whg

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 "service failure", "maladministration" or, for the most serious failings, "severe maladministration". Not every finding goes against the landlord; the maladministration rate is the share of findings in any of those three.^[4] The findings below concern Walsall Housing Group Limited, the landlord that trades as whg.^[7]

The 2025-26 performance report. The Ombudsman recorded a maladministration rate of 44.4% for whg — 12 of 27 findings.^[4] That compares with a national rate of 62%, and 52% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[4]

“The number of 'Mal' findings recorded for Walsall Housing Group Limited is 12, which gives the Maladministration rate of 44.4% (12 / 27).”^[4]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Landlord Performance Report 2025/2026 — Walsall Housing Group Limited (15 September 2026)

How many cases. The rate rests on 14 cases decided between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.^[4] Measured against its size, the Ombudsman made 0.5 maladministration findings per 1,000 whg homes, against a median of 1.5 for all landlords and 1.2 for landlords of a similar size and type.^[4]

Where the findings fell. Counting every finding, whatever the outcome, responsive repairs was the largest category, with 12 of the 27, followed by managing relations, with 11. None was severe maladministration.^[4]

Orders and compensation. The Ombudsman made 26 orders and 14 recommendations. It made no complaint handling failure orders. whg complied with all 26 orders in the report's compliance table within three months.^[4] The report's headline compensation figure for the year, ordered or recommended, is £3,550.^[4]

Earlier years. The Ombudsman decided 8 whg cases in 2023-24 and 11 in 2024-25, when the rate was 25% and then 54%. It adjusted the 2023-24 figures to leave out cases outside its jurisdiction or withdrawn, so they may not match what it published at the time.^[4]

Good practice. In January 2024 the Ombudsman's Spotlight report on attitudes, respect and rights featured whg as a good-practice example for its partnership with health services in Walsall.^[9]

What tenants say. In whg's 2025-26 survey of its low-cost rental tenants, 84.1% of those who had a repair in the last year were satisfied with the repairs service, and 51.1% of those who had complained were satisfied with how whg handled it.^[5]

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, and on each scale 1 is the strongest:^[1]

• consumer (C1 to C4) — the homes and services tenants receive;
• governance (G1 to G4) — how well the landlord is run;
• viability (V1 to V4) — its finances.

whg's consumer grade is C1, awarded after a planned inspection completed in December 2024: "Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards."^[1]

What the inspection found. The regulator found that whg "provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants", and that it keeps an accurate record of the condition of its homes through physical surveys. It noted that whg had identified issues with outstanding repairs and taken proactive steps to address them.^[1] It also found whg had "appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas", and that its approach to complaints is "clear and in line with the requirements of the standard".^[1]

Governance and viability. The regulator grades whg G1 for governance — "Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements" — and V1 for viability, finding it "meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios". A stability check in January 2026 confirmed both grades. That check did not reassess the consumer grade, which still rests on the December 2024 inspection.^[1]

No regulatory notice. There is no regulatory notice — a formal published finding of a breach — currently in force against whg; the regulator's page for it lists only its judgement.^[3]

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, whg 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.^[11]

Safety checks. whg must also meet health and safety duties for its homes, such as gas and electrical safety checks.

Complaint handling. whg must handle complaints under the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, through a two-stage process with set response times — the disrepair page explains how to use it.^[14]

whg's own repair timescales. whg sorts repairs into priorities, each with a published target timescale — from emergency to routine repairs — which the disrepair page lists.^[18]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair to whg through its online account, by email or by phone, and complain through the online form on whg.uk.com.^[14]

The planned merger with Aspire Housing. Both boards have approved a merger, which whg expects to complete in November 2026, subject to lender consents; Aspire will become a subsidiary of Walsall Housing Group Limited. whg will be known as whg aspire for the first few months, with a further new name expected in 2027. whg says your landlord, tenancy agreement and rights will stay the same.^[21]