Sometimes an apology is enough to remedy a situation, but as the Housing Ombudsman points out in its latest report – an insincere ‘sorry’ won’t wash.
“Genuine apologies can be restorative,” said Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman. “It makes the resident-landlord relationship stronger. It shows an open, healthy culture. It provides residents with dignity and respect. And it offers the landlord a moment for reflection.”
The issue is explored in the ombudsman’s latest learning from severe maladministration report, which focuses on apologies as remedy in complaints handling. Aligned with the service’s guidance on apologies, it shows how landlords can build better apologies that provide more meaningful outcomes.
The report shares several cases where an apology was important and while the landlord often apologised during its own complaint process, it could have been stronger.
One case involves a resident experiencing overheating for more than three years because of faulty windows. In another case, a resident was unable to leave her home because of a faulty step, and a further case involves a mother sleeping on a sofa with her child because of the impact of antisocial behaviour.
“Given the imbalance of power with residents, saying sorry for mistakes is especially important for social landlords. Rebuilding trust matters when most residents will still live with the same landlord, regardless of its performance or any failings,” Blakeway added.
“Using our powers to facilitate a meaningful apology is an important aspect of our work. It can foster behaviour and culture change at little financial cost. Today, our service typically orders more than 4,000 apologies every year.
“An apology is a human way to acknowledge the pain organisational failings can cause. Complaints handled well can be restorative. Handled badly, and the complaints process compounds earlier service failings and further erodes trust.
“We know saying sorry isn’t always easy. Nor is it always enough. But we encourage social landlords not to shy away from it.”
The landlords mentioned in the report are: Bristol City Council; Futures Housing Group; London Borough of Hackney; London Borough of Haringey; London Borough of Lambeth; L&Q; PA Housing; Southern Housing; and Stonewater.
Image credit: Worawee Meepian/Shutterstock
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