Watchdog rules against Wigan Council for leaks, damp and mould
Wigan Council was found to be at fault for multiple problems with leaks, damp and mould faced by its tenants over the past five years, new figures show.
The figures come amid a massive rise in rulings against social landlords for these issues, with a charity warning new legislation may not be enough to improve social housing conditions.
The Housing Ombudsman deals with complaints from social housing tenants about the state of their accommodation.
In cases where the landlord has failed to do something, caused unreasonable delays or failed to help its tenants, the ombudsman can rule the tenant has been a victim of maladministration.
Figures from the organisation show there were four such findings related to leaks, damp and mould in the past five years in housing managed by Wigan Council, including two in 2024.
This included a case of “severe” maladministration last year, where the landlord's behaviour had a “seriously detrimental impact” on the tenant.
The Social Housing Action campaign said it has heard an increasing number of complaints from social housing tenants about leaks, damp and mould.
Suzanne Muna, secretary and co-founder of the organisation, said greater sanctions are needed to punish landlords who do not deal with tenant issues, with the ombudsman currently only able to "name and shame" and issue small fines.
She also warned there is "very little that a tenant or resident can do to force their landlord to make repairs" and this may not be changed under new legislation.
From October, "Awaab's law" – named after two-year-old Awaab Ishaak, who died after exposure to damp and mould in Rochdale – will require social landlords to investigate and repair dangerous damp and mould, and deal with all emergency hazards within 24 hours.
Ms Muna said they would like to see "far more council housing, with the budgets to employ staff directly to maintain the homes, and meaningful sanctions when they do not".
A Wigan Council spokesperson said: “As a landlord for more than 21,000 properties, Wigan Council is committed to providing high quality, safe homes for our tenants.
“We have established a multi-disciplinary taskforce group to build on our pre-existing work on this issue and help us to maintain high standards across our housing stock.
“As part of this we have upskilled our staff and equipped them to diagnose issues around damp and mould promptly, utilising technology including thermal imaging cameras.
“We are taking a proactive approach to this issue, with a referral pathway to ensure we focus on early intervention and tackling problems before they develop.
“We encourage any of our tenants with damp and mould at their property to get in touch with us directly on 01942 489005 so that we can respond quickly to resolve any issues.”
Across England, the number of maladministration findings related to leaks, damp and mould nearly doubled from 893 in 2023 to 1,739 in last year.
Meanwhile, findings of 'severe' maladministration also rose, from 237 to 354 instances.
Housing associations were found to be at fault 1,062 times last year, while local authorities were in the wrong 673 times.
Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, said landlords have been improving their response to damp and mould, making it easier for tenants to report issues.
However, he warned some landlords are repeatedly falling short, with some repairs outstanding until the ombudsman intervenes.
"In the most serious cases, landlords have not considered the circumstances of the household, such as health conditions or children being present," he added.