Major housing association for South London under investigation for repeated failings
By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Reporter
A major housing association with thousands of properties across South London has been made the subject of a special investigation by the government’s housing ombudsman following concerns over its high maladministration rate.
Wandle Housing was reported to the ombudsman following findings of severe maladministration against its tenants – meaning it’s alleged to be mismanaging its properties and handling of people’s concerns.
It was found to have a maladministration rate of 89 per cent. Special investigations are used to determine whether a spike in complaints is indicative of wider systemic failings.
Fellow housing association, Southern Housing, were also made the subject of a special investigation in May this year. According to the ombudsman, the report aims to ‘improve policies and processes that then enable landlord staff to deliver better services for residents, which in turn improves their lives’.
Wandle houses 1,483 families in Merton, 1,388 in Croydon and 277 people in Sutton. It also has properties across Bromley, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth with Wandsworth accounting for the highest number in a single borough at 1,783.
Wandle was the subject of two severe maladministration findings last November when the Ombudsman heard complaints about dampness and mould. One of the cases concerned a social housing tenant in Wimbledon.
In that case, the ombudsman found that Wandle failed to repair the heating system and ventilation system. They also failed to address damp and mould persisting in a home containing a resident with chronic asthma and a registered disabled child.
As a result, Wandle was ordered to pay the resident £6,620 in compensation and to appoint specialist contractors and surveyors to undertake outstanding works. In both cases, the ombudsman ordered Wandle’s chief executive to make a direct apology to the residents.
In January, Michael Gove, then the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, wrote to Wandle regarding these cases. He criticised the housing association, saying: “Social housing residents must be able to put their trust in their landlords to provide a decent home and deal with complaints effectively.
“Your handling of these cases fell well below the standard your residents should expect. Complaints must be acted upon swiftly and effectively, especially when the residents concerned are vulnerable.”
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “We are seeing a high maladministration rate with this landlord, which is of cause for concern.
“Following the investigation we will engage with the landlord and discuss our learning recommendations, and publish these in a report highlighting any issues we have identified in the cases investigated.
“Developing this report in a collaborative way with the landlord ensures the recommendations we make can be taken forwards positively.”
Anne Waterhouse, chief executive at Wandle, said: “We recognise that our complaint handling hasn’t been what our residents deserve and are committed to putting this right – as we’ve demonstrated in our recent complaint handling report, and residents annual report.
“We already have a project group established to look at some of the causes of our poor performance in complaint handling. We want to learn and improve from complaints, and look forward to working with our customers and the ombudsman to show them what [changes] we’ve started to put in place.”
Pictured top: Blackfriars Road – home to Wandle’s HQ (Picture: Google Street View)