Salford housing association Salix Homes has been awarded the highest grading from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) in recognition of the homes and services it provides for customers.

The RSH, the Government body that regulates the social housing sector, has recently completed a thorough inspection of Salix Homes as part of the new standards and inspection programme introduced to help drive improvements in the quality of homes and services in the sector.

Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford in Greater Manchester, is one of the first housing associations in the country to be awarded the highest possible C1 (consumer) grading, which is a newly introduced rating system based on performance against the new Consumer Standards.

The landlord also retained its G1 grading for governance and V2 grading for financial viability.

Sue Sutton, Salix Homes Chief Executive, said: “This is a really positive outcome for Salix Homes and we’re very proud to be amongst the first housing associations to have achieved the highest possible C1 grading under the new Consumer Standards, which reflects our ongoing commitment to putting customers at the heart of our organisation.

“This achievement is testament to the dedication and hard work of our workforce, Board and Customer Committee. It also underpins our collective efforts to ensure that our homes are safe and well-maintained, our customers are listened to and respected, and that our services are responsive and effective.

“Retaining our G1 and V2 gradings also highlights our dedication to strong governance and financial stability. These gradings assure our customers, colleagues and stakeholders that we are managing our resources wisely and are well-positioned to continue providing high-quality homes and services.

“While we are proud of this recognition, we are not complacent. We’re committed to continuous improvement, and we will carry on learning from customer feedback to ensure we can keep delivering a housing service in Salford we’re all proud to be a part of.”

In its judgement, the Regulator recognised Salix Homes’ strengths, including:

• It has appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of customers in their homes, including an effective building safety programme.
• It works effectively with partners to tackle anti-social behaviour and ensure safe communities.

• It treats customers with fairness and respect and provides a wide range of opportunities for customers to influence and scrutinise its services. Feedback received from customers directly and positively impacts service delivery.
• It uses its customer and stock data effectively to manage its assets and deliver high quality homes and services.
• It is implementing positive changes to its repairs and maintenance service to help improve the service and reduce waiting times.

The Government introduced the new Consumer Standards in April this year as part of an integrated approach to social housing regulation, setting the outcomes that landlords must deliver for tenants.

Social housing providers have previously been assessed on their Governance (G grading) and financial Viability (V grading), but now there’s a new Consumer (C grading). Launched as part of the Social Housing Regulation Act, the new approach aims to drive improvements in the quality of social housing and services while continuing to scrutinise the financial viability and governance of housing associations.

You can read the full judgement about Salix Homes on the RSH website.