The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) concluded this week that Beyond Housing Limited, which operates across Teesside and North Yorkshire, is not compliant with the Rent Standard after charging inaccurate rents as a result of incorrectly classifying units of general needs accommodation as intermediate rent since 2010.

The error in classification originated in Coast & Country Housing Limited, which merged with Yorkshire Coast Homes Limited to form Beyond in 2018. It relates to 486 properties funded with grant through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) purchase and repair/lease programme. In accordance with HCA guidance, the properties should have been Affordable Rent lettings.

The total amount of overcharging was £2.89m over the period.

In March 2022, following the identification of the issue, Beyond self-referred the matter to the regulator. An external review has been carried out including specialist and legal advice. The review identified that the properties were misclassified prior to their first let and that this error was not subsequently identified and corrected. Work is ongoing to fully understand the impact on current and former tenants, including evictions that took place during this period.

An RSH spokesperson said: “Failing to ensure that rents and service charges are correctly set is a serious matter, resulting in undue financial strain on both tenants and the public purse.

“Once the issues were uncovered by Beyond, it promptly reported the matter to the regulator and developed a wide-ranging action plan.”

The key actions in the action plan include:

• establishing the level of overcharging for each affected tenant including former tenants and the estates of deceased tenants;
• commencing a programme of reimbursements to tenants, local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions, as appropriate;
• resetting the rents in question to the correct levels and improving audit and validation of rent setting and annual rent charges; and
• ensuring arrangements are in place to gain assurance on rents across all of its homes.

Rosemary Du Rose, chief executive of Beyond Housing, said: “The regulatory notice comes following an audit of certain rents within one of our legacy organisations and we immediately informed the regulator and appointed independent experts to verify the findings.

“We are contacting all the relevant customers, to apologise and ensure they are fully refunded as quickly as possible. We accept the findings and continue to work with the regulator to ensure that the required action plans are completed as quickly as possible.”