Onward

The Housing Ombudsman is the independent body that investigates complaints about social landlords. When it finds a landlord got things wrong, it records "service failure" or "maladministration" — or "severe maladministration" for the most serious failings. These findings concern Onward Homes Limited and its parent group.^[6]

The 2025-26 performance report. The Ombudsman's report on Onward counts 35 cases it decided between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. It sets out the rate in its own words: "The number of 'Mal' findings recorded for Onward Group Limited is 55, which gives the Maladministration rate of 66.3% (55 / 83)." That rate uses a definition that includes severe maladministration and service failure. The national rate is 62%, and 52% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[1]

“The number of 'Mal' findings recorded for Onward Group Limited is 55, which gives the Maladministration rate of 66.3% (55 / 83).”^[1]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Landlord Performance Report April 2025 - March 2026 – Onward Group Limited (15 September 2026)

Where the findings fell. Four findings were severe maladministration, all about responsive repairs. Complaint handling was the most common sub-category, with 33 findings.^[1]

Orders and compliance. The Ombudsman made 117 orders. Its headline compensation figure — compensation ordered plus compensation recommended — is £32,076. Every order due in the year was complied with. There were no complaint handling failure orders, which the Ombudsman makes when a landlord does not follow its Complaint Handling Code.^[1]

The rate over three years. The same report puts Onward's rate at 70% in 2023-24 and 67% in 2024-25 — the Ombudsman's restated figures, which may differ from those it published at the time.^[1]

A severe maladministration finding on a window. In a decision of 24 November 2025, the Ombudsman found: "There was severe maladministration in the landlord's handling of repairs to and replacement of a window."^[10] The resident had first reported the loose window over three years earlier. Onward was ordered to apologise, pay £2,300 across its findings in the case, and complete the new window.^[10]

“There was severe maladministration in the landlord's handling of repairs to and replacement of a window.”^[10]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Onward Homes Limited (202422387) — Housing Ombudsman decision (24 November 2025, 202422387)

A wider order on damp and mould. In a determination of 24 December 2025, the Ombudsman found severe maladministration in how Onward handled a vulnerable family's reports of damp, mould and mould mites. The family had lived in poor conditions for nearly 2 years, and the Ombudsman issued a wider order for a senior management review.^[11] In April 2026 it reported that Onward had since changed how it responds to damp and mould, starting a formal procedure on every report. In a statement the Ombudsman published, Onward apologised and said all orders and recommendations had been followed.^[11]

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is the government body that checks social landlords meet required standards. It grades landlords for governance — from G1 (the strongest) to G4 — for how well a landlord is run; for financial viability — from V1 to V4; and, since 2024, separately for consumer standards — from C1 to C4 — for the homes and services tenants actually get.

Onward holds G1 for governance and V2 for viability. In its most recent judgement, published on 17 December 2025, the regulator graded Onward G1: "Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements."^[2] For viability it graded Onward V2: "Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance."^[2] The regulator said Onward continues to invest significantly in its existing homes, which affects its financial performance and limits its capacity to respond to a wider range of financial risks.^[2]

“Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.”^[2]

Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK), Onward Group Limited (4649) - Regulatory Judgement: 17 December 2025 (17 December 2025)

“Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.”^[2]

Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK), Onward Group Limited (4649) - Regulatory Judgement: 17 December 2025 (17 December 2025)

No consumer grade yet. That judgement was a stability check of Onward's governance and finances. It did not assess Onward against the consumer standards, and the regulator has not published a consumer grade (C1–C4) for it.^[2] That absence is not a finding either way. A governance grade measures how the organisation is run, not the condition of any home; the Housing Ombudsman's findings and Onward's tenant satisfaction figures cover the service tenants get.

No regulatory notice. There is no regulatory notice — a formal published finding of a breach — currently in force against Onward, and the regulator's page for it lists only its judgements.^[3] Regulatory grades are reviewed from time to time and may change — the date above is the one that matters.

A housing association's repair duties are just as strong as a council's — and they do not depend on its track record.

Repairs. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, Onward must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair — the roof, walls, windows and doors — and keep the installations for heating, hot water, gas, electricity, water and sanitation in proper working order. This applies to almost every tenancy and cannot be signed away in a tenancy agreement.

Fitness for human habitation. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (section 9A of the 1985 Act), your home must also be fit to live in — free from serious hazards, including damp and mould that could harm your health.

Awaab's Law. Awaab's Law now sets legally binding timescales for social landlords, housing associations included, to investigate hazards such as damp and mould and make homes safe — the disrepair page sets them out.^[12]

Onward's own repair timescales. Onward publishes target times for emergency, routine and more complex repairs in its repairs handbook, which the disrepair page lists.^[15]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair through the My Onward Portal or by phone, and make a complaint through Onward's two-stage process at onward.co.uk/compliments-and-complaints.^[17]