Lewisham further investigation report

Lewisham report summary   

We investigated Lewisham Council under paragraph 49 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. We carry out investigations into individual landlords to find out if there's ongoing or wider failure by a landlord. 

We started this investigation because of concerns about poorly handled leaks, damp and mould, complaints, and repairs. 

Our investigation found issues in several areas. These include knowledge and information management, communication with residents, and the landlord’s response to hazards. 

Lewisham Council accepts its failures and has committed to changes. The authority is now collecting information about its properties and residents and working to identify and address hazards in its homes. 

Lewisham Council further investigation report (PDF)   

Themes in the report 

The investigation made a range of findings and recommendations that match those in our most recent Spotlight report: Repairing Trust 

Hazards 

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a tool that checks if homes are safe. It helps local authorities find and protect against risks and 29 hazards to health and safety.  

A home that does not meet the HHSRS is non-decent under the Decent Homes Standard.  

Almost a quarter of the landlord's properties did not meet this standard as of September 2024.  

Damp and mould is the leading cause in the landlord's properties. The landlord admits to not using HHSRS to check this issue or category 1 and 2 hazards.  

Cases investigated within the report show the landlord applying temporary fixes, such as mould washes, to ongoing problems.  

The landlord must change its approach to damp and mould and investigate potential hazards to be ready for Awaab’s Law in October 2025. 

Knowledge and information management 

Landlords need good records to do well. They must collect and store information correctly. Without good systems, different teams cannot communicate with each other well. Poor information management harms residents. 

This report shows the landlord’s confused approach to data collection. With issues with data storage, systems, quality, and a lack of control over the information it holds. 

The landlord told us it had previously relied on property information from when the council took back control of its housing stock. Information was missing, copied from old surveys, or out of date. 

Contractor management 

Lack of contractor oversight can be harmful to residents. Landlords should check what contractors are doing and the quality of their work. They should also track outstanding work. 

Residents and staff at Lewisham raised concerns about repairs, specifically contract management within the organisation. 

The landlord acknowledges it did not handle contractor procurement well. It’s reviewing how it can improve its work with contractors.  

Systems 

Landlords need good systems when their current processes fail both residents and staff. 

This report shows issues with the landlord’s case management and contractor systems. 

The landlord is now using a new system for repairs. It requires all contractors to leave notes before they can progress a repair. This will help track work better. 

The landlord had also relied on multiple systems to hold resident data, notes, and records. The systems do not connect or match each other. This made it difficult to know residents or record vulnerabilities. 

Communication with residents 

As set out in our Spotlight report on attitudes, respect, and rights culture is vital. 

This report finds that the landlord does not always treat residents with respect. This happens through poor tone in communication, failure to focus on repairs and complaints, and not learning from complaints. 

We explore many areas where the culture within the landlord did not meet expectations. This includes the attitude towards residents and their complaint.  

Complaint handling improvements 

How landlords handle complaints matters. It affects how residents feel about them. 

We found 2 areas of concern with the landlord’s handling of complaints. The report looks at the issues with quality assurance and learning from complaints.  

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 says it 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.