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Ombudsman voices concerns to new PA Housing boss after ‘unacceptable’ failings
The Housing Ombudsman has raised its concerns to the new chief executive at PA Housing after it found new cases of severe maladministration just four months after its last finding.
The ombudsman confirmed to Inside Housing its team had met with the 23,000-home landlord’s boss Michael McDonagh to voice its worries over the failings.
As a result of the latest rulings, the ombudsman said it would “follow up” with the landlord’s senior leaders to ensure it has learned the lessons.
PA Housing installed former KPMG executive Mr McDonagh as its new permanent chief executive last month after he was initially made interim boss. He replaced Dilip Kavi, who announced last December that he was stepping down after six years in the job.
The two cases published today relate to incidents that occurred prior to Mr McDonagh joining the organisation.
In one of the cases, PA Housing was ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation to a disabled resident after an 18-month delay to repairs, including tackling damp in bedrooms.
The resident reported that damp and mould in her child’s bedroom meant it could not be used for two years and the infant lost their possessions.
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Other issues included failing to consider all the aspects of an occupational therapist’s report on the property, including the need for ramp access, the ombudsman said in a report. Severe maladministration was also found in how PA Housing handled the resident’s rehousing request.
In the second case, published today, PA Housing was criticised for leaving a resident waiting 585 working days for a response to a complaint about roof defects.
Consequently, the landlord was ordered to pay £1,175 in compensation, inspect the home for any outstanding works and undertake complaint-handling training for staff.
Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman, said: “In both cases, we found similar issues to that of our previous severe maladministration finding published just four months ago. That is unacceptable.”
Last November, the ombudsman ruled severe maladministration in another PA Housing case in which a disabled woman was forced to sleep in her living room for 18 months because of a leak.
Mr Blakeway added: “The landlord must learn lessons from these cases and we will be following up with the senior leadership to ensure it does so.”
PA Housing, which was formed in 2017 through a merger of Paragon Community Housing and Asra Housing Group, operates homes across the Midlands, London and the South East.
On the latest cases, in a statement obtained by the ombudsman, PA Housing said: “We are sorry for the unacceptable experience that our residents have had in these two cases.
“Our response to both residents was simply not good enough and we accept the severe maladministration findings from the Housing Ombudsman.
“Our entire focus in the coming months is on making sure that we have the people and processes in place to prevent any other residents having a similar experience.”
The landlord said that among the changes it plans are improving the frequency of its communications to residents about repairs and recruiting “dedicated members” to its repairs team to act as the main point of contact to residents.
The ombudsman has been stepping up its work and has issued a string of severe maladministration findings for social landlords in the past year or so, with a number focusing on damp and mould issues.
Earlier this month, it published a list of social landlords failing to comply with complaint-handling failure orders.
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