industry news Symphony ruled non-compliant following fire safety concerns
investigation over fire safety and managing risks to tenants homes. Symphony Housing Group reported itself to
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the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) in April this year after an internal review of fire risk assessments highlighted problems. Based in Liverpool and Manchester, Symphony is a partnership of nine organisations, who together own and manage 41,000 properties in the region. The HCA initially placed the landlord on its
‘gradings under review’ list, but following an investigation it decided Symphony was non- compliant with the governance part of the agency’s Governance and Financial Viability Standard. In its published judgement, the HCA said
“Symphony is unable to provide robust assurance to its board or the regulator that it is compliant with statutory tenant health and safety requirements across all the properties it owns. Symphony acknowledges this has been a long-standing situation.” The HCA criticised Symphony for failing to
effectively scrutinise or challenge the information provided by its subsidiaries, its performance reporting framework did not effectively support the group and the group board was not holding subsidiaries to account or delivering compliance. Internal controls and risk management have been ineffective. However, the regulator acknowledged Symphony had been open and transparent
large housing association in the north west has been downgraded by the housing regulator following an
about the problems, including data limitations. It has developed an action plan to identify and address risks to tenants and address weaknesses in data, systems and governance structures. Following the HCA ruling, Symphony has also
commissioned an independent review of its actions, which will seek to identify any further immediate risks arising from inadequate governance. The regulator assessed Symphony as being compliant with the financial viability
element of the governance and financial viability standard. After reporting itself to the HCA, the
association’s chief executive Ms Bronwen Rapley, said: “The concerns relate to our processes and controls – no resident or member of staff has been injured. We take the welfare of our residents and staff very seriously and are taking all necessary steps to resolve the issues. We will co-operate fully with the HCA investigation.”
Best rental yields to be found in the “university cities” of north west England, according to research
Property investors are being advised they can find the best rental yields in university cities of the north west of England. Research by LendInvest found that
Manchester and Liverpool have been the most lucrative areas for rental yields in the past five years, while London and the south dominated for capital growth and return on investment. Average annual rental yields were 6.02% in
Manchester, followed by 5.15% in Liverpool. Returns in London were lower at 4.86% in outer London and 4.71% in the centre. Property experts Savills report that the five
largest rental markets outside of London are Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol and Birmingham – all are university cities, with many thousands of students and thriving private rental sectors. Property investor Peter Armistead, of
Armistead Property, explained the reasons behind the yields the areas were enjoying: “An average residential property in Manchester is just £155,000, while a flat in good area costs as
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM July 2016 | 27
little as £120,000. In Manchester, property can provide a 5% minimum cash rental yield and a typical 12% total cash yield, including 7%
capital appreciation. Demand for rental accommodation is strong and by comparison with other regions, housing is cheaper.
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