Disabled child waited nearly two years for social housing repairs – ombudsman

A man had to carry his severely disabled daughter up and down the stairs every day for almost two years while they endured delays in repairs to their social housing, a watchdog has revealed.

The example came as overall failures and the number of times the Housing Ombudsman had to intervene to put things right for residents in England more than tripled, its annual complaints review found.

The organisation said it made 21,740 interventions to remedy things for residents in the year to March, up from 6,590 instances in its previous report.

Findings of failures or delays by landlords also rose sharply, from 2,430 maladministration findings in the 2022/23 report to 8,619 in the latest review.

Maladministration is a formal decision by the ombudsman that a landlord has failed to do something, has done something they should not have or, in the ombudsman’s opinion, has delayed unreasonably.

Severe maladministration findings – where there are excessive delays or where tenants’ particular vulnerabilities have not been considered – soared from 131 to 856.

Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said he had written to 126 landlords where failings were found in 75% or more of the service’s decisions – compared with just 25 landlords last year.

As well as the case of the father in the South West having to carry his disabled child up the stairs daily while they awaited stairlift repairs and other home adaptations, there were examples of residents in London revealing they had to make hospital visits while waiting for work on damp and mouldy homes.

No other details were given of the cases, but Mr Blakeway described the overall figures as “another stark reminder of the scale of the housing emergency and the urgent need for landlords to improve essential services and some living conditions”.

He said: “Every day social landlords do vital work and resolve requests successfully. But where things go wrong the causes are consistent: failing to meet statutory requirements or its own policies and procedures, including failing to recognise hazards, protracted repairs, and overlooking disabilities and health needs.

“These failings are compounded by poor communication, complaint-handling and record-keeping.

“Behind every statistic is a resident’s life that has been disrupted by landlord inaction or ineffectiveness. Our cases show this leads to children missing school, reports of declining health, or people forced to sleep on sofas or floors.”

Calling for more investment in existing homes, improved systems and technology, and stronger service management, the ombudsman said that, unless the root causes of complaints are tackled, “trust in landlords will be eroded, with communities and the economy adversely impacted”.

He welcomed the forthcoming Decent Homes Standard, which he said “will set minimum conditions of social homes for the next generation”.

But he warned: “This important and vital programme risks being an unfulfilled promise if landlords do not grip the issues exposed by this review.

“Social landlords also need to ensure they can focus on improving and investing in existing homes when wanting to help build the thousands of more homes needed.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “It’s completely unacceptable that so many landlords are not meeting the standards required of them and they must urgently resolve these serious failings.

“Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe and warm home, which is why we are bringing in a new Decent Homes Standard early next year and applying Awaab’s Law to the social rented sector – setting new requirements for landlords to investigate and fix hazards within strict time frames.

“Where there are failings, we are clear that landlords can and should expect to face enforcement action.”