A regulatory judgement is the Regulator of Social Housing’s published view of how well a landlord meets its standards. It’s public, it’s on GOV.UK, and residents, lenders and partners read it.
The three grades
- Consumer (C1 to C4): how well the landlord delivers the outcomes of the four consumer standards. Given after an inspection, to housing associations and councils.
- Governance (G1 to G4): whether the board runs the organisation well and manages risk. Private registered providers only.
- Viability (V1 to V4): whether the organisation is financially sound. Private registered providers only.
In each case, grades 1 and 2 are compliant and grades 3 and 4 are not.
What the consumer grades mean
- C1: the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards.
- C2: some weaknesses, and improvement is needed.
- C3: serious failings, and significant improvement is needed.
- C4: very serious failings, and fundamental changes are needed.
There’s one consumer grade for all four standards. A serious weakness in one standard, such as repairs or stock data under the Safety and Quality Standard, can pull the whole grade down.
What happens after a poor grade
A C3 or C4 usually leads to an agreed improvement plan and close monitoring. Since the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, the regulator can also issue unlimited fines. Consumer failings can affect a governance grade too, if the board did not know about the problems.
How to see yours coming
The landlords that do best aren’t surprised by their judgement. They run their own regulatory assessments, track a predicted grade and close gaps well before the inspection. Be Assured gives you that predicted grade from your evidence, so the board sees the risk early.
Read the full guide: social housing regulatory judgements explained.