Gentoo owns and manages more than 29,000 homes in Sunderland.
Objective
To review Gentoo’s compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) Rent Standard in relation to those properties which are subject to the standard.
What we did
We reviewed Gentoo’s rent data to assess compliance with the RSH Rent Standard.
This included:
- A detailed property-by-property review (100%) of the actual rents against the formula rents for all social rented housing.
- A sample review of initial re-let rents on affordable rented housing to assess compliance with the RSH Rent Standard, i.e. that none of them exceeded 80% of market rent, inclusive of service charges.
- A property-by-property review of all the rent reviews (social and affordable) over a five year period to assess compliance with the RSH allowed rates.
We reviewed the rent model tool used by Gentoo to calculate the annual rents to assess if it was still fit for purpose.
This included:
- Whether the formula rent data it is generating is correct.
- The other outputs being provided by the rent model, i.e. the rent cap data and if the rent is above, within or below the formula rent.
- The overall usability of the rent model.
What we achieved
- Provided external, independent assurance for Gentoo’s board and executive team of its compliance with the RSH’s Rent Standard.
- Provided advice and practical suggestions where compliance could be strengthened.
