Newham 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.

The 2024-25 performance report. The Ombudsman's most recent landlord performance report for Newham covers cases decided — the Ombudsman calls these "determinations" — between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. It records 22 cases decided, producing 64 findings, with a maladministration rate of 71% — 45 of 63 findings — which is the same as the national rate of 71%.^[6] The category with the highest rate of maladministration was property condition, at 83% of its findings (against 73% nationally), with responsive repairs and leaks, damp and mould among the sub-categories; complaint handling was the largest category by number of findings.^[6] Its report also records £14,023 in compensation across the year's cases.^[6]

The council's view of the 2024-25 figure, in its own words, is that "the maladministration rate fell from an 87% to 71%, which… indicates improvement in our complaint resolution."^[7]

One case, in detail. In August 2023 the Housing Ombudsman reported that it had found severe maladministration in how Newham Council handled a resident's damp and mould, and ordered the council to pay £5,400. The resident had reported damp and mould; a leak behind the toilet was fixed just under a year after he first reported it, but the damp and mould stayed, and he was given a dehumidifier and told to clean the mould himself. Two years after his first report he asked to be moved to temporary accommodation, citing a damp smell and a suspected rat infestation; the works then ran for a further nine months, and he moved into temporary accommodation only the month before they were finally declared complete — three years and four months after he first reported the problem.^[3] The Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, said: "There were significant failings throughout this case which left the resident living with damp and mould for an unreasonable amount of time."^[3] Alongside the £5,400 — which included rent for the period of service failure — the Ombudsman ordered a senior council member to apologise, the council to give the resident information about his damaged belongings, and a review of its services against the Ombudsman's damp and mould guidance.^[3] In December 2023 the Secretary of State wrote to the council's chief executive about the finding of severe maladministration.^[4]

“There were significant failings throughout this case which left the resident living with damp and mould for an unreasonable amount of time.”^[3]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Newham Council to pay £5,400 after failing to resolve damp and mould issues for over three years (22 August 2023, 202111993)

What the council said and did. Responding at the time, the council said: "Our priority is providing safe, decent homes for our residents and dealing with any issues brought to our attention swiftly, effectively and with compassion." It said it had set up a damp and mould taskforce, invested more than £6 million in works, and budgeted £25 million over three years.^[3]

“There were significant failings throughout this case which left the resident living with damp and mould for an unreasonable amount of time.”^[3]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Newham Council to pay £5,400 after failing to resolve damp and mould issues for over three years (22 August 2023, 202111993)

What the council reports about its own complaints handling. In its first annual report to cover housing complaints separately, for 2024-25, the council was candid about its complaint handling. Writing about the Complaint Handling Failure Orders — the orders the Ombudsman makes when a landlord's complaint handling fails — it said that "in both years, following determinations given by the Housing Ombudsman, four Complaint Handling Failure Orders were given due to non-compliance with the orders issued by the Housing Ombudsman within the given timeframe."^[7] On repairs, it acknowledged: "We are aware that for the early part of 2024/25 at least the Council had a large volume of open repair cases, almost half of which were overdue… we acknowledge residents were often waiting far too long for repairs to be completed."^[7]

What tenants say. In the council's own tenant satisfaction survey for 2025-26 (a set of figures the council has published but the Regulator of Social Housing has not yet confirmed — its own 2025-26 figures are due in autumn 2026), 59% of tenants said they were satisfied with the overall service, down from 71% in the council's 2024-25 survey; 64% were satisfied with repairs, down from 72%; and 32% were satisfied with how the council handles complaints.^[5] The 2024-25 figures are confirmed by the Regulator of Social Housing's own published statistics for that year.^[8]

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.

Newham's grade is C4. In a judgement published on 16 October 2024, the regulator graded Newham Council C4 — the lowest grade — which it described in its news release as its "first C4 grading".^[1] The regulator's published basis for the grade was: "There are very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered."^[1] It found that fundamental change was needed against two standards: the Safety and Quality Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.^[1]

What the regulator found. The judgement recorded that "over 40% of LB Newham's homes had not had an electrical condition test for more than 11 years"; that there were "over 9,000 overdue fire safety remedial actions, of which over 8,000 were overdue by more than 12 months" and "over 4,000 actions were categorised as high risk"; that "around 60% of LB Newham's homes have not been surveyed within the last five years" and "at least 20% of its homes do not meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard" — the government's minimum standard for social housing; and that there were "around 5,400 open repairs, of which 49% were outside of target dates".^[1] The regulator also noted that while the council had referred the electrical safety issue to it, it had not referred the fire safety or smoke and carbon monoxide alarm matters.^[1] The regulator's Chief of Regulatory Engagement, Kate Dodsworth, said: "The breadth and scale of these failings, including very serious health and safety issues, pose an unacceptable risk to tenants' well-being," and that "it is extremely concerning that, despite the gravity of these failings, the landlord failed to refer themselves to us over key issues." The regulator said it was "engaging intensively" with the council and was not proposing to use its enforcement powers "at this stage".^[1]

What the council says it has done since. A year on, in a statement published on 16 October 2025, the council reported that the share of homes with an up-to-date electrical condition test had risen from 60% to 94%; that overdue fire safety actions of more than 12 months had fallen from over 8,000 to 4,701; that all the overdue repairs identified at the inspection had been completed, with 90% of new non-emergency repairs done on time; that it had surveyed 8,758 homes (39% of its stock); and that 99% of homes had a working carbon monoxide detector and 94% a working smoke alarm.^[9] Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Blossom Young said: "Residents deserve to live in safe, decent homes, to receive excellent landlord services and to be involved in shaping housing services to meet their needs."^[9] The council added that there was more still to do.^[9] Regulatory grades are reviewed from time to time and may change; the C4 judgement above is the one that stands as things are.

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, Newham 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 and fix emergency hazards and dangerous damp and mould. A second phase — not yet in force — will extend the rules to a wider range of hazards from 30 November 2026. The disrepair page sets out those timescales, and the council's own repair targets, and what they mean for you.^[11]

Safety and complaints. The council must also meet its gas, electrical and fire-safety duties, and handle complaints under the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. Where a repair is not done, the disrepair page explains how to report it, complain, and check whether you may have a claim.