The ombudsman reported poor handling of complaints and repairs, particularly leaks, damp and mould, writes Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Poor handling of repairs was a “consistent theme” in complaints made by social tenants against Waltham Forest Council, the Housing Ombudsman says.

The ombudsman opened an investigation into Waltham Forest Council due to a high rate of maladministration and severe maladministration cases.

Severe maladministration – the highest tier of mistake – is defined by the ombudsman as a landlord failing to act or doing something they should not.

As a social landlord, Waltham Forest is responsible for ensuring the structure of a council-owned property is kept in good condition. Complaints go through the authority first, and the ombudsman investigates those that have not been resolved.

In a report published in the autumn, the ombudsman said: “Poor handling of complaints and repairs, particularly leaks, damp and mould, were consistent themes in our casework.

“In the [Waltham Forest] cases we reviewed, we saw insufficient compensation, delays in issuing complaints responses, and a dismissive tone in some letters.

“We also found delays in resolving repairs, particularly leaks. The [council] also showed difficulties in accessing its homes and incomplete or brief repair records.”

The council has published a learning statement, in which it outlines its plans to enhance staff training, roll out a new damp and mould policy and revise its responses to initial complaints to ensure “consistency, empathy, and quality in correspondence”.

Since the investigation began, it has established a ‘residents’ complaints review group’ to provide “independent feedback and shape future improvements”.

A spokesperson wrote: “The ombudsman’s findings, including instances of service failure and maladministration, particularly around leaks, damp and mould, and appropriate redress for residents provided valuable insight into areas requiring improvement.

“Combined with resident feedback and our own analysis, these findings confirmed the need to strengthen internal processes, apply policies consistently, and improve the quality of our responses.”

The new measures appear to be working, the council says, as the overall maladministration rate decreased from 83% in 2023/24 to 73% in 2024/25.

The investigation into Waltham Forest Council was closed by the ombudsman after the town hall provided it with a formal improvement plan.

This is part of a new process the ombudsman is trialling, which it says will allow landlords to resolve issues earlier and without the need for a full investigation.

Its new guidance states: “Landlords will be asked at Tier One to provide us with a response plan of how they are resolving the issues we see in our casework.

“At Tier Two, we follow up with landlords if there is a continued lack of improvement, or if their performance based on our casework gets worse, despite having previously undergone Tier 1 engagement.

“Tier Three is our full investigation where we will identify the root causes for a landlord’s poor performance. We will make recommendations for improvement through a full report.”

Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “Complaints are vital tools for learning and continuous improvement.

“Our casework sometimes reveals similar service failings repeatedly happening. It’s important to look at what sits behind a complaint and avoid treating them as isolated incidents. Joining the dots between complaints can inform targeted interventions, whether those relate to policies, processes, people or systems.”

The body is currently investigating A2Dominion, Amplius, Hexagon Housing Association, and the London borough of Wandsworth and Norwich city councils at a tier-1 level.

Councillor Ahsan Khan, the deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council and the cabinet member for housing, said: “We are determined to address areas where we can improve to ensure the service we provide to residents meets the high standards they expect.

“We have taken on board the ombudsman’s recommendations and have reviewed our complaints handling process so that we can offer more timely, effective responses. We have implemented our new damp and mould policy, and also delivered enhanced training to help colleagues support local people.

“Our efforts are already showing positive results – between April and November this year our maladministration finding rate has dropped dramatically, where we had 15 determinations with a 56% maladministration finding compared to a previous figure of 79% in 2023/24.

“Most importantly, residents are already seeing the difference with clearer, more timely communication alongside evidence of an improving satisfaction rate based on recent resident survey data.”

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