Housing Ombudsman criticises social housing landlords for failing to address safety complaints

The Housing Ombudsman has slammed social housing landlords for failing to act on safety complaints which left one disabled woman unable to leave her home due to a faulty lift.

The Ombudsman has released a report involving 23 complaints related to safety issues, including asbestos, fire, water, and gas.

The organisation is calling for social housing landlords to treat safety complaints as an “early warning sign” to prevent wider failings.

Rely on a family member to carry her down the stairs

An Ombudsman report found that A2Dominion Group left a disabled resident without a working lift for 21 months in their social housing property. During that time, she had to rely on a family member to carry her down the stairs.

The situation also disrupted her treatment for a bowel condition because she wasn’t sure if she’d have access to a bathroom if she left the building.

The resident was temporarily moved eight times, and the housing association failed to put a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) in place.

A2Dominion Group tried to fix the lift eight times but didn’t provide records of the repairs or explain how they categorised them.

They blamed the delays on waiting for parts and having to consult the manufacturer, based in Italy.

The Ombudsman said A2Dominion Group should have kept in regular contact with the resident and update them on progress.

According to the Ombudsman, A2Dominion Group agreed to replace the lift but had not done so at the time of the decision.

The group said they have appointed two new contractors to service and maintain all passenger lifts and are trialling remote monitoring equipment to improve performance and identify issues quickly.

Black slime coming from taps

In another case, a resident was unable to access drinking water for years due to black slime coming from the taps.

A family also had to cover a hole in the ceiling with a black bin bag for two years, despite the social housing landlord knowing asbestos might be present.

The Housing Ombudsman says social housing landlords are failing to meet their obligations, with residents paying the price.

The organisation is urging social housing landlords to handle safety complaints seriously.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “While we know areas such as gas safety compliance are high, these cases show the human impact of key obligations not being fulfilled to individuals.

“Complaints can be an early warning sign of any problems and provide valuable insight to improve services.

“Concerningly, these cases show issues remaining unresolved for months or even years, despite many of them requiring emergency repairs. And the impact on a household can be profound, with some landlords doing too little to recognize the poor conditions some residents have been left to live in.”

He adds: “These complaints can also provide vital intelligence for boards to seek assurance that failings in policy, process or systems won’t be repeated and for the executive to deconstruct the case to learn lessons. This includes weaknesses in knowledge and information management.

“I would urge social housing landlords to engage in the lessons in this report and test themselves against them. There is much to be proud of in the sector’s approach to safety, but it must not be complacent because compliance rates are high in certain areas.”