We have released our special report into the London Borough of Haringey, uncovering a ‘culture of apathy’ at the landlord that has led to a distinct lack of ownership, accountability, and intrinsic motivation when handling […]

We have released our special report into the London Borough of Haringey, uncovering a ‘culture of apathy’ at the landlord that has led to a distinct lack of ownership, accountability, and intrinsic motivation when handling complaints.

Where shortfalls are identified, there was no evidence of learning to prevent failings reoccurring, and little evidence of contrition or a resolution-focused approach to complaints handling.

The investigation was initiated by concerns about the landlord’s approach to leaks, damp and mould where more than three-quarters of cases were upheld determined since 1 April 2021 where leaks, damp and mould formed part of the investigation. The landlord also featured in the Ombudsman’s 2021 report Spotlight on damp and mould: It’s not lifestyle.

The special report also followed the Ombudsman issuing a Complaint Handling Failure Order to the landlord in December 2022 regarding its approach to compensation, compliance with Ombudsman orders, and handling of complaints.

The special report is formed of 32 individual investigations and engagement with the landlord over the last six months. The Ombudsman made 77 findings across the cases, 18 of which involved severe maladministration, mostly for major repairs, damp and mould and complaint handling. The overall uphold rate was 82%.

Among the cases investigated, the landlord withdrew all services from a resident for a period of 12 months after reports of unacceptable behaviour. The resident disputed this, and the landlord could not provide supporting evidence, yet it continued to withdraw all services including not carry out repairs works.

We identified eight key themes and set out a series of recommendations:

Leaseholders – The handling of leaseholder complaints involving repair issues has been extremely poor. It has also been slow to support residents with insurance claims and placed undue onus on the resident to facilitate these, resulting in financial detriment to leaseholders. The Ombudsman has recommended a new policy for leaseholder complaints to encourage improved redress.

Disrepair – There were unreasonable delays in the landlord’s response to reports of disrepair. It would delay before inspecting a property after the resident reported a problem, then delay in carrying out necessary repairs, and would be unable to adequately explain the reasons for these.

Damp and mould – Despite featuring in the Ombudsman’s 2021 damp and mould report, the landlord did not introduce a new policy until April 2023. Whilst this new policy adheres to the report’s recommendations, internal guidance is still lacking in many areas and the Ombudsman has recommended the landlord reviews this guidance to ensure it is consistent with its policy.

Vulnerabilities – The landlord does not always adhere to its own Vulnerable Residents Policy. Despite being mentioned in the policy, there was no evidence of either enhanced support or repair service for vulnerable residents, or indeed any consideration at all of vulnerability within repairs or associated complaints handling. The Ombudsman recommended a review of policies in these areas and to produce vulnerability and safeguarding procedures for housing management and staff.

Unreasonable behaviour policy – Aims to deal with customers fairly, proportionately, impartially and in an open manner is not reflected on the ground. The Ombudsman recommends a new policy is created for this and a new monitoring process introduced to track progress.

Knowledge and Information Management – There was a concerning lack of key documents, jobs being raised and then left open, and a lack of learning. Underpinning the landlord’s handling of information, data and records, was a cultural acceptance of poor practice. This includes a lack of ownership, professional pride and accountability. The Ombudsman has recommended the landlord self-assess against the Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management.

Complaint handling – The landlord’s complaint handling exposes residents to delay, confusion, uncertainty, and unfair treatment. Additionally, its complaints handling is not in line with the Complaint Handling Code. The landlord does not keep records of complaints at stage 3, which undermines learning. The Ombudsman has recommended it updates its complaints policy, including the removal of ‘stage 0’ and a review of stage 3.

Compensation – The landlord is routinely not offering compensation as part of its complaints handling, despite clear evidence of service failure and the associated time, trouble, distress and inconvenience. The Ombudsman has recommended a creation of a new compensation policy that is in line with the Complaint Handling Code and related guidance.

Source: Housing Ombudsman

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