Many supported housing deals that go wrong were shaky from the first conversation, when a counterparty's account of itself was accepted without being checked. UK regulators publish most of what you need, free of charge. It sits in four separate places, and it is easy to check one and stop.

Which public records should you check?

Companies House for the legal entity, the Regulator of Social Housing for registered providers, the Care Quality Commission for regulated care, and Ofsted for children's services. Which ones apply depends on who is across the table. Each answers a different question, and none covers the others.

Companies House

Search the company name on the Find and Update Company Information service. Read the incorporation date, registered address, nature of business, officers, people with significant control and filing history. Look for late accounts or confirmation statements, and for recent changes of officer or address. A company incorporated last quarter that describes a decade of experience needs an explanation. There may be a good one, such as a new vehicle for an established team.

Regulator of Social Housing

A provider that calls itself a registered provider should appear on the regulator's register. Providers with more than 1,000 units also receive published governance (G) and financial viability (V) grades. G1 and G2 indicate compliance with the governance element of the standard and G3 and G4 indicate non-compliance. V1 and V2 indicate compliance with the financial element and V3 and V4 indicate non-compliance. A downgrade deserves a conversation about what changed and what is being done about it.

Care Quality Commission

Anyone delivering regulated care should be registered with the CQC. Ratings run on four levels: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate. Not every service is rated, because some have not yet been assessed, so check the specific service you are dealing with and not just the provider's name. Read the latest report as well as the headline rating, and note the date of the inspection.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspects children's homes and supported accommodation for looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17, among other settings. Judgements use four levels: outstanding, good, requires improvement to be good and inadequate. Children's homes are usually inspected at least once a year, so an old report is worth querying. Check the registration status, the latest judgement and any enforcement action.

Putting the checks together

The same organisation often appears under a trading name, a parent company and a care registration, each with its own record. Matching these across four websites takes time, and the result is out of date as soon as something changes.

OTHRS Verification does this work at registration. It checks each organisation directly against Companies House, the CQC, the Regulator of Social Housing and Ofsted, and shows a verification badge on the profile. Standing checks then run automatically, so the badge reflects the current position and the person you are about to meet has already been checked.

Checklist before you commit

  1. Confirm the legal entity and its officers at Companies House.
  2. Confirm registered provider status and any gradings with the regulator.
  3. Confirm the CQC registration and latest report for the actual location.
  4. Confirm Ofsted status where children or young people are involved.
  5. Record what you checked and the date.

Frequently asked questions

Are these checks free? Yes. All four sources publish their records free of charge.

How often should I recheck? At each stage of a deal, and whenever ownership, management or an inspection outcome changes.

Does a good rating make someone a safe partner? A good rating shows what an inspector found at the time. Pair it with financial checks and references.

Do I need all four checks? Only those that apply. Every company needs Companies House, care delivery needs the CQC, registered providers need the regulator, and children's services need Ofsted.

OTHRS Verification brings the four checks into one badge. Sign up at othrs.ai.

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