Glossary
Registered provider: RP
A provider of social housing registered with the Regulator of Social Housing in England.
Also searched for as registered provider of social housing, housing association.
What it means
A registered provider is an organisation registered with the Regulator of Social Housing to provide social housing in England. Most are housing associations, some are councils, and some are profit-making companies. The regulator publishes the register and, for larger providers, regulatory judgements on governance and financial viability. Not every supported-living provider is a registered provider: some are care providers or charities, and a provider that delivers personal care must be registered with the Care Quality Commission for it. Find out which a provider is before you agree a lease, because it changes what you can check.
Worked example
ExampleTwo organisations offer to lease the same house.
- Provider A
- On the regulator's register, with a published regulatory judgement
- Provider B
- Not a registered provider; a care company registered with the CQC
- What to read
- A: the judgement and accounts. B: its CQC rating, accounts and track record
Registration tells you who oversees the provider, not whether it can pay the rent. Read the accounts either way.
Information, not advice. Example figures are fictional and for illustration only.