L&Q

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's most recent landlord performance report for L&Q covers cases decided — the Ombudsman calls these "determinations" — between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. It records 421 determinations producing 1,127 findings. Of the 1,073 findings counted towards the rate (54 were outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction or withdrawn), 72% were maladministration — close to the national rate of 71%.^[2] Seventy-seven of the findings were severe maladministration, the most serious category.^[2]

The July 2023 special report. In July 2023 the Ombudsman published a special report on L&Q — an in-depth investigation under paragraph 49 of its scheme, used when its casework suggests wider problems at a landlord. It reviewed complaints made to L&Q between March 2019 and October 2022, and across the 103 cases it decided in the six months to June 2023 it found a rate of severe maladministration that the report said was "more than double the national rate of 6.0%". The cases spanned 30 local authority areas, and the Ombudsman ordered or recommended £141,860 in compensation.^[6]

What L&Q says it has changed. L&Q said it recognised it had got things wrong and apologised, and pointed to a major works investment programme in its existing homes and to its Healthy Homes programme, which runs a dedicated damp-and-mould team.^[6][7]

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

L&Q's grade is C2. In a regulatory judgement published on 27 August 2025 — its first consumer grading of L&Q — the regulator graded London & Quadrant Housing Trust C2, which it defines as: "there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed."^[1]

What the regulator found on repairs, damp and mould. The judgement said the regulator "found evidence of some weaknesses in the provision of the repairs and maintenance service to L&Q's tenants, particularly for non-emergency repairs". On damp and mould, it said: "There is evidence that L&Q is managing the risks to its tenants from damp, mould and condensation. Some improvements are needed in how L&Q demonstrates that it is prioritising cases according to risk and how it considers the diverse needs of tenants when undertaking remediation work."^[1] If you are living with unresolved damp, mould or disrepair in an L&Q home, both of those findings speak directly to your situation.

Governance and viability. The same judgement lowered L&Q's governance grade from G1 to G2, saying L&Q "meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance". It kept L&Q's financial viability grade at V2, saying L&Q "meets our financial viability requirements" and "has the financial capacity to manage a reasonable range of adverse scenarios and has access to sufficient liquidity", while adding: "However, L&Q has a number of financial risks that it needs to manage, including a large-scale disposal programme."^[1] Regulatory grades are reviewed from time to time and may change — the date above is the one that matters.

A housing association's repair duties are just as strong as a council's — and they do not depend on its track record.

Repairs. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, L&Q 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 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, housing associations included, to investigate hazards such as damp and mould and make homes safe — the disrepair page sets them out.^[8]

L&Q's own repair timescales. L&Q publishes target times for emergency, non-emergency and complex repairs, and runs a Healthy Homes programme with a dedicated damp-and-mould team — the disrepair page lists the figures.^[7][11]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair to L&Q, and if it is not put right, complain through its two-stage process — the disrepair page sets out both routes.^[12]