Home Group Limited — case 202338178

Decision Case ID 202338178 Decision type Investigation Landlord Home Group Limited Landlord type Housing Association Occupancy Leaseholder Date 29 January 2026 Background The resident lives in a block of flats which is accessed through communal pedestrian and vehicle gates. This is the only entry and exit route for the building. The resident reported the gate repeatedly breaks and raised concerns about entering or leaving the building in an emergency. She is unhappy with the landlord’s actions to find a lasting repair for the gate and its response to her concerns.

What the complaint is about The landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the communal gate. The landlords handling of the associated complaint. Our decision (determination) There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the communal gate. There was reasonable redress in the handling of the associated complaint. We have made orders for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reasons The landlord did not address the ongoing reliability of the communal gate or provide clear and accurate emergency exit arrangements within a reasonable time.

The landlord did not respond to the stage 2 response within its timeframes; However, it recognised this in its complaint response and offered an apology and compensation for this. Putting things right Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction. Orders Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify.

The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set. Order What the landlord must do Due date 1 Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: the apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. it has due regard to our apologies guidance No later than 26 February 2026 2 Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £260 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by ongoing issues accessing the property and concerns the resident had about exiting safely.

This includes an additional payment of £150. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid. No later than 26 February 2026 3 Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection of the communal gates. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date.

The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: inspects the communal gates of the property and produces a written report with photographs The survey report must set out: whether there are any hazards specifically regarding accessing or exiting the property the most likely cause of the repeated gate breakdowns whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible clear guidance on emergency exit routes a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue (if the landlord is responsible) the likely timescales to commence and complete the work No later than 12 March 2026 Recommendations Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations Once the landlord has clear guidance on emergency access, it may wish to share this information clearly and promptly with all residents in the block. We recommend that the landlord pays the resident the £55 compensation it offered in its stage 2 response about its complaint handling. Our investigation The complaint procedure Date What happened 2 October 2023 The resident raised her complaint with the landlord and said the communal gate has broken repeatedly for over 4 years.

She explained when the gate is broken, she cannot enter or leave the building because it is the only access point. This affected taking her son to and from school on time. She also said the broken gate caused safety concerns, as residents would not be able to enter or exit the building in an emergency or fire. To resolve her complaint, the resident asked the landlord to install an additional gate for emergencies. 17 October 2023 The landlord gave its stage 1 response. In summary, it said: in May 2023 it was told the communal gate was broken and attended within 4 hours it had not received any other reports in the last 12 months the resident also told it about an incident in October 2023, this issue resolved itself, so it may not hold records for every time the gate broke it apologised for the impact the gate issues had on the resident if the gate stopped working again due to a fault with the lock, the gates would remain open and the resident should be able to manually use the pedestrian gate.

it had no plans to install an additional gate 26 November 2023 The resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint to stage 2. She said she had been asking the landlord for advice about how to exit the building in an emergency since 2019, but it had not done so. She said the communal gate had broken several times over the last 4 years and stopped residents entering or leaving the property. She repeated her concerns about what would happen in an emergency as the gate is the only way in and out of the building.

23 January 2024 The landlord gave its stage 2 response, in which it said: it was aware of current outstanding repairs and awaiting its specialist contractor to get and fit parts to maintain residents access it had left the gates in an open position it did not have a date for repairs, but it would keep its residents updated it had considered the resident’s request for an extra gate but there was no suitable location to do this the resident had asked for advice on what to do if she was locked out and it repeated that the pedestrian gate can be manually opened for emergency access it was looking at a longer-term solution for the gate repairs and would contact residents in due course to outline proposals it apologised for delays and disruption and offered £55 for time and effort, £55 for disruption caused in relation to gate malfunction in October 2023, and £55 for service failures in relation to complaint handling delays Referral to the Ombudsman The resident brought her complaint to us because she remained concerned about ongoing breakdowns of the communal gate.

She said the landlord had not arranged a permanent repair or given clear advice on how she can leave the building in an emergency. She said the repeated gate failures have affected her son’s attendance at school and her own attendance at work. This has caused ongoing disruption and concern because the gate is the only entrance and exit to the building. The resident wants the gate to have a permanent fix and assurance about emergency access. What we found and why The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed.

We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration. Complaint Concerns about the communal gate Finding Maladministration The resident raised concerns about repeated breakdowns of the communal gate in her stage 1 complaint raised in October 2023. The gate is the only way residents can enter and exit the building. When it was not working, the resident told the landlord she could not leave or access the property.

