Royal Borough of Greenwich

The Housing Ombudsman is the independent body that investigates complaints about social landlords. When it finds a landlord got things wrong, it makes a finding of "maladministration" — or "severe maladministration" for the most serious failings.

The 2024/25 performance report. The Ombudsman decided 33 Royal Borough of Greenwich cases in 2024/25 (excluding cases outside its jurisdiction or withdrawn), producing 86 findings.^[1] Of the 80 findings counted for the rate, 70 were upheld against the council, which the Ombudsman publishes as a rate of 88%.^[1] The rate counts severe maladministration, maladministration and service failure together; 2 of the upheld findings were severe maladministration, the most serious level.^[1]

The rate has risen each year, from 69% in 2022/23 to 85% in 2023/24, and is above the national rate of 71%.^[1]

Property condition was the largest category by count — 28 of its 32 counted findings upheld, which the report gives as 88%, against 73% nationally for that category.^[1] Complaints handling was next, with 23 of its 26 counted findings upheld, again 88% (national 77%).^[1] Estate management drew the highest rate of the categories the report ranks, though on a smaller base — all 6 findings upheld, against a national rate of 64%.^[1]

What tenants say. In the council's 2025/26 tenant satisfaction measures — the survey figures social landlords must collect and publish each year, and the larger ones must report to the regulator — 65.1% of tenants were satisfied with the housing service overall.^[4] Among tenants who had a repair in the previous 12 months, 71.6% were satisfied with the repairs service.^[4] Among those who had made a complaint, 28.6% were satisfied with how it was handled — the council's lowest measure, and lower again than the year before.^[4]

A borough with a recent history of regulatory intervention. In May 2022 the council referred itself to the regulator over statutory health-and-safety checks, and was served a regulatory notice that August.^[2] What the regulator found, and why it withdrew the notice, is set out under "What the Regulator of Social Housing has said about Greenwich".

What the council has done. The council says it has completed all outstanding fire risk assessments, brought its asbestos and water-safety checks to 100%, and reached 94.5% completion of electrical testing across 19,284 homes.^[5] It also reports smoke-alarm checks and upgrades across more than 19,000 homes.^[5] It is running a £430m programme to improve council homes, with a survey of the condition of all of them under way.^[6] The regulator withdrew the notice on 25 February 2026, saying only that the issues giving rise to it had been resolved.^[2]

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is the government body that checks social landlords meet required standards for safe, decent homes. Since 2024 it has been inspecting landlords and giving each a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4.

Greenwich has not yet been graded. The regulator has not published a consumer standards grade for the Royal Borough of Greenwich — its most recent formal regulatory action was a notice, not a grading judgement.^[8]

The 2022 regulatory notice. The council made a self-referral to the regulator in May 2022, having identified that it had fallen behind on statutory health and safety requirements.^[2] The regulator published a regulatory notice on 31 August 2022, finding the council in breach of the Home Standard.^[2] It did not have current fire risk assessments for hundreds of blocks, current electrical condition reports for thousands of homes, or up-to-date asbestos and water-safety assessments.^[2] The regulator concluded there was the potential for serious detriment to tenants.^[2]

Withdrawn in 2026. The regulator withdrew the notice on 25 February 2026, saying the issues that gave rise to it had been resolved, and removed the council from its published A-to-Z list of landlords.^[3]

No regulatory notice in force. As at the date this page was last checked, the Regulator of Social Housing has no regulatory notice — a formal published finding of a breach — in force against the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and no consumer standards grade.^[8] Grades and notices are reviewed from time to time and may change.

Whatever a landlord's track record, its legal duties are the same — and they are strong.

Repairs. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Royal Borough of Greenwich must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair — the roof, walls, windows and doors. It must also keep the installations for heating, hot water, gas, electricity, water and sanitation in proper working order. This applies to almost every council tenancy and cannot be signed away in a tenancy agreement.

Fitness for human habitation. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your home must also be fit to live in — free from serious hazards, including damp and mould that could harm your health.

Awaab's Law. Awaab's Law now sets legally binding timescales for social landlords to investigate hazards such as damp and mould and make homes safe — the disrepair page sets them out.^[9]

Safety checks. The council must also meet statutory health and safety duties — gas and electrical safety, fire risk assessments, asbestos and water safety — across the homes it manages. These are the duties the 2022 regulatory notice concerned.^[2]

Greenwich's own published repair timescales. The council sorts repairs by priority and publishes target times — the disrepair page lists them.^[12]

Where to report and complain. The disrepair page gives the council's repairs line and its complaints route.^[15]