Sovereign Housing Association Arvostelua 

The gas engineer this year said I didnt need to sign to say he d done the gas safety check. When my gas safety certificate arrived it had a fake name and a fake signature. One year the gas engineer didnt do a safety check at all and a young chap I recognised from a criminal gang causing trouble in the neighbourhood -pushed a fake gas safety certificate through my door !

I moved in November and my deposit hasn’t been protected, therefore against the signed contract and the tenancy law. They just don’t reply or explain, nor the formal complaint team nor the team in the building, same for all the repairs that needs to be done, still not even contracted me. , this includes no shower at least you wish to shower with boiling water, no washing machine, windows cannot open, lights in front of my window from the building that are in and off all day and just cannot sleep as it is in front of my bed.
This company and its staff have no moral or responsability, they just don’t care and should being allow to being in the business.

I received my brand-new Sovereign flat in 2016 when I was 19 and had no issues for the first three years. In 2019, when I was 21, the neighbouring Sovereign tenant moved in and my life has been hell ever since.

For years I have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, stalking-type behaviour and repeated false complaints from this neighbour, including:
• Waiting for me to park my car so she can run to her door flicking lights on and off
• Repeated banging on her ceiling (my floor) throughout the flat 6 m
• Moving my wheelie bin every two weeks for over five years
• Planting cigarette ends in communal areas and accusing me, despite me not smoking in communal areas for nearly 10 years
• Verbal abuse, including being called a “black b*tch”
• Screaming “f***ing come on then” when I walk past her door
• Involving family members who are not tenants, including her father knocking on my door from age 21

I have had soiled children’s underwear thrown into my bush despite no children living with me (only her niece visits).

I have been physically assaulted, including:
• Being barged
• Having a wheelie bin run over my foot
CCTV only captured the bin moving up and down and not the full incident, so no court action could be taken. I have since been diagnosed with arthritis, and it took three years just to get an X-ray.

When I had constant banging throughout every room, Sovereign dismissed it and pushed me to Environmental Health. Environmental Health warned her for music, but not the banging, even though banging is antisocial behaviour. I know this from working at Swindon Borough Council. Sovereign repeatedly passed responsibility instead of addressing the issue.

My neighbour has received:
• Three warnings from Sovereign
• One warning from Environmental Health
• A police warning two years ago stating she would be charged with harassment if it continued

She stops briefly, then starts again every six months, avoiding consequences.

I have completed mediation three times. Eventually, even the mediation service refused to continue due to her family dynamics and rowdy behaviour. Despite this, Sovereign attempted to pressure and blackmail me into a fourth mediation, even offering to pay a new service, despite the previous service refusing to deal with their tenant. I only agreed to mediation previously to prove I was cooperating.

Bin issues were another example of poor handling. For two years, Housing Officer Janice confirmed I was allowed to keep my bin on my drive and that it was a property issue. A new housing officer later rang me and said, “How would you like it if she put her bin near your window?” After being called a black b*tch and I had been told for two years it was allowed. While driving, upset and on loudspeaker through my stereo, I reacted and told her to “f off” and hung up. I called back and apologised. Despite this, Sovereign removed my right to use my drive — which I had for three years before this neighbour moved in — and then gave it to the neighbour. She now does exactly the same things she complained about.

False complaints are against our tenancy agreement, yet Sov has consistently protected her. I believe this is because she is deaf and they “tread carefully,” allowing her to get away with behaviour that would not be tolerated from anyone else.

I am mixed race, born in Swindon, and I have been racially targeted and falsely accused for years. I have diagnosed BPD and emotional regulation disorder due to childhood neglect, and Sov is aware of this. Now I’ve apparently been miss diagnosed and have autism and ADHD. Despite this, I have received no safeguarding or meaningful support. Instead, I have felt harassed by Sovereign themselves due to repeated false complaints, to the point I had to remove my phone number from my housing account.

