Why we are engaging with Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association Ltd (Hanover)
We are engaging with Hanover about its service quality and because it is a systemically important landlord.
We refer to a small number of RSLs as systemically important because of their stock size, turnover or level of debt or because of their significance within their area of operation. We need to maintain a comprehensive understanding of how their business models operate, and how they manage the risks they face and the impact these may have. So we seek some additional assurance each year through our engagement plans. Given Hanover’s turnover we consider it to be systemically important.
To assess the risk to social landlords we have reviewed and compared the 2023/24 service quality performance of all social landlords to identify the weakest performing landlords. We will therefore engage with Hanover about tenant satisfaction and void management.
What Hanover must do
Hanover must:
- send us copies of its Board and audit committee minutes as they become available; and
- review its performance for tenant satisfaction and void management and consider what improvement action it needs to take.
What we will do
We will:
- review the minutes of the Board and audit committee meetings and liaise as necessary;
- observe Hanover’s Board;
- meet with Hanover’s senior staff to discuss its business plan and any risks to the organisation;
- review Hanover’s service quality performance as part of our 2025/26 risk assessment; and
- update our published engagement plan in the light of any material change to our planned engagement with Hanover.
Regulatory Returns
Hanover must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns and alerts 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.