A WOMAN says residents "should be able to live in peace" after winning a two-year battle with her social housing landlord over its handling of an anti-social behaviour complaint.

Sharron Hudson, 58, complained about a nearby resident's behaviour to Magna Housing in 2022, and was left feeling 'frustrated' and 'ignored' by what she claimed was her landlord's inability to act.

After a drawn-out process, the Housing Ombudsman has ruled in favour of Ms Hudson and ordered Magna to pay her £1,800 compensation.

It said there was ‘maladministration’ with the landlord’s handling of anti-social behaviour (ASB), and ‘maladministration’ with its complaint handling.

Ms Hudson, who suffers from health problems, had complained of a period of abuse from the resident, which included her daughter and grandson being shouted at.

She first made a complaint to Magna in 2022 but received no response.

Ms Hudson, from Lyme Regis, said: "I contacted Magna straight away, but I got nowhere. I got an automated message and they never followed it up.

"I went on to the website and filled out a form that goes to their community safety team and they are suppose to give you call, but they didn't.

"It was getting very frustrating, I quoted their own procedures to them and didn’t get a response.

"Then I filed a formal complaint before taking it to the Ombudsman."

The Ombudsman's report said Magna "failed to abide by several principles" within its ASB policy including not recording her vulnerability, not agreeing an action plan, not setting expectations or showing that it appropriately investigated her concerns, and not evidencing that it appropriately recorded her ASB reports.

Ms Hudson added: “I want people to know they don’t have to put up with this behaviour. Magna should be held accountable and people should be able to live in peace.

 “It was very disheartening, they never said anything to me, they never asked for evidence."

Ms Hudson says the abuse she has received means she does not let her grandchildren play in her garden.

She added: “I just don’t need it, I have put up a six foot fence, hopefully that will make things better.

"It's been really stressful. The whole thing has not been taken seriously and I have been left to suffer."

Ms Hudson said she had plans for her home but no longer wishes to live there.

The compensation must be paid by May 13 - £1,500 for the failings identified around its handling of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and lack of consideration for Ms Hudson's vulnerabilities, and £300 for its complaint handling failings.

An extra £200 fine was subsequently issued for 'maladministration' in Magna's record keeping after the company lodged an appeal to suggest it had not received the complaint.

The Ombudsman said that due to Ms Hudson providing evidence of her correspondence it was 'unacceptable' that Magna did not have a record.

Magna is still disputing this charge and the Ombudsman has given until April 29 for both parties to present further comment.

As well as the compensation, Magna must also contact Ms Hudson to see if she is still experiencing issues of ASB. It must also carry out a review of this case provide training to its staff. It should also determine what actions it needs to take to prevent a reoccurrence of such issues.

Magna must also write to Ms Hudson with the outcome of the review and set out what steps it plans to take.

A spokesperson for Magna said: “We want to always deliver the best service that we can ensuring our customers are treated fairly and efficiently.

“We can’t comment specifically on this case until the Housing Ombudsman’s findings are finalised, but we do accept that sometimes things do go wrong and customers don't get the service they expect or we fall short of the standards we've promised. 

“When that happens, the way we manage, resolve and learn from the experience of our customers is key to helping us to continue to improve.”