Leaseholders failed by councils and housing associations claims Housing Ombudsman

Local authorities and housing associations have come under fire for failing in their duties as landlords to leaseholders.

A report by the Housing Ombudsman reveals a series of failings, including one case where a leaseholder was left dealing with damp and mould for two years, and another where a persistent leak caused a leaseholder to miss time with a dying relative.

Although Awaab’s Law, which comes into force this October and requires social housing landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould within set timeframes and complete emergency repairs within 24 hours, does not apply to leasehold, the Housing Ombudsman says important lessons should still be learned and used by all housing providers.

Council failed to show any evidence it had taken urgent action to fix the damp and mould

According to the report, Haringey Council left a family with young children living with damp and mould for two years.

When the resident first raised the issue, the council said a surveyor would attend within set timescales, but the visit was delayed and only took place three months later, after a formal complaint was made.

The council blamed the delay on the surveyor who had left the organisation.

Following the inspection, the landlord raised the issue and told the resident that a contractor would be in touch. However, this did not happen, and the resident was left living with damp and mould with young children.

According to the Housing Ombudsman, the council failed to show any evidence that it had taken urgent action to fix the damp and mould.

Even under the council’s own damp and mould policy, the case should have been risk assessed, but this did not happen.

The resident had to continually push for updates, along with her MP and local councillor.

The council told the Housing Ombudsman: “We will continue to build on the improvements made to our complaint handling processes and repairs service since taking over direct management of our housing stock in late 2022.”

Unable to spend time with a dying relative

Another case featured in the report involved a housing association, Southern Housing, which left a resident dealing with a leak for five years.

The housing association initially thought the leak was coming from the roof, but it was not. Southern Housing then claimed it had repaired the leak, but according to the Housing Ombudsman, the contractors did not carry out any works at the resident’s home.

On one occasion, the resident waited at home for a contractor to attend, but they did not show up. At the time, the resident had a seriously ill relative, and because she was waiting for this repair, she was unable to spend time with her relative before they died.

In its stage 1 response, the housing association offered £410, which was not proportionate to the 3.5 years the resident had suffered with the leak at that point.

During heavy rainfall, the leaks were particularly bad. Southern Housing only later discovered that the leak was coming from the flat next door. It then took a further seven months to finally fix the issue.

Southern Housing told the Housing Ombudsman it was learning from the case.

The housing association said: “We have brought more repairs in-house, replaced underperforming contractors, and recruited over 90 additional repairs staff. We have also increased our investment in repairs and planned works by 31%.”

These issues cannot be ignored

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, says the cases show the challenges faced by leaseholders in dealing with repairs.

“When things go wrong, an individual leaseholder can be left feeling isolated and exposed. It can appear the system is unresponsive or indifferent to the impact on them.

“Their cases are not about service charges but repairs and maintenance which fall within the responsibility of the landlord. Unlike freehold, leasehold home ownership means responsibilities can differ between the parties and our casework shows it is a continuous cause of friction.”

He adds: “While the impact is unique to each individual household, the causes are not isolated. They can form part of a repeated pattern where events which could have been prevented had landlords adopted lessons from complaints.

“This includes service failings familiar across tenures: delays, miscommunication, poor records. But also specific to leaseholders, especially confusion over lease obligations, including handling section 20 consultations.

“For all the positive experiences many homeowners will have, these issues cannot be ignored.”