Sovereign Network Group (202527805)

Decision
Case ID	202527805
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Sovereign Network Group
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	16 February 2026

Background

The resident lives in a third floor flat with her 2 sons. In February 2023, she told the landlord her balcony door and a bedroom window were not secure and needed repairing. A managing agent for the block of flats was responsible for the window repairs.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
1. Reports of repairs to a bedroom window and balcony door.
2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We found:
1. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of repairs.
2. Service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of repairs

The landlord delayed completing the repairs at the resident’s property. It recognised the delay at both complaint stages and offered compensation to the resident in line with our remedies guidance. However, the repairs have not been completed and she has been waiting 3 years.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint

The landlord did not fully comply with the landlord’s complaints policy and our Complaint Handling Code (the Code).

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: the apology is provided by a manager the apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic it has due regard to our apologies guidance	No later than 16 March 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident a total of £2,385 broken down as:  £150 offered at stage 1 for missed appointments £50 for not including the compensation for missed appointments at stage 2 £2,185 offered at stage 2 for the delay, distress and inconvenience The landlord must pay the resident directly and provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. It may deduct from the total figure any payments already made.	No later than 16 March 2026
3	Inspection Order The resident said the landlord attended in January 2026 and forced the window closed. However, she is unable to open it. We would like the landlord to reinspect the window and balcony door repair. What the landlord must do The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection and take reasonable steps to ensure it is completed by the due date. A suitably qualified person must complete the inspection. If the landlord cannot gain access, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure the surveyor inspects the bedroom window and balcony door. The survey report must set out: the most likely cause of the repairs whether the landlord is responsible for the repairs a full scope of works to achieve lasting and effective repair to the issue (if the landlord is responsible) the likely timescales to commence and complete the work whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works	No later than 30 March 2026

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
The landlord should consider if further compensation is appropriate in line with its policy, once repairs are complete. It should also consider discussing with the resident the heaters she said she bought to keep her property warm and the higher energy bills because of that.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
5 June 2024	The resident complained to the landlord. She said 1 of the bedroom windows opened further than it should which was a safety concern. The resident also said the landlord had tried to repair her balcony door but left it with a temporary latch. She said her flat was very cold due to the door and window repair.
19 June 2024	The landlord replied at stage 1 and upheld the resident’s complaint. It apologised for the delay and offered her £969 compensation, broken down as: £315 for the delay (low impact at £5 per week for 63 weeks) £315 for distress (low impact at £5 per week for 63 weeks) £189 for time and trouble (medium impact at £3 per week for 63 weeks) £150 for missed appointments The landlord said the window would need to be removed so the part could be replaced and the managing agent of the block would be arranging this repair. It also said it could make the window and door safe as a temporary measure, but this might involve boarding them up.
11 December 2024	The resident escalated her complaint. She said the landlord had not completed the repairs.
20 January 2025	The landlord responded at stage 2 and upheld the resident’s complaint. It apologised for the delay in completing the repair. The landlord said the repair would be completed in March 2025 as the managing agent could only complete the window repair in suitable weather conditions due to accessing the area externally. It reassessed the compensation and offered the resident £2,185 broken down as: £950 for the delay (medium impact £10 per week for 95 weeks) £950 for distress (medium impact £10 per week for 95 weeks) £285 for time and trouble (medium impact at £3 per week at 95 weeks)
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident said the repair to her balcony door and bedroom window has not been completed. She said this causes her flat to be very cold and she struggles with the cost to keep it warm. The resident said she has lived with the safety worry for her son’s bedroom window for 3 years. The resident said to resolve her complaint she would like the landlord to complete the repairs.