This situation has ruined my entire twenties. From age 21 to 29 I have lived under constant stress, intimidation and fear. On the day of my granddad’s funeral, this neighbour came outside screaming at my 5- and 7-year-old cousins and then ran away when challenged. I had to beg my family not to escalate it because I didn’t want further trouble. She is around eight years older than me, has never worked or driven, stays at her parents’ house (on the next street) daily, and returns to the property only to sleep, while families who genuinely need housing are waiting.

To be fair, Sovereign’s repairs and basic customer service are good.
However, senior staff within housing management and antisocial behaviour teams need urgent review. I have not been supported, protected, or helped despite years of evidence, warnings, police involvement, and mediation failure.I would avoid a Sov property due to the toleration of anti social behaviour and continuous false complaints allowed. Name and shame
Jessica Ogb

Tried to report the fact that the upstairs flat had a leak which had damaged my ceiling. Refused to do anything because i couldn't answer a security question. Eventually answered it only to be told I needed to contact the management agent. This took 5 months. WHY did I need to answer a security question for this?

Mutually exchanged to a property owned by sovereign. There inspection prior failed to notice the previous tenant blocked the air bricks. Last winter was complete torture with mould and damp. I have Asthma and a suppressed immune system. They did nothing all my stuff got ruined. In the end I sorted it myself they don't care about the impact there carelessness has on people.

Terrible service
I’ve had intermittent loss of hot water and heating for nearly 11 months now. The system has had no end of problems since the poor-quality installation, and the issues are still ongoing despite 17 visits so far. Really frustrating experience.

It's incredibly frustrating. I've been in a back-and-forth situation with a manager regarding a repair that they've been unwilling to address, despite my consistent rent payments. Since July, I've been dealing with a door that doesn't close properly. I initially decided to wait it out, thinking it would fix itself, but the issue has worsened—now there's a crack in the landing beneath the door, and it’s become misshapen. I reported this during the autumn, and they suggested the cause was simply the changing weather, even though I had mentioned that this problem began in the summer. Despite providing multiple videos and images as evidence, they still deem it unnecessary to send someone for repairs. As a result, the door fails to shut properly, compromising privacy in that room. It’s quite disappointing.

I am not a tenant of Sovereign, however they are responsible for the street lighting in my road.
We live in a cul-de-sac with many older residents and the street lighting has been broken for two weeks now.
I have called them twice and my neighbour has also called them, to no avail.
It is rural where we live and there is no lighting apart from the street lights and it is totally pitch black outside of my property .

I was told when calling yesterday that this job has been given to a contractor and it would need to be chased, but they didn’t have the contractors phone number!
They looked this up and then told me that there was no answer and the mail box was full so they couldn’t leave a message.
I was on the phone for 23 minutes and got nowhere.
The women on the other end of the phone did not appear to know what she was doing and despite telling her where I lived on two separate occasions she got the wrong area and tried to tell me they were not responsible - I KNOW THEY ARE.

What a joke

Nothing but intrusion and harassment from older neighbour. Barely anything has been done to remedy the situation. Any attempt to contact said neighbour causes them to escalate things with more and more petit nonsense. I have been fobbed off more times than I can remember. Offered mediation while the antagonist continues to get away with it all. The place is falling apart and they tell me it's normal! Absolute nightmare since moving in here.

Moonhill Rise Exeter West clyst, I wouldn't recommend moving here. The houses are in disrepair; the exterior bricks near the front door are detaching, allowing water to seep into the gaps. There's a space under the door where spiders can get in, so I've had to seal it myself. The walls have numerous cracks, and the overall structure is deteriorating, but Sovereign won't take action until it becomes a bigger problem. My radiators aren't functioning properly either. My wife and I have new neighbors across the street, and every Friday and Saturday night, there's a constant stream of disruptive individuals doing some dealings from midnight to 2 a.m. or later. Additionally, people gather at the bottom of our garden, as we live on a hill, and it's common to see parties happening behind our shed. There are also rats, the gardens are sinking, and we have a large number of stray cats that leave waste in our yard. It's a very questionable neighborhood. Sovereign dont come out to anyone even though your paying rent and mortgage you'd have better response from a landlord as a private tenant, Dave

