For years, Wandsworth residents have raised the alarm about damp, mould and leaking roofs. Now, a growing pile of rulings by the Housing Ombudsman paints a bleak picture of how the council has handled it — and how long tenants have been forced to wait for help.
At a Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting this week, Wandsworth councillors acknowledged what many tenants have long suspected: the Housing Ombudsman is stepping in where the council has fallen short. The watchdog’s revised Complaint Handling Code has forced Wandsworth to log more grievances, publish a standalone complaints report, and begin—albeit quietly—changing how it responds to disrepair.
Yet amid these shifts, the council’s political leadership seemed less concerned with the substance of the complaints than with the process. Cabinet Member for Housing Aydin Dikerdem described the Ombudsman’s stance as “more aggressive,” and pointed to legal firms encouraging disrepair claims online. Officers echoed concerns about tenants withholding access on legal advice.
What wasn’t addressed was the human cost behind the figures. This story outlines what that cost looks like.
Putney.news has reviewed the 23 Housing Ombudsman rulings involving Wandsworth Council that cover complaints of damp, mould, water ingress or condensation. Of those, 18 were upheld — a 78% failure rate. Compensation awards totalled over £12,000. But for the residents affected, the real impact wasn’t financial. It was physical. Emotional. Relentlessly personal.
Lives on Hold While Wandsworth Waits
The Woman Who Counted Leaks
For eight years, a ground-floor tenant tracked every new water stain on her ceiling like tree rings. Twenty-six leaks in total — each logged, each followed by silence. In December 2022, a split waste pipe sent foul water flooding into her kitchen. The repair took four days. The damp never left.
She stopped buying new clothes after her last wardrobe rotted. She stopped leaving the flat, afraid another leak would erupt while she was gone. When she finally asked for a transfer, the council placed her in the lowest priority band. It wasn’t until the Housing Ombudsman intervened — six months after she first begged for a move — that Wandsworth apologised and agreed to inspect the property.
Read the Ombudsman report from July 2024.
Pregnancy in a Bunk Bed
In another case, a young mother nine months pregnant gave up her own bedroom when black mould reappeared on the chimney breast. She climbed into her young son’s bunk bed every night, developing back pain her GP documented. She pleaded with Wandsworth to fix the problem before the baby arrived.
The work didn’t happen. In April 2023, she packed a suitcase and moved in with a friend. The council declared the property “safe” in August — only for fresh damp readings to show high moisture levels. With no other option, she spent nights in her car with two young children. Five months passed before a councillor intervened and the council finally offered temporary accommodation.
The Ombudsman called the delay “severe maladministration.”
The Tenant Who Couldn’t Get a Pane of Glass
One partially sighted and hearing-impaired tenant reported a cracked bathroom window in October 2022. Over nine months, she sent eight follow-up emails. Two appointments were missed. The glass was finally fitted the following summer.
In the meantime, cold draughts aggravated the mould creeping across her living room wall. When she complained again, the council advised her — as so many tenants have heard — to “open windows and ventilate more.”
The message, implicit or otherwise: this is your fault.
Thirteen Years of Water Ingress
Some residents gave up complaining. A leaseholder told the Ombudsman he’d stopped counting after the 14th insurance claim for water ingress. He’d logged 20 more incidents without bothering to report them.
Over thirteen years, he racked up an estimated £85,800 in personal losses: ruined furniture, letting-agent fees, one flat left empty for nine months during Covid lockdowns. The Ombudsman couldn’t award him that money — it’s outside their remit — but did order Wandsworth to pay a token £250 and acknowledge a failure to act.
More than anything, the man said, he just wanted to know who was responsible.
Complaint Lost, Mould Gained
One woman emailed the council with photos of spreading mould. The council scheduled an inspection — and then let nine months pass. When a contractor finally arrived, it was with a bottle of mould wash, too late to save her wallpaper, carpet or peace of mind.
When she asked her MP for help, housing officers replied to the MP — but not to her. In their response, they insisted there was “no mould on the walls.” The Ombudsman later noted the council never produced inspection notes to support that claim.
Patterns of Failure
The above are just five examples. Across these and other cases, the Housing Ombudsman has identified the same themes again and again:
- Delay as Default: Emergency repairs that take months; complaint responses weeks beyond the council’s own deadlines.
- Blame the Resident: Advice to “wipe condensation” replaces structural repairs, reinforcing the idea that tenants are at fault for the decay.
- Lost Health and Home: Tenants report anxiety, eczema flare-ups, pregnancy-related injury and even nights spent in parked cars.
- Token Compensation: Payouts of £100 or £250 fail to match the scale of disruption, distress or damage.
- Missed Warnings: Flags for vulnerability — children, disability, chronic illness — rarely seem to trigger faster action.
Even when complaints are upheld, many residents describe feeling like they were treated as the problem.
A Landlord Under Watch
The wider record is no better. In 2023–24 alone, the Housing Ombudsman issued 74 decisions involving Wandsworth Council. In 65% of those, the council was found at fault. Complaints specifically about property condition — damp, leaks, structural decay — were upheld in 62% of cases.
The council was ordered to pay £15,750 in compensation over the course of the year.
At the scrutiny committee this week, officers said this increased oversight had already driven policy changes — but declined to explain what they were. A full breakdown of costs and claims is expected in the autumn.
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman has demanded deeper reform. In one case — the All Saints Estate in Battersea — a public order was issued, requiring Wandsworth to review how it communicates with Co-ops, log complaints, and manage long-term repairs. An internal audit confirmed that multiple residents had been affected by years of unmanaged leaks. The council has promised to update its governance agreements — by the end of 2026.
Conclusion
For many tenants, the wait continues.
A cracked window. A leaking ceiling. A spot of mould that creeps across the wall. These are not rare events — they are everyday hazards in Wandsworth’s housing stock. But how the council chooses to respond determines whether they are inconveniences… or life-changing crises.
The Housing Ombudsman’s message is clear: Wandsworth must do better. Not just to meet policy, but to protect the people who call its housing home.
