Housing Ombudsman issues learning report on severe maladministration and anti-social behaviour, its second highest source of complaints
Sanctuary Housing Association failed to manage its own Tenant Management Company effectively enough to handle an anti-social behaviour (ASB) issue in a case in which a resident reported that they had been threatened with use of a gun.
The case was among those highlighted in the Housing Ombudsman’s latest ‘Learning from: Severe Maladministration’ report, covering complex ASB.
The Ombudsman noted that ASB is the second highest driver of complaints. However, fewer findings are upheld, at 62% in 2023-24.
“This indicates some good practice by landlords compared to other service areas, and ASB has certainly been an area of focus by successive governments,” the report said.
The key themes in the report are risk assessments, action plans, engagement with 3rd parties, and the response to hate crimes. The report also focuses on complaint handling processes and communication.
The Ombudsman said that in the Sanctuary case, the resident had been reporting ASB to the Tenant Management Company (TMC) for eight months without response.
The landlord set up a meeting with the TMC and found out it had been aware but taken no action.
When the resident subsequently reported that the neighbour threatened her with use of a gun and alleged that other residents had been threatened too but were frightened to make reports, "members of the TMC were reluctant to address the neighbour’s behaviour out of fear of repercussion", the Housing Ombudsman said.
“The landlord should have assessed whether the TMC had an appropriate action plan and the skills in place to deal with the issue. It did not and the TMC later asked for the landlord to take over the case. This is following the resident finding out the TMC had told the neighbour about her reports, which made the situation worse.”
According to the report, Sanctuary refused but said it would help drafting letters, “which is not where the TMC needed help”.
The Ombudsman said: “There is no evidence that the landlord considered whether this may adversely affect or cause detriment to the residents.
“In its final response letter, the landlord acknowledged that the TMC had handled the case poorly. However, there is no evidence that it accepted that it had the overall responsibility for the TMC or that it was legally obliged to the resident by way of the tenancy agreement.”
The report said that eventually, the police served an injunction against the alleged perpetrator, “yet the landlord still did not act”.
It added: “In its learning from this case, the landlord says it has revised and updated its policies relating to neighbourhood nuisance and ASB, as well as implementing new processes to improve the way it manages and tracks the effectiveness of its services to residents."
A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “Every Sanctuary customer has the right to expect us to deal with ASB in a thorough and timely manner. In this case, we fell short of the standards our customers deserve and we have apologised to the affected resident for the poor service received.
“We are committed to learning lessons arising from complaints and using them to help us improve. We have revised and updated our policies relating to neighbourhood nuisance and ASB. In addition, we are implementing new processes to improve the way we manage and track the effectiveness of our services to customers.”
Other landlords highlighted in the report include:
- Bristol City Council
- Clarion
- L&Q
- Newham Council
- Notting Hill Genesis
- Orbit Group
- Peabody
- Southwark Council
- Watford Community Housing
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “This report includes some of the most demanding and distressing cases we have seen.
“It demonstrates how social landlords’ role goes beyond bricks and mortar, handling racism, homophobia, self-harm, suicide and domestic violence.
“The impact of these issues will have been felt by communities as well as the individual residents, and by the landlord staff handling them.
“It shows how vital the social housing sector’s presence can be in the wider community, managing tenancies, estates and neighbourhoods, often working alongside other organisations.”
He added: “While some of the events may make this report difficult to read, we cannot shy away from the reality of these experiences without losing the lessons to support landlords to deal with it.
“Although [we] do see some good practice, these cases point to clear and common failings. This can often a failure to respond and act. This can lead to risk assessments not being conducted, actions plans being absent, and limited communication.
“There are practical lessons across these cases for landlords to improve policies and procedures, from ensuring policies are clear and deliverable; managing resident expectations; triaging complaints; improving knowledge transfer; and being more proactive.”
Harry Rodd
