By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

Social landlords operate in an increasingly complex environment. In some cases the levers for resolution aren’t always directly in their grasp. We reflect that in our assessments when investigating complaints, and that’s why landlords being clear on their roles and responsibilities, and recording action taken, can be so important.

The complexity of relationships will come up as part of our next Spotlight report on noise nuisance and it’s absolutely at the heart of our last one, on social landlords’ relationships with freeholders and their managing agents.

Central to the report is a culture clash between regulated and arguably largely unregulated parts of the housing market. For all the challenges facing social landlords, I believe it’s a sector that wants to be professional and perform better. The evidence in this report shows many social landlords facing poor standards of practice amongst private managing agents. And it’s the resident who experiences the unfairness of being stuck in the middle.

“In three-quarters of cases we considered, something had gone wrong which the landlord could’ve done better; and our maladministration rate following a formal investigation is 65%, which is excessively high”

Through our investigations we’ve seen enough evidence that shows the landlord-agent relationship is often strained, and at worst dysfunctional. It isn’t clear if there’s a single common cause, beyond a comparative lack of regulation, or whether it’s the cumulative effect of several smaller causes. However, we know from speaking to landlords that they feel a tension between their social objectives and the business objectives of some managing agents.

The need to raise standards amongst agents was set out by Lord Best’s review and the subsequent codes of practice being developed by the Regulation of Property Agents Codes steering group, led by Baroness Hayter. The evidence in this report should contribute towards this debate around professionalism in the housing market.

Nonetheless, it’s the landlord who’s responsible for the relationship with the tenant. There are several important and practical lessons for landlords to handle things better. In three-quarters of cases we considered, something had gone wrong which the landlord could’ve done better; and our maladministration rate following a formal investigation is 65%, which is excessively high.

Knowing the challenges they can face, it’s vital for landlords to have proper agreements in place with the managing agent and/or freeholder, with clarity around roles and responsibilities. Yet we’ve seen no clear arrangements in place and, even if they are, no proactive action.

It’s also important to take ownership of the landlord-resident relationship; in particular this means an end to the practice of ‘signposting’ the resident when it’s the landlord’s responsibility to sort things out, and consider appropriate interim measures if resolution isn’t timely.

The report is supported by a self-assessment tool for landlords to consider some of the issues raised and help respond to our recommendations. I’d encourage landlords to read the report and use this tool, in order to help them navigate what can be a difficult relationship.