The Housing Ombudsman has released a new Spotlight report titled Repairing Trust, highlighting widespread challenges in maintaining social housing across England.

The report points to persistent dissatisfaction among residents, despite millions of repairs carried out annually. A 474% increase in complaints about substandard living conditions has been recorded between 2019-20 and 2024-25. Of these, 72% are attributed to poor practice by landlords.

Compensation totalling £3.4m was ordered for poor living conditions in 2024-25, despite social landlords spending a record £9bn on repairs and maintenance in 2023-24. An estimated 1.5 million children in England were living in non-decent homes in 2023, with 19% of them in social housing.

The Ombudsman’s report identifies issues including poor record-keeping, missed physical and mental health needs, reliance on temporary fixes, delays, poor quality control, and evidence of stigma influencing landlord behaviour. Some operatives have also reported experiencing unreasonable behaviour by residents.

Key recommendations in the report include establishing a national statutory tenant body to strengthen resident voice and landlord accountability, alongside a review of national funding for social landlords.

The Ombudsman’s findings are based on hundreds of cases and over 3,000 responses to a call for evidence, including contributions from MPs and councillors. Examples in the report highlight good practices, but also include incidents such as personal belongings destroyed during works, unannounced night-time visits by operatives, and delays leaving a disabled resident without bathing facilities for months.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Repairs are the single biggest driver of complaints and determining factor of resident trust. This reflects how home is an emotional place, and a repair is more than a job.

“For the millions of repairs done successfully each year, clear and consistent failings are apparent in our casework as maintenance becomes more complex and costly. The report shows a significant risk to the government’s vital housebuilding ambitions is the current unsustainable model for maintaining existing social homes.

“Without change we effectively risk the managed decline of one of the largest provisions of social housing in Europe, especially in areas of lowest affordability. It also risks the simmering anger at poor housing conditions becoming social disquiet.”

The report sets out ten key findings and recommendations, including the need for a cultural shift in landlord-resident relations, development of predictive maintenance models, better communication, and a code of conduct for staff and contractors.

Blakeway added: “The human cost of poor living conditions is evident, with long-term impacts on community cohesion, educational attainment, public health, and economic productivity. It is time to value the social housing we have today, as well as tomorrow.”