GHA labelled a third rate landlord by Communities Scotland probe

The UK's biggest housing association is poor at handling complaints from dissatisfied customers and slow to understand the issues facing homeowners, according to the Scottish housing watchdog.

The first report by Communities Scotland on Glasgow Housing Association gave it a 'fair' or 'C' grade for its performance as a landlord. There are four grades in Scotland A, 'excellent' to D, 'poor'.

The report found weaknesses in the way GHA managed recently procured investment contracts and identified poor and worsening rent collection.

But the inspectors did find the landlord had met or was meeting most of the promises it made to tenants when 80,000 homes were transferred to the housing association from Glasgow Council in 2003.

The report also noted that no stock had yet transferred to local housing organisations, as originally planned, and that there were 'financial barriers to progress'. '

GHA has tried to make second stage transfer happen within its financial limits and the conditions set at the time of the transfer,' the report says.

Sandra Forsythe, tenant chair of Glasgow Housing Association, said: 'We've already made a number of significant changes as a result of the inspection process.

'We're setting up a team of GHA board members, staff and tenant leaders to progress an action plan to address all the report's recommendations,' she said.