Housing Ombudsman urges landlords to ‘avoid apathy’ on window disrepair as learning shared
28 May 2026
We have released our latest ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report.
We have released our latest ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report. This focuses on issues relating to windows. It comes 2 years after our first intervention on this topic.
In 2025-26, 9% of our findings relating to windows resulted in severe maladministration. The norm is around 2%.
This report looks at how windows and other hazards can often be interlinked, especially damp and mould or excess cold. It also shows how repairs can often be treated in isolation, rather than together.
The report also looks at the importance of risk assessments in reaching a timely resolution. Finally, we again focus on the relationship between reactive repairs and cyclical major works.
One case involves a resident who had complained for 8 years about excess cold until the windows were repaired. Another case, an inspection described the condition of the windows as “shocking”. It still remained unresolved for 2 years. There are also several cases involving windows boarded up for long periods, which for one household lasted 5 years.
The landlords mentioned in this report are:
- BromfordFlagship
- Gateway Housing Association
- GreenSquareAccord
- London Borough of Lambeth
- London Borough of Camden
- London Borough of Haringey
- London Borough of Lewisham
- London Borough of Southwark
- London Borough of Westminster
- L&Q
- Peabody
- Places for People
- Southern Housing
Learning from severe maladministration
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Windows remains one of the strongest emerging concerns in our casework. This is a concern we raised 2 years ago when I wrote to Chief Executives in relation to window disrepair.
This report shows clearly how window disrepair can present risks across multiple hazards.
This may require effective triaging by landlords, integrated risk assessments, central oversight of repairs, and clear records and communication.
The delays in some cases suggests some landlords should avoid apathy towards window disrepair, especially given the continuing interplay between responsive repairs and major works.
To the credit of some landlords identified in this report, valuable lessons have been learnt. These can be shared with the sector to prevent the experiences of these residents being repeated.
We encourage other landlords to step back and consider what they would have done in similar circumstances, and whether improvements could be made to ensure policies in practice deliver the outcomes expected.”