Why we are engaging with Bridgewater Housing Association (Bridgewater)
We are engaging with Bridgewater about tenant and resident safety.
In January 2024 we updated Bridgewater’s regulatory status to working towards compliance following a review into its compliance with tenant and resident safety obligations. We had concluded that Bridgewater was not compliant with regulatory requirements including the Regulatory Standards of Governance and Financial Management (the Standards) in particular Standard 1.3 relating to compliance with its legal obligations. This was due to material weaknesses in Bridgewater’s approach to tenant and resident safety and we sought further assurance on the steps Bridgewater was taking to independently review its compliance and to make the improvements required.
This followed our engagement in May 2023 when Bridgewater notified us as part of its Annual Return on the Charter (ARC) that on a number of occasions it had failed to meet its statutory obligation to complete a gas safety check. We subsequently engaged with Bridgewater to seek assurance about the steps it was taking to ensure that it was complying with its statutory obligations.
In July 2023, Bridgewater shared with us an internal report following a broader review of its compliance with its tenant and resident safety obligations, including gas, electrical, fire, legionella, asbestos management, lift safety and its approach to mould and damp. It identified a number of material weaknesses relating to some of its policies and procedures. It also identified the need to obtain an additional independent review of its tenant and resident safety compliance.
Bridgewater submitted its Annual Assurance Statement in October 2023 which stated non-compliance with some tenant and resident safety obligations. Bridgewater also set out its plans to address this.
Bridgewater took immediate steps to address the issues in its approach to gas safety by implementing changes to its policies and procedures, and informed us that all remaining gas safety checks were now complete. It also progressed a number of actions to make improvements across other tenant and resident safety obligations, including the drafting and approval of electrical and fire safety policies.
Bridgewater commissioned an independent consultant to review its approach on tenant and resident safety and to report on its compliance with tenant and resident safety obligations. This review commenced in January 2024 and key areas of tenant and resident safety will be reviewed during the course of 2024/25.
In March 2024, Bridgewater shared the reports and outcomes following the independent review of its compliance with gas and lift safety. The independent review provided assurance as to Bridgewater’s compliance with its tenant and resident safety obligations in these areas whilst making a number of improvement recommendations in order to strengthen Bridgewater’s approach.
Following the outcome of the independent reviews, Bridgewater notified us that it was now compliant with its tenant and resident safety obligations.
Bridgewater also developed an action plan to address the improvement recommendations following the independent review of gas and lift safety. It will continue to progress the independent review of the remaining elements of its tenant and resident safety obligations as well as strengthening its approach to mould and damp.
We considered the information Bridgewater shared with us and concluded that it was now compliant with the Standards and its wider legal obligations relating to tenant and resident safety but that some improvement actions remained. We will continue to engage with Bridgewater to seek assurance about the steps it is taking to independently review its approach to the remaining elements of its tenant and resident safety obligations, and to progress the improvement actions to strengthen its overall approach to tenant and resident safety.
Bridgewater continues to engage with us openly and constructively.
What Bridgewater must do
Bridgewater must:
- send us quarterly updates on its progress with implementing its improvement actions to strengthen its approach to its tenant and resident safety obligations and on progress with the remaining elements of the independent tenant safety review;
- send us a copy of the outcome report(s) following completion of the remaining elements of the independent tenant safety review and any actions it requires to take to address the findings from this review; and
- tell us when it considers the independent review to be complete with all improvement actions addressed.
What we will do
We will:
- review Bridgewater’s quarterly updates on progress with implementing improvement actions to tenant and resident safety and on progress with the remaining elements of the independent tenant safety review and engage as necessary;
- review the outcome report(s) following the independent tenant safety review along with Bridgewater’s plans to address any findings from this and engage as necessary; and
- update our published engagement plan in the light of any material change to our planned engagement with Bridgewater.
Regulatory returns
Bridgewater must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns and alert us to notifiable events as appropriate:
- Annual Assurance Statement;
- audited financial statements and external auditor’s management letter;
- loan portfolio return;
- five year financial projections; and
- Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.