Ealing Council has been found at fault by the Housing Ombudsman after a leaseholder waited 14 months for a leak in her home to be fixed, in a case the watchdog described as “severe maladministration”.
In its November 2025 report, the ombudsman said Labour-run Ealing Council “failed to resolve a leaseholder’s leak for 14 months” and “delayed inspections and delayed carrying out repairs”, while its “communication was poor throughout”.
The report said Ealing Council “arranged an inspection but failed to act after this” and “did not keep the resident updated”, adding that it was “not clear why the landlord rejected a quote for scaffolding” – a decision that contributed to the prolonged repair process.
Ealing Council was also criticised for wrongly telling the resident the work had been completed. In its stage one response to the complaint, Ealing Council “incorrectly said the repair was complete” and, although it promised another inspection, “did not give a timeframe”, the ombudsman said. When the reinspection took place two months later, it “found the same issues as before”, with repairs still “incomplete almost a year after the resident first reported the issue”.
The resident said the leak led to damp and mould and left her “unable to use her bedroom”. The ombudsman found Ealing Council “failed to prioritise this accordingly” and “failed to carry out a mould treatment because the property was leasehold”.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, leader of Ealing Liberal Democrats, Councillor Gary Malcolm, said: “Liberal Democrats say that the council have been totally awful at managing their housing repairs especially urgent ones. Liberal Democrats feel the Labour-run Ealing Council buries their head in the sand until they get told to compensate residents by the ombudsman. The system needs to be corrected.”
An Ealing Council spokesperson told EALING.NEWS: “We are very sorry about our failings in this case. We have actioned the ombudsman’s findings appointing a dedicated case worker to oversee all remaining repairs, which we are working to complete as a priority. We have strengthened our repairs process, improved staff training, record keeping and the way we handle complaints.
“We are looking to continuously improve the service we offer our residents and repeat our apologies to the individual in this case.”
