Council's repair delays blamed for ceiling collapse

Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway criticised Camden Council over its inaction

A man in north London was left with a collapsed ceiling after Camden Council took too long to fix a leak coming from the flat above, a Housing Ombudsman investigation has found.

The watchdog criticised the council for failing to stop water coming from the upstairs property, which it owns, despite several warnings and more than 10 repair attempts.

Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said there was "no evidence" the council had considered enforcement action, even though its staff were unable to gain access to the upstairs flat on seven occasions.

A council spokesperson apologised for the distress and disruption caused, and said the local authority should have acted more quickly.

The report found the council twice marked the job as complete without confirming whether the leak had been resolved.

The resident living below repeatedly tried to send photos of the damage to the council via its repairs WhatsApp account, but it "was not working".

The council phoned the neighbour, received no answer and did not follow up, the watchdog said.

Attempts to fix the problem were then repeatedly delayed because workers could not get into the upstairs property.

Eventually, the ceiling collapsed. The watchdog said Camden Council's delays were to blame.

Camden Council apologised for the delayed repairs

The council said it had changed how it managed "complex" repairs, including bringing in specialist contractors earlier if in-house teams cannot identify the cause.

Mr Blakeway's report also said the affected resident had remained in temporary accommodation even by the time the watchdog finished its investigation and upheld his complaint.

The council said new follow-up procedures had since been introduced to monitor people placed in temporary accommodation because of repair problems.

The ombudsman's wider report also criticised several other London councils, including Ealing, Harrow, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets, along with multiple housing associations.

Mr Blakeway highlighted a case involving Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA), where it took more than three years to repair a leak in a leaseholder's home.

There was an eight-month gap between the initial complaint and the start of works.

The watchdog said the resident was ignored while woodwork in her flat deteriorated.

When ISHA did respond, it gave no explanation for the delays or when repairs would begin.

The landlord initially offered to replace the rotting window and door, but later withdrew the offer and advised the resident to claim on her contents insurance.

A spokesperson for ISHA said it had apologised and that the case was "absolutely not the standard or experience we want for our residents".

The housing association said it had since put in more resources to its repairs and surveys team along with "new structures and processes".