The Scottish Housing Regulator has highlighted to a social housing conference the importance of good governance and risk awareness to successfully building new homes.

Speaking to delegates at the Scottish Federation of Housing Association’s (SFHA’s) development conference in Glasgow, Ian Brennan, director of regulation (finance and risk), acknowledged that most RSLs have expertise in managing known risks.

He noted the landscape is shifting, with Brexit, reclassification of RSLs and continuing uncertainty around the impact of welfare reform.

Landlords that are building new homes need to understand how these risks affect their business, he added.

Ian said: “We know from experience that development can be an acid test of an organisation’s governance. A number of RSLs have got into difficulty over the years when they tried to develop and failed to observe basic principles. Good governance and awareness of risk and its potential impact on the business are essential for RSLs that are developing new social housing.”

Ian told delegates that the Regulator expects to publish a thematic inquiry report on development next month that will set out principles that underlie positive practice in development.