Sparrow Shared Ownership awarded top grades by social housing regulator

The landlord also provided appropriate assurance that it has access to sufficient liquidity and adequate funding in place. Sparrow is fully financed by equity funding and has no external debt.

Finally, on consumer standards, Sparrow demonstrated that it “identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence”. Consumer standards include treating customers with fairness and respect, maintaining effective health and safety compliance and using feedback to shape and improve service delivery.

Sparrow owns 3,003 shared ownership homes, comprising around 2,500 houses and 500 flats in 85 blocks. Of these, 72 blocks are owned and managed by Sparrow and 13 are legally owned and managed by third parties. Sparrow operates across England in 115 local authority areas.

It was registered as a for-profit provider in 2010 and has changed owners twice since. Last year, the landlord was sold to Universities Superannuation Scheme, a pension fund.

Before that, the organisation was known as Sage Housing Limited. It was previously graded G1* and V2* by the RSH in 2023.

The regulator’s inspection included board observation, resident and staff interviews, scrutiny of governance and risk frameworks and a review of documents.

Sparrow’s repairs and health and safety duties are limited to communal areas in a small number of apartment blocks, the regulator said. For a small number of customers in blocks owned by third parties, Sparrow provided evidence that it holds those parties accountable and escalates issues appropriately.

Although Sparrow has had limited access to feedback from tenants, it has addressed this by putting a new feedback system in place.

In its 2025 tenant satisfaction measures Sparrow recorded 40.5% overall satisfaction from residents, which was lower than than the average 48% satisfaction rate for shared owners reported by housing associations, but higher than big landlords L&Q and Peabody (28.6% and 22.9% satisfaction for shared owners respectively).

Sparrow’s 2025-27 corporate plan assumes no net growth in the number of homes owned.

David Avery, chair of Sparrow Shared Ownership, said: “[The judgement] provides assurance that the governance framework and controls we have established are working effectively and gives confidence in the organisation’s resilience.

“I am pleased with the progress made in a relatively short period of time.

“The board will continue to provide strong oversight and maintain high standards of governance, transparency and compliance to support Sparrow Shared Ownership’s long-term development.”

Last year, Sparrow appointed Anita Khan, former chief executive of a Tower Hamlets housing association, as managing director. It also appointed Jonathan Wallbank, finance director of housing association Orbit, to its board.