The Housing Ombudsman is urging social landlords to “avoid apathy” on window disrepair as it releases its latest ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report.

The report, which comes two years after the ombudsman’s first intervention on windows, reveals that in 2025-26, 9% of its findings relating to windows resulted in severe maladministration. The norm is around 2%.

It also looks at how windows and other hazards can often be interlinked, especially damp and mould or excess cold, and how repairs can often be treated in isolation, rather than together.

The report also looks at the importance of risk assessments in reaching a timely resolution and focuses on the relationship between reactive repairs and cyclical major works.

One case involves a resident who had complained for eight years about excess cold until the windows were repaired. In another case, the condition of the windows was described as “shocking” and remained unresolved for two years. There are also several cases involving windows boarded up for long periods, which for one household lasted five years.

The landlords mentioned in this report are:

  • BromfordFlagship
  • Gateway Housing Association
  • GreenSquareAccord
  • London Borough of Lambeth
  • London Borough of Camden
  • London Borough of Haringey
  • London Borough of Lewisham
  • London Borough of Southwark
  • London Borough of Westminster
  • L&Q
  • Peabody
  • Places for People
  • Southern Housing

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Windows remains one of the strongest emerging concerns in our casework. This is a concern we raised two years ago when I wrote to Chief Executives in relation to window disrepair.

“This report shows clearly how window disrepair can present risks across multiple hazards.

“This may require effective triaging by landlords, integrated risk assessments, central oversight of repairs, and clear records and communication.

“The delays in some cases suggests some landlords should avoid apathy towards window disrepair, especially given the continuing interplay between responsive repairs and major works.

“To the credit of some landlords identified in this report, valuable lessons have been learnt. These can be shared with the sector to prevent the experiences of these residents being repeated.

“We encourage other landlords to step back and consider what they would have done in similar circumstances, and whether improvements could be made to ensure policies in practice deliver the outcomes expected.”

You can download the full report here.