21-05-2025
Labour councils accused of ‘double standards' in war on landlords
Labour councils have been accused of double standards for fining private landlords while leaving their own properties in poor condition.
The Housing Ombudsman found that 11 housing providers, including four Labour-run councils, were guilty of failing to make emergency repairs in a review of 'severe maladministration decisions'.
Tenants were found to have been left battling broken ceilings, mould and broken heating systems by councils, despite those same local authorities fining private landlords tens of thousands for similar reasons.
It comes as the controversial Renters' Right Bill makes its way through Parliament towards Royal Assent.
From October, landlords will be required to carry out essential repairs within fixed time periods, such as dealing with damp and mould, under an element of the Bill known as 'Awaab's Law'.
Last year, the Ombudsman recorded a three-fold increase in complaints about mould and damp in council homes. Local authorities were ordered to pay out a record £1.7m in compensation to tenants as a result.
At the same time, councils have raked in some £300m in fees from licensing schemes as cash-strapped local authorities look to private landlords to balance their books.
Councils named in the more recent report included the Labour-run Brent, Hackney and Lambeth in London, as well as North Tyneside in the North East and Conservative-run Harlow.
Lambeth Council was singled out for leaving a mould complaint unresolved for four months, and for neglecting to inspect the property until it was contacted by the tenant's MP.
Nonetheless, in 2018, the council fined a landlord £10,000 for cramming nine tenants into a five-bedroom property with an 'unsatisfactory' fire alarm system.
In 2023, the council was found to have paid out £120,615 in compensation to tenants, the highest amount out of any local authority in England.
A Lambeth Council spokesman said: 'We have fully accepted and complied with the Ombudsman's findings; we have apologised to the tenant and paid them compensation – including for the cost of replacing her floor – in recognition of the inconvenience and frustration this had caused her.'
Brent Council, meanwhile, was found by the Ombudsman to have left five children in a house with a broken ceiling for six weeks.
Last year, a private landlord in the borough was fined £50,000 for charging a family of eight £3,500 a month to live in a 'house of horrors' that included a rat infestation, a leak and a broken toilet.
The Ombudsman said landlords falsely claimed 'no access' to avoid making repairs, 'despite sometimes limited evidence that the landlord notified the resident it would be attending'.
Other common failures highlighted by the Ombudsman included record-keeping, communication and the wrong trades being sent to do work. In one case, a plumber was sent to fix a roof leak.
The report said: 'This matters because there is a power imbalance, with most residents having limited choice over their landlord.
'So, it is unfair for neighbours living in similar properties with similar problems to experience different service levels.'
Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, told trade publication The Negotiator that the law would mean 'the same local authorities that currently enforce housing standards against private landlords will themselves be accountable to their tenants, who will be able to take them to court'.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils across England and Wales, was approached for comment.
Brent, Hackney, North Tyneside and Harlow councils were approached for comment.
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