Ombudsman urges London council to continue on “long road” of improving knowledge of housing stock, after special investigation

The Ombudsman revealed in its report that the council had handled an issue poorly in 92% of its cases.

The Ombudsman cited poor data as a key factor in preventing the landlord having a true understanding of its issue with decent homes.

However, 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 Decent Homes Standard to 17%.

It has set a target of meeting the London local authority average by April 2026.

The special investigation found issues across multiple areas. They included:

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

In one case highlighted by the Ombudsman, a mother with two young, vulnerable children lived with leaks, damp, and mould for years.

The landlord did not carry out any work despite multiple recommendations, and 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 of ceiling collapse. The council took two more months to arrange repairs.

The Ombudsman also tasked Lewisham with improving its communication, both internally and externally, with residents not consistently afforded respect and evidence of a poor culture within the landlord’s service.

The report noted frequent trust breakdowns where the landlord did not carry out promised actions and delays in responding. 

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.”

Blakeway encouraged all landlords, especially those in London, to read and digest the report as many of the challenges faced by Lewisham will not be unique.

In a learning statement, Lewisham acknowledged the significant impact that failures in its housing services had had on residents and noted the “importance of getting the basics right – safe, decent homes and respectful, timely service.”

It added that since the cases examined in the Ombudsman’s report (July-October 2024), it had taken decisive steps to address the issues.

Cllr Will Cooper, Lewisham’s Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness apologised to residents:

He said: “Everyone deserves a safe, decent home and a service they can trust and I am sorry that we haven’t provided this for too many of our residents.

“I am glad, however, that the Ombudsman recognises that we have improved since the cases it examined, which are over a year old, and have plans in place to keep improving.”

Cllr Cooper promised further improvement, citing the £70m per year committed to major works to improve the overall condition of buildings, and said he expects the pressure on the repairs service to reduce year by year.

He added: “We’re not there yet, but the service is committed to learning from feedback, improving services, and delivering the high standards our residents deserve.

“Our goal remains clear: safe, well-maintained homes for all our residents.”

Harry Rodd