Honestly worst landlords in history.
First moved into another property that was mouldy but well hidden ater 6 months living there came though bad took them ages to come to fix repair then came back over space of 4 years many many times lost count even though specialists told them the wall needed rendering got to point I was coughing blood up went doctor told inhave cronic astma went in itv news and they moved me next day jumping to gun sort of saying because of the news then after being in hotels for 6 months they mov3d to to new property the first week moved in was threatened by neighbours and been having abuse and assault ever since 3 years of it been puched strangled chased nearly run over doors kicked cooking oil left out side door poles smashed of banisters hearing pitfalls everyday doors slamming poilce wrote them a letter back in March to say to move me mps and citizens advise all have said to sovereign to move me im suffering bad and they ignored police letter and said they dont feel im at any risk next im punched to face 2 months down the line this is totally negative of duty of care they came round my house and saod they are looking to evict me over music when I asked what about the abusing neighbours they daid they aren't going to do anything and smirked at me I think maybe because im taking them to court for leaving me with cronic astma I dont know but how in there right mind can they leave me here like in a prison scared to leave my home incase im attcked but yet say there taking me court for music the music is the only thing thats keeping me happy im living In hell here and they know it and smriking about it honesty cant express how upset and let down I am from a company in all my life left in extremely bad property with mould for years paited it over 20 times then moved to being left being attacked by violent crack heads for years and they say about my music

Moved into a Sovereign House in May 2025. Was advised that some polystyrene ceiling tiles would be removed prior to my moving in - they were not.

Some plastering needed doing so booked a plasterer in for June, upon further inspection he advised the room would need fully rerendering. Booked a surveyor to survey full property. Was advised whole property needed replastering…

No replastering booked til Council got back with regards to what plaster could be used due to building being listed….

No further works til asbestos check (although its all on the register)

No replastering til polystyrene tiles removed (which should have been done before May)

Polystyrene tiles being removed tomorrow 3rd Oct (after chasing since May)

Called to ask when plastering us being done but constantly advised 3 different people are dealing with it, first Terry, then Steve, then a Jackie…. Firstly Terry was away on holiday (sept) Steve was dealing with it but Terry back 22nd… w/C 22nd Terry back but Jackie dealing with it, no contact….. call again; Steve awaiting tile removal (booked fir 3rd) but no plastering booked in…. Steve away on holiday, needs him to sign it off, not back ril 14th Oct……

My daughter continues to sleep on a mattress on the floor as her room will need a cabin bed due to the size of the room so cant get that til plastering done & carpets laid….

Moved in in May its now Oct & we’re no closer to living in a habitable condition!

I slept more comfortably in the Afghan desert in thr Summer than i have here in a Sovereign House!!

Steer clear if at all possible!!

Sovereign are not fit for purpose!!

You dont need me just look at the rest of the reviews ,

Huge profit off the service charges and rent for no/bad services;

I am a shared ownership “customer” of Sovereign. They make ENORMOUS profit off this scheme and do absolutely nothing to help you when you are in the house. Check the published figures for their financials. They charge astronomical service fees for terribly managed communal areas. The communal lawn got so overgrown with weeds I actually sent them a photograph of me standing in them and them towering above my head. I received zero response. Zero. They did not give a rats arse.

Bad handling of tenant issues:
I raised a query with them about a neighbour parking their huge branded work van (in their allocated space) which blocked sunlight to my kitchen and took up the entire view. I asked them if they could consider asking them to park it elsewhere given there is a lot off off road parking near the houses and it breaches clauses in the lease for being so big, and it was having a real impact on the enjoyment of their neighbours property. They called the neighbour, the neighbour posted an aggressive post on Facebook about it, saying I was trying to “stop her husband earning a living”….then sovereign emailed me back saying they “couldn’t stop them earning a living”…are you for real?! The response was ridiculous, they just said they wouldn’t enforce the clause. When I responded asking if any of the other clauses were allowed to be breached I didn’t get a response…TERRIBLE handling of a query which was genuine.

