Housing Ombudsman launches special investigation into London borough over high maladministration rate

The Ombudsman said it had made 16 severe maladministration findings during the period, and there were additional compliance issues.

Lewisham’s maladministration rate for leaks, damp and mould sits at 90%.

The Ombudsman has additionally issued a wider order to the council under paragraph 54(f) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme in November 2023 regarding leaks, damp and mould. It said it had not yet received evidence of compliance with all parts of the order.

The Ombudsman will therefore conduct a further investigation to establish if these complaints are indicative of wider failure within the landlord.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “For several months we have been concerned at the repeated failings we have seen in the landlord’s complaints, particularly involving property conditions. We have given the landlord the opportunity to address some of these issues through our orders and will now progress to a further investigation. This will involve engaging with the landlord and its residents about some of the issues we have seen.

“Decent, safe and secure social housing has never been more important and the learning from this report will help the landlord to improve the experiences of residents.”

The Ombudsman will share the findings of this special investigation with the Regulator of Social Housing as part of its work under the statutory Memorandum of Understanding.

In a statement Lewisham said: “Our Housing Service has been going through big changes and we know it is in need of improvement.

“We referred ourselves to the Regulator of Social Housing for a potential breach of its consumer standards in December 2023, and we intend to be open and transparent with both Regulator and Ombudsman until we satisfy their requirements.”

The council claimed to have already made progress in some areas, though it acknowledged it still has “a long way to go”. It added that it has developed an improvement plans to tackle the issues raised, with a focus on repairs, damp and mould, customer service, and upgrading its systems.

Harry Rodd