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Gove tells L&Q ‘you have failed your residents’ as chief executive summoned to meeting
The housing secretary has summoned the boss of L&Q to a meeting after an ombudsman report uncovered a “prolonged period of decline” in its repairs and complaint-handling.
Today, Michael Gove has published a letter addressed to Fiona Fletcher-Smith, group chief executive of L&Q, which expressed his disappointment in the landlord, following the Housing Ombudsman’s report.
Part of Mr Gove’s letter read: “You have failed your residents.”
His intervention comes after a special investigation by the ombudsman uncovered a “prolonged period of decline” in the way L&Q manages its repairs and complaint-handling.
A total of 103 L&Q residents were given £142,000 in compensation – the largest the ombudsman has awarded so far – after the watchdog revealed that the landlord had “consistently failed” to resolve the vital issues it has been facing.
In his letter, Mr Gove said he was deeply shocked and disappointed by the investigation’s findings and that “the detriment of your failings on your residents was acute”.
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Ombudsman slams London council’s housing service for ‘culture of apathy’ after special investigationThe housing secretary described the outcome of the report as unacceptable, and told L&Q that it had “stopped listening to residents’ voices” and “failed to recognise the seriousness of the issues raised”.
His letter ends with an invite to Ms Fletcher-Smith to discuss the Housing Ombudsman’s report and a call for “immediate action to remedy these severe failings”.
Mr Gove said: “Today’s findings are completely unacceptable. L&Q must ensure all tenants get the safe, warm and decent homes they deserve.
“I have written to L&Q expressing my grave concerns about their failure to carry out their duties to support vulnerable residents – they must now take immediate action to address these wrongdoings.
“Our landmark Social Housing Act is now law, meaning rogue landlords can no longer hide from their responsibilities and must act quickly when issues are raised, including on damp and mould, as we introduce new strict time limits to fix homes through Awaab’s Law.
“I am confident the ombudsman will be working closely with L&Q to ensure all severe failings are swiftly addressed.”
The investigation uncovered a severe maladministration rate of 13% – more than double the national average – for disrepair, poor repair services, mishandling of charges for leaseholders and failure to support residents experiencing anti-social behaviour.
In one instance, internal emails showed staff reacting to failed repairs by suggesting the landlord send a supervisor instead of a surveyor, because “at least he looks like the surveyor”.
In another case, staff said they needed to take action so as not to “appear on ITV News again”.
The association also told another resident it would pay compensation only if they agreed to a confidentiality clause in their tenancy agreement.
As a result of its findings, the Housing Ombudsman set out nearly 500 remedies for L&Q to put right, including apologising to residents and repairs.
While the landlord has since developed an action plan in response to the report, the ombudsman said it “remains cautious”, with a similar flurry of new policies “having little to no impact on residents’ lived experience or service delivery”.
L&Q told Inside Housing that it recognises it has gotten things wrong and welcomes “this extremely valuable learning process”.
Additionally, Ms Fletcher-Smith has personally apologised to those affected.
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