HOUSING OMBUDSMAN EXPOSES YEARS OF NEGLECT BY LAMBETH
The report, on severe maladministration of window repairs in Council homes, names Lambeth three times for delay and broken promises that left families, children, the disabled and elderly residents to suffer for years in cold, unsafe, unhealthy and insecure homes.
The Lambeth cases include:
A family of five in need of new windows for four years, with a child’s bedroom boarded up for two months, despite endless complaints, broken promises, and unfulfilled work orders. Lambeth’s targets are one day for emergencies and 90 days for major window repairs.
Lambeth is ordered to pay £2,884 to the family.
Two brothers, one of whom is disabled, the other his full-time carer, left freezing in “unbearable” conditions for at least five years after Lambeth agreed that their rotten windows and doors needed to be replaced.
Lambeth is ordered to pay £1,890 compensation.
A resident with Alzheimer’s Disease and poor English left with rotten windows, leaks, and “top to bottom” damp and mould in every room for at least two years, despite a very large number of complaints from the resident and her son, and multiple inspections by Lambeth Officers.
Lambeth is ordered to pay £7,499 compensation.
The Ombudsman also said that Lambeth’s multiple recent cases of severe maladministration on damp and mould showed failings that were “persistent and systemic.”
“This report is damning,” said Cllr Donna Harris, Leader of the Opposition Liberal Democrats in Lambeth. “It shows a pattern of neglect, incompetence, and a complete disregard for the wellbeing of Lambeth residents. Lambeth Labour cannot hide from this – they have presided over years of housing mismanagement, leaving some of our most vulnerable residents in dangerous and degrading conditions.”
Cllr Harris added: “There can be no excuse for leaving children with boarded-up bedroom windows or disabled residents shivering in cold homes. No excuse for missed appointments and bungled complaints.
When I asked about Lambeth’s approach to Awaab’s Law – important new protections on damp and mould coming into effect this autumn – I was told that residents should just continue to report problems in the normal way and they would be dealt with through “business as usual” channels.
How does this square with the Ombudsman’s verdict that Lambeth’s approach to damp and mould constitutes persistent and systemic severe maladministration?”
Cllr Harris concluded,
“Labour’s priorities are wrong, their management is failing, and residents are paying the price. Lambeth deserves better – and we Liberal Democrats will keep fighting until residents get the safe, warm homes they have a right to.”
The report of the Housing Ombudsman Service, Learning from Severe Maladministration, August 2025, is available on the HOS website:
Cllr Harris’s question about Awaab’s Law is available here: