Housing secretary Michael Gove slams Lambeth council after mum left with leaky roof for 5 years

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

The Government has slammed a council after it didn’t fix a mum’s leaky roof for five years.

Housing secretary Michael Gove accused Lambeth council of having “failed your residents yet again” in a letter addressed to town hall boss Bayo Dosunmu.

Writing in response to failures in a case outlined by social landlord regulator, the Housing Ombudsman [HO] in June, Mr Gove said he expected the Labour-led council to “implement changes as soon as possible,” adding that he would continue to take a “personal interest” in whether residents noticed an improvement.

In a letter dated August 16, he wrote: “You have failed your residents yet again. Everyone, particularly those who are vulnerable, should be able to live in a decent, damp free home and to have repairs take place in a reasonable time.”

Earlier this year, the HO ordered the council to pay £6,500 to the affected tenant after it dragged its heels in fixing a six year damp and mould problem in her flat.

In one instance, Lambeth took five months to act on a safeguarding enquiry from her son’s primary school about black mould and a broken window pane in the property.

Mr Gove’s letter comes months after he accused the council of failing to provide “the most basic level of decency” to tenants, following three separate cases where the HO found severe failings involving Lambeth residents.

In another case, a disabled man had to flush his toilet using a bucket after workmen sent by the council left him without a functioning toilet while installing a bathroom.

In the previous letter addressed to Mr Dosunmu and council leader Claire Holland from March, Mr Gove said he was “appalled” to read about Lambeth’s “persistent failure to provide even the most basic level of decency that a resident should expect from you as a landlord.”

Last month, the HO announced Lambeth council would be the first ever in the country to be inspected over concerns about how it handled a resident’s complaint.

The HO is also due to hold an open meeting with Lambeth residents and the council in September.

Lambeth council has received four findings of serious service failure, known as severe maladministration, from the HO since March 2022.

These follow a special report published by the HO on the council in February 2022 due to the frequency and amount of complaint handling failures linked to it.

Councillor Donna Harris, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition, said the Labour-led council needed to “immediately rectify the housing complaints and repairs process.”

Lambeth councillor Maria Kay said: “The council’s service to this resident fell far below the standards we expect in Lambeth.

“We have apologised for the distress and disruption caused and have completed all the works required for the property.

“The resident and their family have been moved to a new property and we have paid compensation to them in recognition of the service failures they experienced.

“Michael Gove’s record in government has been one of cuts to local councils and a refusal to invest in the public services that support our residents.

“After 13 year in power and doing nothing, we need a government that works with councils to invest in services and improving homes, instead of firing off letters from Whitehall while doing nothing to solve the UK housing crisis.”

Pictured top: Housing secretary Michael Gove (Picture: UK Parliament)