Lenders continue to invest in social housing, says regulator

The Regulator’s report is a detailed analysis of the borrowing and other funding arrangements that RSLs had in place as at 31 March 2016.

It shows that in total there was £707 million of undrawn facilities available to RSLs and the value of loan facilities available went up to £4.8 billion, up by 3.9 per cent from the previous year. RSLs also agreed new finance of £275 million, with the overwhelming majority of this coming from banks.

Shaun Keenan, assistant director of regulation (Finance & Risk), said: “We know how important it is for tenants and future tenants that RSLs continue to have access to funds at affordable rates. Our report shows that lenders are continuing to invest in social housing and RSLs have access to sufficient private finance to meet their business requirements.

Regulation gives lenders greater confidence to invest and we will continue to work constructively with lenders and potential lenders to give that assurance. It is for each RSL to ensure that it is able to access the funding that it needs for its operations and its capital expenditure.

All RSLs need to ensure that they are complying with their loan agreements and monitoring the associated covenants and that the governing body has sufficient oversight to ensure compliance with regulatory standards”.

The Regulator’s report is available on its website www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk