Sovereign Network Group (202443674)

Decision
Case ID	202443674
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Sovereign Network Group
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	26 January 2026

Background

The resident lives in a flat. She reported blocked guttering to the landlord and asked it to clear or repair the guttering. She complained after the landlord cancelled a repair appointment. After it cleared the guttering, the resident told the landlord that water was still running down the external walls, causing internal leaks, damp and mould.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
1. Repairs to the guttering and drainage, and associated damp and mould.
2. The complaint.

Our decision (determination)

There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the guttering and drainage, and associated damp and mould.
There was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the guttering and drainage, and associated damp and mould

The landlord failed to resolve issues with the guttering and drainage that have led to the resident reporting damp and mould inside the property for at least 3 years. It missed or cancelled repair appointments, and there have been unacceptable delays in it completing follow-up repairs.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint

The landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s complaint and it did not provide its stage 1 response in writing. There was a significant delay before it provided its final response. It did however accept that there had been failings in its complaint handling. It apologised and paid reasonable compensation.

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 senior member of staff 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 February 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £600 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of repairs to the guttering and drainage, and associated damp and mould. 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 February 2026
3	Completing the works The landlord must take all steps to promptly complete the work to clear and repair the guttering, downpipes and soakaway is and in any event by the due date.	No later than 23 March 2026
4	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection of the property to identify any internal damp and mould. The inspection should be carried out once works to clear and repair the guttering, downpipes and soakaway have been completed. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. 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. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the internal rooms of the property and produces a written report with photographs. The survey report must set out: Whether there are any hazards. Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve any issue found together with reasons where it is not responsible. A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issues (if the landlord is responsible). The likely timescales to commence and complete the work.	No later than 6 April 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
We recommend the landlord considers how it prioritises repair appointments in the event that they have to be cancelled and rebooked for reasons outside of the landlord’s control.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
17 August 2022	The resident told the landlord the guttering was blocked at the front and back of the property. The landlord booked a repair to clear the guttering and told the resident it would attend on 1 September 2022.
1 September 2022	The resident complained to the landlord. She told it she had taken holiday from work for it to carry out the guttering repair. She said that she had received 2 text messages to say the operative was on their way, but it then cancelled the repair. She said this was not the first time this had happened.
2 September 2022	The landlord provided its stage 1 response by telephone. It said that the missed appointments were due to staff sickness and materials not being ready. It apologised and closed the complaint.
23 November 2022	The resident escalated her complaint. She said the landlord had cleared the guttering but there was still water running down the wall outside which was causing internal leaks, damp and mould. She told it she was having to sleep on the sofa and store clothes away from the damp. She said nobody had spoken to her and she wanted to escalate the complaint and speak to a manager.
13 January 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 response, in which it: provided a summary of the repair history from 2022 onwards acknowledged that its repair attempts had not resolved the internal damp and mould issues said that it believed a blocked soakaway was causing the damp and mould issues said that its surveyor would visit the property on 22 January 2025 to assess the outstanding repair issues acknowledged a delay in responding to the complaint apologised and upheld the complaint, offering £150 compensation for the delay in completing the repair, and £200 compensation for the delay in responding to the complaint
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident asked us to investigate as she was dissatisfied with the final outcome. She wanted the landlord to complete the outstanding 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 handling of repairs to the guttering and drainage, and associated damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

What we did not investigate

The resident said in her complaint to the landlord it had missed other appointments prior to the missed appointment on 1 September 2022. The landlord provided us with repair records showing it had previously raised repairs for the guttering going back as far as 2016.
The landlord’s policy and our Complaint Handling Code 2022 (the Code) at the time allowed landlords to decline complaints not made within 6 months of a matter occurring. Therefore, our investigation will focus on events from March 2022 onwards, in line with our guidance at the time.

