New figures from the Housing Ombudsman – who presides over social housing – suggests 47% of the cases he has determined in 2023-24 involved London social landlords, even though only one-sixth of all social residents live within the capital. 

No other region of England has such a wide gap between the proportion of social housing and complaints, he says.

The Ombudsman’s severe maladministration rate – that is, how social landlords are judged – is 9.3% in London compared with 7.4% for the rest of the country and an overall  maladministration rate of 77% compared to 68.5% for all-England. 

A new report from the Housing Ombudsman about the crisis in the capital has themes that social landlords should improve on, including:

– The need for a positive complaints culture starts from the top – it is crucial leadership and governance are seen to support the complaints function;

– It is important a landlord does not lose sight of the person at the centre of a protracted issue, does not blame them for the situation, and there is a continuous assessment of whether the remedial actions taken remain appropriate or whether a decant is now necessary;

– Landlords need to be clear on their role and responsibilities and proactive working with third parties, with robust service agreements in place;

– Complaint handling is a landlord’s opportunity to regain a resident’s trust after they have had a bad experience. It is far more than just ascertaining what the service failure is and rectifying that situation;

– Insight and intelligence from complaints should be used strategically. This ranges from effective root cause analysis of casework through to identifying risks and horizon scanning.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, says: “Although the issues complained about are broadly the same as the rest of the country, the operating environment for landlords in the capital is vastly different from most other areas. This can present unique and acute challenges.

“The housing crisis is intense in London – with under resourcing and pressures that are outside of landlords’ control. These challenges and the impact it has on individuals is clear and evident in our casework.

“However, landlords must ensure they are equipped to respond to these operational complexities and neither allow them to obscure poor performance nor be overwhelmed by them. There are far too many cases of residents being treated unfairly or unreasonably.

“Our casework reveals how poor communication and record management can compound existing challenges. It also indicates some poor resource planning, risk assessment and service oversight.

“This report contains both good practice and maladministration cases and landlords should take into account all of that learning when reading through this report. We appreciate the support and engagement that London landlords and other groups have provided in the lead up and following publication of this report.”