“Repeated failings” were found in a special investigation into Hyde Housing Association by the Housing Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman has published a report from this investigation where it found evidence of failings in repairs, complaint handling, and how it responded to residents’ enquiries about service charges.
This included a “significant amount” of repair cases with “unreasonable” delays, mainly caused by poor knowledge exchange with contractors, missed or otherwise ineffective appointments, and failure to effectively manage or oversee contractors’ work on individual repair jobs.
There were issues with the landlord’s response to reports of leaks, damp and mould, with repairs not completed.
In one case, a repair was delayed for nearly a year, which left a vulnerable tenant living with peeling wallpaper, mouldy walls, and damaged furniture.
The tenant in this case was afraid to use the heating as a result and was not offered appropriate redress.
Hyde Housing Association was found to have compounded repair issues with its approach to complaint handling.
There was a failure to escalate complaints, with the Ombudsman intervening in 25 out of 44 cases to ask the landlord to accept or progress the complaint.
In one situation, the association inferred blame for the severity of a leak on a resident who was away at the time.
The landlord disputed that the home was uninhabitable, and whether a bed was damaged by water, and did not offer appropriate compensation.
The ombudsman found an overall maladministration rate of 82%.
The report sets out numerous recommendations across three areas: repairs, complaint handling, and service charges.
In the case of service charges, Hyde Housing Association experienced peaks in service charge enquiries twice a year, in response to it sending out information at set times.
Sometimes, residents would have to wait nearly a year for a response, with no triage system in place for common queries.
However, the Ombudsman stated that the association responded promptly and constructively to requests for information during its investigation, in addition to making changes to improve services for tenants, but has warned there was still much to do.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway welcomed these “encouraging steps” and highlighted it would work with the landlord to help reach the “ambitious goals” they had set.
“If a landlord misses or undermines its own opportunities to contribute to repairing or restoring the relationship, then it increases the risk it will undermine trust further,” said Richard.
“Where a landlord has provided poor service to any resident, a focus should be on opportunities to offer meaningful redress.
“We understand there needs to be a careful individualised balancing between fulfilling its obligations as an employer when managing complex relationships with a resident, but it must ensure it delivers on its obligations as a social housing provider.”
In response, Hyde CEO Andy Hulme said he recognised that, historically, tenants’ expectations hadn’t always been met and pointed to the challenges facing charities like the association.
“We’ve engaged with the Housing Ombudsman Service throughout this process, sharing extensive information about the changes we’ve made,” added Andy.
To ensure timely resolutions, the association has doubled its number of colleagues handling complaints and brought its repair service in-house.
“As a result, most customers now receive their repairs in around three days,” Andy added.
“We value timely, actionable insights and remain committed to engaging with the thriving communities that we serve.”
