Inside Housing – Home – Housing Ombudsman determinations up 69% on last quarter

“The crucial insights from our frontline caseworkers should be essential reading to all in the sector, as they show what we are starting to see a lot of. 
“Getting on top of this is vital before they turn into the investigations of the future.”
A Solihull Council spokesperson said: “Although we were very disappointed to receive the judgement of maladministration from the Housing Ombudsman, we fully accept it.
“The council and Solihull Community Housing [SCH] (which manages council houses on behalf of the council) treat all customer complaints seriously, but in this case SCH failed to act with sufficient vigour.  
“The council recognises that the response to this customer’s issues was not as it should have been. We have apologised for this.
“The Housing Ombudsman acknowledged the support given to a vulnerable tenant. However, in failing to carry out the gas safety check, SCH did not pay sufficient attention to the potential impact on other residents. 
“This was a complex case, but it is one from which SCH has taken important lessons.
“The council has required SCH to put in place measures to stop anything like this occurring again. 
“These include the carrying out of a review of policies and procedures in relation to gas safety, strengthening the arrangements for supporting tenants whose gas supply is disrupted and highlighting to staff the importance of recognising complaints early and responding quickly. 
“The council and SCH are constantly looking to improve how tenants and leaseholders are supported, and the Housing Ombudsman’s review has helped us to do this.”
A Places for People spokesperson said: “Whilst we always strive to do the right thing for our customers and communities, in this case we failed to meet the standards we set for ourselves and have of course apologised to our customer. 
“We have policies and procedures in place to support our frontline teams but we can always learn, particularly with regard to customers’ known vulnerabilities. 
“In this case, we have ensured that the learnings are applied to our drive for the continuous improvement of the service we provide. 
“We respect the decision of the Housing Ombudsman and have put in place both the required and recommended actions following their investigation.”



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