Ombudsman finds severe maladminstration at 13 social landlords due to window repair delays

The Housing Ombudsman has released a report detailing insights from 13 severe maladministration cases related to landlords’ management of window repairs.

The report highlights that several landlords, including the largest UK housing association, Clarion, as well as Haringey, Lewisham, and Lambeth Council, took over four years to address window issues in their properties.

The Ombudsman’s report also examines the link between window repair delays and damp and mould growth, warning that “while landlords will be planning for its introduction, our decisions reveal in stark terms that some landlords are not ready for Awaab’s Law.”

The Housing Ombudsman states that landlords’ handling of window-related complaints “has become increasingly of concern” and that the cases outlined in the report “can show a lack of urgency in some landlord responses”.

In Clarion’s case, a home was visited to fix two windows, but one of the windows, in a child’s bedroom, was boarded up. The window remained boarded up for four years until the resident made a formal complaint.

According to the report, the resident believes that the lack of ventilation due to the boarded-up window led to mould growth in the room, which aggravated his asthma and affected his son’s mental health.

The ‘Learning from Severe Maladministration’ report indicates that the resident raised concerns over the four years, but no records on the system show this.

The Ombudsman noted that Clarion “showed no urgency to fix the window” and took a further four months before it attended an appointment to fix it and a further five months before the landlord undertook a follow-up inspection.

The 125,000-home housing association was ordered to pay £1,700 in compensation to the household and provide a written apology from the chief executive, Claire Miller.

In its learning statement, Clarion said: “We apologise sincerely to the resident and their family in this case.”

“The issue took too long to resolve, and our communication was not good enough. Since then, we have made improvements that would now prevent this from happening.”

Clarion noted that it now has better reporting systems that help it to monitor cases more effectively.

Haringey Council also failed to address window repair issues for over four years, despite there being a vulnerable young person living at the home.

The resident reported that all windows were letting in a draught. The landlord inspected the windows but took no action based on its assessment, despite it being winter.

The report notes that the landlord claimed a replacement was not necessary, but there are no surveyor reports to explain how this conclusion was reached.

The Ombudsman ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident and pay £1,684 in compensation.

In its learning statement, the landlord said it has put in place new measures to improve its repairs service and how it engages with residents. It has also recently adopted a new policy to help tenants and leaseholders with vulnerabilities access services.

The Housing Ombudsman also made two findings of severe maladministration for Notting Hill Genesis, for its handling of damp and mould and associated complaints.

>> See also: Half of complaints referred to the Ombudsman are from social housing tenants in London

>> See also: The challenge of defining vulnerability: how do social landlords deliver services that are responsive to tenants’ needs?

>> See also: In search of a magic patch size: How social landlords are rethinking their housing management approaches

Part of the damp and mould failing included rotten windows, which were still not resolved at the point of the Ombudsman’s determination of the complaint, following his investigation.

The report notes significant delays in responding and resolving the issues involved in this case, and that there was no evidence the landlord had considered its duties under health and safety legislation and any risks to the resident or her son.

The Ombudsman ordered Notting Hill Genesis to pay £9,201 in compensation, apologise to the resident and complete any outstanding works.

A Notting Hill Genesis spokesperson said: 

A spokesperson for Notting Hill Genesis said: “As an organisation we are acutely aware of the potential dangers of persistent damp and mould within a residence. We acknowledge that in this case we made a number of mistakes, failed to progress repairs in a timely manner and let our resident down through poor communication and complaint handling. Across the board, this is not good enough.

They added: “We apologise for the impact this had on our resident and her son over an extended period of time. We have taken steps to remedy our failures, including to rectify the damp and mould in the property, and we are in discussions with the resident regarding compensation.”

NHG said it is committed to doing all it can to prevent similar cases from occuring in the future. In March 2023, the housing association published a new damp and mould policy, which was updated again in June this year. The policy includes action to ”proactively identify and quickly remedy any presence of damp and mould”.

NHG also stated that it has allocated “hundreds of millions of pounds […] to improve the quality of Notting Hill Genesis homes between now and 2032.”

Commenting on the report, the Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, said: “At the crux of this report are stretched resources.

He stated that window repairs “can be costly”, which can lead to landlords postponing repairs in favour of carrying out major works at a later date.

Blakeway added: “But those future works can be volatile and uncertain, leaving residents living with faulty windows for several years.

“This approach is also normalising delays to key repairs and an increase in complaints about housing conditions.”

He concluded by emphasising once more that “a new and strengthened Decent Homes Standard” may be required to address these issues.

In his report last month on complaints in London, Blakeway also raised concerns about “the robustness of the Decent Homes Standard, which is outdated and needs a comprehensive revision”.