Watchdog-Ordered Housing Compensation more than QUADRUPLES in Inner London
Watchdog-ordered Housing Compensation more than QUADRUPLES in Inner London
- Compensation ordered by the Housing Ombudsman in Labour’s Inner London reaches £789,330, compared to £177,230 in the previous year
- Southwark once again tops table – 5th highest payout orders at £89,749, compared to £23,555 in the previous year
- Liberal Democrats: “clear sign that things are only getting worse under Labour’s watch”
The Housing Ombudsman, which oversees complaints by registered landlords, has released its latest annual reports, detailing findings it has made.
Analysis by the Southwark Liberal Democrats has found that compensation ordered by the watchdog in Inner London has skyrocketed to £789,000 in 2023/2024, more than a quadrupling of the previous year’s £177,230.
Southwark, which regularly comes at the top of complaints tables, is the 5th highest, and had a maladministration rate of 83%.
Southwark Liberal Democrats have previously highlighted cases investigated by the Ombudsman – including one that left a resident with a collapsed lung due to damp and mould – where the Ombudsman ordered compensation of £5,000
In 2023/2024, the Labour run council was forced to pay £89,749 in compensation to residents who had been failed, compared to just £23,555 in the previous year. Around two thirds of the maladministration findings were due to unacceptable property conditions or the handling of complaints.
Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:
“This is a clear sign that things are only getting worse under Labour’s watch. Cases being referred to the ombudsman and requiring compensation should be rare, if at all, but under Labour it’s increasingly becoming routine. If they were my landlord, I wouldn’t vote for them.”