Regulator to review progress and maintain an open and constructive relationship.

Independent reviews have provided assurance that good progress is being made. While there is still work to do, we are in a much stronger position than we were when the judgement was published, thanks to the commitment and hard work of colleagues across Anchor.

Progress update: September 2026

Over the past year, we have made substantial progress in delivering our improvement plan:

Electrical safety (EICRs)
As of 31 March 2026, 99.33% of our homes had a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). We have successfully addressed the backlog of certification and remedial works that led to our self-referral, with only a small number of homes remaining to be completed.
Damp, mould and condensation (DMC)
We have continued to deliver our damp, mould and condensation improvement programme and have approved our approach to Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law, which comes into effect on 30 November 2026. This work will help ensure we continue to respond quickly, consistently and effectively when residents raise concerns.
Repairs performance
In March 2026, we launched our new Repairs Hub, making it easier for residents and colleagues to report repairs and track progress. The service is operating successfully and is helping create a more consistent and streamlined repairs experience.
Stock condition programme
Since October 2025, we have accelerated our stock condition survey programme. By the end of this financial year, every home will have been physically surveyed, giving us an up-to-date understanding of the condition of our homes and helping inform future investment decisions and compliance requirements.
Governance
We have reviewed and strengthened policies, procedures and supporting documentation across the organisation. Alongside this, we have improved how compliance is monitored and assured, providing greater confidence that we are meeting our regulatory responsibilities.
Risk management and controls
In June 2026, we launched our Risk Management and Controls Programme to further strengthen how risks are identified, managed and monitored across Anchor. Good progress has been made in developing our Risk Maturity Framework and Key Risk Indicators, which are being rolled out across the organisation.
Independent assurance
Our independent assurance programme continues to provide external challenge and validation of the progress we are making. This provides assurance to the Board, the Regulator and residents that improvements are being delivered and embedded effectively.
Resident involvement and insight
The Board has approved our Resident Engagement and Influence Programme, helping us strengthen the role residents play in shaping services and decision-making. We're expanding the ways residents can share feedback and influence improvement activity, while building on the strong foundations provided by our existing engagement groups.
Data and systems
We continue to invest in data, technology and systems to support better decision-making, stronger compliance and improved services. This includes enhancing core systems, strengthening data governance and preparing for future technology investment.

Looking ahead

The improvement plan remains a key priority for both the Board and Executive Leadership Team, who continue to provide oversight and direction as we deliver the remaining actions needed to achieve full compliance. At the same time, this work sits alongside a broader programme of change and improvement across Anchor, focused on strengthening services, improving resident outcomes and creating a stronger, more resilient organisation for the future.

We remain committed to delivering safe homes, reliable services and positive resident outcomes. By continuing to work closely with residents, the Regulator and independent assurance partners, we will build on the progress made so far, sustain the improvements already achieved and embed a culture of continuous improvement across the organisation.

In December 2024, we referred ourselves voluntarily to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). The RSH sets standards and regulates social housing providers in England and you can find out more about the regulator on their website. 

We made the referral after we found one of our contractors was failing to complete electrical remediation work to specification and on time and as a result we sought additional contractors. We also identified that damp, mould and condensation was not always being addressed properly.

Organisations are rated for their viability (V), governance (G) and consumer standards (C) – where 1 is the best and 4 the worst. Grades of 1 or 2 mean that an organisation is compliant with the regulator’s requirements while grades of 3 or 4 signal non-compliance. You can find out more about the grades on the regulator’s website. 

Before this inspection and judgement, we were graded G1 for governance and V1 for viability. The consumer grading was introduced in April 2024. Our current grading is V1, G3 and C3. 

V1 means that we are meeting the regulator’s viability requirements. We have the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. 

G3 means there are issues of serious regulatory concern, while C3 means there are serious failings in us delivering the outcomes of their consumer standards. We are working to address both, in agreement with the RSH.

Our responsibility for ensuring residents can live safely in their homes is something we take extremely seriously. Residents' and colleagues’ safety is our number one priority and, as a provider of older people's housing and care, we have a high in-person presence at many of our locations.

We’ve already taken several additional steps to ensure we’re keeping our residents safe. This includes completing 99.33% of the outstanding EICR inspections and subsequent repair work (as at 31 March 2026).

We also have a clear plan to make sure all future inspections are completed on time, so we remain compliant with the five-year testing requirement and continue to meet the standards residents expect.

We’ve strengthened how we manage DMC to make sure our approach is clear, consistent and meets the latest legal requirements.

We’ve updated our DMC policies and procedures to reflect recent changes in the law, and colleagues have received additional training so they understand what’s changed and the strict timescales we must follow.

Since October 2025, our new case management app has helped us track every active DMC case. It ensures we take the right actions within the required timeframes and can quickly see where support is needed.

Every active case now has its own action plan. We’re keeping affected residents regularly updated so they know what we’re doing, when we’re doing it and what happens next.

For our residential care homes, each of our care homes has a Registered Manager, and is subject to a comprehensive programme of Enhanced Inspections completed by internal teams and by independent third-party inspectors.    

As at 31 August 2026, 85.61% of our care homes were rated good or outstanding by CQC and we have no inadequate rated homes.

We are working swiftly to implement our improvement plan and are committed to keeping residents updated on our progress. We will do this via this page on our website, regular newsletters and Life magazine. We are also working closely with our Residents’ Council. Our goal is to demonstrate sustained progress and a strengthened governance framework over the coming months.

If you have any concerns, please talk to your local manager or call us on 0800 731 2020, Monday-Friday 8am-6pm and Saturday 8am-4pm.