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Welcome to the September edition of our newsletter

We start this month at the Housing Community Summit on 9 and 10 September, where the Ombudsman will be a keynote speaker in Housing in Focus, with our Centre for Learning colleagues speaking on the Housing in Practice stages.

If you are attending, come and say hello to us or book a 15-minute drop in with our Duty to Monitor team to ask any questions you have about the Complaint Handling Code. We are on stand G52. 

We have been working on lots of new and free resources for landlords through our Centre for Learning to prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law – a new law that requires social landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards within specified timescales.

Our latest severe maladministration report, which will be released later this month, focuses on decants – where residents are moved out of their home due to required works to make it safe to live in. There is lots of learning in this report to help landlords prevent future failings.

This month we also release our latest Insight report on Shared Ownership. The report focuses on themes we have seen in our casework and provides learning for landlords. We also met with shared owners on our Resident Panel to help us put together information on what type of shared ownership issues we can consider, and where to go for help when we are unable to. 

In terms of our service, we are starting to see the real impact of our recruitment drive. Between April to July this year we determined 713 more cases than in the same period last year – a 41% increase. We would like to thank anyone that has an open case with us for their patience as we continue to grow and evolve to meet demands on the service. 

There is still time to provide evidence for our next Spotlight report

The Ombudsman's latest 'Call for Evidence' to inform our next Spotlight report on Repairing Trust is open until 25 October 2024. The report will explore common issues in housing maintenance following a rise in complaints relating to disrepair.

We hope the report will highlight some of the positive changes landlords have made to rise to the maintenance challenge and prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law, which will set statutory repair timescales and record-keeping requirements. 

The Ombudsman is inviting anyone working, living or supporting someone in social housing to take part in this feedback.

Don't miss out! Last few spaces remaining for this year's Member Responsible for Complaints conference 

We have received a high level of interest to attend this year's free event taking place in Central Manchester on Thursday 7 November 2024. The event, aimed at the role of appointed Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC), will focus on embedding a positive complaints culture in your organisation with the statutory Complaint Handling Code acting as the gold standard to promote learning from complaints. We only have a few spaces left, so register your interest today!

Wider Order issued to Peabody for an independent review finds 180 families decanted from their home

An independent review into repairs and decants ordered by the Housing Ombudsman has provided 31 recommendations for Peabody to improve services.

The review, called a wider order, was made using new powers that require landlords to take steps to prevent future service failure by improving its policy or practice. The order also helps residents who may not have complained but have experienced similar failings.

The independent review identified 180 other residents decanted since February 2021 for damp and mould, 6 of whom have been decanted for more than 300 days.

It found failings in the landlord’s decant policy, which was not properly followed and meant the landlord acted without empathy and effective communication and proposed a review of the type of accommodation provided for decanted tenants.

Among the 31 recommendations from the independent review were for the landlord to:

• make a formal assessment of mental health or vulnerabilities at the start of every tenancy and seek professional advice as to how to meet the needs of the resident
• review and expand its Vulnerable Persons Policy to include learning from this case and the Ombudsman's Spotlight report on attitudes, respect and rights
• consider a review of its repairs surveying competence and procedures
• establish a policy in relation to sharing copies of survey reports with a resident which relate to their property
• review the communication plan a surveyor has with the resident before, during and after works to ensure all parties are aware of the work being carried out and expected timescales at each stage and until completion

Ombudsman shares learning from severe maladministration on windows

Following on from the Ombudsman’s open letter to Chief Executives on the issue, last month we released the latest learning from severe maladministration report (PDF) looking at how landlords have responded to windows complaints. The report comes just a month after the open letter, in which the Ombudsman raised concerns about the approaches of landlords to window repairs following more serious findings in cases investigated by the Ombudsman. Among the learning in the report was to conduct thorough risk assessments based on individual household circumstances and to justify decisions to defer repairs or opt for limited repairs not primarily on cost but in line with legal obligations. This report is part of a series providing lessons to help the sector prepare for Awaab’s Law and we will continue to share insight through our Centre for Learning.

Landlords highlighted in this report:

• Accent Housing
• Camden Council
• Clarion
• Guinness Partnership
• Haringey Council
• Hammersmith and Fulham Council
• L&Q

• Lambeth Council
• Lewisham Council
• Metropolitan Thames Valley
• Notting Hill Genesis
• Stroud Council
• Tower Hamlets Council

Telling residents about our service 

We have produced new printable and downloadable resources to promote the service with residents and provide information on what we do. The information on this web page can be printed and shared with residents or displayed in communal areas and community spaces. We have also added new information pages about how the Ombudsman can help with complaints about repairs and property condition, antisocial behaviour and complaints involving insurance.

About the Housing Ombudsman Service

We are a free and impartial dispute resolution service that investigates complaints from residents and leaseholders of member landlords (housing associations and local authorities), as well as for our voluntary members (private landlords and letting agents).

Our vision is to improve residents’ lives and landlords’ services through housing complaints.

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