Kirklees Council

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, or "service failure" for a lesser one.

The 2025/26 performance report. The Ombudsman decided 32 Kirklees cases in 2025/26. Its rate counts service failure too: 46 of the 71 findings within its jurisdiction — 3 severe maladministration, 25 maladministration and 18 service failure — a rate of 65%.^[1] That compares with a national rate of 62% and 70% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[1]

What the findings were about. On responsive repairs, it found failings in 14 of the 16 findings within its jurisdiction, a rate of 88% against 72% nationally. All 8 findings about damp and mould were maladministration.^[1] The 3 severe findings concerned leaks, a decant (moving a tenant out), and anti-social behaviour, abuse and nuisance. Complaint handling was the most common sub-category, with 23 findings.^[1]

Orders and compensation. The Ombudsman made 91 orders in 2025/26, and all 91 that fell due during the year were complied with. It ordered £16,270 in compensation and recommended a further £825.^[1]

The trend. The Ombudsman's figures put the council's rate at 75% across 4 decided cases in 2023/24, and 65% across 21 in 2024/25.^[1] From October 2025 the Ombudsman examined complaint handling in every case, which it says affects how the 2025/26 rates compare with earlier years.^[8]

A severe finding in 2025. In October 2025 the Ombudsman found severe maladministration in how the council handled repairs to a leaking kitchen pipe and a tenant's temporary move. The tenant, who was seriously ill, lived with damp and mould while she waited.^[9] It ordered an apology from the chief executive, £3,280.15 in compensation, and a strategic review by an impartial person from outside the departments involved, reported to the council's governance board.^[9] In June 2026 it found maladministration in the council's response to another tenant's damp and mould, including a failure to triage it in line with Awaab's Law.^[10] It ordered £1,050 in compensation.^[10]

The council's own figures. In its 2025/26 survey, 25% of tenants who said they had complained were satisfied with how their complaint was handled.^[6] Checking itself against the Ombudsman's complaint handling code, the council says it does not yet meet the stage 1 and 2 response times.^[11]

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 larger landlords in turn, giving each a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4 once it has inspected them.

No grade yet, and a notice in place. The regulator has not published a consumer standards grade for Kirklees Council. Its only published decision on the council is a regulatory notice — a formal finding of a breach — and it shows no update or withdrawal.^[2] This is the position as at the date this page was last checked, and may change.

The 2024 regulatory notice. The council referred itself to the regulator after finding it was not meeting health and safety requirements in some of its homes.^[2] On 6 March 2024 the regulator found it in breach of the Home Standard. It found:

• more than 20,000 fire safety actions from fire risk assessments were overdue, more than 200 of them high-risk
• more than 1,500 damp and mould repairs were outstanding, more than 1,000 of them classed as high risk.^[2]

The regulator concluded that "there was the potential for serious detriment to Kirklees MBC's tenants".^[2] It took no statutory action, saying it had assurance the breach was being put right.^[2]

“there was the potential for serious detriment to Kirklees MBC's tenants”^[2]

Regulator of Social Housing, Regulatory Notice: Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (6 March 2024) (6 March 2024)

The council's response. The council said it would invest more than £117 million in fire safety in its homes by 2031, and add £2 million a year to its damp and mould budget for three years.^[12] It set up an improvement board with an independent chair.^[12] Its own reports say its open damp and mould cases fell from over 2,000 at the start of 2025 to 166 by October 2025, and that it completed a new round of fire risk assessments for all 837 of its blocks.^[4] It told its cabinet in March 2026 that, as of January 2026, 1,126 of the fire safety actions from those assessments were overdue.^[5] These are the council's own figures.

What the notice means for your home. The notice is about the council's systems across all its homes, not the state of any one home. If your home has damp, mould, a leak or an unfixed repair, your rights are separate and still apply.

Whatever a landlord's track record, its legal duties are the same — and they are strong. The council manages its own homes through its Homes and Neighbourhoods service.

Repairs. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the council 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, including councils, to investigate hazards such as damp and mould and make homes safe — the disrepair page sets them out.^[14]

Published repair timescales. The council publishes target times for emergency, urgent, priority and routine repairs — the disrepair page lists them.^[17]

Where to report and complain. Tenants can complain through the council's online complaint form (opens in new tab); the disrepair page gives the complaints phone line, the repairs routes and the council's two-stage complaints process.^[19]