Lambeth Council: Disabled father left without toilet for three weeks

Lambeth Council's treatment of its social housing tenants has come under fire in a housing ombudsman report

A London council has come under fire after a disabled father and his son were left without a working toilet or shower for three weeks.

The man's case was highlighted in a report by the housing ombudsman, which accused Lambeth Council of lacking respect and empathy for its tenants.

The report also criticised the authority's handling of issues with mould, damp and contractors' behaviour.

The council said it apologised and had paid compensation to its tenants.

The ombudsman ordered Lambeth Council's top boss to personally apologise to the dad over the disruption caused by the lack of sanitary facilities in 2021 and pay him £2,050 in compensation.

In another case, a mother and her daughter who was allergic to damp were left living in a mouldy home for six months in 2021 because the council failed to fix a leak in a flat above.

The Housing Ombudsman ordered Lambeth to pay her £1,350 in compensation and told the council's chief executive to apologise to her. 

In another case singled out by the Housing Ombudsman, a tenant suffering from arthritis and chronic pain was left with a faulty boiler for months.

'Considerable' distress

When workmen finally arrived in late December 2021, they removed the fuse, leaving the woman with no hot water over Christmas and the New Year, which, she said, worsened her pain.

She added she called the council every day but it did not take any action until she contacted them on social media.

Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, said: "We have called for [Lambeth Council] to 'radically improve' and expressed concern for how its actions were at times disrespectful of residents and lacked empathy for the impact of its service failures.

He said the distress and inconvenience experienced by Lambeth Council tenants was "considerable", and added: "I recognise it will take time to embed change and expect [Lambeth Council] to continue to use the learning from our special report and these cases to radically improve services for residents."

Lambeth Council said it "fully accepted" that the service it provided fell below it usual standards.

A spokesperson for the council added: "We have apologised to the tenants for this and, in line with the judgement, we have paid compensation in recognition of the inconvenience and frustration these tenants have experienced.

"We have also resolved the original problems reported at each property."

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