Stoke-on-Trent City 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 5 Stoke-on-Trent cases in 2025/26.^[3] Its rate counts service failure as well as maladministration: 8 of the 9 findings it made — one severe maladministration, 5 maladministration and 2 service failure — a rate of 89%.^[3] That compares with a national rate of 62% and 70% for landlords of a similar size and type.^[3]

What the findings were about. Responsive repairs accounted for 4 findings, all of them maladministration or service failure.^[3] The one severe maladministration finding was about condensation, damp and mould. Complaint handling was the most common sub-category, with 3 findings.^[3]

Orders and compensation. The Ombudsman made 19 orders in 2025/26. Of the orders due during the year, it records all 19 as complied with within three months. It issued no complaint handling failure orders.^[3] It ordered £2,450 in compensation, and recommended the council pay a further £800 it had already offered, making £3,250 in the report's headline figure.^[3]

The trend. The Ombudsman's figures put the council's rate at 77% across 7 decided cases in 2023/24, and 56% across 4 in 2024/25.^[3] From October 2025 the Ombudsman started examining complaint handling in every case it investigated, which it says affects how this year's rates compare with previous years.^[6]

An earlier severe finding. In a decision dated March 2023 and published that August, the Ombudsman found severe maladministration in the council's complaint handling: a tenant with two vulnerable children, living with damp and mould, never received a formal stage 1 response. It also found maladministration in the council's response to the damp and mould, and ordered £1,000 in total compensation.^[7] In response, the council said it had apologised, written a stand-alone damp and mould policy and made sure all complaints are answered in writing.^[7]

What tenants say. In the council's own 2025/26 survey, 73.0% of tenants who responded were satisfied with its overall housing service.^[4] Among tenants who had complained, 39.5% were satisfied with how their complaint was handled.^[4]

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 those with more than 1,000 homes a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4.^[1]

Stoke-on-Trent has a C2 grade. In a judgement published on 29 July 2026, after a planned inspection, the regulator gave Stoke-on-Trent City Council a C2. It is the second-highest grade and the first it has issued for the council.^[1]

What the regulator found. It said improvement is needed under its Safety and Quality Standard and its Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.^[1] In particular, it found:

• the council had surveyed 94.5% of its homes in the last five years, and reported 3.3% as not meeting the Decent Homes Standard
• councillors had limited oversight of its investment programmes
• the council does not yet report on the timeliness of damp and mould inspections and repairs, so cannot assure councillors that the legal timescales are met
• its repairs service is effective, and its health and safety testing is generally strong, though spread across several systems with limited quality checks
• complaint responses were slowed because the council used extensions for a high volume of complaints, which weakened its accountability to tenants.^[1]

The regulator said the council understands where it needs to improve and is taking steps, though some changes are not yet embedded.^[1] It also observed "a positive culture towards tenants".^[1]

“During the inspection, we gained assurance that Stoke-on-Trent CC is committed to treating its tenants with fairness and respect, and we observed a positive culture towards tenants in our observations.”^[1]

Regulator of Social Housing, Stoke-on-Trent City Council (00GL) - Regulatory Judgement: 29 July 2026 (29 July 2026)

The council's response. The council said it welcomed the judgement, accepted the areas for improvement and was already acting on them.^[9] It said the inspection came within a year of bringing its repairs service, formerly run by its company Unitas, back in-house, and that it is preparing a Housing Improvement Plan.^[9]

What the grade means for your home. The grade 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 and carries out repairs through its Repairs and Maintenance 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.^[11]

Published repair timescales. The council publishes target times for emergency, routine and complex repairs — the disrepair page lists them.^[14]

Where to report and complain. The disrepair page gives the repairs routes and the council's two-stage complaints process.^[16]