Sanctuary Housing Association (202437514)

Decision
Case ID	202437514
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Sanctuary Housing Association
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	8 May 2026

Background

1. The resident reported that an object had penetrated both panes of glass in his bedroom window. He complained when the landlord failed to complete the repair.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Repairs to a broken window.
   2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to a broken window.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Repairs to a broken window

4. The landlord did not take reasonable steps to secure the property following the initial report from the resident. It did not complete the window repair within its repair policy timescale.

Complaint handling

5. Although the landlord responded within the required timescales and offered redress, it did not address all the issues raised by the resident.

 

 

 

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 08 June 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £665 made up of as follows: £600 to recognise the delay, distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of repairs to the broken window £50 to recognise the likely distress caused by its complaint handling failures £15 to recognise the inconvenience caused by the missed appointment on 23 December 2024 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 08 June 2026

 

 

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The landlord should define what is meant by “boarding up” a broken window within its repairs policy. This definition should include clear expectations of requirements to adequately secure a property, to help ensure that temporary measures do not expose residents to avoidable risks.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
24 September 2024	The resident raised a complaint to the landlord. He said: on 3 June 2024, his bedroom window was ‘put through’ by someone a contractor attended, provided cardboard to cover the window, and said that it could take 6 weeks until the window was replaced the repair was not done he was having trouble sleeping at night due to draught noise in high winds pieces of glass would fall out of the window into the garden below, presenting a hazard to the children that play there
28 September 2024	The landlord acknowledged the complaint.
8 October 2024	The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response: it apologised for the delay and inconvenience caused by moving the appointment but said it had placed the new appointment on the ‘bring forward queue’. It passed oversight of the repair to the works coordination team, to track the repair and update the resident it requested the last 6 months of heating bills from the resident so that it could investigate his reports that he was using extra heating it awarded £125 compensation for delays and inconvenience
22 October 2024	The resident called the landlord to escalate his complaint after it re-scheduled on the day of the appointment. On the same day, it emailed to acknowledge the escalation request.
27 October 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response, which: apologised for the inconvenience caused by the delay, the lack of communication from the work coordinator team, and the missed appointment confirmed the appointment for 9 December 2024 set a deadline for 31 December 2024 to complete the repairs awarded an additional £195 compensation comprising: £50 for time, trouble, and inconvenience £25 for complaint handling failures as there was no contact made from the works coordination team £20 for 2 missed appointments £100 for future impact of delays This brought its total compensation offer to £320
6 December 2024	The resident called the landlord to complain that it moved the appointment again, to 23 December 2024. He also complained that the cardboard covering on the window was soggy and damp. A contractor attended later that day to board up the window.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s final response and asked us to investigate. He wanted it to complete the repairs. He also wanted it to clear his rent arrears for the period he withheld rent while repairs were outstanding.

 

 

 

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	Repairs to the broken window
Finding	Maladministration

6. Under its repair policy, the landlord is responsible for repairs to window glass broken by crime or vandalism. For emergency repairs, it will ‘board up’ broken windows within 24 hours to make the property secure and visit again to replace the glass.
7. A contractor attended the property within 24 hours of the resident’s report in line with its policy. They covered the broken window with cardboard and told the resident they would replace the glass in the next 6 weeks.
8. The landlord’s policy does not define what is meant by “boarding up” or “securing” a property. It is not evident that the landlord took reasonable action to meet this requirement. We have seen no evidence that the landlord considered any risks, completed any further inspections, or gave any consideration to whether cardboard was a suitable short‑term measure.
9. There is also no evidence that the landlord considered the potential hazards raised by the resident, such as falling glass during high winds and noise ingress. The resident told it he was spending more money on heating as the window was only secured with cardboard. While the landlord asked him to provide evidence of bills, it failed to investigate and missed a further opportunity to inspect or effectively board up the window.
10. The landlord only secured and boarded up the window after the resident complained that the cardboard had become “damp and soggy” in December 2024. It failed to take reasonable steps to secure the property for 6 months or address the hazards arising from its temporary measures.
11. The landlord acknowledged delays and apologised to the resident. It sought to put things right by offering compensation which covered delays from 3 June 2024 to 9 December 2024. Its total offer of £295 was proportionate and in line with its policy and our compensation guidance at the time.
12. However, there were further delays after 9 December 2024, and the landlord did not meet its own deadline of 31 December 2024 set out in its stage 2 complaint response. This delay included a further missed appointment on 23 December 2024.
13. There is no evidence that the landlord identified or addressed the root cause of the delays until 6 January 2025, when it recorded issues with its supplier and took steps to resolve these. This does not demonstrate that it monitored the repair to completion. As a result, it did not complete the repair until 12 February 2025.
14. In addition, the delay extended through the winter months, when the effects of the outstanding repair would likely have caused more detriment to the resident. In these circumstances, while the landlord acknowledged failings and offered redress, it did not fully put matters right.
15. The replacement of the broken glass is an appointed repair under the landlord’s repairs policy, which sets a target timescale of 28 days. It completed the repair 179 working day after receiving the resident’s report. This was 151 working days later than its policy timescale.
16. In summary, while the landlord recognised some failings, apologised and offered some redress, this was not proportionate to the delays, inconvenience or time and trouble the resident experienced. We have, therefore, made a finding of maladministration and ordered an additional £320 compensation. This is to recognise the length of the delay, additional delays following its final response, a further missed appointment, and additional failings identified above.
17. The resident asked us to order the landlord to clear his rent arrears for the period he withheld rent while the repair was outstanding. We have made compensation orders to recognise the impact of the repair issues. These orders are separate from his obligation to pay rent under the terms of his tenancy agreement. It would not be appropriate for us to make any order that removes or alters his contractual obligation to pay rent.

 

 

 

 

 

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Maladministration

18. The landlord has a 2-stage complaints policy. It acknowledges complaints within 5 working days. It will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days of the acknowledgement. At stage 2 it will respond within 20 working days of the escalation.
19. The landlord’s complaint definition and response timescales are in line with the Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’).
20. The landlord acknowledged and responded to the resident’s complaint at both stages within its complaint policy timescales.
21. At stage 2, the landlord offered the resident £25 compensation to recognise the lack of contact from the works coordination team. Its offer was in line with its policies and in accordance with our compensation guidance.
22. The landlord’s complaint policy requires it to address all points raised in a complaint. In this case, the resident raised concerns about potential hazards, weather and noise. It failed to address these in its complaint responses. We have, therefore, found service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. We have ordered an additional £25 compensation to reflect this finding.

Learning

23. It is important for landlords to see complaints as opportunities to improve. Commitments made in the complaint process need to be completed, otherwise it compounds the breakdown of trust. When outlining commitments within complaint responses, landlords must ensure they adhere to these. This offers reassurance to residents. The landlord may wish to review our Spotlight Report on Repairing Trust.
24. The landlord may also wish to read our open letter to landlords about dealing with window related complaints.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

25. The landlord’s record keeping in this case was robust.

Communication

26. The landlord’s recognised communication failings and provided its complaints responses promptly. Effective communication is vital as poor communication leaves residents uninformed leading to frustration. Effective communication ensures landlords manage expectations, even when delays occur, and how they can mitigate the impact of these.