Ombudsman finds severe maladministration at housing association in response to anti-social behaviour complaint
The Housing Ombudsman has made three findings of severe maladministration for Johnnie Johnson Housing’s “significant failings” in responding to a resident’s complaint about anti-social behaviour, together with its record keeping and complaint handling.
The landlord has been told to pay compensation of £1,800 to the resident, review its complaints policy and its data retention guidance.
The woman behind the complaint was a tenant of the landlord’s property from September 2002 to July 2019. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman via her son (Mr H), who represented the resident throughout her complaint with the landlord.
In correspondence to the Ombudsman, Mr H had advised that both he and his mother had been subjected to “verbal abuse, threats and intimidation” from their neighbour (Ms J) and her family.
The resident and Mr H were unhappy with what they considered to be a “lack of action” on behalf of the landlord and raised their concerns as a formal complaint in 2018.
The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that the landlord failed to keep appropriate records of the resident’s reports of anti-social behaviour, and destroyed the file within two years, contrary to its data retention guide.
It also concluded that the cumulative impact of the failings caused “significant adverse effect” to the resident.
The report noted that the information should still have been available for the Ombudsman’s investigation and was evidence of poor record keeping. Furthermore, the evidence that was available failed to demonstrate that the landlord had dealt with the resident’s reports “appropriately and in line with its policy”.
The landlord’s response at stage two of its complaints procedure was found to be limited in detail and explanation, which the Ombudsman said demonstrates “significant failings in the landlord’s complaint handling”.
It was noted in the report that the landlord did not “sufficiently address the complaint or acknowledge the resident’s circumstances.”
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “In this case there were significant gaps in evidence which meant we were unable to get a full understanding of the history and handling of the case.
“Clear record keeping and management is essential where reports of anti-social behaviour are made, and investigations into allegations are undertaken. These records form evidence that the landlord can review and use in managing the case. Accurate and complete records also help the landlord when handling a case through its complaints procedure and also provide evidence for other processes, such as our investigations. The absence of appropriate records, and therefore evidence, presents a significant risk that the processes cannot be fully used and residents are disadvantaged."
Blakeway added: “Poor record keeping has been a consistent theme in our casework. That’s why we’ve recently issued a call for evidence to support our next sector-wide systemic investigation which will look at record keeping and data management.
“I welcome the landlord’s response on its learning from this case and the changes being made to improve its service. I would encourage other landlords to consider the learning the case offers for their own services.”
In a statement Johnnie Johnson Housing said: “We apologise for any upset this might have caused our resident and their relative, and we thank our Housing Ombudsman for raising this with us to give us a continued opportunity to improve and learn.
“When our resident complained to us about neighbouring anti-social behaviour problems in 2018, we worked hard with the police, the courts and mediation services to resolve. Unfortunately, after three months our resident left us. We were very sad to see her go but understood her decision.
“Our approach to GDPR was a little too robust which meant, in 2021, when contacted by our Ombudsman, we were not able to provide the full evidence requested."
The housing association said improvement actions it had taken included:
- Appointing an anti-social behaviour (ASB) lead following its service review with residents
- Reviewing its “Talk to Us” policy following the Social Housing White Paper and the introduction of the Housing Ombudsman’s ‘Complaints Handling Code’
- Further ASB and Complaints training for its colleagues
- Reviewing its data retention schedules, checking GDPR standards
- Updating its letters to include more information on the complaint process and how to escalate
- Improving its housing management system, specifically focusing on ASB and Complaints.
“The safety and security of our customers is our number one priority; we pride ourselves on being a listening business. Again, we are sorry for this experience," Johnnie Johnson Housing said.
Lottie Winson
