According to an updated regulation plan published by the Regulator, Thistle owns 250 homes within larger mixed tenure blocks that need significant investment to bring them up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). While Thistle planned to bring these properties up to the SHQS by November 2016, the Regulator said there has been “substantial delay and significant difficulties encountered with the project” and the work is now not anticipated to complete until February 2018.

Some defects with window sills have been identified and Thistle is developing a strategy to resolve these.

Thistle has reported a number of notifiable events to the Regulator which has been engaging with the Association to get additional assurance about how the governing body is handling these issues. It has also been engaging with Thistle about how it manages risk and communicates with service users and stakeholders.

The Regulator said Thistle has been engaging openly and constructively about these governance issues and has co-opted two additional members with appropriate governance skills and expertise to strengthen its governing body. It has also commissioned an independent review of its governance to assess its compliance with the Regulatory Standards of Governance and Financial Management.

This Medium level of engagement will be reviewed at the end of March 2018, the Regulator added.