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of repairs
Finding	Maladministration

What we did not investigate

Our scheme rules state we may not investigate complaints which were not referred to the landlord as a complaint within a reasonable time, which is normally 12 months. The resident said they were aware of the faulty window from around February 2021. They raised a formal complaint on 5 June 2024. However, there is no evidence they raised a complaint promptly, and in any event within 12 months of when they became aware of the issue. We have not seen evidence they were prevented from raising a complaint sooner.
The resident told us the repairs have impacted her and her sons health. It would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

What we did investigate

On 28 February 2023, the resident said her bedroom window and the balcony door at her property were not secure. The landlord attended the same day and did a temporary repair by taping the gap around the window. It said further work was needed for the repair.
On 3 March 2023, the landlord repaired the latch on the balcony door at the resident’s property. On 5 March 2023, it said there was not a current safety issue with the balcony door, but the repair needed parts that were difficult to source. On 6 March 2023, the landlord said it could not get the required parts for the window.
On 6 September 2023, the landlord attended the property for the window repair, but it was unable to complete it. It said if offered to tape up the window again, but the resident said no, due to the hot weather.
The landlord’s repairs policy says it is responsible for windows and outside doors. It says it will attend an emergency repair within 24 hours, a routine repair within 1 month and complex repairs within 90 days.
On 4 June 2024, the landlord said the managing agent at the block was responsible for the repairs. This was around 1 year and 4 months after the resident first raised the repairs. The landlord said it gave staff training on raising repairs for the block and, who is responsible, to prevent this happening again.
The landlord’s complaints policy says it will pay £30 for a missed appointment and it has 3 categories for impacts on a resident.For alow impact resolved within a reasonable amount of time it can pay £5 per week for delays, £5 per week for distress and £1 per week for time and trouble. A medium impact is significant inconvenience to the resident and taken several efforts to resolve. For this it will pay £10 per week for delays, £10 per week for distress and £3 per week for time and trouble. Finally, for a high impact with major consequences, it will pay £20 per week for delays, £20 per week for distress and £5 per week for time and trouble.
The landlord’s stage 1 response acknowledged the repair delay. It said it would complete the repair and could board up the window and balcony door as a safety precaution. It was fair of the landlord to try and put things right with an offer of compensation. However, the offer in line with a low impact on the resident and the resident had been pursuing the repair for 1 year and 4 months.
On 15 July 2024, the landlord raised a window repair for the property. On 4 December 2024, the landlord raised a new repair for the window and balcony door. It said both were taped shut and parts needed to be sourced. On 14 January 2025, the landlord attended the resident’s property but did not complete the balcony door repair due to not having the correct parts.
The landlord’s stage 2 response acknowledged the further delays and increased the offer of compensation to try to put things right for the resident. It was reasonable of the landlord to reassess the impact on her as medium, as per its compensation policy, and calculated it from when the repair was first raised. However, the landlord did not include the compensation for missed appointments it offered at stage 1.
Our role is to consider whether the redress it offered put things right for the resident when the landlord has admitted failings. To do this we look at our dispute resolution principles: be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
In summary, the resident experienced a considerable delay for the balcony door and bedroom window repair. The landlord recognised its failings at both stages of the complaints process and tried to put things right with an offer of compensation. It offered to make temporary repairs to make the window and balcony safe. The landlord attended multiple appointments before giving the repair to the managing agent of the block. However, the resident said the repairs remain unresolved and she has waited a total of 3 years for the repairs to be completed. The delay and safety concerns caused her distress and inconvenience.
We found maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of repairs. The landlord tried to put things right with compensation, however, the repairs have not been completed. We have ordered the landlord to apologise and pay the compensation offered in the complaints process, plus £50 for not including the missed appointments compensation in its stage 2 response. This amount is in line with the landlord’s policy and our remedies guidance for a failure by a landlord which had a significant impact on the resident.

Complaint	The landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint
Finding	Service failure

The landlord’s complaints policy says it will acknowledge complaints and stage 2 escalations within 5 working days. It says it will respond to complaints at stage 1 within 10 working days and stage 2 within 20 working days. This is in line with the Code.
The landlord did not provide evidence it acknowledged the resident’s complaint at either stage of the complaints process. It responded at stage 1 around 10 working days after the resident complained. The landlord’s stage 2 response was delayed by around 5 working days. It did not acknowledge the delay in its stage 2 response.
There was a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint. However, as there was no detriment to the resident we have ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident.

Learning

The landlord must ensure it complies with its repairs and complaints policy when responding to residents. It must also ensure repairs are allocated correctly to prevent delays.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord should ensure repair notes are recorded and are detailed.

Communication

The landlord’s communication with the resident in its complaint responses was detailed and sympathetic.