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 2025/26 performance report. The Ombudsman's latest report covers cases it decided — "determinations" — between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. It records 743 findings across 316 determinations. Of the 726 findings counted towards the rate, 500 were maladministration, service failure or severe maladministration — a rate of 68.9%, against a national rate of 62% and 60% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[1] Seventeen were severe maladministration.^[1] Responsive repairs drew 254 findings and managing relations 279.^[1] Within repairs, condensation damp and mould drew 57 findings, five of them severe, and leaks 46, three of them severe.^[1] The report shows no complaint handling failure orders, £215,892 in compensation (its headline figure for the year) and all orders in its compliance table were complied with — 1,027 within three months and three more within six months.^[1] As restated in this report, the rate was 74% for 2024/25 and 79% for 2023/24.^[1] Southern Housing says its own reporting shows the rate improving to 57% for April to August 2026.^[4]

The May 2024 special report. The Ombudsman published a special report — a wider investigation into systemic problems — in May 2024. 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.^[3] 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."^[3]

“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.”^[3]

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.^[3] It told the Ombudsman it had adopted a "zero-tolerance" approach to damp and mould.^[3]

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. In a judgement issued in August 2024, following a programmed inspection, 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]

The rest of the picture. The August 2024 judgement graded Southern Housing G1 for governance — the regulator's strongest governance grade — and V2 for financial viability. A stability check in November 2025 confirmed both grades but did not reassess the consumer standards, so the C2 grade dates from August 2024.^[2] There is no regulatory 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 its own repair target times, including for non-emergency repairs, which the Ombudsman's 2024 special report found its policy lacked — the disrepair page covers what it publishes.^[3]

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.^[11]