Lambeth council ordered to pay more than £120k in compensation to tenants last year
Lambeth council was ordered to pay out more compensation to tenants than any other local authority in England last year, figures show.
According to the Housing Ombudsman, the South London council was ordered to pay £120,615 in compensation.
Hammersmith and Fulham council followed closely behind with £120,542 of pay outs to tenants as a result of poor housing.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “We make orders to put things right when they have gone wrong. This can include undertaking a repair or survey, as well as apologising to the resident.
“We also award compensation for the impact of failings, and this will be higher where the failings are more serious or have taken place over a prolonged period.”
The ombudsman said there was a rise in compensation orders handed out across the country – to both private and council landlords – as a result of the housing watchdog doubling the number of investigations it carried out last year.
But, the increase was also driven by a heightened number of complaints regarding damp and mould in properties.
Mr Blakeway said: “Most investigations show landlords miss multiple opportunities to put things right before the Ombudsman is involved and it is crucial landlords take action to prevent similar failings happening to other residents, so that hard-pressed resources can go into services rather than compensating for service failing.”
A spokesman from Lambeth council said it had worked “intensively” with the Housing Ombudsman Service and with residents to improve the way the authority responds to complaints.
He said: “Lambeth has invested hundreds of millions of pounds in maintaining and improving our council homes and estates in recent years.
“But tackling leaks, damp and mould is a key priority for us, as we know these can be highly disruptive for our residents and have the potential to escalate.
“Providing safe, decent homes for all our tenants is a priority and, where any problems are brought to our attention, we are committed to dealing with them quickly and effectively.”
Pictured top: Lambeth council HQ (Picture: Robert Firth)