Voids overhaul at Mears-owned RP after ombudsman investigation finds vulnerable family moved from one damp home to another

The ombudsman has found severe maladministration in how Plexus, a housing association owned by housing provider Mears Group, handled a damp, leaks and mould complaint.

An independent review was ordered after the landlord moved a vulnerable family from one damp home to another, with its findings resulting in the provider overhauling its voids standards and procedures.

After leaving her previous Plexus home due to damp and mould, a resident moved into a void property with her young child and disabled partner. The resident reported several leaks and complained to the landlord about severe mould and her son being hurt due to outstanding repairs. However, the landlord did not raise a complaint until the ombudsman intervened.

The watchdog’s investigation found that Plexus spent more than £5,000 repairing the empty property before the family moved in, but repair records showed a known leak, water damage and a professional recommendation for a damp survey.

The landlord said a survey had been carried out but not recorded. It also did not respond within its policy timescales when other issues were reported.

When asked by the ombudsman whether any other homes may have been affected by similar failures, Plexus identified four other cases.

The landlord has made several improvements to its voids processes in response to the findings, including further staff training on record keeping, defining clear guidelines for when a supervisor must attend a repair and introducing a decant policy to provide temporary accommodation where properties require extensive repairs.

Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said: “The void period is a vital opportunity for landlords to make sure a property is ready to be lived in and fix underlying issues with minimal disruption to a resident.

“This case shows what can go wrong when a landlord does not use that time well. It also highlights the importance of good knowledge and information management for landlords to be able to access a property’s full repair history, act on survey recommendations, and ensure nothing falls between the gaps between one tenancy and the next.”

He added that there is not a “consistent approach” across social landlords’ void processes and urged providers to consider how Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard 2 will impact void properties.

Plexus and Omega Housing are not-for-profit registered providers who have a management agreement in place with Mears Living - the social housing division of Mears Group - to deliver housing management services to renters.

In total, the pair manages just over 2,000 properties across England.

In its learning statement, Plexus said: “Following this determination, we reviewed our voids process and standards and have a checklist in place to cover all aspects of the property before it is tenanted. The team also now work within our repairs division working much more closely together with operatives and housing officers.

“Our repairs service has also been centralised into one regional operation with more quality controls in place, recruitment of additional staff, enhanced one to one management of staff and has performance regularly reviewed through our governance structure.”