Serious organisational and financial failings led to Kincardine Housing Co-operative's stock being passed on to another association.
The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) has explained why it removed a housing association from the register of social landlords.
A report from the overseeing body details serious organisational and financial failings at Kincardine Housing Co-operative (KHC), which owned 72 homes for social rent in Aberdeenshire.
The report states that KHC failed to comply with regulatory standards and made a number of “inappropriate” payments to members of its committee.
It was also found to have ignored the views of its tenants when making decisions.
These failings threatened the KHC’s future financial viability and put its tenants’ homes at risk, according to the report.
SHR became involved in the case after KHC was unable to find a new managing agent in March 2017. In November of that year, the regulator restricted the committee’s powers and suspended KHC’s chair.
Despite these actions, the report notes KHC was “neither willing or able to rectify the weaknesses identified in its governance and financial management arrangements”.
This situation led to the regulator transferring KHC’s homes to Grampian Housing Association and removing the co-operative from the register of social landlords.
The report states that 70% of tenants supported the move, which took place in January 2019.
SHR’s involvement in the case ended in April.
Margaret Sharkey, SHR assistant director of regulation, said: “We intervened to protect tenants’ interests at Kincardine because there were serious weaknesses across almost all aspects of its governance and financial management.
“Kincardine did not have the capacity to address its problems so we consulted tenants about a transfer to another social landlord. The majority of tenants who responded to the consultation were in favour of a transfer.
“We directed a transfer to Grampian Housing Association to make sure tenants’ homes were secure and they continued to receive good services.”
