Notifiable events for Approved Housing Bodies

What you need to know

• It is the responsibility of an AHB’s board and / or its senior management team to ensure that AHBRA is informed promptly and kept up to date about the status of the notifiable event.
• If an issue arises in your AHB that is of concern, it is important to be open and transparent with AHBRA from the outset, and
• Every AHB should have a written policy document on how it will manage notifiable events.

What constitutes a “notifiable event” for an AHB?

A notifiable event arises where the AHB:

• No longer satisfies the criteria for being an AHB
• Is a company and is being struck off by the Registrar of Companies
• Is a registered society or a friendly society and it is cancelling its registration or dissolving
• Is a charitable trust and it is revoking the trust
• Is a registered charity and it is de-registered from the register of charitable organisations
• Is being wound up / dissolved
• Has a liquidator or a receiver appointed to it, or
• Receives an improvement or prohibition notice.

It is an offence not to notify AHBRA of many of these events.

There is also a catch-all clause in the law that requires an AHB to notify AHBRA of “any other matter” that might, or might reasonably be expected to:

1. Affect its status as an AHB
2. Bring the AHB into disrepute, or
3. Threaten the AHB’s stability, efficiency, operations and general viability.

Additionally, AHBRA has made it clear that they are interested in any event that may pose a risk to:

• Tenants
• The financial position of the AHB
• Good governance in the AHB
• The AHB’s reputation, or
• Its status as an AHB.

The board and senior management team of an AHB must be mindful of these expectations. Ongoing consideration should be given regarding whether an event or particular action/inaction should be notified to AHBRA. The chair of the board or the management committee or the CEO must notify AHBRA about notifiable events relating to the AHB’s financial position and performance or service delivery. The chair of the board or the management committee is responsible for notifying AHBRA about notifiable events relating to the AHB’s governance or significant organisational change.

Notifications to AHBRA are classified against the four AHBRA standards for AHBs:

1. Governance
2. Financial
3. Property and asset management, and
4. Tenancy management.

What should I do if a notifiable event occurs or is expected to occur in my AHB?

The first thing to do is to ensure the full board and, where appropriate, the senior management team are briefed on the situation. It may also be prudent to engage your professional advisers, e.g. lawyers or accountants, to support you in dealing with the event.

The AHB should not delay in taking appropriate steps to effectively manage the event. In particular, action should be taken to mitigate any negative impact of the event on the organisation and its tenants. Critically, the AHB must engage with AHBRA in a prompt and transparent manner through AHBRA’s notifiable events process. AHBRA will want to know the steps that the AHB is taking regarding the event and the risks posed as part of the event.

As the vast majority of AHBs are also registered charities, it is important for those AHBs to consider whether the Charities Regulator needs to be informed about the event. The Charities Regulator does not currently have a similar “notifiable event” or “significant incident” reporting process. However, there are certain events that must be notified to the Charities Regulator. For example, if there has been a theft or fraud, a change in structure, or if the charity is winding up, there is a statutory duty to notify the Charities Regulator. There are other events where professional advice will be needed as to whether the Charities Regulator’s consent must be sought, for example on a disposal of assets. The Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 includes a new definition of “significant event”. It gives the Charities Regulator the legislative basis to issue guidelines or a code of conduct on procedural requirements regarding the occurrence of a significant event. This section of the 2024 Act has not yet been commenced.

There is a memorandum of understanding in place between AHBRA and the Charities Regulator since 2023. This allows both Regulators to share information with each other. In particular, if during its engagement with an AHB charity, AHBRA becomes aware of breaches of the Charities Act 2009 (as amended), AHBRA will co-operate with the Charities Regulator and may share any relevant information. This information sharing could cause the Charities Regulator to raise queries or concerns with the AHB about the event.

Depending on the nature of the notifiable event, in addition to informing AHBRA and possibly the Charities Regulator, it may also be necessary for the AHB to inform the Gardaí, its insurance brokers, lenders or other funding agencies. This is something that should be considered on a case-by-case basis in respect of every notifiable event.

When dealing with a notifiable event, the board must also remain mindful of their duties as directors - where the AHB is a company, and charity trustees - where the AHB is a charity, under company law and charity law. The directors / charity trustees are the stewards of the AHB’s often significant assets. Acting in good faith with due skill, care and diligence and in the best interests of the AHB is doubly important in times of crisis or change.

In many cases AHBRA is satisfied that the event is being managed appropriately by the AHB and no further engagement is needed. However, it is important to be aware that it is possible that the notification of an event could trigger an assessment or even an investigation by AHBRA into the operations of the AHB. In the case of an assessment or an investigation, the board will need to be fully engaged with the AHBRA process. Professional support from legal and / or financial advisors will invariably be needed.

Overview of recent notifications

In the third quarter of 2025, AHBRA was informed of 27 notifiable events, categorised as being in:

• Governance (7)
• Finance (2)
• Property and asset management (16), and
• “Other” (2)

16 of those events were reported as still being monitored and 11 were reported as being closed.

In the final quarter of 2025, there were 25 notifiable events reported, categorised as being in:

• Governance (11)
• Financial management and reporting (7), and
• Property and asset management (7)

10 of those events were still being monitored, while 15 had been closed, according to the overview for that quarter.

Conclusion

The definition of what constitutes a notifiable event is broad. It is important that the board is fully briefed on any significant events that occur or are reasonably likely to occur. Appropriate action should be taken in a timely manner to mitigate the effects of the event and to protect both the AHB and its tenants. AHBRA must be notified promptly if a notifiable event occurs or is reasonably likely to occur. The Charities Regulator and other bodies may also need to be notified depending on the nature of the event. The board should always consider whether it is necessary and appropriate to engage professional advisers to assist in managing the event.

For more information and expert advice, please contact a member of our Charity Law & Not-for-Profit team.