London council failed to visit tenant for four months over winter about lack of heating

A south London council took four months to visit a tenant after she complained about a lack of heating in her temporary accommodation, a watchdog has found.

Wandsworth Council was told to apologise to the woman for failing to review the suitability of her accommodation, after an investigation.

A new Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report said there was no evidence the council responded to a complaint submitted in November 2024 by the woman, referred to as Ms X, about a lack of heating and hot water in the property until visiting in March 2025.

The woman said the issues were never resolved.

While Ms X raised multiple concerns, the watchdog found the council was not at fault for the way it initially handled her homelessness application or for the accommodation it offered her, but for how it responded to her reports of disrepair and failing to keep the suitability of her accommodation under review.

Ms X told the council she was at risk of homelessness in early 2024, before she was evicted on May 9 that year.

The authority then moved her into temporary accommodation.

Wandsworth Council's town hall

Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS

Ms X complained to the council in November 2024 about a lack of heating and hot water in the property, along with damp, and said her landlord had not replied to her complaints.

She said the council never responded to her email and the issues were never resolved.

The watchdog said the council did not provide any evidence it responded to Ms X’s reports of disrepair until visiting in March 2025, when it accepted repairs were needed but failed to make sure the landlord acted.

The report said: “Ms X’s reports of disrepair should have prompted the council to reconsider the suitability of the accommodation. The council failed to consider whether the property remained suitable in response to Ms X’s reports of disrepair.

“This was fault. This caused Ms X a period of uncertainty over whether the property was suitable.”

Ms X has since moved into alternative accommodation. The council was told to apologise to Ms X and pay her £250 for the uncertainty caused by its failure to review the suitability of her accommodation.