Ombudsman launches ‘special investigation’ into Southern Housing

The ombudsman said it has upheld around 70 per cent of the landlord’s complaint-handling cases since April 2021, while in addition there are 50 open cases assessed as “high or medium risk”.

Mr Blakeway said: “The sharp increase in maladministration rate, combined with the number of high or medium-risk cases we’re seeing from this landlord, is of concern. 

“Other cases with us relate to similar issues and may indicate a repeated failing.”

The ombudsman said it met Southern Housing Group and Optivo in the lead-up to the merger “given the impact mergers can have on complaint-handling performance”.

Once its investigation is finished, the ombudsman said it will publish a learning report and make recommendations to Southern Housing.

A statement from Southern Housing said: “Improving complaint handling is a top priority for Southern Housing following our recent merger.

“We’ve already taken measures to improve both complaint handling and the causes of complaints. This includes creating additional posts in our complaints team and expanding our repairs and maintenance teams to ensure we resolve problems more rapidly.

“Southern Housing’s complaint-handling maladministration rate rose from 18 complaint handling determinations out of 32 cases in 2021-22, to 22 out of 27 cases in 2022-23.

“The increase in the percentage determinations between 2021-22 and 2022-23 represents an increase from 56 per cent to 81 per cent in the context of a reduced number of cases. These are historic cases, with the oldest dating back to 2019. 

“We acknowledge that during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had particular challenges responding to complaints as quickly as we wanted to.

“We’ve been working hard to improve complaint handling since the merger in December 2022. Maladministration cases remain a very small percentage of our overall complaint cases. But one maladministration determination is too many and we will endeavour to deal quickly and professionally with all complaints.

“We’re confident the ombudsman’s investigation will be a valuable learning experience and an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to delivering for our residents.”

Last week, Southern’s chief executive Paul Hackett revealed the group was cutting its development target by around 80 per cent due to rising costs.