Ombudsman investigation into Hammersmith and Fulham Council finds some residents left 'feeling anything but secure in their homes' after 'multiple and repeated failures'

The Housing Ombudsman has released its special investigation report into Hammersmith and Fulham Council (H&F), finding that failures throughout a number of cases left residents "feeling anything but secure in their homes" and causing wellbeing and financial consequences for those residents.

In the report, the Ombudsman issued 85 findings in 33 cases with a maladministration rate of 88%.

The investigation started last year following a number of cases involving severe maladministration.

Among the cases were instances such as windows that could not be closed to make properties secure, part of a window frame falling out of a property into a garden below, ceiling debris falling onto the head of a young child, and residents complaining of feeling unsafe in their buildings.

Overall, the Ombudsman made 138 orders to make things right. It identified two key themes and made recommendations to improve in those areas

Repair handling

The report found that there were multiple failings in repair handling, such as the landlord not hitting emergency or routine repairs timescales.

Not following procedures also had a detrimental impact on residents with incorrect contractors being sent, repairs incomplete, and issues reoccurring.

The landlord, Hammersmith and Fulham, also was not routinely updating records in a timely manner which meant there was often confusion about the status of the repair or whether works had taken place.

The council faced challenges with its contractors, experiencing problems such as incorrect operatives being sent or concerns arising about performance and quality.

When it terminated the contract of one contractor, residents suffered between the transition and the lack of focus on residents' complaints was a missed opportunity to recover poor service.

The report noted that a lack of a vulnerabilities policy, or a failure to follow it if it existed, has resulted in vulnerable residents being left in properties that impacted their physical and mental health.

Complaint handling

The landlord's complaints procedure was not compliant with the Complaint Handling Code, meaning it initially failed to escalate 40% of cases investigated, and in three of the cases, it only did so after Ombudsman involvement.

There were also extensive delays in many of the responses. These did not always provide an adequate level of detail, address each point, or were incorrect or contradictory of previous responses.

The landlord sometimes failed to action the promises made in the responses. It did not appear to follow its own compensation policy and the difference between initial offer and final compensation payment was sometimes significant.

The Ombudsman suggests significant improvements for H&F in areas such as updating repair guidelines, establishing a knowledge management framework for repairs, and reviewing the complaints procedure to align with the Complaint Handling Code.

Ongoing collaboration with H&F is planned until assurances are received that the recommended changes are implemented, with H&F already making efforts to address identified issues as outlined in the report.

A special investigation by the Housing Ombudsman into Hammersmith and Fulham found numerous failsocial housing tenants complaints not being handled (credit: Brett Jordan/Pexels).

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: "Social housing provides vital services and the leadership of the landlord should be commended for the proactive and positive approach it has taken to learn from this investigation.

"The landlord appeared to be operating in crisis management mode for a number of years.

"Central to this investigation is the handling the short-term impact of the removal of a contractor when some residents were living with unacceptable service failures that required redress.

"This provides cautionary evidence for other landlords."

In response to the special investigation report from the Housing Ombudsman, H&F Council replied: "We are truly sorry and reiterate our deepest regrets to those residents affected.

"We have apologised, compensated, and worked hard to rectify where we let people down.

"The Housing Ombudsman has recognised the transformational change we are making and our continued ambition to improve.

"We strive for consistently high-quality, fair, and compassionate services.

"We want everyone to have a safe, decent warm home in a diverse and thriving community.

"We have worked closely with the Ombudsman to put things right."

H&F added: "The Ombudsman has noted our leadership's positive approach to learning from this investigation, building on improvements that we as a council had already begun.

"We fully accept its report findings and will deliver its recommendations."

To read H&F's full response and the Ombudsman's special investigation report, click here.

We want to provide Brentford with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.