Half of complaints referred to the Ombudsman are from social housing tenants in London

The Housing Ombudsman has revealed that 47% of cases that the service determined last year have involved residents with a Greater London postcode.

The Ombudsman’s latest insight report, focusing on complaints raised in London, notes that just under one in six homes owned by a local authority or housing association is located in the capital.

Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, remarked that “no other region of England has such a wide gap between the proportion of social housing and complaints.”

Blakeway noted that the housing crisis “is intense in London – with under-resourcing and pressures that are outside of landlords’ control,” and stated that the effects of these challenges are reflected in the service’s casework.

He said that a greater proportion of homes in London meet the Decent Homes Standard and fewer hazards are being reported, compared to the rest of the country.

Blakeway added: “this raises questions about the robustness of the Decent Homes Standard, which is outdated and needs a comprehensive revision.”

The report notes that the Housing Ombudsman Service’s (HOS) severe maladministration rate is 9.3% in London, and 7.4% for the rest of the country.

The maladministration rate is 77% in London compared to 68.5% for the rest of England. 

In addition, the failure rate on property condition, including repairs and health and safety, is the highest in the country.

In 2023-24, the HOS made more than 2,000 findings for property condition issues in the London region, with a maladministration rate of 78%, the highest rate in the country.

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The maladministration rate for health and safety complaints, which include building safety, was similarly high at 74%, and also the highest rate in the country.

The report notes that due to the lower proportion of non-decent homes in London, “it cannot be said that the quality issues we see are driven solely by the materials and age of the homes.”

The report suggests that the overriding theme identified in London complaints is not just quality of homes, but quality of customer service when dealing with a quality issue. 

The Ombudsman noted that another complexity for social landlords in London is building safety, due to the higher number of taller buildings in the capital.

The report stated that the rate at which fire safety and structural safety complaints are made from London residents is high – 54 of the 101 fire safety complaints, and 12 of the 31 structural safety complaints that the HOS assessed in 2023-24 came from London.

The Ombudsman said that “there is a role for the new national government as well and we have been clear that more resource is needed to tackle some of the reoccurring problems we are seeing in our casework.”

In particular, he added that landlords need a long-term plan and more investment to deal with and reduce levels of disrepair.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Although the issues complained about are broadly the same as the rest of the country, the operating environment for landlords in the capital is vastly different from most other areas. This can present unique and acute challenges.

“The housing crisis is intense in London – with under-resourcing and pressures that are outside of landlords’ control. These challenges and the impact it has on individuals are clear and evident in our casework.

“However, landlords must ensure they are equipped to respond to these operational complexities and neither allow them to obscure poor performance nor be overwhelmed by them. There are far too many cases of residents being treated unfairly or unreasonably.

“Our casework reveals how poor communication and record management can compound existing challenges. It also indicates some poor resource planning, risk assessment and service oversight.”

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chief executive of L&Q and chair of the G15 group of London housing associations, said the operating challenges in London “present unique and acute challenges”.

She said: “Our members face greater demand for homes, smaller and more tightly packed accommodation due to an ageing housing stock and higher costs and shortages in accessing skilled workers, all of which exacerbate effects on our residents’ experience and satisfaction.

“Nonetheless, we know there is considerable work to be done, which is why G15 members are investing billions of pounds in improving existing homes and the services we deliver for our residents.

“We will continue to work alongside the government, the ombudsman, residents and other stakeholders to ensure we have the right conditions to be able to deliver on our mission, maximise support for our communities and help solve the housing crisis.”