Failures at Hyde caused ‘distress and inconvenience’ for residents, Ombudsman finds

Hyde Group caused “distress and inconvenience” to residents through its maladministration, according to the Housing Ombudsman.

In its special investigation report, published today, the watchdog identified repeated failings in repairs, complaint handling and how it responded to residents’ enquiries about service charges. 

It said this had “caused distress and inconvenience to residents with unreasonable delays to repairs, barriers to complaints and poor communication”.

The investigation was prompted by the 45,000-home landlord’s 10 severe maladministration findings and a high overall maladministration rate, including in areas such as repairs (94%) and damp and mould (100%). 

The Ombudsman made 137 determinations between April 2023 and June 2024, making 353 findings, including 23 of severe maladministration.

It gave Hyde 548 orders to put things right for residents in these cases.

“The timing of this investigation provides a valuable opportunity for the landlord to further establish an open, positive complaint handling culture throughout what is a growing organisation,” said Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman.

He said the investigation had found residents had experienced the same problems “repeatedly over several years” and that the landlord had been “initially slow to recognise and respond”.

In one case, the landlord blamed the severity of a leak on a resident who was away when the leak occurred and disputed that their home was uninhabitable and whether a bed had been damaged by water.

It did not offer appropriate compensation, according to the Ombudsman, despite the resident suffering from cancer at the time. 

Blakeway said there had been “encouraging steps” recently, with action taken on delays in three service areas and a “focus on better communication with residents”.

“However, as the landlord has noted, and our more recent investigations highlight, there is still some way to go, and we will work with the landlord to help reach the ambitious goals it has set itself,” he continued, adding that the landlord had in some cases appeared “reluctant to provide appropriate redress”.

Andy Hulme, group chief executive at Hyde Group. said he recognised that the group “haven’t always met some of our customer’s expectations” and apologised to its residents.

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“We know the impact this can have and are committed to learning from these experiences to ensure we do better in the future.”

The report set out three key areas for the landlord to improve - complaint handling, repairs and service charges - and the Ombudsman welcomed Hyde’s commitment to make changes.

Hulme said Hyde had made some changes in recent years with the aim of improving service, including launching a new customer service centre, doubling the number of staff handling complaints and bringing the repair service in-house.

He said “most customers” now receive their repairs in around three days and that customer satisfaction with its repairs teams was higher than 95%.