The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a housing charity with a sole trustee and restricted its transactions.
Cumbria Community Homes is being investigated due to regulatory concerns about its “absence of a functioning trustee board and late filing of financial information”.
The charity, which had a total income of £4.03m in the year to 30 June 2025, has been financially restricted to prevent it from disposing of property without the regulator’s consent.
According to its listing, Cumbria Community Homes submitted its most recent accounts 104 days late. It has filed its accounts late in the last five financial years – 487 days late in 2021-22.
“As a result [of these concerns], the commission has now escalated its engagement to a statutory inquiry,” the regulator said.
The commission will assess whether the charity – registered in 2019 to provide accommodation for vulnerable adults in the local area – has a sufficient number of competent trustees and if funds have been spent properly.
It will also assess potential conflicts of interest and connected-party transactions.
Cumbria Community Homes has more than 150 tenants and homes in its management, according to its 2024-25 accounts.
It employs 38 people and has one registered trustee. Three directors have resigned in the last 12 months, according to its Companies House listing.
“The current trustee is aware that at present there is only one trustee which is not in accordance with the governing document,” the charity stated in its 2024-25 report.
“She is in the process of looking to appoint new trustees that will help drive the charity forward.”
