Industry News
Ombudsman plans systemic investigation into record keeping at social landlords
P
oor record keeping by social landlords featured in a batch of decisions published by the Housing Ombudsman
earlier in the Summer, prompting it to plan a systemic investigation into the sector’s record keeping practices. Richard Blakeway said: “Strong record keeping
practices are core to good services. Te poor practice of some landlord services can be a direct result of poor information and intelligence and landlords need to be more alert to the risks. “Tere will be few landlords we have investigated
where, at some point, poor records and information have not resulted in maladministration. Inadequate record keeping has also been repeatedly identified in Spotlight reports, from cladding to damp, as a driver of poor service. “Tis is a systemic, sector-wide issue. Governing
bodies should be asking ‘how good is our record keeping’ and if the response is ‘good’ they should be troubled because it is possible the landlord may not know how bad it is. Among the ‘record keeping’ decisions is the
Ombudsman’s first case to be published involving a joint investigation into two landlords and two sets of orders, using powers in its new Scheme. Te decisions, published every two weeks on
the service’s website, now total more than 2,000 and show the range of issues considered as well as the type of outcomes following an investigation. Te landlord in each case is identified. Among the decisions published are:
• Te first joint investigation published by the Ombudsman involving two landlords and two sets of orders for Plymouth Community Homes
Social housing provider reduces carbon output by a third
One of the country’s biggest social housing landlords has reduced the carbon footprint of its operations by a third since it established a baseline in 2018, and by almost seven per cent in the past year. Orbit owns and manages over 45,000 affordable
and social rent homes across the Midlands, East and South of England.
(PCH) and Guinness (ref 202012435). Tis found that PCH gave misinformation about the residents’ tenancy before and aſter a mutual exchange so they thought they had Preserved Right to Buy. It was due to an error on PCH’s computer system which it was aware of and took ten years to correct, so may have caused problems to other PCH residents. Guinness had relied on the information but also made further errors in its communication with the residents.
• A finding of maladministration in an L&Q case (ref 201916247) for its record keeping and complaint handling. Te landlord failed to keep robust records in a complaint about the end of a resident’s tenancy and his deposit following a bereavement which led to additional distress and inconvenience. Te landlord was ordered to review its record keeping processes and its staff training needs.
• A case concerning Stonewater (ref 201915252) and redress for reports of an inadequate water supply, rent arrears and its complaint handling. A finding of maladministration for the landlord’s repeated failure to open a complaint over more than two years so there was no record to keep track of events, resulting in delays to the repairs and resolving the complaint. During this time the resident was effectively prevented from accessing the landlord’s complaints procedure.
• A Dudley Council case (ref 202015427) concerning major works and a resident’s request for additional information. Te landlord acknowledged it had not notified leaseholders when it became apparent that the work would result in additional costs, for
which it apologised, and confirmed it had limited information available on the requirement to carry out the works in the first place as requested by the resident. Te investigation found the landlord had offered a reasonable remedy for its acknowledged failures by reducing its charges and recommended that it review the case to identify where it can improve communication and record keeping with respect to major works carried out at leasehold properties, in particular ensuring that residents are notified of significant changes to plans and that supporting documents are retained for an appropriate length of time.
Te reductions in emissions have been made
possible by a series of measures including procurement of green electricity, an agile working policy and energy saving measures in the association’s schemes and offices. Orbit has made a firm commitment to achieving
net zero carbon in its operations by 2030 and becoming net zero carbon in its homes and supply chain before 2050. Alongside its net zero carbon commitments,
Orbit published its Net Zero Carbon Roadmap last year, which sets out how the organisation will deliver its commitments across its operations, homes and supply chain. Te association also launched a new
environmental sustainability qualification for its staff last year – the first in-house training of its kind in the social housing sector. Te course, Environmental Sustainability Skills
18 | HMMAugust/September 2022 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
for Managers, was developed by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and will be tailored for Orbit and the social housing sector to provide learners with a working knowledge of Orbit’s environmental management system. David March, Environmental and Sustainability
at Orbit, comments: “We are extremely proud of these results which demonstrate our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and eventually becoming a net zero carbon organisation. “Climate change is the biggest challenge facing
us all and this reduction shows the part we are playing in lessening our environmental impact. All businesses have a responsibility to reduce their emissions and to contribute to a sustainable future, and we will continue to decrease our carbon footprint each year and become net zero carbon in our own operations by 2030.”
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