Southern Housing (202436215)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202436215

Southern Housing

11 April 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 handling of the resident’s reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB).
  2. The landlord’s complaint handling has also been considered.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a 1-bedroom flat. The landlord has no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
  2. The resident complained to the landlord on 17 July 2024. The resident outlined recent instances of ASB she had experienced from her neighbour and noted that she had reported ASB previously. She stated she felt the landlord was treating her less favourably.
  3. The landlord responded on 16 August 2024. It outlined that it did not have any open ASB files regarding the resident. A previous ASB file from 2022 had been closed due to a lack of engagement from the resident. The landlord advised that if the resident was experiencing ASB she would need to contact her housing officer to report it and provided a phone number.
  4. In response, the resident outlined that she had not previously been told she could only report ASB to her housing officer. The resident requested her complaint be escalated to stage 2 because the ASB had been continuing for several years.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 25 September 2024. It reiterated that the resident should report ASB to her housing officer, and that it had no open ASB files for the resident.
  6. The resident escalated her complaint to this Service on 15 November 2024. She expressed frustration that the landlord had not investigated the ASB she had reported.

Assessment and findings

Reports of ASB

  1. Although it is noted that there are historical reports by the resident about ASB to the landlord, this report will focus on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s recent reports throughout 2024 and up to the landlord stage 2 response, as this is what was considered during the landlord’s recent complaint responses.
  2. It is acknowledged that the resident does not believe that the landlord responded appropriately to her reports of ASB. The role of this Service is not to establish whether the ASB reported was occurring, or not. Our role is to assess whether the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of ASB was in line with its legal and policy obligations. This investigation has considered whether its response was fair and reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.
  3. The landlord’s ASB policy outlines that it considers excessive noise and verbal abuse to be ASB. The policy sets out that a resident can report ASB in a variety of ways including by email and in writing. It does not specify which member of the landlord’s staff the report needs to be made to. Upon receiving a report of ASB, the landlord will contact the resident to discuss their concerns and obtain more information. It will create an action plan, conduct a risk assessment, and keep the resident updated on its progress.
  4. When the resident contacted the landlord on 17 July 2024, she outlined several dates and times throughout April to July 2024 when she had recorded ASB from her neighbour. The reports included slamming doors, banging on the ceiling, and abusive language. The resident outlined that she felt unsafe and that it was challenging to live with the neighbour’s actions. The landlord’s internal correspondence shows that it considered the resident’s contact to be a complaint because she had outlined that she felt that the landlord was not treating her fairly.
  5. Upon receiving the resident’s email, the landlord did not acknowledge it as a report of ASB. The resident made at least 2 further reports which were also not acknowledged. This would have caused distress and frustration for the resident.
  6. The landlord advised the resident in its stage 1 response that if she wanted to report ASB she would need to do this on the phone to her housing officer. While this is one method of reporting, the landlord’s ASB policy outlines that this is not the only method. The landlord missed the opportunity to raise an ASB report on the resident’s behalf, which was inappropriate. The landlord failed to respond in good time to the reports and demonstrate it was taking the matter seriously.
  7. The evidence suggests that the landlord did not follow its ASB policy because it did not conduct a risk assessment, interview the resident, or create an action plan. It did not ask the resident to provide evidence or demonstrate that it was taking her concerns seriously. The resident was inconvenienced by the matter not being resolved sooner which caused distress and impacted the resident’s enjoyment of her home. The landlord missed the opportunity to open an ASB file, provide support to the resident, and manage her expectations.
  8. In its complaint response, the landlord outlined that the resident did not have an open ASB case and the previous case had been closed. The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s attempts to report further ASB. Landlords are expected to open ASB files on receiving a relevant report, regardless of whether previous files have been closed, it failed to do so which was inappropriate. 
  9. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of ASB amount to maladministration. This is because the landlord failed to take the resident’s reports seriously, or to take any action. The resident has outlined that the reported behaviour was causing her distress and had been ongoing for some time, the landlord missed its opportunity to instil confidence in the resident that it would act appropriately.
  10. The inconvenience caused to the resident could have been mitigated if the landlord had acted in accordance with its policy and in a timely manner. There is no evidence that the landlord has acknowledged its failings or reflected on this matter. It has also not considered how it might do things differently in the future. For these reasons, £300 compensation is awarded to the resident in recognition of the failings identified in this report.
  11. It is understood that the resident had reported further alleged ASB to the landlord following this complaint being escalated to this service. The landlord must contact the resident to discuss her concerns and consider the reported behaviour in line with its relevant policies.

Complaint handling

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states that landlords must have an effective complaint process to provide a good service to their residents. An effective complaint process means landlords can fix problems quickly, learn from their mistakes and build good relationships with residents.
  2. The landlord’s complaint handling policy states that stage 1 complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days and responded to within 10 working days of the acknowledgement. Stage 2 complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days responded to within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.
  3. The resident first complained on 17 July 2024 and the landlord acknowledged this on 25 July 2024. It provided its response on 16 August 2024. This was outside of the landlord’s advertised time frames. However, the landlord did write to the resident on 7 August 2024 to advise it needed more time to issue its stage 1 response, this was appropriate and in line with its policy.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint to the landlord on 22 August 2024 and the landlord acknowledged this on 29 August 2024. It subsequently responded on 25 September 2024. This was within the landlord’s policy time frames.
  5. The tone of the landlord’s complaint responses was unsympathetic and did not demonstrate that the landlord had listened to the resident’s concerns. The landlord did not offer an apology for its failure to open an ASB file and reiterated that it had not received any ASB reports from the resident, which was not true. It was vague in its responses, for example, it noted it had not identified any service failures but was unclear on how it had reached this decision. The landlord did not show that it had considered all relevant information which was in breach of the Code.
  6. The landlord’s complaint handling amounts to service failure for the reasons above. £50 compensation is awarded to the resident to reflect the landlord’s failures. This amount is in reflection of the inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s failure to provide accurate and detailed responses to the complaint. 

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of ASB.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. The landlord must apologise to the resident, in writing, for the service failures noted in this determination. A copy should also be provided to the Ombudsman within 4 weeks of this determination.
  2. Within 4 weeks of this determination, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident:
    1. £300 in recognition of the failure to act appropriately on the resident’s reports of ASB.
    2. £50 in recognition of the complaint handling failures.
  3. Within 4 weeks of this determination, the landlord must contact the resident to discuss her current ASB concerns and consider the reported behaviour in line with its relevant policies.