Unfair rent increases:
Rent has gone up by over 30% in the past 3 years. There is NO CAP on what they will increase it by, and the services have not changed. They OVERCHARGE on services and then keep the money in their account all year, then are forced to refund it later on…could have been accruing interest in my bank account but ok.

Mis-selling:
The sales process was full of lies and mistruths. They pretended not to know about things happening in the local area, told me that the factories nearby would not interrupt my life and I wouldn’t notice them - it’s knocked huge value off the house and I can’t have my windows open at night for the 24/7 noise, which the council are not dealing with effectively. Sovereign told me that no more factories were allowed to be built that close to the house - two more have gone up within the same vicinity.

OH and part way through the sales process I realised that the floor plans didn’t match the garden space, and sovereign had signed off this new build from the developers with an entire bin collection point MISSING. When I pointed it out they had to get the developers to fix it and it delayed my sale completion by 2 weeks. It reduced the size of my garden by about 4-2ft (which is a lot considering how small the garden is)- they would not review the valuation based on that. So I did not get to buy what I had been shown, and I was too late I to the process to back out.

I feel trapped in this house because I have fixed my mortgage, but the real issue is that whilst I am here the rent rates increase year on year on year with NO improvement to the shoddy services. Can’t even manage issues between their tenants effectively. Customer service has been shocking.

Then the resell procedure is full of hidden costs and trap doors…cannot wait to be rid of this awful company.

DO NOT USE THEM. THEY ARE TERRIBLE AT SERVICE AND DO NOT OPERATE FAIRLY.

Utterly reprehensible the way they behave. Good housing left for ruin. Called multiple times to inform them of issues at address in Hertfordshire but now the unoccupied house has been left to decay.

The contact centre staff was not interested in helping. As I had a water leak issue from a neighbours property, but it did cause damage to my property.No workman ever came back to give myself a update when the neighbours issue was repaired. As no one was interested in the damage that it caused to my home. No one could be bothered to read any shift notes, not even the property team could even be bothered to reply back .Not even Within their 10 day time frame, that they set themselves. They all hid behind the GDPR excuse. It was Only when I said I was going to write to Mark Washer,CEO.To inform himself about the issue.(Which I have done before, and will easily do it again) That they then arranged for the damage in my home to be repaired. A poor Lack of communcation.They are only interested in their Salaries and bonuses, and not for the very tenants that they are here to serve.

my overall experience of this company is a joke,and it took away a good part of me,what is my pride,that all of us have to help us through life,good times,and bad times,and repect aswell,this company looks down and me,and upsets me,some of the staff of this company need retraining in how to talk to people with them,making them small,and taking away peoples pride,and repect,i am evan scared to open my door to let them in my flat,now i am on my meds now to help me cope,and sleep at night omg,thank goodness for cab and good solicitors we have here in plymouth,this is the worst landlord i have had in years,it will get worse,before it gets better omg,go and send a boy to do a mans job omg,what comes around,goes around,and giving me bad health aswell,and bunch of cowboys aswell

It seems impossible to get action by Sovereign on this. Despite myriad letters and communication. Dirt and squalor allowed to continue in the communal / grounds area as cleaning contractors never employed or when they are, finally, they do a pathetic job of it. Rats infestation the accepted as normal. Many complaints by residents over many months - but no action.

If I could, I would rate this place 0-star. It is not acceptable leaving tenants without hot water for a week. I have been calling them every day and no one has lifted a finger to fix this issue. I am paying >800£ every month and I am not receiving proper services from the accommodation. This is basic needs to a human being.

We made a complaint over 30 days ago regarding a neighbours bamboo growing out of control blocking the sunlight and views out of our kitchen window and the fact that during strong winds the bamboo hits our kitchen window. When we made the complaint we were told we would receive a call back in 10 days yet we have just called again and the operator wasn't helpful and just fobbed us off with the same excuse as the last operator. Having been a tenant for over 13 years I can happily say the service provided by sovereign has gone down hill ever since they merged and there customer services is subterranean.