Soha Housing Limited (202407326)

Background

1. The resident has an assured tenancy which began in May 2021. The property is a 1-bedroom bungalow. The housing records confirm the resident is dyslexic and has depression and anxiety.

What the complaint is about

2. The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Request for reasonable adjustments associated with the window replacement.
   2. Request for information including training records.
   3. Concerns about the landlord’s methods of communication and language used in communication.
   4. Subject Access Request.
   5. Reports of repairs to the door.
   6. Concerns about the sharing of sensitive personal data.
   7. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. Having carefully considered all the evidence, we have decided that the complaint is outside our jurisdiction and as a result we have not investigated it.

Summary of reasons

4. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why we will not investigate a complaint. What we can and cannot consider is set out in the Housing Ombudsman Scheme and is called our jurisdiction.
5. Under our scheme rules, the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints which in the Ombudsman’s opinion seek to raise again matters which the Housing Ombudsman, or any other Ombudsman has already decided upon.
6. Prior to this investigation, the Ombudsman issued a determination for case 202318878 which considered matters raised by the resident in his complaint to the landlord, initially raised on 14 May 2023. It further considered his complaint from April 2024 through to the landlord’s final response date 27 September 2024.
7. In a report dated 30 September 2025, the Ombudsman ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident and to pay compensation in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to him by its failures in handling the issues raised through his complaints. This included its handling of:
   1. the installation of new windows in his home.
   2. repairs to his front and back door.
   3. his request for reasonable adjustments.
   4. his claims of the use of insensitive and dismissive language.
   5. his complaint.
8. We also ordered that it write to the resident to confirm the reasonable adjustments that it had agreed, together with reaching agreement with the resident as to when it will carry out the work to replace the windows and inspect the doors. Further the landlord was asked to undertake a review of its training arrangements for relevant staff to ensure that it meets its obligations under the Equality Act.
9. We consider that it was right for the resident’s complaints to be considered in a single investigation (202318878) as they were linked and formed a continuation of the concerns he had raised in the first instance about the window installation.