The Ombudsman has shared the extensive learning gained through the use of its new further investigation powers
Eight social landlords are overhauling their services following investigations into widespread failures in repairs, complaints handling, and support for vulnerable residents.
The Ombudsman has presented an overview of the extensive learning the housing associations and councils have shared with the organisation, following the first tranche of its further investigation process, which was launched seven months ago. These investigations are designed to improve landlord accountability for delivering better services, helping to prevent complaints.
According to the Ombudsman, the process encourages landlords to make improvements on governance arrangements and reporting, create and amend key policies, and introduce new systems and ways of working to improve residents’ lives.
Maladministration rates across the investigated landlords ranged from 76.5% to 90%, with severe maladministration findings in several cases. Soho Housing Association recorded the highest severe maladministration rate at 45% – and 22.4 findings per 1,000 homes – while Karibu topped the overall maladministration table at 93%.
Common failings identified across investigations included poor repairs management, inadequate complaint handling, failure to record and act on resident vulnerabilities, and weak knowledge and information management.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Further investigations help landlords to join the dots between cases to spot emerging risks and issues. The positive engagement from landlords has seen the lessons of complaints used to improve policies, process, systems and oversight.
“These lessons help improve outcomes beyond individual complaints, giving housing professionals insights to make an impact and improving residents’ experiences of housing services. It not only helps landlords grapple with the problems they are facing now, but builds resilience for future challenges.”
Repairs failures – particularly around leaks, damp and mould – were a recurring theme across multiple investigations. Several landlords were found to have poor contractor management, with limited real-time oversight of performance and missed appointments going unaddressed.
Complaint handling weaknesses were near-universal, including delays in responses, failures to log or escalate complaints, and broken promises around remedies. Vulnerability – the failure to identify, record and act on residents’ individual needs – was highlighted as a systemic gap at several organisations.
The Ombudsman will later this year publish an Insight report drawing on learning across all further investigations, and plans to launch a root cause analysis training programme beginning with an eLearning module.
A2Dominion
A2Dominion was investigated following maladministration rates of 76.5% and severe maladministration of 9.7% over a 12-month period. Failings centred on complaint handling, repairs – including pest control – and data management. The Ombudsman found delays in diagnosis, poor oversight of repairs and pests, and failures to record resident vulnerabilities.
In its learning statement, the landlord said: “We understand the concerns raised by the Ombudsman and we have been delivering a comprehensive improvement plan, though we still have more to achieve.”
A2Dominion introduced new senior and specialist complaints managers in 2024 and a dedicated Stage 2 team, with a complaints taskforce piloted in September 2025 now fully embedded. Stage 1 and Stage 2 compliance rates now regularly exceed 94%. A new end-to-end repairs management system is being rolled out alongside a new pest control policy and a single platform for recording resident vulnerabilities.
Amplius
Amplius – formed from the merger of Longhurst and Grand Union – was investigated after maladministration rates reached 80.3% and severe maladministration 9.8%, with failings spanning repairs, complaints, vulnerabilities and estate management across both predecessor organisations.
The landlord said: “We knew that we had fell short and let some customers down and we are truly sorry to those customers where we should have done better.”
Amplius has redesigned its repairs processes to better serve vulnerable customers, added dedicated quality assurance and service improvement roles, and developed a new customer influence framework including a Complaints Focus Group. Complaint response times now consistently meet required timescales and escalations have halved following stronger quality assurance.
London Borough of Ealing
Ealing was investigated after a severe maladministration rate of 9% – particularly in responsive repairs involving leaks, damp and mould – alongside an overall maladministration rate of 89%. The Ombudsman found poor contractor management, weak information systems, inadequate communication and repeated failures to log or escalate complaints.
The council said: “Conscious of the diverse needs of our residents and to ensure effective access to our services, we are developing a Customer Access Strategy.”
Actions include resident workshops to co-design improvements, a Resident Census to collect vulnerability data, an accessibility review by a disability charity, and a revised vulnerability policy. A new Tenants Handbook has been published and complaint submission channels expanded. Stage 1 complaints via alternative channels increased noticeably from September 2025.
