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The English regulator has warned that cyber security is “fundamental to organisationalre they understand and manage associated risks
The regulator has urged housing providers to “remain vigilant” to the risk of cyberattacks as they become more reliant on digital systems (picture: Alamy)
In its 2026 Sector Risk Profile, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) said landlords must “remain vigilant to the growing threat of cyberattack” as they became “increasingly reliant” on digital systems, connected technologies and data.
Last month, large housing association L&Q suffered a cyberattack to its website, and the Housing Ombudsman is currently experiencing a temporary outage of its online services due to a third-party IT security incident.
Social Housing understands that L&Q began reintroducing its website on 14 October after extensive security testing. The Housing Ombudsman said on 13 October that the incident had been “contained” while it continued to work with its external supplier to investigate.
“Cyber incidents can disrupt service delivery, compromise sensitive information, create financial loss and damage stakeholder confidence,” the regulator said in its Sector Risk Profile.
“Boards should recognise that cyber security, data protection and operational resilience are fundamental to organisational
“The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies, both by landlords and by malicious actors, is reshaping the threat environment, increasing the potential for more sophisticated attacks, fraud, misinformation and unauthorised access to information.”
The RSH said landlords should understand the cyber risks associated with their own systems, connected technologies and third-party suppliers.
“Cyber security should be supported by effective governance, staff awareness, clear accountabilities and robust controls,” the regulator said. “Councillors and boards should ensure that cyber risks are identified, assessed and appropriately managed, and that business continuity and recovery arrangements are regularly reviewed and tested.”
The regulator also highlighted the importance of cyber security as it reiterated its messaging that “robust data and systems” were critical to landlords being able to demonstrate their homes were safe and met all statutory and regulatory requirements. When approaching the “strategic trade-offs” involved in balancing investment in existing and new stock, landlords need access to both high-quality performance data and the ability to produce the insights needed to make “evidence-based decisions against clearly specified criteria”.
On this, the regulator cautioned: “As organisations become increasingly reliant on digital systems, data, and new technologies, boards must also ensure they understand and manage growing cyber security, data protection and operational resilience risks.
“Stress-testing the business plan and having worked through mitigation plans for a range of scenarios remain as important as ever.”
Financial viability and asset sales
The RSH also used its report to emphasise the importance of value for money and maintaining financial
“Landlords need to focus on value for money in everything they do and operate as efficiently as possible to unlock capacity to deliver against multiple competing priorities,” it said.
The regulator said this could mean making “difficult” decisions, and taking action to address one risk “can create other issues”.
For example, the RSH said it has seen an increasing focus in some organisations on disposing of existing properties, either because it was not economical to bring them up to the required standards, or because they needed the sales proceeds to invest in stock improvements or new development.
The regulator said active asset management could unlock financial capacity, but should only be a short-term solution. The RSH has previously warned about an over-reliance on fixed-asset sales, after volumes reached a record high in the latest full financial year.
“The loss of existing social homes, especially if concentrated in particular local areas, can reduce the availability of social homes for people in those areas and undermine relationships with other key stakeholders,” the Sector Risk Profile said.
“Landlords need to be financially sustainable for the long term and relying on disposing existing assets can only be a short-term solution.”
Landlords needed to understand and manage the risks arising from programmes of fixed-asset sales, the regulator said. They should consider the potential impact on tenants and local housing provision, “the need to protect social housing assets, and the implications for their charitable or social objectives”.
The regulator said landlords should “engage constructively” with tenants, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders where disposals may affect local housing provision.
The government plans to introduce a notification period on disposals through an amendment to the Social Housing Bill. This would require a social housing provider to let an area’s council and other local registered providers know about a disposal eight weeks before it sold a social home on the open market.
The RSH said: “We will continue to engage with landlords who are relying on fixed asset sales to support cash flows or loan covenant compliance and will reflect individual risk exposure in regulatory judgements where appropriate.”
Non-social activity
Although the sector’s reliance on non-social activity has declined slightly in recent years, the regulator issued a warning over the need for boards to understand the varied risk and reward profiles of different activities.
Non-social activity can include market sales, market rent, student accommodation, commercial property, specialist care and leisure service provision. It is expected to account for 10 per cent of turnover over the next five years, according to the 2026 Financial Forecast Returns, published earlier this month.
The regulator said that while non-social housing activities can be an “effective way” to safeguard social housing assets, boards must ensure that they retain “full oversight” and “fully understand any associated risks”. This includes the risk of cross-default on loan covenants.
The RSH will seek assurance from landlords on the role that non-social housing activity plays in meeting an organisation’s objectives, and that the benefits achieved were “commensurate with the associated risks”.
“Boards must be able to demonstrate that the activity makes a clear contribution to the landlord’s core purpose, and that social housing is not put at undue risk,” the RSH said.
In its discussion document on economic regulation published in June, the RSH said it was considering introducing a requirement that “more clearly” set out “the central role” social housing should take for a social landlord.
This is aimed at helping landlords to have the right focus on social housing and reduce the risk that non-social housing activity will have a negative impact on social housing.
Elsewhere in the Sector Risk Profile, the RSH urged providers that missed out on expected grant funding to consider both their capacity to continue development and the risks presented by alternative combinations of funding
Hear from Jonathan Walters, chief executive of the RHS, at the Social Housing Leaders Conference on 26 November in London. Mr Walters will be speaking at a session entitled ‘Regulating delivery – the view from the regulator’ alongside Social Housing’s editor, Sarah Williams.Find out more and book your place
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