Leeds City Council

The Housing Ombudsman 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's landlord report for Leeds covers the 47 cases it decided between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, which produced 121 findings in total.^[3] Of the 107 findings it counted towards its maladministration rate, it upheld 68 — a rate of 64%, below the national rate of 71% and the 74% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[3] None of the findings were severe maladministration, the most serious category.^[3]

What the findings were. The condition of people's homes was the largest area of complaint, with maladministration found in 60% of the 52 property-condition findings — below the national rate of 73% for that category.^[3] Complaint handling was upheld in 83% of 24 findings and anti-social behaviour in 80% of 10, both above the national rates for those categories.^[3]

Orders, compensation and compliance. Across the year the Ombudsman made 145 orders and 36 recommendations, issued no complaint handling failure orders, and recorded £21,154 in compensation.^[3] Every one of the 142 orders with a target date that year — 100% — was complied with on time.^[3]

How the picture has moved. On the Ombudsman's own restated figures, Leeds' maladministration rate was 57% in 2022-23 and 74% in 2023-24, so the 2024-25 rate is down on the year before.^[3] The regulator's separate view of the council's homes is in the next section.

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 social landlords and giving each a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4.

A first grade of C2. On 25 March 2026 the RSH published its first regulatory judgement on Leeds City Council, giving it a consumer standards grade of C2 — meaning weaknesses were found and improvement is needed, though not the most serious concerns.^[1] The judgement covers the council's roughly 52,000 social housing homes.^[1]

What the regulator found. The RSH said Leeds did not have complete and up-to-date information on the condition of some of its tenants' homes, with outstanding surveys due to be completed by August 2027.^[1] It found 9% of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard and 9% had overdue electrical tests, mainly because the council could not get access, and said the way Leeds monitors surveys on its PFI-managed homes did not give enough assurance.^[1]

What the regulator noted in the council's favour. The same judgement found Leeds took a proactive approach to identifying and dealing with damp and mould, and reported that 93% of non-emergency repairs and 95% of emergency repairs were completed on time.^[1] The regulator said the council needed to make it easier for tenants to find its service standards and performance, particularly on its website.^[1]

No separate regulatory notice. The C2 judgement is the council's only current RSH publication — there is no separate regulatory notice on its record as at August 2026.^[1]

What the grade means for your home. A C2 grade is about standards across the council's stock as a whole, not the state of any one home. It does not decide anything about disrepair in an individual home: if yours has damp, mould, a leak or an unfixed repair, your rights are separate and still apply.^[1]

Whatever a landlord's track record, its legal duties are the same.

Repairs. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, Leeds City Council must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair — the roof, walls, windows and doors — and 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 (section 9A of the 1985 Act), 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.^[5]

Leeds' own repair timescales. The council sorts repairs into priorities and publishes target times to attend — the disrepair page lists them.^[8]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair through the council's repairs line on leeds.gov.uk, and make a housing complaint through its two-stage complaints process.^[8][9]