Social landlord finds more than 800 errors in records on high-risk properties and asbestos
A review by social housing provider One Housing has discovered more than 800 entries of incorrect asbestos risk data.
The review was ordered after the Housing Ombudsman issued a severe maladministration at the housing association, which is part of The Riverside Group. It owns and manages more than 17,000 hoes in London and the South East.
The complaint which triggered the Ombudsman’s investigation followed a leak and collapsed ceiling in a resident and her child’s home.
According to the Ombudsman, repairs took over a year and One Housing did not have accurate and up-to-date records about the presence of asbestos in the property.
The landlord also did not assess the condition of the asbestos and could not provide any evidence that it had considered temporarily moving the family.
The landlord’s review found more than 800 further records of incorrect data on its asbestos register, including several properties recorded as no-risk cases where it had no data, when in fact there could be asbestos present.
The review found multiple factors had caused the errors, including external services being brought in-house and its knowledge and information management.
One Housing has now made improvements to its asbestos record keeping and services, including a review of its asbestos safety management plan.
It has also produced an operational guidance document and recruited for two administrative posts to maintain its asbestos databases and cleansing of records.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “The ceiling collapse caused the resident considerable distress as she worried about her family’s safety given the potential asbestos risk. The landlord failed to recognise this or learn lessons about how it handled events.
“This was a significant missed opportunity as the wider review following our investigation reveals the problems with its records on asbestos were not isolated. This shows the power of learning even from just one complaint.
“This case is a reminder for landlords that when hazards and safety are present within a complaint, landlords should act quickly and inspect these thoroughly.”
He added: “It also underscores the importance of knowledge and information management, which is so often the foundation to an effective service or complaint response. Our Centre for Learning has resources on how to tackle some of the key issues raised in this wider order, as well as training and workshops to equip social housing landlords with the tools they need to improve.”
One Housing said its recent merger with The Riverside Group had led to the implementation of the latter’s systems and processes in relation to asbestos management.
It added: “We are very sorry for the distress caused to our customer following a leak and a collapsed ceiling and for the repair handling, asbestos record keeping, and complaint handling.
“In this case, we undertook a detailed investigation and a lessons learnt review. We revisited it six months later to make sure the key learning points were being implemented.”
One Housing cited the following improvements it had made since the Ombudsman’s investigation:
- improving its asbestos record keeping and reviewing its asbestos safety management plan
- increasing the capacity of its asbestos management team to review records and cleanse and remove any incorrect historical data
- reviewing the practice of placing sole responsibility on a customer to rebook an appointment
- clearly explaining the process to customers in relation to the purpose of visits and providing a timeline for the works
- reviewing and made changes to its compensation policy
One Housing’s independent review report can be found here.
