There is a lack of trust in home repair and maintenance, leading to it being the cause of most complaints to the official body
The Housing Ombudsman report, titled Repairing Trust, explores respect, empathy, and mutual trust in home repairs.
The report also explores and proposes policies to improve experiences, for residents, landlords, and contractors alike.
Home repair and maintenance is becoming more complicated
45% of complaints to the Ombudsman were related to repairs and maintenance, with the period from 2019-20 to 2024-25 seeing a 474% increase in investigations into repair and maintenance. This rise was documented early last year.
Furthermore, the period 2023-24 saw incidents of maladministration rise to 73%, from 2019-20’s 37%. In 2024-25 saw 81% of maladministration incidents involve leaks, damp, and mould.
2024-25 also has 73% of severe maladministration findings involve repairs and maintenance. These all lead to 2024-25 having 12,063 orders to put things right sent, 2,919 recommendations to put things right sent, 2,418 orders for landlords to apologise to residents sent, and £3.4m in compensation orders relating to poor conditions made.
45% of resident respondents to the Ombudsman’s survey said that they are living in conditions that affect their daily lives, and just 19.5% felt that reasonable adjustments for disabilities were made.
Little surprise then that over 40% of residents were dissatisfied with repair and maintenance work standards.
Housing Ombudsman report makes policy recommendations
The report summarises its findings as such:
1. A relationship of 3 parts: Landlords, residents, and contractors
Our research highlights the importance of trust between all parties involved – landlords, residents, and contractors. Each have unique perspectives yet there are common desires: respect, empathy, information, safety, and mutual trust. Given this alignment, it is vital issues which can drive tension in that relationship are identified and addressed: whether a failure to recognise the circumstances of the resident, inadequate knowledge and information management, poor communication, or a breakdown in the landlord-contractor relationship.
2. Changes in perspectives can bring improvements
This report presents findings and recommendations to shift mindsets, policies, and practices to encourage mutual understanding and highlight current barriers, suggesting areas for improvement. We recognise many landlords and contractors work hard to provide timely, high-quality services within a challenging operating environment but also the right of residents to safe, warm, and decent homes, with their living environment, possessions, and time respected.
3. Building trust through effective communication and complaint handling
Landlords should assess the level of trust residents have in their repair and maintenance services. Recognising and addressing the factors that influence this trust is vital for improving service delivery and resident satisfaction. Respectful, clear, and accurate communication with residents is also crucial.
In cases where trust is compromised, honest and open responses are necessary to repair the relationship. This report demonstrates how good complaint handling is vital and poor handling can severely damage trust. Analysing complaints can reveal early signs of trust breakdown, allowing for prompt corrective action
4. Empowering staff and residents
Through our casework and call for evidence, we see how engagement and empowerment of landlord staff and repairs operatives is essential for delivering efficient services. Trust must flow both ways – landlords need to trust their teams and residents, who in turn must trust the landlord’s ability to provide quality services. Frequent contact from residents may indicate a lack of trust in repair processes.
Understanding this perspective can guide landlords in improving their services and communication strategies. Recognising the emotional significance of the ‘home’ for residents is equally important.
5. Strengthening contractor relationships
Trust also extends to the relationship between landlords and contractors/ operatives, starting from procurement. Both parties need clear communication and stronger relationship management. This could include a range of approaches, with more in-person contact and informal discussions. The research demonstrates that quality services must begin with clear expectations and post-work evaluations.
Trust between landlords, residents, and operatives can help with access, speed up problem diagnosis, and make sure residents’ vulnerabilities are considered when prioritising and carrying out repairs, minimising distress and inconvenience. Robust quality assurance practices may help evaluate performance and raise service standards.
6. Exiting contracts and comprehensive responses to complaints
Issues with contractor performance can sometimes see the arrangement terminated. It is possible this could have been prevented through a different approach to contract management. Moreover, the transition from one contractor to a different arrangement may not be smooth – this pain point can be reflected in complaints. Simply ending a contract in response to poor service is insufficient. New contracts must be accompanied by responsive and personalised complaint handling.
Addressing the specific service issues experienced by residents is critical to maintaining and rebuilding trust. As is ensuring complaints arising because of contract performance issues are resolved and that the landlord ‘owns’ them – as it is the landlord is ultimately responsible.
7. Embedding the right values
Trust begins with organisational values and behaviours. These should translate into actions. During our investigation, we saw this reflected in both policy and practice. Aligning the values of leadership with those of front-line staff is crucial. Demonstrating the benefits of value-based policies and practices to staff and using respectful language with residents fosters a human-centric culture.
Landlords play a crucial role in creating an environment where all residents, including those with additional needs or language barriers, feel empowered and are easily able to report repairs.
8. Combating the lack of control
Repairs and maintenance is an area where an imbalance of power between residents and their landlords can be starkly seen. When residents need a repair, they do not get to choose a tradesperson they trust to come into their home and carry out repair work. They are not in control of choosing the landlord’s outsourced contractors. They do not get to decide the timeframe for the repairs, and they very often do not have the choice to spend more to get a better or longer-term solution.
Residents naturally have a vested interest in their home’s quality and can offer invaluable feedback on its condition and the repair process. Incorporating this feedback into service development to build stronger relationships is crucial. This can include recognising when there is a need to make reasonable adjustments based on the circumstances of the household. Landlord services need to be agile enough to adapt to differing circumstances. When things go wrong, the feeling of a lack of control or of not being listened to can easily be experienced as dehumanising. Nothing will break a trusting relationship faster.
9. Opportunities and challenges: Awaab’s Law
The introduction of Awaab’s Law presents both challenges and opportunities for the sector to enhance service quality. Trust can be improved or rebuilt by building better relationships with residents as valued individuals and maintaining transparency and accountability. Effective planning, staffing, procurement practices, communication, and knowledge management are key enablers of this goal.
10.Changing the strategic operating environment
Issues with repairs and maintenance have been debated for decades. There have been long-standing concerns around resources and financing, processes and systems and resident empowerment. More recent challenges around Brexit, the ‘cost of living’ crisis and skills shortages have emerged These are issues which need to be addressed on a national basis, with government playing a vital role in shaping the debate.
Commenting on the publication of the report, Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said:
“CIH welcomes the Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report on repairing trust. Underpinned by a range of evidence, it reinforces what we know from our work on the Better Social Housing Review – that poor repairs, communication, and complaints handling can undermine trust between landlords, residents, and contractors.
“The report describes examples of good practice, showing what’s possible when repairs and maintenance services are resident focused and underpinned by a culture that is open, responsive, and empathetic. The good practice highlighted in the report mirrors that gathered in our Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance project, which found that working collaboratively with residents and contractors is the surest route to service improvement.
“The report acknowledges that the challenging financial environment facing landlords is exacerbating issues with the delivery of repairs and maintenance services. Its calls for an independent funding review and a statutory resident advocacy body are timely. CIH continues to call for the long-term investment that is needed to make all homes warm and safe to be released at the upcoming Spending Review. We are committed to supporting the sector to deliver excellent repairs and maintenance services, drawing from our own good practice work as well as the insights in this report.”
The Housing Ombudsman report can be read in full here.
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