Repairs and disrepair — Bexley Council: why the council isn't your landlord

If you rent a social home in Bexley, you can't bring a housing disrepair claim against Bexley Council as your landlord — because it isn't your landlord. Your repairs, your complaints and any legal claim all sit with the housing association that owns your home.

The history takes one sentence: in 1998, the council transferred all of its council housing to two housing associations, Orbit and L&Q^[1] — and that's still the position today. Government housing statistics for the year to 31 March 2025 confirm Bexley still has no council housing stock^[1], and the council itself describes Bexley as a "non-stocking authority"^[4] that "does not own its own housing stock"^[4].

The council still matters for other housing problems, though:

• Applying for social housing — applications go through the Bexley HomeChoice register and are assessed by the council's Allocations Team^[4].
• Homelessness — the council keeps its legal duties to help if you're homeless or at risk of losing your home^[5].
• Private renting — if you rent from a private landlord and your home isn't safe, the council says to contact your landlord or agent first, and its Housing Environmental Health team can step in if they fail to carry out repairs — including for damp and mould^[7].

Bexley has around 14,000 social homes, managed by housing associations (officially called "registered providers"), according to the council's housing strategy^[1]. The three largest social landlords in the borough are Peabody, Orbit and L&Q^[4].

Two of those names go back to the 1998 transfer: the council's housing went to Orbit and L&Q^[1], and the L&Q half — approximately 4,123 homes — was agreed in February 1998, as recorded in a High Court judgment^[3].

In total, 47 registered providers have social housing in Bexley, according to the council's HomeChoice scheme, based on official April 2025 data^[6]. So even if your landlord isn't one of the big three, it's still very likely a housing association rather than the council.

Here's who the big three are and where to find them:

• Orbit Housing Association Limited — website orbit.org.uk (opens in new tab), phone 0800 678 1221, local office at 2 Veridion Way, Erith^[6]. If Orbit is your landlord, report repairs and raise complaints through Orbit directly via its website or phone line.
• L&Q (full legal name: London & Quadrant Housing Trust) — website lqgroup.org.uk (opens in new tab), phone 0300 456 9996^[6][8].
• Peabody Trust — website peabody.org.uk (opens in new tab)^[6].

If we publish a detailed page about your landlord, we'll link to it from here.

Not sure which housing association owns your home? It usually takes a couple of minutes to check:

• Your tenancy agreement. The landlord's name is on the first page or near the signatures. This is the definitive answer.
• Your rent statements or rent letters. Whoever you pay rent to is almost always your landlord.
• Letters, emails or texts about repairs or your tenancy. The organisation writing to you about your home is your landlord or its managing agent.
• Ask whoever you report repairs to. If you already have a repairs number saved, that organisation can confirm who your landlord is.
• Check the council's own list of social landlords. The Bexley HomeChoice site publishes the full list of the 47 registered providers with social housing in Bexley, with contact details: Housing Association Partners on Bexley HomeChoice (opens in new tab)^[6].

One thing that catches people out: housing associations have merged and renamed over the years, so the name on an old tenancy agreement may differ from the name on recent letters. In Bexley the one to know is Orbit: older paperwork — and even some council pages — may say "Orbit South", but today the landlord is Orbit Housing Association Limited^[4][6]. Go by the most recent official letter you have — and if in doubt, ask them directly.

Your rights as a social tenant don't shrink because your landlord is a housing association rather than the council. In brief:

• Repairs are your landlord's legal duty. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair, along with installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.
• Your home must be fit to live in. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 lets tenants take action where a home isn't fit for human habitation — damp and mould can make it so.
• Awaab's Law now applies. Since 27 October 2025, the first phase of Awaab's Law requires social landlords — including housing associations — to deal with damp and mould hazards and emergency hazards within set timeframes^[10]. A second phase — not yet in force — will extend the rules to more hazards, such as excess cold and electrical hazards, from 30 November 2026^[11].

Here's the order to do things in — it's the order that works:

1. Report the problem to your landlord, in writing. Describe the problem, say when it started, and keep a copy. Photos and dates matter later.
2. If nothing happens, use your landlord's formal complaints procedure. Every social landlord must have one; it's usually on their website. Put your complaint in writing and keep everything.
3. If you finish the complaints process and you're still not satisfied, go to the Housing Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is free, independent, and investigates complaints about social landlords. You don't need anyone's help or permission to use it. It can order your landlord to carry out repairs, apologise and pay you compensation — and nobody takes a fee or a share of anything it awards you.
4. If the disrepair is serious and your landlord has failed to fix it in a reasonable time, a legal disrepair claim may be an option. A claim can seek to get the repairs actually done, and you can also ask for compensation for things like inconvenience, distress, harm to your health, or damaged belongings. Claims follow a set procedure (the pre-action protocol for housing conditions claims), which starts with a formal letter to your landlord — so the records you kept in steps 1 to 3 do real work here.

If you want free, independent advice at any point, Shelter and Citizens Advice both offer housing advice, and a local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid — for disrepair, legal aid can be available to make a landlord deal with a serious risk to health or safety, though not normally for a compensation-only claim.