Southern Housing (202401894)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401894

Southern Housing

24 September 2025

 

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman, and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

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

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The tenancy began on 23 August 2017. The property is a 2-bedroom flat. The resident has a joint tenancy with his brother. The resident and his brother are autistic and are assisted by support workers. The resident has a representative in this case (‘the representative’). The landlord is a housing association, its records show the resident, and his brother have health issues and are vulnerable.
  2. The representative contacted us in May 2023 and said he complained to the landlord but had not received a response. After we contacted it, the landlord sent a stage 1 response on 26 July 2023 and said:
    1. The complaint was about the windows at the property. The representative complained the windows were falling out of the frames, the landlord ‘made them safe’, but now they did not open. He complained the landlord had promised to replace the windows, but it had not done so.
    2. It did not have enough information to decide if the windows needed repairing or replacing. It would do a survey by 30 August 2023 and provide an action plan by 30 September 2023.
    3. It awarded £645 compensation and said a staff member would ensure the actions were completed on time.
  3. The representative escalated his complaint on 24 October 2023as the landlord had not completed the actions it promised.
  4. The landlord sent its stage 2 response on 6 December 2023. It upheld the complaint and acknowledged it had not surveyed the windows or provided an action plan. The landlord said it would complete an inspection by 24 December 2023 and provide an action plan by 10 January 2024. It apologised and awarded £265 more compensation.
  5. The representative referred the complaint to us on 13 April 2024. He said the landlord had not provided an action plan or fixed the issues. The representative said the landlord should replace the windows and compensate the resident for the energy costs and distress caused by the disrepair.

Assessment and findings

Scope of assessment

  1. We are aware there are historical issues with the windows dating back to 2018. We encourage residents and their representatives to complain to their landlords in a timely manner. This is so the landlord can consider issues when they are still ‘live’, and evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on what occurred. We do not consider complaints that were not made within a reasonable period. This is usually 12 months before a complaint is made to the landlord. In this case the landlord acknowledged it had received reports saying the windows needed replacing. This investigation therefore considers the period from 24 March 2022 when it was recommended the landlord replace the windows. Issues before this period provide background but are not included in the assessment. The investigation goes up to the landlord’s final complaint response on 6 December 2023.

The landlord’s handling of window repairs

  1. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. The landlord’s repairs policy confirms it is responsible for repairs to window frames, sills and catches. The policy says it will aim to ‘make safe’ emergency repairs within 6 hours and complete a repair in one visit. The policy does not set out timelines for other categories of repairs.
  2. The Equality Act 2010 provides a legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals with protected characteristics from unfair treatment. Under the Act, the landlord has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments where there is a provision, criterion or practice which puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter in comparison with persons who are not disabled. The landlord has confirmed its records show the resident has protected characteristics. Although we cannot find that a landlord has breached the Equality Act, we can decide whether a landlord has properly considered its duties and followed its own related policies and procedures. The landlord introduced its reasonable adjustments and vulnerable needs policy in January 2024. The policy says the landlord will work with support workers and other professionals to meet the needs of residents.
  3. On 23 March 2022 a contractor visited the property to do repairs as the windows did not shut properly. The visit note says all the windows were corroded, “bowed” and did not lock. The note says a ‘follow-on’ was required. After the visit the contractor recommended the landlord replace the windows.
  4. The landlord had been alerted to ongoing issues with the windows, however, there is no evidence it took any action. It did not seek further information or confirm if the windows should be replaced. There is no evidence the landlord told the representative how it intended to address the disrepair.
  5. The representative said in August 2022 the kitchen window was in danger of falling into the street. He said the landlord nailed the window shut. There is no record of the landlord visiting the property in August 2022. On 21 November 2022 the landlord ordered a window to be made safe as part of the frame had fallen off. The landlord completed a repair on the same day. The landlord acted appropriately in completing the repair as an emergency.
  6. The landlord was aware of ongoing issues with the windows and the resident’s vulnerabilities. It is reasonable to expect the landlord to have monitored the condition of the windows and to have inspected the others after completing an emergency repair. There is no evidence of ongoing monitoring or an inspection at this time.
  7. In February 2023 the landlord completed a ‘referral form’ for replacement windows based on the March 2022 visit. It is unclear why it took the landlord 11 months to complete the form. The form says the landlord has a ‘service level agreement’ (SLA) to contact the resident “within 2 weeks of referral”. There is no evidence the landlord contacted the representative after completing the referral. Despite the landlord being aware of the resident’s vulnerabilities it failed to communicate with the representative about the impact and handling of the disrepair.
  8. A landlord internal email said the referral was submitted to the relevant team in March 2023 and a task created to “check the repairs/replacement”. The task was not completed. There is no evidence the landlord visited the property or contacted the representative after the emergency repair in November 2022. The condition of the windows, history of disrepair and the resident’s vulnerability meant the landlord should have been proactive, however it failed to act.
  9. The landlord’s email said the windows were replaced in 2003 and due for renewal in 2033. It said the replacement of windows at the front of the building would require scaffolding and if budget was available could be programmed for 2024-26. The email went on to say the representative contacted the landlord in April 2023 seeking an update. The landlord has not provided any ‘contact notes’, outside of the complaints process in this case. Complete and accurate records are essential to allow a landlord to fulfil its repair obligations. They are particularly important in this case due to the resident’s vulnerabilities and because others contacted the landlord on his behalf. The landlord’s failure or inability to provide this information is a record keeping failure.
  10. After we contacted the landlord, it provided a stage 1 response on 26 July 2023. It apologised if the representative believed the landlord would replace the windows but said it did not have enough information to make that decision. It said it needed to inspect the windows to complete the referral process. The landlord said it would do the inspection by 30 August 2023 and provide an action plan by 30 September 2023. It said a staff member would monitor progress and awarded £645 compensation.
  11. Contrary to the commitment made at stage 1, the landlord failed to inspect or provide an action plan. The representative therefore escalated his complaint. He said the resident and his brother were vulnerable, had learning disabilities and were unable to heat the living room due to large gaps around the windows.
  12. In its stage 2 response, sent on 6 December 2023 the landlord apologised and said it would inspect before Christmas and provide an action plan by 10 January 2023. It said a staff member would monitor progress. The landlord apologised and awarded £265 additional compensation.

