Anger Over Poor Housing Could Spark Social Tension - Watchdog

The housing ombudsman has warned that "simmering anger at poor housing conditions" could boil over into social tension after his office recorded a 474% increase in complaints about substandard living conditions since 2019-20.

- Jessica Murray

Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman for England, said repairs were now the single biggest driver of complaints his office deals with, accounting for 45% of its workload.

"Without change we effectively risk the managed decline of one of the largest provisions of social housing in Europe," he said. "To replace these homes would take more than 60 years at recent building rates."

He said it was "neither fanciful nor alarmist" to suggest the growing anger at housing conditions could become "social disquiet", saying the "shock of Grenfell Tower and Awaab Ishak [a child who died because of exposure to mould in a flat in Rochdale] resonate still".

"I travel across the country to different public meetings and there is a sense of people feeling invisible, of voices not being heard, their issues not being taken seriously, a lack of respect and dignity in the way in which residents have been treated. It is leading to a really serious fracturing of trust, which in some cases is irreparable."

In a report on social housing repairs and maintenance, the Housing Ombudsman Service reported a 474% rise in complaints about substandard living conditions between 2019-20 and 2024-25, with 72% identified as stemming from poor practice.

Despite social landlords spending a record £9bn on repairs and maintenance in 2023-24, the ombudsman - which resolves disputes between residents and social landlords - ordered £3.4m in compensation for poor living conditions in 2024-25.