A shocking new report from the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) has painted a grim picture of housing in England. Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman wrote:
We investigated 474% more complaints about poor living conditions in the last budget year compared to when I started as Ombudsman in 2019-20, with poor practice found in 72% of cases. This is despite almost £9 billion spent on repairs and maintenance in 2023-24.
The authority’s investigation found that one million children live with a serious hazard. And 18% of those children live in social housing. A shocking 43% of repair and maintenance cases in 2025-25 were considered high risk. Over 2,000 landlords were ordered to apologise for poor conditions, with £3.4 million being paid out in compensation.
Housing crisis
So dire is the state of housing in England, that Blakeway warns the government about growing anger:
Without change we effectively risk the managed decline of one of the largest provisions of social housing in Europe…It also risks the simmering anger at poor housing conditions becoming social disquiet.
The report is at pains to point out that houses are emotional and deeply personal spaces for tenants. The fact that the ombudsman believes such a consideration to be necessary speaks to the heart of the issue. After all, how many landlords would be happy for their homes that they live in to feature such disrepair? The report encourages landlords to engage with tenants in a more empathetic manner:
residents repeatedly tell us how they can find landlord communication dismissive, derogatory, or even stigmatising.
They add that:
we still experience landlords being defensive, deflecting from the reasons for repeated service failure or comparing poor performance favourably to the worst. This creates an impression of not caring when most housing professionals do, leaving residents feeling invisible.
Delays
A shocking 1 in 4 repairs were not completed on time. And, as the report outlines, disabled people face the brunt of these delays:
A seemingly minor repair could be urgent if it significantly impacts a resident’s health. Given the high number of disabled social housing residents, this understanding is crucial for effective service delivery.
A lack of clear communication and trust between landlords, tenants, and contractors means that housing is often in a poor state. Problems of damp, mould, and deterioration in structural integrity over time means tenants have to live in unacceptable conditions. The report recommends the establishment of what it calls a “statutory resident advocacy body.” This prospective organisation would advocate for tenants rights. And, the ombudsman suggests the proposed body being able to set up:
a code of conduct for operatives responsible for repairs.
Given the sheer number of complaints over housing conditions to the ombudsman – to say nothing of those who do not (or cannot) complain – such a body is sorely needed.
Recommendations for housing
The report’s recommendations do provide a blistering analysis of a culture which allows landlords to mistreat both tenants and their housing. While parts of the report will be welcome for tenants, these recommendations can only be part of the picture. Until the government acknowledges that safe, clean, and pleasant housing is a basic right of everybody, nothing can change. The longer it is the norm for landlords to treat housing as a commodity, and not a necessary resource, the situation will keep getting worse.
Featured image via the Canary
