Newham Falls Foul of the Ombudsman. Again.

The Housing Ombudsman has reported on the way in which councils handle housing complaints.  This is the first report since a new  Complaint Handling Code was strengthened by making it a statutory obligation.

Feedback from councils suggest that 92% of them find the code helpful in providing a consistent approach to complaint handling.

The report highlighted examples of good practice by some councils. 

It also noted some failures. 

We won’t ask the reader to suggest which group Newham Council fell into.

The ombudsman produces a quarterly report which lists those landlords who are failing.

There are 10 who are referred to twice or more. These include Newham.

Several landlords did not comply with the ombudsman’s order for remedial action. Of course, this list also includes Newham.

The ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, stated,

“There are 2 areas of concern. There are 10 landlords who received more than 1 CHFO in the last quarter and in some cases multiple times. In many cases these are also landlords where we have seen high maladministration rates and have had to intervene over several quarters. In some cases, these landlords are now subject to regulatory intervention. 

“CHFOs are issued rarely and may signal wider concerns – these warnings must be heeded to avoid unnecessary detriment to residents.”

Inside Housing  approached all of the failing landlords for comment. It seems that Newham chose not to reply.

It’s a good job that we are in safe hands and that we have a mayor who is dedicated to striving “Every second of every hour, of every day of every week, of every month of each of these coming 4 years (to) be your champion. I will fight your corner – and will make sure that the Council lives up to the promises I have made to the voters of this great borough.”

And a chief exec who has got to grips with this “exciting opportunity to lead the Council in delivering excellence for our residents and the borough as a whole”.

Of course, there will be some readers, (and some Newham tenants) for whom those words ring hollow.