RSH takes enforcement action against Easy Housing Association
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-16)

The Regulator of Social Housing has published an enforcement notice for Easy Housing Association

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published an enforcement notice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/easy-housing-association) for Easy Housing Association (EHA), as well as making three appointments to its board and requiring EHA to appoint a manager.

EHA, a Birmingham-based landlord providing supported housing through leases, has failed to demonstrate that it is managing its affairs appropriately with the necessary skills and expertise.

RSH has engaged intensively with EHA since the regulatory notice in March 2023 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/easy-housing-association/regulatory-notice-easy-housing-association-28-march-2023) which set out findings that EHA was not delivering the outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and the Rent Standard. EHA has however been unable or unwilling to make the needed improvements.

The combination of enforcement actions and interventions are aimed at improving EHA’s capacity and capability to address its failures.

The new appointees are:

Nicole Seymour - Executive Director – Corporate Services (Sanctuary Group)

Sayeed Haris - Executive Director of Property Services (Midland Heart)

Waseem Butt - Director of Building Safety (Midland Heart)

EHA is required to commission an independent review and to appoint a manger to ensure a credible and comprehensive action plan is developed and that capacity is in place for its delivery.

Jonathan Walters, Deputy Chief Executive of RSH, said:

“When landlords cannot or will not resolve issues on their own, we will use our enforcement powers when necessary to make sure things are put right to protect tenants and their homes.

“In this case, EHA has persistently failed to address serious failings and we are taking enforcement action as a result.”

Notes to Editors

A registered provider is responsible for ensuring that it manages itself effectively, achieves the standards set by the regulator, and engages positively with the regulator’s regulatory framework. Where a failure against a standard or other problem has been identified, the regulator expects providers to respond in a prompt and effective manner. It may be necessary for the regulator to step in and exercise its powers under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as amended (the Act) when a provider fails to do so. The regulator has published guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-guidance-under-s215-of-the-hra-2008) on how the regulator uses and intends to use its statutory regulatory and enforcement powers.

Sections 219 to 225 of the Act allow the regulator to require a registered provider to take specified action to resolve a specified failure or other problem. Sections 251 to 252 of the Act allow the regulator to require a registered provider to appoint a manager to manage the entirety of their affairs relating to social housing or specific aspects of social housing. Section 269 of the Act enables the regulator to appoint one or more persons as an officer of a private registered provider.

RSH has previously set out its concerns about the long-term viability of the lease-based model, most recently in a report in April 2025 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/focus-report-lease-based-provision-of-specialised-supported-housing).