Is social housing at breaking point?
Julie Thompson, our Head of Tenant Liaison, on what the Housing Ombudsman's findings reveal about the state of UK social housing, and what has to change.
The housing market is under pressure from rising inflation and the cost of living crisis. When it comes to social housing, the UK faces a similar problem, if not a more severe one.
The current state of social housing
The Housing Ombudsman recently found a four-fold increase in the most severe findings, an all-time high in escalated complaints and a clear gap between the services landlords provide and what their tenants expect.
The Ombudsman's report shows a 28% increase in complaints escalated for formal investigation over the past year, driven by poor property conditions, complaints handling and concerns over health and safety. Property condition complaints alone account for 37% of all findings.
Behind those figures sit real consequences. The death of Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old who died after prolonged exposure to mould in his home, is the starkest reminder of what happens when those conditions go unaddressed.
How social housing projects can tackle the problem
Social housing is a cornerstone of support for vulnerable people, providing shelter, security and dignity. Across the sector there are organisations working to change this, and what matters is not their names but the principles they hold to.
- Speak up for residents: stand up for older and disabled people who are vulnerable, and make sure they get the care and support that is their due.
- Connect tenants to health services: go beyond accommodation to give residents access to services that support physical and mental wellbeing.
- Push regulators on root causes: work with local authorities, the Regulator of Social Housing and other stakeholders to fix the sector's underlying problems.
Every tenant should live somewhere safe, clean and healthy. That is the minimum, and the sector is not meeting it.