Home Group Limited (202519419)

Decision
Case ID	202519419
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Home Group Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	23 February 2026

Background

The resident lives in a maisonette which spans the third and fourth floor of the block. He first raised a patio door repair in February 2022. There are 3 separate patio doors in the property all with faults, which he has reported to the landlord. He has also raised 2 other repairs relating to a smoke alarm and kitchen cupboard doors.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s:
1. Handling of the resident’s reports of outstanding repairs.
2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

There was:
1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of outstanding repairs.
2. No maladministration in its complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

We found that:
1. Limitations in the landlord’s record keeping impacted both its and our ability to confirm what repairs it had completed on what patio door.
2. Communication failures between itself and its contractor resulted in multiple appointments without a resolution.
3. Incorrect information recorded against repairs has left the resident with outstanding repairs.
4. It did not follow through on commitments made in its complaint responses.

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 23 March 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1,000 made up as follows: £750 offered through its complaint responses (if not already paid) £250 for the time and trouble caused to him by the failings in its handling of his reports of outstanding repairs This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 23 March 2026
3	Repair works The landlord must take all steps to ensure the repairs to the smoke alarm and kitchen cupboard doors are started no later than the due date. If the landlord cannot start the works in this time, it must explain to us, by the due date: Why it cannot start the works by the due date and provide evidence to support its reasons. It must provide a revised timescale of when it will start and finish the works; or The steps it has taken to start the works and provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to ensure the works were started by the due date. It must provide a revised timescale if it is able to or explain why it cannot. The landlord must provide both us and the resident with its report findings by the due date	No later than 23 March 2026
4	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by a suitably qualified person with expertise to complete the type of inspection required. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects all 3 separate patio doors to identify if any repairs are required or if replacement doors are needed The survey report must set out: A list of the works it will take to resolve the issue with each door Provide the resident and the Ombudsman with a copy report it must provide a schedule including likely timescales to commence and complete the work.	No later than 06 April 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
14 May 2024	The resident raised an issue with a patio door. He said this was not closing properly and leaving an exposed gap. This was causing a draught and water to enter the property.
Between 14 June 2024 and 21 July 2025	The landlord attended on 6 occasions to investigate and complete repairs to the patio doors within the property.
19 November 2024	The resident reported an issue with his kitchen cupboards.
28 November 2024	The resident reported his smoke alarm had stopped working.
Between 28 November 2024 and 8 December 2025	The landlord attended and removed 1 smoke alarm. It raised a total of 6 appointments to attend and replace the smoke alarm.
21 July 2025	The resident raised a complaint with the landlord because it had not followed up on several repairs. He said: all 3 patio doors needed repair and that 2 of them would not open, which meant he had no access to the patio area the third patio door did not close properly, which left a gap that let in water the landlord removed a faulty smoke detector in November 2024 but had not replaced it he had reported broken kitchen cupboard doors, but it remained unrepaired
5 August 2025	The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It said that: the resident had reported recurring issues with the patio doors between 14 May 2024 and 31 March 2025 its contractors attended several times but did not resolve the problem, and delays increased when its main contractor went into administration its new contractor did not provide appointment information or updates about follow‑on work he reported a faulty smoke detector on 15 November 2024, but it had logged the repair incorrectly twice, causing a delay its contractor repaired the kitchen unit on 19 November 2024 To resolve the situation, it had: arranged for a contractor to attend on 8 August 2025 to complete the outstanding repairs and identify any further work required provided a point of contact to monitor the repairs and provide updates The landlord offered the resident £750 compensation. This consisted of: £225 for the disruption caused to him £225 for its service failures £300 for the delays in completing the repairs
7 August 2025	The resident escalated his complaint because he remained unhappy with the compensation the landlord offered. He said the offer did not reflect the inconvenience or the impact he experienced.
12 August 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It said: it had reviewed its stage 1 response and agreed with the findings it accepted there were delays caused by incorrect logging of repairs, contractor administration, and communication failures it would review its internal scheduling processes and ensure the new contractor improved its communication the resident had accepted the compensation offered at stage 1 and it had added this to his rent account on 12 August 2025 it reviewed his request for additional compensation but it was satisfied it had followed its discretionary compensation policy and would not increase its offer it acknowledged the inconvenience caused and apologised
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident remained unhappy and brought his complaint to us. He said the landlord had still not completed the repairs. The fault on the patio doors meant he had been unable to use his patio area for over a year. He still did not have a smoke alarm on one floor and as such felt the compensation offered was not sufficient.

