Southern Housing (202315808)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202315808

Southern Housing

16 May 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 repairs following works carried out at a neighbouring property.

Background

2. The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord in a maisonette. The neighbouring property is located next door and is not owned by the landlord.
3. On 9 May 2023 the resident told the landlord that her neighbour was given planning permission for building works to their property. She said their builders had damaged her side gate and removed part of the fence. And that she was unable to access her garden. On 26 May 2023, she complained to the landlord. She said it had not called her back as promised, nor inspected the damage caused. In June 2023, the landlord inspected the resident’s property. It identified that the fence had been removed and highlighted other concerns, such as a broken manhole cover and concrete hard standing. It felt that the neighbour was not following building regulations.
4. On 18 August 2023 an external consultancy firm instructed by the landlord recommended a number of remedial works to the resident’s property. They also suggested that a surveyor contact the resident’s neighbour to obtain a retrospective party wall agreement and scaffold licence. On 25 August 2023 the landlord responded to the complaint at stage 1 of its complaints process. In summary, it said:
   1. It apologised that this matter was not referred to the correct department until 13 July 2023.
   2. It commissioned its own survey of the works at the neighbour’s property on 28 July 2023 and referred this matter to its legal department on 24 August 2023.
   3. It would issue a legal letter to the neighbour by 1 September 2023 and update her on next steps by 14 September 2023.
   4. It would offer £115 compensation, comprised of £40 for having to chase for an update and £75 in recognition of inconvenience, time and trouble.
5. On 25 September 2023 the resident asked to escalate the complaint. She was unhappy with the landlord’s communication. She wanted an apology, increased compensation, and the work to her property be carried out promptly. On 2 November 2023 the landlord’s legal department issued a warning letter to the neighbour and requested that they cease work immediately. The next day, it issued its stage 2 final response. In summary, it said:
   1. It apologised for the delays and lack of communication.
   2. It had sent a cease-and-desist letter to the neighbour and would monitor the situation to ensure they followed its instructions.
   3. It would carry out the repairs in the consultancy report and keep the resident informed of appointments once it had finalised a schedule of work. It would aim to complete all remedial works by 24 November 2023.
   4. If it identified further works, it would ask for a second survey to be carried out.
   5. It would offer an additional £300 compensation in recognition of inconvenience, time and trouble.
6. The resident asked us to investigate the complaint. She was unhappy with the landlord’s communication and added that it had not completed the repairs to her property.

Assessment and findings

7. The landlord does not dispute that there were failings in its handling of this matter. Where the landlord admits failings, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether it resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances and offered appropriate redress. In considering this, the Service assesses whether the landlord’s actions were in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
8. The landlord’s repair policy says that for non-emergency repairs, it will confirm an appointment with residents as soon as possible, and, where possible, at a time that suits them. When a repair falls under a landlord’s repair obligations, the landlord is required to carry out a repair within a reasonable timeframe.
9. The landlord failed to respond to the resident’s initial 9 May 2023 report within a reasonable timescale. The resident had to chase the landlord on several occasions. This caused distress and inconvenience to the resident, who felt the landlord was not taking her concerns seriously.
10. The landlord inspected the property around the middle of June 2023. It found multiple repair concerns as well as health and safety issues. However, the landlord did not act on these concerns until 13 July 2023 when it said it referred the matter to its ‘correct’ department. Given the circumstances, this was an unreasonable delay. It also failed to update the resident on its findings or next steps. This caused time and trouble for the resident who consistently chased the landlord for updates.
11. On 18 August 2023 an independent consultancy firm, instructed by the landlord, surveyed the work at the neighbour’s property. It is unclear why this survey was needed, as the landlord had already inspected in June 2023. Nevertheless, they recommended a number of remedial works. These included replacing the damaged gate, addressing the uneven pathway leading to the resident’s garden and replacing the manhole cover. However, the landlord failed to act on these recommendations.
12. The landlord’s stage 1 response indicated it would issue a legal letter to the neighbour by 1 September 2023 and update the resident on next steps by 14 September 2023. However, the landlord failed to keep to either of these commitments. This frustrated the resident, who subsequently escalated her complaint.
13. Indeed, there was no evidence of any further action by the landlord until 2 November 2023 when its legal department sent a letter to the neighbour requesting them to cease work immediately. While this was an appropriate approach, it should have happened much earlier. The landlord’s final response said it would monitor the situation to ensure the neighbour followed its instructions. Although it is unclear how or if this was monitored, the landlord did not complete the recommended remedial works to the resident’s property by 24 November 2023 as it said it would in its final response.
14. It is unclear if the landlord completed the recommended repair works. There is also no evidence that it finalised a schedule of works or kept the resident informed of appointments as it committed to in its final response. The resident informed us in January 2024 that the repairs were still outstanding. And in July 2024 there had been no attempt to repair her garden or the damaged path.
15. Overall, the landlord’s handling of repairs following works carried out at a neighbouring property was unsatisfactory. It failed to carry out repairs within a reasonable timescale or act in line with its repairs policy. There were consistent issues with communication, and the landlord should have acted much sooner to address the situation. The landlord recognised these failings, apologised and offered compensation. We think this was fair and broadly in line with our remedies guidance. However, it failed to keep to the commitments made in its final response, and the evidence showed further communication issues and delays in completing the repairs. This would have likely caused further distress and inconvenience to the resident who had experienced considerable delays.
16. This showed a lack of learning on the landlord’s part. The resident incurred additional time and trouble chasing the landlord in December 2023, and the distress and inconvenience caused by further delays in completing the repairs, which have still not been put right for the resident. This amounts to maladministration, and orders are made below for remedy.

Determination

17. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of repairs following works carried out at a neighbouring property.

Orders

18. The landlord must do the following within the next 4 weeks:
    1. Provide a written apology for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident compensation of £615 comprised of:
       1. £415 as offered in its formal responses if it has not already done so.
       2. A further £200 for the distress, inconvenience and time and trouble caused by the landlord’s handling of repairs following works carried out at a neighbouring property.
    3. Assess all outstanding repairs to the resident’s property caused by the neighbouring building work and prepare a time-bound action plan to remedy these, if it has not done so already.
19. The landlord must provide this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders.