Hazards

Unsafe homes can cause harm to residents. Our casework shows many complaints about health and safety concerns, known as ‘hazards’ in social housing. This page shares our findings, case studies and guidance on hazards.

Hazards in our casework

Our casework often shows health and safety problems in social housing. These problems – called hazards – can harm residents health if not fixed quickly.

The government lists 29 types of hazards in its Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

Common hazards include:

  • damp and mould
  • excess cold
  • structural problems
  • pest infestations
  • fire risks

The government is bringing in Awaab’s Law to better protect people living in social housing. The law starts in October 2025. Landlords will be required to fix damp and mould issues within set time frames. From 2026, the law will cover more types of hazards.

Visit our Awaab’s Law key topics page for more information

On this page, we share what we learn from our casework on hazards. To help landlords improve their services and support better outcomes for residents

Guidance

Resident Information

Poor maintenance can lead to hazards. These hazards can put residents at risk of harm if not fixed.

This information helps residents when reporting repairs and maintenance problems in their homes.

Resident information on repairs and property condition

Big 6 safety areas

This report focuses on the 'Big 6' safety areas: asbestos, fire, water, gas, electrics and lifts.

We show what went wrong and how to avoid these safety failures in the future.

Learning from severe maladministration – March 2025

Awaab's law

After the inquest into the death of Awaab Ishak, the Ombudsman wrote an open letter to all landlords.

Read the letter’s recommendations to help take action and prevent similar failures in the future.

Open letter to Chief Executives on damp and mould complaints (PDF)

Spotlight reports

Our Spotlight reports look at common problems in landlord services that we see in our casework. They share key lessons and practical steps to help landlords improve how they deal with hazards.

Photograph of mould around window

Damp and mould

Our reports highlight best practice for landlords managing damp and mould.

You can also read our follow-up guidance after the Awaab Ishak inquest. It reinforces the report’s key recommendations.

Spotlight reports on damp and mould

Repairs and maintenance - repairing trust

This report reveals a 474% increase in repair complaints.

Exploring the critical role trust plays in effective repairs and maintenance. It shows the need for stronger relationships between residents, landlords, and contractors.

Spotlight report on complaints about repairs
An aerial view of rows of back to back terraced houses in a working class area of a Northern town in England

Noise complaints

Noise affects many people’s peace at home. It can cause stress and harm health. It’s also a difficult issue for landlords to manage.

Our report shows that household noise is often handled poorly under Antisocial behaviour (ASB) policies. Our follow-up report shares how some landlords have used our recommendations to improve their services.

Noise complaints
A man hands in wool gloves warm near the heater. Old men's hands in knitted gloves on heating radiator at home during the day. Person heating their hands at home over a domestic radiator in winter.

Heating and hot water

Heating and hot water are essential for residents’ health and wellbeing, especially for those with health concerns.

Our report looks at over 200 investigations. It shares key lessons for social landlords on how to deal with problems in these important services.

Spotlight report on Heating and hot water

Reports about hazards

We publish our reports to help landlords learn from cases with similar themes. These reports highlight patterns in managing hazards and support better services for residents.

Hazards

This report covers 12 of the 29 hazards that Awaab's Law will address.

Hazards featured include bad water supply, risk of falls, unsafe electrics, and damp and mould. 

Learning from severe maladministration report – December 2024

Knowledge and information management

This report helps landlords prepare for Awaab's Law by sharing key lessons on timely inspections and good record-keeping—problems that dominate our casework.

Learning from severe maladministration report – February 2025

Asbestos and record-keeping

We ordered One Housing to review its asbestos records after we found serious errors.

The review uncovered over 800 incorrect data records. Learn how better record-keeping and safety checks can protect residents.

One Housing independent review

Podcasts

Our podcasts and playlists aim to provide insight on our casework and to share best practice for landlords.

Damp and mould playlist

This playlist shares helpful talks about damp and mould in social housing. It includes interviews with Mark England from Coastline and Catherine Ryder from the National Housing Federation.

You’ll also hear from Councillor Matthew McCabe and Debbie Freeman from Bath & North East Somerset Council. They talk about their Health and Housing damp and mould project and share what they’ve learned from their work.

Damp and mould podcasts

Case studies

Our case studies are examples from our investigations. These examples help landlords understand what good service looks like — and what to avoid. Each one shows how we assessed a landlords response to hazards.

No maladministration

A landlord showed good practice after failing to fix problems before renting out an empty home.

A new resident with physical and mental health needs moved into their new home. They found several issues, including: Windows that wouldn’t close, holes where pests could get in, broken pipes, damaged floors and ceilings.

At first, the landlord did not take action. They relied on an old inspection report. But after the resident made a formal complaint, a senior manager visited the home. They agreed that repairs were needed.

The landlord then arranged work to fix the windows and walls. They also repaired the smoke alarms and ventilation. In addition, they planned to replace the front door and improve the heating system.

The Chief Executive signed the complaint response. It admitted the problems should have been fixed before the resident moved in. It also recognised the impact on the resident.

The landlord paid £250 in compensation. They also promised to improve how they check empty homes. This was seen as good practice and shows they learned from their earlier failure.

Read the full report 202306960

Severe maladministration

We found severe maladministration after a landlord left a family in poor living conditions for nearly 2 years.

They failed to fix serious damp and mould, which put the family’s health at risk — especially their son, who has asthma.

The landlord’s own inspection found blocked gutters, cracked walls, and black mould. But they did not act. There were no clear records of completed work, even though several work orders had been raised.

There was also no evidence of follow-up checks to confirm repairs were done.

The resident had to chase the landlord many times. Even after making a formal complaint, the landlord missed repair appointments.

After our investigation, we ordered the landlord to:

  • carry out a full survey of the home
  • pay the family £1,800 in compensation
  • make a clear plan to fix all problems quickly
Read the full report 202338603

Landlord learning hub

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Log in and discover the training options available to you.

If you have not logged into the new Hub, you will need to set up an account to gain access to a range of learning materials.

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Resident information

When to contact us

Have you brought, or are thinking about bringing, a complaint to our service?

Discover how the Housing Ombudsman investigates complaints and view the range of helpful resources available for residents.

Find out more about investigations
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