Lewisham Council must know its homes better to improve services for residents

We have released our special investigation report into Lewisham Council. This follows serious concerns about the way it manages hazards and handles complaints and repairs in its homes in the complaints we’ve investigated. In 92% of findings the landlord had handled an issue poorly.  

Our investigation found issues across multiple areas. This includes: 

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

During our investigation we met directly with residents to understand the real-life impact of the landlord’s failures, housing officers and the appointed Member Responsible for Complaints.  

In one case, a mother with 2 young children – one disabled and asthmatic – lived with leaks, damp, and mould for years. Multiple surveyor visits recommended repairs, but the landlord did not carry out any work. It also 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 a of ceiling collapse. It still took 2 more months to arrange repairs to address the danger. 

The landlord told us almost a quarter of the housing it manages did not meet the Decent Homes Standard as of September 2024. The standard is a set of minimum quality rules for UK social housing. This is compared to an average of 10.8% across London local authorities. Poor data prevented the landlord having a true understanding of its issue with decent homes. 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 standard to 17%. It has set a target of meeting the London local authority average by April 2026. 

Damp and mould is the leading cause for not meeting the standard and a primary reason why residents are escalating complaints to us. The landlord admitted to not using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess damp and mould or category 1 and 2 hazards. HHSRS is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities find and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety. We also found the landlord applying temporary fixes, such as mould washes, to ongoing problems such as leaks.  

The landlord has since made improvements. It is now using the HHSRS to assess mould and other hazards, and its stock condition survey has given it more reliable data on its properties. It is also collecting information about the people living in them. They told us it had previously relied on 2019 property information. 

Another challenge will be improving its communication, both internally and externally. A lack of effective communication with residents is a cause for many of the issues the landlord is facing and leads to more complaints. Our Spotlight report on attitudes, respect, and rights shows how culture is vital and how complaints provide a barometer for the service provided. 

We found residents not consistently afforded respect and a poor culture within the landlord’s service. Either through tone of correspondence, a failure to prioritise repairs, provide updates on complaints or the landlord’s attitude. We also saw trust breakdown where the landlord did not carry out promised actions and delays in responding.  

The landlord now has a Complaint Handling Improvement Plan with guidance for staff. We have some concerns about the content of these guides and whether they may make the organisation appear defensive, which we have raised with the landlord. 

We believe service improvement will depend on the quality of the landlord’s data. It must also focus on improving relationships with contractors, including stronger quality checks. The report’s recommendations match themes highlighted in the Ombudsman’s latest Spotlight report: Repairing Trust.  

The Ombudsman publishes special investigation reports to help other landlords identify potential learning to improve their own services. 

After we started our investigation, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman also looked into the landlord’s practices. They released a report which found very similar failings. 

 Lewisham Council special investigation report (PDF)

Lewisham Council special investigation report summary page

In all special investigation reports, we invite the landlord to provide a learning statement.