Events after the landlord sent the final complaint response

  1. The landlord inspected before Christmas 2023. The inspection report said the kitchen and living room windows were letting in water and drafts and were beyond repair. It recommended replacing the windows in the resident’s property as soon as possible and said all windows at the front of the building needed urgent repair.
  2. Contrary to the commitment given at stage 2, the landlord did not provide an action plan by 10 January 2024. After the representative chased the landlord in March 2024, it advised him to contact this Service.
  3. The representative referred the complaint to us on 13 April 2024. He said the landlord had visited numerous times and said the windows needed replacing but had done nothing. The representative said the issues were causing the resident and his brother distress.
  4. In June 2024 the landlord classified the works as a “complex project”. In February 2025 an inspection of all windows in the building said they were unable to bear sufficient load, and the increased pressure had distorted the frames. It said if the pressure continued to increase the sealed glazing units could break. The report set out a proposal for “initial” remedial works.
  5. In September 2025 the landlord told us it could not replace the windows without fixing the building’s structural issues. It said it hoped to start work in summer 2026 but this depended on funding, planning approval and building control.
  6. Where the landlord admits failings, we consider whether its offer of redress put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so, we consider whether the redress was in accordance with the dispute resolution principles of ‘be fair’, ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
  7. The landlord acknowledged it was told new windows were needed but said it had insufficient information to decide if they should be replaced. It identified how it would put things right and awarded £910 compensation. However, it failed to carry out the actions it said would resolve the problem.
  8. The process for assessing the recommendation for replacement windows was inadequate. It did not monitor the condition of the windows in the resident’s property. There is no evidence the landlord tried to mitigate the effects of the disrepair by alleviating the cold or reducing the temperature in the kitchen.
  9. The resident’s vulnerability is an exacerbating feature of this case. There is no evidence the landlord conducted a risk assessment, considered if a decant was needed or if it should signpost the representative to the local authority for a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) assessment. The landlord’s recordkeeping and communication was inadequate. In our special report on the landlord (May 2024), we found in many cases the landlord had appropriate records of resident vulnerabilities, but it did not always act appropriately on this this information. The same failing is evident in this case. The resident relied on support workers to try to resolve the disrepair. The landlord failed to provide updates and failed to respond to enquiries. The representative told us the landlord has not provided updates after the stage 2 response.
  10. These failings, and the fact the issues are unresolved 3.5 years after it was recommended the windows be replaced, mean the circumstances for severe maladministration apply. The compensation awarded by the landlord does not reflect the scale of the distress and inconvenience it caused the resident. The landlord is therefore ordered to apologise and to pay £1,190 additional compensation. This brings the total compensation to £2,100. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there have been serious failings by the landlord.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) says landlords must:
    1. Acknowledge stage 1 complaints within 5 working days and respond within 10 working days.
    2. Acknowledge stage 2 complaints and respond within 20 working days of escalation.
  2. The landlord has not provided the resident’s stage 1 complaint, and it is unclear when he complained. In May 2023 the representative told us he had not received a complaint response. We therefore asked the landlord to acknowledge the complaint by 23 June 2023 and send a response by 12 July 2023. The landlord acknowledged the complaint but said it needed extra time to investigate and would respond by 19 July 2023.
  3. The landlord sent a stage 1 response on 26 July 2023. This was 7 days after the date when it said it would respond.
  4. On 24 October 2023 the representative asked to escalate his complaint. The landlord acknowledged this on 17 November 2023. It sent a stage 2 response on 6 December 2023. This was 12 working days after the response time required by the Code.
  5. We found maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. This is because we had to ask the landlord to send a stage 1 response. The landlord did not provide the response when it said it would. It also failed to follow the response times set out in the Code. We order the landlord to apologise and pay £175 compensation. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failing that adversely affected a resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of window repairs.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise for the failings identified in this report. This should be a verbal apology and be provided by a senior manager.
    2. Pay the resident £2,275 compensation, this comprises:
      1. £2,100 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the failings in the landlord’s handling of window repairs.
      2. £175 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failings in the landlord’s complaint handling.

The landlord can deduct any compensation already paid. The compensation awarded by the Ombudsman should be paid direct to the resident and not to a rent or service charge account.

  1. Share with the representative the information provided by the landlord to the Ombudsman on 11 September 2025 about the condition of the building.
  2. Complete an inspection of the windows in the resident’s property. The landlord must provide a report to the representative and the Ombudsman setting out:
    1. Measures to mitigate the extreme temperatures in the property.
    2. A timeline for carrying out the identified measures. The schedule must provide a timeline for the works that starts within 6 weeks of the date of the report.
  3. The landlord must contact the representative to fully understand the reasonable adjustments that might be required by the resident. The landlord should use this information to inform a plan of how it will communicate with the resident (and his representative). The plan must adhere to the landlord’s reasonable adjustments and vulnerable needs policy. The landlord must provide a copy of the communication plan to the representative and the Ombudsman within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should consider reimbursing the resident for the additional costs of heating the property.