What we did investigate

The landlord accepted responsibility for guttering and drainage repairs and treating and resolving the damp and mould, when these were reported. This was in line with its responsibilities as set out in its repairs policy and in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy that was in place during the complaint period did not give a target for how quickly it would complete routine repairs. It set out that if complex or follow-up repairs were required, it would aim to complete these within 6 months of the initial visit. It updated its repairs and maintenance policy in December 2023. The new policy set out that it would aim to complete routine repairs within 38 days, and complex or follow-up repairs within 6 months of the initial visit.
The resident reported the blocked guttering on 17 August 2022, and the landlord booked an appointment for 1 September 2022. The resident says she received 2 text messages on the day of the appointment to say the landlord was attending, but it then cancelled the repair. The landlord’s repair records show it cancelled the appointment due to the operatives being double-booked. The resident complained as she had booked the day off work for this appointment.
The landlord cleared the guttering on 26 October 2022. On 23 November 2022 the resident told the landlord in her escalation request that this had not resolved the issues she was having with damp and mould inside the property.
Positively, the landlord inspected the property on 14 December 2022. The inspector noted issues with the guttering overflowing and having a backfall and missing fitting. The inspector raised repairs for these, as well as other internal repairs including replacing an extractor fan to help improve ventilation in the bathroom.
The landlord identified on 6 March 2023 that it needed to unblock the soakaway and raised works for this.
In its final complaint response the landlord said it had no record of completing the works to the soakaway. One possible contributing factor to the delay was a problem identified with tree roots. However, the resident says she removed the tree herself to allow the works to take place as soon as possible.
Positively, after the resident escalated her complaint, the landlord cleared the gutters and downpipes several times. It also carried out internal mould treatments. However, it accepted it had not addressed the problem root cause of the problem in its final response, which it suspected was the blocked soakaway. As it provided its final response on 13 January 2025, it is clear the landlord failed to complete the follow-on repair to the soakaway within 6 months. This was not in line with its repairs policy.
There is still no evidence the landlord has completed follow-up work to the soakaway, despite it now being over 2 years since it identified this as a probable cause.
Thelandlord acknowledged in its final response that it has taken an unacceptable length of time to complete the repairs. It offered £150 compensation in recognition of the inconvenience experienced by the resident. However, the repair issuesare stillunresolved,3 years after she raised the complaint and over a year after its final complaint response.
The landlord’s compensation offer was not proportionate to the adverse impact on the resident, and the unacceptable delays in completing the repairs which remain outstanding. We have therefore found maladministration and ordered the landlord to apologise, inspect the property, complete the repairs, and pay £600 compensation to the resident. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance where there has been a failure which has had significant impact on the resident.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

The landlord has provided copies of both its complaints policy in place when the resident complained, and its updated policy which it introduced in July 2023. Both versions of the policy set out that it will aim to respond at stage 1 within 10 working days of the acknowledgement and at stage 2 within 20 working days of the acknowledgement. These timescales are in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
We updated the Code in April 2022, and again in April 2024. Both versions of the Code required landlords to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days of receipt. The landlord’s 2022 and 2024 complaint policies do not mention this, and there is no evidence the landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 1 complaint or stage 2 complaint. The landlord updated its complaint policy again in July 2025. It is positive to see that the new policy sets out that the landlord will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days in line with the Code.
Both versions of the Code required landlords to respond to complaints in writing. The landlord’s records showed that it responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint by telephone. There is no evidence it sent a written response, or that it told the resident how to escalate her complaint if she remained dissatisfied.
The landlord’s final response was issued over 2 years after the resident escalated her complaint. The response was thorough and included an apology and acknowledgement for its delayed response. However, it did not explain the reason for this significant delay, other than saying there had been a communication lapse.
Our investigation has shown significant complaint handling failures by the landlord. The landlord acknowledged and apologised for some of these, but it failed to acknowledge its failure to respond in writing at stage 1. It also failed to fully explain the reasons for the unacceptable delay in its final response. However, its offer of £200 compensation for its complaint handling failings was proportionate and in line with our remedies guidance. There was therefore reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Learning

There is no evidence the landlord’s handling of the repairs improved following the complaint or of how it intended to improve its repairs service.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord provided detailed repair logs for review, which was positive. However, it was unable to provide a copy of the resident’s tenancy agreement. It is not known why the landlord was unable to locate this, but it should make sure it keeps records of all signed tenancy agreements. It is important to keep copies of these for reference, for example if the terms of a tenancy are disputed.

Communication

The landlord acknowledged in its final response that there had been a communication lapse. The resident also expressed that she felt the landlord’s communication was poor. It did not keep her updated on the status of repairs or communicate well about complaints.