Tower Hamlets 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. Across 39 cases the Ombudsman decided about Tower Hamlets between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, 66 of the 75 findings it counted — 88% — were maladministration, against a national rate of 71% (and 80% for landlords of a similar size and type).^[1] Under the Ombudsman's definition that figure is a family of findings covering severe maladministration, maladministration and service failure; none of the year's findings was in the most serious "severe" category.^[1] The condition of people's homes was the largest area of failure, with complaints handling close behind; repairs to leaks, damp and mould were among the joint-largest sub-categories.^[1] Across the year the Ombudsman made 146 orders, and its headline compensation figure — ordered and recommended compensation together — was £20,845.^[1]

A rising rate. The Ombudsman's own restated figures show the rate rising over each of the last three years — 60% in 2022-23, 74% in 2023-24 and 88% in 2024-25 — on a broadly steady caseload.^[1]

What it looked like for a resident. In a decision issued in August 2024, under the name of the council's then arm's-length manager Tower Hamlets Homes, the Ombudsman found maladministration over a leaseholder's reports of recurring water ingress, damp and mould. Against its own 20-working-day standard, it recorded 63 working days to clear a gutter, 99 to complete repointing after the leak returned and 134 for final repairs, and ordered £600 in compensation, an apology and a maintenance plan.^[2][8] It was not isolated: later decisions found a leak left unresolved across roughly 29 months, and a three-month delay before the council inspected a damp and mould report.^[10][11]

What the council did in response. Of the 133 orders whose target dates fell within the year, the council complied with 97% within three months and with all of them within six, and it reports wider progress on safety and complaints since — though those figures are its own.^[1][12]

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 each a consumer grade from C1 (the strongest) to C4.

Tower Hamlets referred itself. The route to Tower Hamlets' grade is unusual: the council reported itself to the regulator. After bringing its housing service back in-house in November 2023, it commissioned two independent reviews against the consumer standards, found gaps across all of them, and self-referred in October 2024 — having by then cleared its outstanding fire risk assessments and committed £140 million to fire and building safety works.^[2][13] The regulator inspected and completed its work in April 2025.^[2]

The grade is C3. In a judgement published on 30 April 2025 — the council's first under the new consumer regime — the regulator graded Tower Hamlets Council C3: "Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed."^[2]

“Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed.”^[2]

Regulator of Social Housing, London Borough of Tower Hamlets (00BG) - Regulatory Judgement: 30 April 2025 (30 April 2025)

What the judgement found. The regulator's central concern was how little the council knew about the condition of its own homes — only 47% had a survey within the last five years — and that 23% did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, on its own inspection-era basis, with full compliance not expected until 2030.^[2] It reported thousands of overdue safety actions — around 2,500 for fire (about 1,700 high-risk), around 750 for water and over 1,400 for communal electrics — and weaknesses in repairs and complaints handling. At the same time it recorded that the council had engaged constructively and was putting resourced plans in place.^[2]

What the council has said and done. In response, Executive Mayor Lutfur Rahman said many residents were not being provided with the homes they deserve, and Chief Executive Stephen Halsey said the inspection confirmed issues the council had identified itself.^[12] The council reports progress since — overdue high-risk fire safety actions down by over a third and high-risk water safety actions down 80% — though those figures are its own.^[12]

No regulatory notice. As at the date this page was last checked, the regulator has no regulatory notice — a formal published finding of a breach — in force against the council, and has issued none.^[3] Grades are reviewed from time to time and may change; the C3 was the council's first.

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, Tower Hamlets 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, councils included, to investigate hazards such as damp and mould and make homes safe — the disrepair page sets them out.^[14]

Tower Hamlets' own repair timescales. The council publishes target times for emergency and routine repairs inside the home, and a separate scheme for shared areas — the disrepair page lists the figures, and explains why, for damp and mould, the Awaab's Law timescales are the ones to hold the council to.^[17]

Where to report and complain. Report a repair to the council, and if it is not put right, complain through its two-stage housing complaints process — the disrepair page sets out both routes.^[18]