Industry News


Tenants complaints to Ombudsman continue to rise


Complaints from social housing tenants to the Ombudsman are continuing to increase at a fast rate with poor communications, excessive delays in responding and poor record keeping all being highlighted as problem areas. Te Ombudsman’s Insight report covering


the period October to December 2021 showed it received 6,313 enquiries and complaints, a 53 per cent increase compared to the same quarter in 2020. Learning points for landlords, highlighted by


the Ombudsman, included the importance of effective communication, attempting mediation to achieve earlier resolution and continuing to monitor ASB complaints. Maladministration by social landlords was


found in 47 per cent of the cases during the period, an increase on the previous quarter. Te number of orders and recommendations issued to landlords also increased by 33 per cent, with the Ombudsman making improvements for residents on 1,300 occasions. Te report also provided data for the North


West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions, together with six case studies involving landlords in those areas. Te case studies featured reflect the most frequent complaint categories – property condition, complaint handling and anti-social behaviour. Te report found some regional variation


in outcomes with 47 per cent of cases involving property condition from the Yorkshire and Humber being upheld compared to 34 per cent from the North West, whereas 20 and 34 per cent of cases involving complaint handling were upheld in those regions respectively. Anti-social behaviour complaints were twice as likely to be upheld in the North East compared to the other two areas. Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman,


said: “While we continue to handle more casework, this period also shows a slight increase in maladministration compared to the previous quarter. Tere are several factors driving dissatisfaction, however we continue to see key themes including poor communication, excessive delays and poor record keeping. “Tis reinforces the need for landlords to


use the good practice set out in our Complaint Handling Code, so they can respond to complaints fairly and effectively”. “One case includes reports of building defects


from a shared owner shows how the resident was impacted by long delay. Although it was a developer who was responsible for causing and remedying a building defect the landlord should have been proactive in chasing the developer and keeping the resident updated.”


Right to Buy is a strategic failure and will deepen inequalities


T


he continuing sale of council homes in England through the Right to Buy scheme is having a damaging and negative impact on


many communities and making it far more difficult for progressive policies to work. In a damning assessment the 2022 UK Housing


Review concludes that the Right to Buy has become a strategic failure and unless it is reformed, it will continue to contribute to social disadvantage and exacerbate inequalities. Since it was introduced in 1980 approximately 2 million council homes have been sold to tenants. Te Review’s analysis, by Alan Murie of


Birmingham University for the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual report, says that the RTB policy has led to an erosion of the stock of social rented homes, many of which have then found their way into the unregulated and more costly private rented sector. In many areas as much as 40 per cent of ex- council homes are now private lets. Tis movement of stock to the private market


is putting at risk Government ambitions for estate regeneration and the achievement of net zero carbon targets, as the unsold social rented homes benefit from investment in carbon reduction and Decent Homes initiatives while private homes on the same estates fall further behind. Te Right to Buy has already ended in Scotland


and Wales and campaigners want to see this extended to England. Such a move could also benefit the taxpayer. Many former council homes have been


converted into privately rented properties with significantly higher rents, pushing up the taxpayer- covered benefit bill, while adding pressure on local authority waiting lists and raised temporary accommodation costs.


8 | HMMApril/May 2022 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


CREATING PROBLEMS Te value for money argument for Right to Buy is further undermined by the revelation that the cash value of the average discount in 2019/20 exceeded the aggregate average rent paid over the previous 15 years; and the average discount of 43 per cent (13 years tenancy for a house or seven years for a flat, assuming maximum discounts had not applied) indicates that discounts received by some Right to Buy purchasers in England far exceed their cumulative rent payments. Te Review also found that the RTB policy


has had a ‘levelling down’ impact in smaller settlements and rural areas where council housing was critical in providing good quality, low-rent housing for lower-paid households with local work and family connections. Without a supply of council lettings many newly


forming households, who cannot afford to buy, are unable to access housing locally or are limited to accommodation that fails to meet their needs. Alan Murie, Emeritus Professor of urban and


regional studies at the University of Birmingham said: “If there had been a sufficient attempt to sustain investment in social housing and to reinvest capital receipts in social rented homes, the impacts of right to buy could have been offset. Te problem has not been right to buy as such, but because right to buy has continued alongside other policy failures.” James Prestwich, director of policy and external


affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing said: “Tis analysis shows that the Right to Buy is an ill- designed policy which undermines the availability of social housing stock for those who need it most and adds to pressure on the public purse. An urgent re-think is needed on its future.”


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