We’re pleased to announce that Chime Housing (legal entity – Watford Community Housing Trust) has been awarded a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2 by the Regulator of Social Housing, following the successful merger of Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing in June 2026.

This judgement takes into account the previous grades issued to Thrive Homes and Watford Community Housing and supports the principles underlying the new merged entity, Chime Housing.

The G1/V2 rating demonstrates that Chime Housing meets the Regulator’s governance and financial viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a range of adverse scenarios. The new organisation does not have a Consumer rating as one of the merged entities, Thrive Homes, had not previously been assessed against the outcomes of the consumer standards.

Ahead of our merger being formalised in June, we created a series of customer promises to ensure our customers benefit directly from the creation of a larger and stronger organisation. This judgement reinforces the basis of the decision to form Chime Housing, helping us to deliver on these promises.

Paul Richmond, Chief Executive at Chime Housing, said: “This is a really positive start for Chime Housing and we are pleased to see this validation through the interim gradings issued today. We created Chime Housing to be a stronger regional Community Gateway housing association, which will be able to deliver more in the communities we serve. The G1/V2 ratings are the first step for us on this journey, and we are now focused on building on these strong foundations – making sure that the benefits of this merger are seen by our customers, through better homes and improved services.”