Sanctuary

The Housing Ombudsman is the independent service that investigates complaints about social landlords. When it finds a landlord got things wrong, it makes a finding of "maladministration" — or "severe maladministration" for the most serious failings, and "service failure" for the least. Its maladministration rate counts all three together. The findings below concern Sanctuary Housing Association, the landlord you rent from.^[1]

The 2024-25 performance report. The Ombudsman's report covers the cases it decided for Sanctuary between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 — 129 in all. They produced 335 findings, because one case can carry a finding on each issue investigated.^[2] Of those, 326 count towards the maladministration rate: findings that fall outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, or that are withdrawn, are left out of the base.^[2] As the Ombudsman set out the rate: "The number of 'Mal' findings recorded for Sanctuary Housing Association is 191, which gives the Maladministration rate of 58.6% (191 / 326)". That is below the national maladministration rate of 71%, and the 69% rate for landlords of a similar size and type.^[2] Of the 191, 20 were severe maladministration, the most serious level.^[2]

“The number of 'Mal' findings recorded for Sanctuary Housing Association is 191, which gives the Maladministration rate of 58.6% (191 / 326)”^[2]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Landlord Performance Report 2024/2025 — Sanctuary Housing Association (1 May 2025)

Where the failings fell. The largest category was property condition — the state of people's homes — where the Ombudsman upheld 105 of the 162 findings it counted, a rate of 65% against 73% nationally.^[2] Complaint handling was next, with 47 of 98 upheld, 48% against 77% nationally.^[2] Leaks, damp and mould were the largest single sub-category of the year's findings.^[2]

Orders and compensation. Across the year the Ombudsman made 433 orders and recorded £192,648 in compensation — ordered and recommended combined — and made 1 complaint handling failure order, which it makes when complaint handling itself fails.^[2]

A wider order on damp and mould. In May 2024 the Ombudsman issued a wider order against Sanctuary, after two findings of severe maladministration over leaks, damp and mould.^[6] It required Sanctuary to review nearly 4,000 homes where similar problems might have gone unresolved.^[6] The independent review that followed found a smaller number where roofing work could not be shown to have been done in time.^[6]

What Sanctuary says it has done. Sanctuary reports investing a record amount in its homes — £122 million in 2024-25, it says, the third record year running.^[7] The Regulator of Social Housing has since reflected an improvement in Sanctuary's repairs service in its consumer grade.^[1]

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is the government body that checks social landlords meet required standards for safe, decent homes. It grades landlords in three ways: a consumer grade (C1 to C4) for the homes and services tenants receive, a governance grade (G1 to G4) for how well the landlord is run, and a viability grade (V1 to V4) for its finances.

Sanctuary's consumer grade is C1 — the strongest. In a judgement published on 27 May 2026, the regulator graded Sanctuary C1, its top consumer grade: "Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards."^[1] This was an upgrade from C2, the grade set after an inspection completed in January 2025; the regulator raised it after Sanctuary "provided evidence that it has improved the performance of its repairs service and customer satisfaction in this area has increased".^[1]

Governance and viability. The regulator grades Sanctuary G1 for governance — the strongest grade — finding it "meets our governance requirements", and V2 for viability, finding it "meets our viability requirements" but noting it will need to manage material risks.^[1]

No regulatory notice. There is no regulatory notice — a formal published finding of a breach — currently in force against Sanctuary; the regulator's publication page shows no regulatory notice in force.^[8] 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, Sanctuary 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.^[9]

Sanctuary's own published repair timescales. Sanctuary sorts repairs into priorities, each with a published target time — the disrepair page lists the figures.^[12]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair to Sanctuary through your online MySanctuary account or its Customer Service Centre, and make a complaint through its two-stage complaints process at sanctuary.co.uk/contact-us/complaints.^[13]