Independent review finds critical areas for improvement in Sage Homes approach to handling complaints with safeguarding concerns
16 January 2025
Housing Ombudsman orders Sage Homes to conduct an independent review which found failings in Sage Home’s approach to addressing vulnerabilities and safeguarding concerns.
An independent review ordered by the Housing Ombudsman has provided 20 recommendations for Sage Homes to improve its safeguarding and vulnerabilities.
The review followed an Ombudsman investigation that found the landlord failed to adequately address a residents’ vulnerabilities and safeguarding concerns, and did not have due regard of its responsibilities under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act. The resident, struggling with both physical disabilities and mental health issues, reported water penetration to her patio from the balcony above and Antisocial Behaviour (ASB), leading to suicidal feelings and a perceived lack of support. The resident said the landlord’s lack of support had a lasting impact on their mental wellbeing.
The complaint was first raised when the landlord had appointed a housing association to act as its managing agent and the Ombudsman’s investigation showed significant failings in the complaint handling and communication between the landlord and the agent. This arrangement is no longer in place.
The independent review found several areas needing improvement including inconsistent safeguarding practices across the organisation. This included revising policies to address both child and adult safeguarding separately, identifying training gaps, and improving processes for handling safeguarding cases.
The review also recognised that the landlord is trying to make positive changes, especially in its commitment to cultural change by making ‘safeguarding everyone’s business’.
Among the 20 recommendations put forward by the independent review were for the landlord to:
- ensure comprehensive and ongoing training for all staff members who interact with residents – this includes understanding and effectively applying the ASB policy in case management
- adopt a strategic approach to strengthen partnerships across the organisation
- ensure it delivers fair and equitable outcomes for all residents – this includes removing barriers to reporting incidents and ensuring transparency in service standards
- enhance the visibility of service standards to ensure residents can trust in services and demonstrate accountability in service delivery – this involves clear communication of service standards and their impact on residents
- take steps to make sure that all customer records are updated with accurate information relating to vulnerabilities
- consider how it communicates its offer and provides opportunities for residents to influence and scrutinise operations and decision making
The review identified 17 other residents impacted by similar failings and the landlord has taken steps to review those cases and provide redress.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “I welcome the thorough review that has been undertaken and the proactive steps of the landlord to prevent similar issues being repeated. I also welcome the frank and open way the landlord has engaged with us.
“While antisocial behaviour can be difficult to manage, our investigation shows that at no stage did the landlord or its agent recognise the health vulnerabilities of its resident which led it to miss several opportunities to act on safeguarding concerns. The communication and engagement between the landlord and its agent at the time was also flawed and this compounded the impact on the resident.
“This complaint is a crucial reminder of how one resident’s experience can reveal wider issues that need to be addressed.
“It is important for other landlords to learn from this experience and consider their own handling of safeguarding as well as engagement with managing agents.
“These are also issues we examined in our Spotlight report on attitudes, respect, and rights last year, which can also provide valuable learning from complaints for the sector.”
Mark Sater, Sage Homes Chief Executive, said “We are extremely sorry for these service failings, which fall well below the high standards we set ourselves and what our customers should receive.
Following the Ombudsman’s investigation, we completed our own extensive review to ensure this does not happen again, resulting in the introduction of a number of significant changes including new and stronger policies and investing in a major operational restructure. This has brought all housing management services in-house, removing full reliance on third-party providers and allowing for better oversight and faster responses to addressing tenant concerns.
We have also apologised to the customer in question on several occasions, as well as offering her an alternative home. However, she has declined this offer as she is now happy in her home.”