Aster Group, which manages homes across the south of England and London, was ordered to conduct the review by the Housing Ombudsman in response to the systemic failings with managing a ‘living roof’, following damage suffered in a storm.  

The review, called a wider order, was made using new powers that require landlords to take steps to prevent future service failure by improving its policy or practice. These powers are part of a range of interventions the Ombudsman uses to address areas of repeated service failure. 

These reviews can be used where the Ombudsman is seeking significant improvement alongside the potential use of other powers, such as special investigations. 

The review followed an investigation by the Ombudsman into a complaint where the resident reported detachment of the roof planting due to adverse weather conditions. While leaks were not an issue, the complaint highlighted potential deficiencies in the maintenance and management of living roofs. 

It found there are no irrigation systems or safety measures like fall restraints, which affect both the sustainability and safety of the living roof. There is a shortage of specialist contractors for living roofs leading to poor maintenance and oversight. 

This situation serves as a crucial reminder of how one resident’s experience can reflect systemic challenges affecting many others within the community. The Ombudsman mandated an independent investigation to address these issues and prevent future occurrences. 

The independent review found several areas needing improvement. They also recognised that the landlord is trying to make positive changes, especially in managing living roofs. While the structure of Aster’s complaint handling is strong, its execution is slow and inefficient, causing dissatisfaction among residents. 

Among the recommendations put forward by the independent review were for the landlord to: 

• ensure the inclusion of qualified living roof specialists on the approved supplier list 
• strengthen handover processes to ensure comprehensive transfer of maintenance requirements for living roofs 
• enhance staff training to ensure awareness and proper handling of living roof maintenance 
• implement a robust system to ensure timely communication and follow-up with residents regarding repair requests 
• develop and implement a dedicated policy for the maintenance of living roofs, incorporating industry best practices 

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “This review reveals the proactive and positive steps Aster is undertaking in response to our wider order.

“It also creates wider learning opportunities for landlords who are looking to bring residents on the journey to create zero carbon new homes.

“A wider order ensures that lessons learned from individual cases benefit the entire community. By doing so, it helps prevent similar challenges from emerging in the future, restores trust, and ensures residents receive the quality of service they rightfully expect. 

“By embracing insights from all complaints, landlords can effectively utilise resident feedback to not only rectify specific issues but also to enhance overall service delivery.”

A spokesperson for Aster said: “We are very sorry for letting our customer down by not delivering the high standard of service we aim for. We have contacted our customer to apologise and have paid compensation. A full replacement of the living roof was completed in summer 2024.

“We accept introducing the service charge for the fall arrest system wasn’t managed in the correct or best way, and that we failed to seek the appropriate legal advice at the correct time which could have resolved the issue earlier. We also accept we didn’t communicate well with our customer about the maintenance and repairs to the living roof.

“Getting things right for our customers and providing safe and well-maintained homes are our top priorities. We are committed to continuously making improvements to provide the best service to all our customers. To do this well, we need to learn from any mistakes we make. Following this case, we carried out a full review of all the living roofs on our homes. We have since amended our policy and procedure for maintenance and repairs and have reviewed our supply chain arrangements for living roofs. We have also developed new complaint training with a focus on the importance of good pro-active communication.”