Landlords ‘still have learning to do’ in dealing with cladding and fire safety complaints, says Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman has warned that while responses from social landlords on cladding and associated fire safety complaints have improved in the two years since it published its Spotlight report on the issue, “common themes, such as communications with residents, remain problematic”.

The Ombudsman also observed that landlords are not always effective in providing residents with information and explanation of their priorities in this area, with “poorer communications in buildings classed as low risk, and continuing issues with sales”.

The Ombudsman noted that poor communication can “hamper sales processes” and undermine the ability of residents to make “informed decisions during what has been, and still is, a stressful and complex situation”.

Among the decisions published in the Ombudsman’s online casebook featuring a cladding issue are:

• A maladministration finding for L&Q in which a risk-based approach to fire safety meant the landlord did not consider the impact of its prioritisation policy on residents. The landlord’s strict adherence to the policy meant the resident was likely unable to sell the property for a significant period of time.
• A service failure by Poplar HARCA for both its fire safety communication and its response to the residents’ request to reimburse costs for an unsuccessful re-mortgage.
• A case where communications around fire safety works meant a maladministration finding for Riverside Group. The landlord repeatedly failed to update residents following an intrusive inspection and in the months that followed.
• How Thames Valley Housing Association provided reasonable redress after a complaint about fire safety concerns and associated impact on selling. Fire safety and delay in providing an EWS1 was of serious concern for the resident and made the sales progress frustrating. "However, there was no lasting impact on the resident. The landlord recognised its failings and offered reasonable compensation."

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “This has been an exceptionally challenging period for both residents and landlords. While landlords will understandably feel swept up in a national crisis, the personal crisis this has created for residents affected, through no fault of their own, is profound and reflected across our casework.

“Landlords have handled cases best where the communication has been clear and crisp. This requires openness with residents, accurate information, and empathy. Too often, as in other complaint areas, poor communication has compounded other failings.

“These cases reflect the changes some landlords have made over the past two years, where the scale of the challenge has been acute for some, but they also show in some areas landlords still have learning to do."

Blakeway added: “I am pleased some of the learning from previous orders we have delivered are making a difference too, including one landlord introducing a reverse staircasing policy following our decision and then further strengthening that same policy when it was raised in a later investigation.

“I urge landlords to revisit the key learning from our Spotlight report last year and combine that with a renewed focus on the importance of proactive communication, effective knowledge and information management, and a real focus on individual resident concerns.”

Lottie Winson