Complaints against social landlords can be ‘early indicator’ for wider failures, says Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman has published four wider order reviews in which poor repairs handling preceded the landlords in question receiving a low C3 or C4 judgement by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

Each of the reviews followed investigations into individual complaints where the Ombudsman used powers gained under the Social Housing Regulation Act to order a landlord to conduct a wider review of its policy to benefit other tenants.

The landlords highlighted by the Ombudsman were Southwark Council, Wandsworth Council, Notting Hill Genesis, and Newham Council.

The Ombudsman said the reviews showed how landlords can scrutinise their own performance following a complaint to see if there are any wider issues that may be occurring.

“Complaints are a valuable tool for landlords as the sector actively seeks to improve services,” said Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman.

“These cases pre-date inspections by the Regulator of Social Housing. While issues identified in inspections will not always be evident in individual complaints, these complaints indicated concerns which were then identified in the inspection.   

“The lessons from these independent reviews offer important insights for those landlords as they transform services. It also underscores how complaints can be an early indicator of emerging trends or unresolved issues that the landlord needs to grip.” 

In the case that initiated the wider order for Southwark, the Ombudsman ordered £17,000 in compensation after the landlord failed to deal with a leak for more than five years.

The review found that the council needed to introduce a leaks policy, create mechanisms to assess whether residents are happy with the works carried out, and revise its online repairs portal to speed up the process for residents to report an issue in their home.

Southwark apologised “unreservedly” to residents affected by the leak and how their complaint was handled. 

>> Read more: Why are councils getting low consumer regulation gradings? 

“While this case was very complex, our service was not good enough and we commissioned an independent, external review which was completed in 2024 and has resulted in a number of recommendations and actions for how we can improve,” it said in its learning statement.

It said it was seeing “positive results” as a result of reforms implemented as a result of the review, which included establishing a new dedicated housing complaints team.

Last November, the RSH graded Southwark Council at C3, which means its “judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed”. 

An independent review into Wandsworth’s failings in a case involving leaseholders and third parties managing blocks found that there was a need for the landlord to be more explicit about any timelines or communication protocols for reporting, raising, or processing repairs.

The case involved a leaseholder complaining about a leak from their roof, which the council “did not take decisive enough action” on for four years.

Wandsworth said it had made “significant changes since the issues occurred”, including staff changes within the area housing team, new complaint handling training, a review of the process in place for co-operatives to report and process repairs, and a new software application to programme and deliver roof inspections.

The borough received a C3 judgement from the regulator in February.

In Newham, the council delays resolving leaks and did not offer a temporary move to the tenant in question, leaving her living with damp and mould, and without a usable toilet, for months. 

According to the Ombudsman, there was no evidence the landlord carried out a risk assessment and/or assured itself the home was habitable.

The review of the case led to the introduction of a repairs policy at the landlord, which it did not have before. 

In its learning statement, Newham apologised for “not meeting our high standards” and said it had complied with all orders and recommendations from the Ombudsman. 

Newham Council became the first social landlord to receive a C4 judgement, which indicates there “very serious failings” and “fundamental changes” are needed, from the regulator.

“Following the determination, we published a comprehensive Repairs Policy to enhance the efficiency and transparency of our repair processes,” it said. 

“We have also established a proactive strategy to ensure repairs are completed adequately and to a satisfactory standard.”

At Notting Hill Genesis, the case that initiated the wider order saw the landlord fail to act promptly after a resident reported damp and mould, then fail to competently handle the resident’s complaint.

The review into the housing association’s repair services due to the wider order led to increased strategic oversight of complaints responses, according to the Ombudsman

Notting Hill Genesis said: “Our handling of the repairs needed to the resident’s home, along with the failures in the subsequent complaints process, were unacceptable and fell below the level of service we aim to provide. 

It has committed £770m through its Better Together strategy to improve the quality of its homes and introduced a new dedicated complaints department.

Last November it received a C3 grading from the regulator.