London Borough of Redbridge
Redbridge was investigated after recording a 100% maladministration rate in managing relations during complaint handling and a poor rate of compliance with Ombudsman orders. Recurring failings included poor complaint handling, weak records, anti-social behaviour management failures and repairs issues.
The council said: “Through analysis of complaints and Housing Ombudsman determinations, the council identified recurring issues relating to delays in complaint handling, inconsistent communication, weak recording and use of vulnerability information, and lack of clear ownership across services.”
Improvements have been delivered across four areas – people, policies and procedures, governance and systems. Stage 1 complaint response compliance has risen from around 70% in July 2025 to 100% in March 2026. Stage 2 performance has improved from around 50% to 75–78%. All Ombudsman orders are now centrally tracked with no overdue cases.
London Borough of Wandsworth
Wandsworth was investigated after its maladministration rate reached 83% alongside a recent C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing. Failings were found in repairs, information management, support for vulnerable residents, complaint handling and oversight of its Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs).
The landlord said: “Problems included repair delays, poor communication, inconsistent complaint recording and oversight, weak data assurance, and limited evidence that learning was embedded into service delivery.”
A Housing Improvement and Transformation (HIT) Plan is tracking delivery of a detailed action plan, reviewed at monthly senior officer meetings. Actions include a housing management restructure, strengthened oversight of TMOs and contractors, centralised complaints data and improved data assurance. The council says complaints data is now supporting continuous improvement across the department.
Karibu
Karibu was investigated after recording a maladministration rate of 93% and severe maladministration rate of 11%, with high levels of compensation paid and poor performance on repairs and managing relations. Repeat repairs, complex repairs without clear ownership, contractor communication failures and complaint delays were central findings.
The landlord said: “Our analysis confirmed that these issues were not due to an absence of policy or contractual controls, but inconsistent application, fragmented contractor arrangements, and limited real-time visibility of performance.”
Karibu has introduced a dedicated complaints officer, enhanced its contact centre and appointed named project leads for complex repairs. A refreshed complaints policy, strengthened damp and mould processes aligned to Awaab’s Law, and weekly and monthly performance reviews are now in place. Complaint handling compliance has reached 100% in acknowledgements and responses in 2025/26 to date. Repairs satisfaction has risen from around 43-45% to 56% following contractor changes.
Norwich City Council
Norwich was investigated following an 84% maladministration rate and a sharp increase in complaints referred to the Ombudsman between 2023 and 2024. Failings included poor risk assessment, weak information management, poor resident communication and inadequate complaint handling.
The council said: “We are sorry to all residents who experienced service failures in the cases reviewed through this investigation. We recognise the distress and inconvenience this caused.”
Norwich has introduced a formal quality assurance framework for complaint responses, a live case management dashboard and completed rollout of Total Mobile – a field-based repairs management system enabling appointment reminders and improved scheduling. Damp and mould governance has been strengthened ahead of Awaab’s Law implementation and anti-social behaviour triage and risk assessment improved. Complaint volumes have continued to fall year-on-year and are now better than the national average.
Soho Housing Association
Soho had a 90% maladministration rate, 45% severe maladministration rate and 22.4 findings per 1,000 homes. Failings were identified in complaint handling, anti-social behaviour management, knowledge and information management and repairs.
The landlord said: “The review identified that our previous patch-based housing management structure created competing operational pressures for housing officers, who were managing tenancy matters, repairs liaison, ASB, complaints, estate management, and customer enquiries simultaneously.”
In response, Soho has restructured significantly – introducing a permanent Complaints and Insight Officer, a dedicated ASB Officer and Customer Services Officers for first-point-of-contact enquiries. Governance has been strengthened through enhanced Board reporting, updated policies, quality assurance processes and staff training covering safeguarding, domestic abuse awareness and ASB case management. Use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 has been extended to improve case recording and audit trails. Complaint response performance has stabilised and resident satisfaction in complaint handling and ASB management has improved.
Blakeway added: “The new process has demonstrated how lessons from complaints can be identified earlier and actions implemented sooner. This has been beneficial for landlords looking to prevent complaints and also meet expectations within the consumer standards.
“I would encourage all landlords to look at the lessons shared with us to see where they can have most impact within their organisations.”
Main image: Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman
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