OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings says in a new comment that assessments by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the English social housing regulator, are one input it uses when assessing a registered housing provider's (RP) standalone profile.

Fitch considers that the HCA plays a key role in ensuring that public funding through subsidies and loans is used as intended and that RPs comply with the statutory and regulatory provisions governing the construction and management of social housing. HCA assessments also indicate whether the interests of creditors, particularly financial creditors and bondholders, are protected.

However, Fitch would not necessarily take a rating action on the back of a negative HCA judgement. This would depend on the nature and severity of the assessment and whether it affected the RP's payment capacity.