Southern Housing

The Housing Ombudsman is the independent body 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.

The 2024/25 performance report. The Ombudsman's most recent report for Southern Housing covers cases it decided — it calls these "determinations" — between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. It records 168 determinations producing 446 findings. Of the 432 findings counted towards the rate, 318 were maladministration — a rate of 73.6%, against a national rate of 71% and 69% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[1] Twenty-four were severe maladministration.^[1] Property condition was the largest category, and within it leaks, damp and mould drew the most findings of severe maladministration of any repairs sub-category.^[1] It made no complaint handling failure orders against Southern Housing in the year, recorded £157,385 in compensation ordered and recommended, and complied in time with all 610 orders due within three months.^[1]

The May 2024 special report. The year before, the Ombudsman published a special report — a wider investigation into systemic problems. It examined 77 cases decided between June and October 2023, most predating the merger; complaint handling was the biggest category of failure, with maladministration in 94% of those findings.^[4] The Ombudsman ordered apologies in 42 cases and more than £62,000 in compensation, and on repairs it wrote: "We found maladministration in 74% of repairs complaints during this investigation. In total, we ordered the landlord to pay £33,309.92 in compensation for failures in its repairs service. Almost £23,000 of that total was for failures in responding to leaks, damp and mould."^[4] One case described a resident told her bathroom leak was not a priority and advised to wash her infant children in the kitchen sink.^[4]

“We found maladministration in 74% of repairs complaints during this investigation. In total, we ordered the landlord to pay £33,309.92 in compensation for failures in its repairs service. Almost £23,000 of that total was for failures in responding to leaks, damp and mould.”^[4]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Housing Ombudsman Special Report on Southern Housing (14 May 2024)

What Southern Housing said in response. Southern Housing said it was truly sorry to all residents it had failed, including the 67 the report showed it let down.^[4] It told the Ombudsman it had adopted a "zero-tolerance" approach to damp and mould.^[4]

What tenants say. In Southern Housing's own tenant satisfaction survey for 2025/26, based on a sample of 2,336 tenants, 66.7% said they were satisfied with the overall service and 66.6% with the repairs service, while 35.4% said they were satisfied with how Southern Housing handles complaints.^[5]

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is the government body that checks social landlords meet required standards for safe, decent homes. Since 2024 the RSH has been inspecting social landlords and giving each a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4.

Southern Housing's grade is C2. After an inspection completed in August 2024, and confirmed at a further check in November 2025, the regulator graded Southern Housing C2: "There are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed."^[2] The judgement pointed to weaknesses in providing an effective, efficient and timely repairs service, while noting that the landlord had appropriate systems in place to keep tenants safe.^[2] If you are living with unresolved damp, mould or disrepair in a Southern Housing home, that finding on repairs speaks directly to your situation.

The rest of the picture. The same set of judgements graded Southern Housing G1 for governance — the regulator's strongest governance grade, meaning it is assured the landlord meets its governance requirements — and V2 for financial viability.^[2] So Southern Housing holds the strongest possible governance grade at the same time as a consumer grade that identifies weaknesses — a reminder that how well a landlord is run as an organisation is judged separately from the service its tenants actually receive. There is no enforcement notice in force against Southern Housing.^[6] Regulatory grades are reviewed from time to time and may change — the dates above are the ones that matter.

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, Southern Housing 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.^[7]

Southern Housing's own published timescales. Southern Housing publishes an emergency-repair target and, after the Ombudsman found its repairs policy set no non-emergency timescales, says it has since revised the policy to add clearer ones — the disrepair page covers what it publishes.^[4][10]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair through Southern Housing's contact channels, and complain through its process at southernhousing.org.uk/managing-your-home/compliments-complaints.^[12]