East Devon District Council named among landlords with 'excessively high' maladministration failures

The Housing Ombudsman has named East Devon District Council among the landlords with "excessively high" maladministration failures.

East Devon District Council was named the second worst-performing landlord with maladministration found in 89% of its decisions, with Golding Homes in the South East named the worst with 90%.

The Housing Ombudsman said the findings from its annual complaints performance review, which covers the period between April 2021 and March 2022, were "deeply concerning" – so much so that it named the landlords with high maladministration rates fir the first time.

It also wrote to a total of 32 landlords where it found maladministration in at least 50% of its decisions.

The number of complaints upheld against these providers was well above the overall rate of 48%.

The review found that property condition remains the biggest area of complaint, and that in 59% of this type of complaint, the ombudsman found there had been service area failures by the landlord.

Of these, 20% were resolved through the landlord's own complaints procedure. However, the ombudsman upheld 39% of all property condition complaints. 

Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman, said: "We recognise that social landlords and residents are facing unprecedented challenges, with a cost-of-living crisis and ageing homes, but a positive complaints-handling culture remains vital. 

"Our review highlights the challenges with embedding this and also shows poor performance in some service areas still at unacceptably high levels. 

"It is deeply concerning that a small proportion of landlords have excessively high maladministration rates. These landlords, in particular, should identify the areas where service failure occurs most and address any common causes. Demonstrating change and service improvement will be essential for ensuring trust with residents."

An East Devon District Council spokesperson said: "The total number of Housing Ombudsman complaints for the period 2021/22 was five and in four of those cases we let our tenants down – details of which can be openly found on EDDC's website – having been reported to our Cabinet. 

"We accept the Ombudsman's findings and continue to take a learning approach to all outcomes. We recognise where the areas of improvement are for us, two key areas being improved communication with residents as well as improved record keeping. Both issues have been impacted by high levels of vacancies we have experienced in the housing team. 

"We are reassured to note that the vast majority of housing complaints received (97%) during 2021/22 were resolved locally, indicating that our internal complaint procedure is working effectively in providing resolution and remedy for our residents at the earliest possible stage. That said, any finding of maladministration by the ombudsman is something that we need to learn from".