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 resident’s reports of outstanding repairs.
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord’s repairs policy states it will attend to emergency repairs within 6 hours and will aim to make things safe within 24 hours. It will aim to complete routine repairs within 28 days. If a repair requires specialist parts, such as doors or windows, it will aim to resolve these within 56 days.
The landlord has not disputed that it is responsible for the repairs the resident reported. It has accepted there were service failures within its complaint responses and offered compensation for these. Our role is to assess how it addressed and sought to resolve these failings.
In the landlord’s complaint responses, it acknowledged that it has completed multiple repair attempts to the patio doors within the property. It has also accepted communication issues with its contractor caused delays to provide a permanent solution. In its response, it confirmed its contractor would inspect the doors and arrange any required follow-on repairs. This was an appropriate step towards resolving the issues.
However, the resident has advised us that all 3 sets of patio doors still require repairing. These issues continue to prevent his use of the patio area. The evidence shows the landlord has been attending to repairs to these doors as far back as February 2022. In this time, it has appointed approximately 15 repairs without a resolution. While a first time fix isn’t always achievable, this volume of repairs indicates it has not identified a permanent solution. This has caused the resident additional time and trouble.
The landlord’s complaint responses and repair records have failed to distinguish between the separate doors. The resident has explained to us that there are 3 separate patio doors all requiring repair. However, the landlord’s records and responses only refer to a patio door. This lack of clarity and poor record keeping has compounded its ability to apply an effective and lasting solution to any of the doors.
The landlord’s complaint responses have appropriately acknowledged service failures with regards to the resident’s faulty smoke alarm. It acknowledged internal errors resulted in a 9 working day delay before it attended. This response is significantly outside of the 24 hours for an emergency repair stated in its policy.
The resident told us the contractor removed the fire alarm on 28 November 2024. The evidence shows the landlord attended on 2 further occasions after this visit and recorded the repair as complete. However, the resident says it has not replaced this or provided a temporary alarm. This indicates further communication issues between the landlord and its contractor, as well as weaknesses in the landlord’s record keeping. Due to limited information in the landlord’s records, we are unable to confirm whether it completed the repair. This caused the resident concern about fire safety, which he says is increased by the faulty patio doors and his reduced ability to leave quickly in an emergency.
The landlord’s records show the repair to the resident’s kitchen cupboard door as completed during its complaint inspection visit on the 8 August 2025. However, he has advised this repair remains unresolved. The landlord’s failure to keep accurate records has clearly impacted its ability to resolve these outstanding repairs. Due to the limited detail in the landlord’s repair records, we have been unable to establish if it has appropriately completed these repairs. This failure has also caused the resident additional inconvenience in pursuit of a resolution.
Overall, we find maladministration in the landlords handling of the resident’s reports of outstanding repairs. It has acknowledged service failures through its complaint responses and offered redress however, it has failed to learn from its investigation. It has not provided evidence to show it has followed through on its commitment to complete the repairs. The evidence demonstrates following multiple appointments the resident is still left with 3 unresolved doors repairs. This as well as Its failure to provide a resolution for the smoke alarm have left him concerned for his ability to exit the property in the event of an emergency. As such, it should pay the resident an additional £250 compensation for time and trouble cause to him. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance for a failure which has significantly impacted a resident. We have also made an order to complete an inspection of the outstanding repairs.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	No maladministration

The landlord’s complaints policy states it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days. If a resident escalates a complaint to stage 2, it will respond within 20 working days. These timescales align with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
The resident raised a complaint on 21 July 2025. The landlord acknowledged this within 2 working days. It provided its stage 1 response 9 working days later on 5 August 2025. These are within the timescales stated in its policy.
The resident escalated his complaint on 7 August 2025. The landlord issued its stage 2 response 3 working days later on 12 August 2025. This response is within the timescale stated in its policy.
We find no maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. All of its responses were issued within the appropriate timescales and demonstrated the landlord’s commitment to providing a permanent solution.

Learning

General learning

The landlord attended multiple times for the patio doors without finding a lasting solution. This shows the need for an escalation process when repairs repeatedly fail. Earlier escalation could reduce further inconvenience and lead to an earlier resolution.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

Effective knowledge and information management prevents repeated issues. When a landlord fails to link multiple reports of the same problem, it can miss opportunities to arrange an inspection or review that could resolve the underlying cause. The landlord should use systems that spot patterns, link related cases, and escalate them when needed. This helps it act on reliable information, reduce risk, and improve its service.

Communication

Clear and timely communication is essential when managing repairs. The landlord should give regular updates so the resident does not need to chase for information. It should also confirm the scope of work with contractors before booking appointments. Inaccurate details lead to confusion, delays, and inconvenience. Clear information about the work, dates, and responsibilities helps ensure all parties understand what is required.