Social housing complaints soar and watchdog warns of ‘simmering anger’

Complaints about substandard residing situations in social housing in England are greater than 5 instances greater than 5 years in the past, in line with the housing watchdog.

Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway stated there was an “imbalance of energy” within the tenant-landlord relationship and poor housing situations dangers “simmering anger” turning into “social disquiet”.

He warned with out change England risked the “managed decline” of social housing.

Asbestos, electrical and fireplace questions of safety, pest management and leaks, damp and mold are among the many complaints, the watchdog receives.

In its newest report, the Housing Ombudsman, which offers with disputes between residents and social housing landlords in England, stated that the overall situation of social housing – mixed with the size of time it takes for repairs to be performed – is resulting in a breakdown in belief.

“You have received ageing properties and social housing, you’ve got received rising prices round supplies, for instance, and you have got expertise shortages,” stated Mr Blakeway, who spoke to the BBC Radio 4’s As we speak programme.

“You set all that collectively and you find yourself with an ideal storm and that is what’s presenting in our case work. That isn’t sustainable.”

He stated tenants have “little say within the companies they obtain, nonetheless poor they’re” and that that is resulting in “rising frustration”.

Whereas he acknowledged that social landlords are placing in “report quantities” for repairs and upkeep – £9bn between 2023 and 2024 – there had been historic underfunding in social housing.

He additionally stated that whereas landlords have confronted “funding uncertainties”, they wanted to handle their communication with tenants that typically “lacks dignity and respect”.

In keeping with the ombudsman’s report, there have been 6,380 complaints investigated within the yr to March 2025 – up from 1,111 within the yr to March 2020.

Mr Blakeway stated repairs had been the “single greatest driver of complaints”, with the report exhibiting repairs and upkeep made up just below half (45%) of complaints investigated within the yr to March 2025.

Referring to English Housing Survey estimates, it additionally discovered that an estimated 1.5 million youngsters in England dwell in a non-decent residence in 2023, and 19% of these dwell in social housing.

The Housing Ombudsman is looking for a “transformative overhaul” of the present system, together with an unbiased evaluation of funding practices and the institution of a “nationwide tenant physique” to “strengthen tenant voice and landlord accountability”.

That will be separate to the ombudsman, which has the ability to order a landlord to apologise, perform works or pay monetary compensation.

“The human value of poor residing situations is clear, with long-term impacts on group cohesion, academic attainment, public well being, and financial productiveness,” stated Mr Blakeway.

“With out change we successfully danger the managed decline of one of many largest provisions of social housing in Europe, particularly in areas of lowest affordability.

“It additionally dangers the simmering anger at poor housing situations turning into social disquiet.”

That is “neither fanciful nor alarmist”, he stated, including that tenant activism fashioned its roots many years in the past within the Sixties, and referencing the continued “shock” over the Grenfell Tower fireplace and the loss of life of two-year-old Awaab Ishak lately.

The 2017 tower block blaze which killed 72 folks, and the loss of life of Awaab in 2020, brought on by extended publicity to mould in his residence, have put the highlight on housing requirements and security.

The ombudsman report stated its staff had seen a baby’s bed room home windows boarded up for 4 years as an alternative of being changed.

And it was conscious of collapsed ceilings containing asbestos left unrepaired for 2 years, with a mom and her youngsters pressured to tape bin bag over the holes.

The report additionally highlighted case research through which disagreements had arisen between tenants and landlords.

In a single, a girl residing with autism and critical mobility points – which she had beforehand knowledgeable her landlord of – reported a problem together with her bathroom that was inflicting mould and damp. She reported being upset with how the repairs had been dealt with, together with receiving a name from somebody at 02:15, and that this had impacted her autism. The owner advised the ombudsman they weren’t conscious of the girl’s disabilities.

Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa advised the BBC that he was “shocked however not stunned” by the ombudsman’s report.

He identified that for complaints to achieve the ombudsman, tenants should formally raised the difficulty with the owner.

Mr Tweneboa stated social housing residents he has spoken to say they really feel they aren’t listened to and that the tradition inside housing organisations “simply is not proper”.

“They really feel they’re only a rental determine on the finish of every month.”

“In some circumstances, residents are left to undergo for years,” Mr Tweneboa says, including that he is aware of of situations through which households with youngsters need to “defecate in bin baggage, urinate in bottles as a result of they have been with no bathroom for months”.

The Nationwide Housing Federation, which represents England’s housing associations, stated high quality and security of properties was their “prime precedence”, and the sector was spending report sums on repairs and upkeep.

Chief govt Kate Henderson stated: “Crippling cuts to social housing over a few years have exacerbated high quality points, because the ombudsman recognises, and solely a rise in funding can deal with this over the long-term.”

Overcrowding is a “important contributor” to points corresponding to damp and mold, she added.

Requested concerning the ombudsman’s report whereas talking at a enterprise on Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated “all people has the precise to a protected place to dwell” – a stance he says is “completely central” to his authorities’s work on housing.

In a press release, a Ministry of Housing spokesperson stated: “Everybody deserves to dwell in a protected, safe residence and regardless of the state of affairs now we have inherited, we’re taking decisive motion to make this a actuality.”

“We are going to clamp down on damp, mould and different hazards in social properties by bringing in Awaab’s Regulation for the social rented sector from October, whereas we will even introduce a competence and conduct normal for the social rented sector to make sure employees have the precise expertise, data and expertise to do their jobs successfully.”