This disrupted her work attendance and her child’s school attendance. The landlord told the resident the gate would automatically unlock during a power failure and that residents could manually open the pedestrian gate if the gate locked closed. Shortly after issuing its stage 2 response, the landlord told the resident it had given unclear advice about how she could manually open the pedestrian gate. This meant the resident did not receive reliable guidance on how to leave the building in an emergency.

Given the importance of clear escape arrangements, this was not reasonable. The resident asked the landlord to install an additional gate to provide an alternative exit in emergencies. The landlord considered this request at both stages of the complaint and concluded there was no suitable location to install another gate. Internal records show the landlord had explored this option previously and ruled it out due to site constraints. While the resident disagreed with this decision, the landlord demonstrated that it had considered the request and explained that circumstances beyond its control prevented it from agreeing to it.

The landlord said it received one repair report about the gate in May 2023. Its repairs records support this and show it attended within the 6‑hour timeframe set out in its emergency repairs policy. This response was appropriate. The landlord also recognised that there may have been occasions when the gate stopped working and was resolved before residents reported the issue. This means its records may not show every time the resident experienced problems with the gate. The resident’s lease confirms the landlord is responsible for maintaining the communal areas, including the entrance gates.

The gate provides the only access to and from the building, so its continued operation is essential for residents’ safety and security. After its stage 2 response, the landlord committed to confirming that residents could open the gate manually during a breakdown. It attended on 1 February 2024 and installed fob access, providing 2 fobs to a member of staff. However, it did not explain to the resident how she could enter or leave the building in an emergency, who held the fobs, or whether the fob access would work during a fault.

The landlord therefore did not assure itself that residents could leave the building safely in an emergency and did not provide that assurance to the resident. This led to ongoing uncertainty about emergency escape arrangements and caused the resident distress and heightened safety concerns. Records show the gate remained broken for weeks at a time. The landlord knew the gate had ongoing faults and needed a longer‑term solution. At stage 2, the landlord said it would contact residents with proposals to address the problem.

The landlord has not demonstrated that it shared any proposals with residents, such as written options, timescales, or details of a permanent repair. In these circumstances, the landlord did not give sufficient regard to its repair obligations to keep the building’s only entrance in working order. Repeated temporary repairs did not resolve the underlying fault. This likely prolonged the resident’s concerns about her ability to enter or leave the building safely, particularly in an emergency, and caused ongoing uncertainty about when the issue would be properly resolved.

The resident previously brought a complaint to us in 2020 (case reference 201912120). In that case, we ordered the landlord to confirm whether the communal gate was working and, if it was not, to communicate with the resident and provide an action plan with clear steps and completion dates. While the landlord may have taken some action at that time, the gate continues to fail and remains a cause of concern. For this reason, we have made a further order requiring the landlord to carry out an inspection of the communal gate.

The landlord offered the resident £55 compensation for the time and effort she spent reporting the issues and a further £55 for the disruption caused by the gate repair delay in October 2023. This showed the landlord recognised some of its failures and made some attempt to put things right. The level of compensation offered did not reflect the seriousness or duration of the failings identified by this investigation, or the impact on the resident. For this reason, we have ordered further compensation in line with our remedies guidance.

Complaint The handling of the complaint Finding Reasonable redress The landlord’s complaint policy says it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. This is in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The landlord acknowledged the stage 1 complaint and sent its response within the timescales set out in its complaints policy. The resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint to stage 2 in November 2023.

The landlord did not issue its stage 2 response until 23 January 2024. This exceeded the 20‑working‑day timescale set out in its complaints policy by 19 working days and caused the resident to wait longer than expected for a response to her concerns. The landlord apologised for the delay, explained what caused it, and offered the resident £55 compensation. This amount was in line with the landlord’s compensation policy for complaint handling delays. The apology and payment showed the landlord recognised the failure and took reasonable steps to put things right.

In these circumstances, this offered appropriate and proportionate redress for the impact of the delay. Learning The landlord should review how it monitors, records, and responds to repeat repairs in communal areas, particularly where the issue affects the only access to a building. Where temporary fixes do not resolve a problem, the landlord should identify this sooner and take steps to implement a longer‑term solution within a reasonable timeframe. Knowledge information management (record keeping) The landlord should ensure that information it provides during the complaints process is accurate and consistent with repair records.

Providing incorrect or unclear information can undermine residents’ confidence and make it harder for complaints to be resolved at an early stage. Communication The landlord could improve how it communicates with residents about ongoing communal repairs. Clear and timely information about what action it is taking, expected timescales, and interim arrangements would help residents understand what is happening and reduce avoidable worry, especially where safety or emergency access may be affected.