The Housing Ombudsman has today published a special investigation report into Lewisham Council highlighting serious concerns about the way it manages hazards and handles complaints and repairs in its homes.

In 92% of cases it investigated, the ombudsman found the landlord had handled an issue poorly.  Its investigation uncovered failings across multiple areas, including:

• hazards
• communication with, and attitude towards, residents
• contract management
• knowledge and information management
• system failures.

During its investigation the ombudsman met directly with residents to understand the real-life impact of the landlord’s failures, as well as housing officers and the Lewisham Council member responsible for complaints.

In one case, a mother with two young children – one disabled and asthmatic – lived with leaks, damp, and mould for years. According to the ombudsman, multiple surveyor visits recommended repairs, but the landlord did not carry out any work. It also could not provide evidence of earlier visits or records of the family’s vulnerabilities.

Despite the family telling the landlord about ongoing health impacts, a third inspection found the problems were getting worse with a risk a of ceiling collapse. It still took two more months to arrange repairs to address the danger, the ombudsman reports.

The landlord told the ombudsman that almost a quarter of the housing it manages did not meet the Decent Homes Standard as of September 2024. This is compared to an average of 10.8% across London local authorities.

Poor data prevented the landlord having a true understanding of its issue with decent homes. Since the period covered in the report, the landlord has undertaken a survey of 83% of its stock and reduced the percentage of homes not meeting the standard to 17%. It has set a target of meeting the London local authority average by April 2026.

According to the ombudsman, damp and mould is the leading cause for not meeting the standard and a primary reason why residents are escalating complaints. The landlord admitted to not using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess damp and mould or category 1 and 2 hazards. The ombudsman also found the landlord applying temporary fixes, such as mould washes, to ongoing problems such as leaks.

As a result of the investigation, Lewisham Council has since made improvements. It is now using the HHSRS to assess mould and other hazards, and its stock condition survey has given it more reliable data on its properties. It is also collecting information about the people living in them. It had previously relied on 2019 property information.

According to the report, another challenge will be improving its communication, both internally and externally. A lack of effective communication with residents is a cause for many of the issues the landlord is facing and leads to more complaints. The ombudsman found residents not consistently afforded respect and a poor culture within the landlord’s service. Either through tone of correspondence, a failure to prioritise repairs, provide updates on complaints or the landlord’s attitude. The ombudsman also saw trust breakdown where the landlord did not carry out promised actions and delays in responding.

Lewisham Council now has a Complaint Handling Improvement Plan with guidance for staff. The ombudsman says it has some concerns about the content of these guides and whether they may make the organisation appear defensive, which it has raised with the landlord.

The ombudsman believes service improvement will depend on the quality of the landlord’s data. It must also focus on improving relationships with contractors, including stronger quality checks.

After the Housing Ombudsman started its investigation, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman also looked into the landlord’s practices. It released a report which found very similar failings.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “The landlord is on a long road towards improvement. Its leadership realises the areas it needs to focus on and spoke openly about them.

“The landlord appears to have a stable management team in place that is focused on improving despite the many challenges councils face. It is going to be a challenge and will take skill to ensure the landlord is concentrating on the priority areas while not allowing other areas to suffer.

“The landlord’s work to trust and rely on its data is the first step in understanding where to concentrate its efforts. Its aim of gathering intelligence on who lives in its properties should also allow it to build a better picture of its residents.

“This will allow it to create a plan of how to provide safe, comfortable housing, and be responsive to residents’ individual circumstances. It will also mean it can futureproof its service.

“I encourage all landlords, especially those in London, to read and digest the report. Many of the challenges faced by this landlord will not be unique.”

In all special investigation reports, we invite the landlord to provide a learning statement.

In a statement, Lewisham Council said: “We acknowledge the significant impact that failures in our housing services have had on residents, particularly those affected by delays, poor communication and unresolved repairs. The cases highlighted in the Ombudsman’s report are a crucial reminder of the importance of getting the basics right – safe, decent homes and respectful, timely service.

“Since the cases examined in this report (July-October 2024), we have taken decisive steps to address the issues and we appreciate the Ombudsman’s recognition of the improvement work already underway.

“Our repairs teams are completing more jobs per day and we have strengthened quality assurance processes, including post-repair inspections and regular contractor reviews. Waiting times for residents contacting us have fallen significantly, and we have recruited additional staff to improve responsiveness. We have also reduced open cases of damp and mould and improved our stock condition data through a survey of over 80% of the homes we manage.

“We are now strengthening performance management of our contractors and continuing to embed respectful, resident-first communication that includes awareness of vulnerabilities. A major focus is on meeting new Awaab’s Law requirements and introducing a new case management system to ensure better oversight and record-keeping.

“We recognise that rebuilding trust takes time and sustained effort. We are committed to learning from complaints, embedding a culture of respect and accountability, and preparing for new legal standards.

“Our focus remains on delivering lasting improvements, engaging openly with residents, and ensuring that every lesson from complaints leads to better outcomes in the future.”