0:01 AM, 28th May 2025, About a month ago 1
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Social housing landlords are still failing to carry out emergency repairs, despite new legislation coming into force.
Starting in October, Awaab’s Law will require all social housing landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould within set timeframes, and to complete emergency repairs within 24 hours.
However, a report by the Housing Ombudsman reveals that many social housing associations continue to misclassify urgent issues or label them as emergencies but still delay taking action.
In one case, Sovereign Network Homes failed to repair a leaking toilet in a resident’s kitchen and lounge for nine months, despite raising it as an emergency repair.
The Housing Ombudsman report says the housing association initially visited the resident’s home, rather than the flat above, where the leak had been reported to be coming from.
When the housing association gained access to the flat above, it failed to rectify the leak. It only arranged a follow-up appointment because the resident chased it.
The housing association later claimed it needed an injunction to enter the flat, despite having previously forced entry without one. It delayed applying for two months and then waited several more months for a response.
Meanwhile, the leak continued to get worse, with dirty shower water and eventually urine pouring through holes in the ceilings.
A temporary move was only offered after seven months and was to an unsuitable property due to the resident’s mobility needs.
Another case involving Sovereign Network Homes concerned a domestic abuse survivor who was left without a replacement external door for six months, despite her ex-partner being on bail.
In both of these cases, the housing association told the Housing Ombudsman report: “It is learning from these cases and has expanded the usage of the critical incident procedure to provide oversight of complex cases.
“With further plans in place to develop a dedicated complex repairs process. It has also embedded a new decant process and strengthened the process for involving third party support agencies in safeguarding matters.”
Newlon Housing Trust failed to properly investigate an ongoing leak for three years, showing no urgency in arranging a roof inspection or referring the issue to the managing agent as required.
When heavy rain worsened the leak, the housing association inexplicably sent a plumber. As water began leaking through the smoke alarms, the family decided to temporarily leave the home for safety reasons.
In response, Newlon told the Housing Ombudsman it had “set up a working group to improve how it works with managing agents, increased resources in this area, and reviewed its approach to better meet the needs of vulnerable residents.”
The trust also said it is working on an action plan to improve record-keeping and has carried out a full review of its complaints handling.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, warns social housing landlords they need to take action to prepare for new legislation.
He said: “From October, Awaab’s Law will apply to emergency repairs as well as damp and mould. Landlords report that 9 out of 10 emergency repairs are handled on time, so confidence will be higher for meeting these obligations than in other areas.
“This does not diminish the human impact when things go wrong handling priority repairs.
“While there is more convergence around timescales for emergency repairs compared to other areas, one in three social housing landlords still have more than one response time for an emergency repair and what constitutes an emergency situation can vary between landlords, beyond issues such as electrics, gas and flooding.
“This suggests some social housing landlords will need to take more action to be ready for an aspect of Awaab’s Law that has been discussed less than damp and mould.”
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Fred M BARRETT
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Sign Up10:32 AM, 28th May 2025, About a month ago
It is my fervent hope these 'social landlords' will face the same licencing per property as all other landlords within a local scheme. We have several examples in our region of no 6 monthly landlord inspections, in one case for 8 years. With delays in repairs that cause ill health and misery to the poorest tenants. Will local authorities be fining these rogue landlords at the same rate as they do small landlords? It seems not. Why are they such a special case or is it a strategy to push the tenants into the private rental sector? Check the net - up to 50,000 social homes in London are currently illegally sublet or abused. Are any checks being done? As a small Landlord we do visits and checks every 6 months and allow 7 days for repairs. This reduces total repair costs, maintains property value and makes for good relationships