THE UK’s worst landlords have been named and shamed in newly released data.
Analysis by the Housing Ombudsman has revealed which landlords were most guilty of “maladministration”, meaning they’ve let their tenant down.
It could mean your landlord has failed to deal with mouldy walls, leaking roofs, rat infestations and a whole host of other housing problems.
The Housing Ombudsman is a free, independent and impartial service for social housing residents in England
The organisation resolves disputes between tenants and landlords – and can make legally binding orders that tell the landlord it must take action.
When the Ombudsman investigates a case it shares its ‘findings’. One case could have multiple findings.
For example, it might conclude the landlord has failed to do repairs, but that it also failed to respond to a complaint on time.
The “maladministration rate” is the percentage of findings where the landlord is found to be at fault.
Here at The Sun, we’ve analysed the data so you know which landlords were most at fault from 2024 to 2025.
Haringey London Borough Council was the worst offender with a maladministration rate of 95%.
The Ombudsman previously accused the North London council of a “culture of apathy” when it comes to looking after tenants.
The London Borough of Lambeth runs a close second – with 92% of cases identifying failings.
Former Housing Secretary Michael Gove has twice written to the South East London borough to say he was “appalled” by its service.
In third is the London Borough of Redbridge, in North London, found to be at fault in 91% of the Ombudsman’s findings.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.
West Kent Housing was the best major landlord when it came to dealing with complaints, our analysis showed.
It had a maladministration rate of just 31% – significantly better than its rivals.
LiveWest Homes Limited, which has properties across the South West, had an impressive rate of just 37%.
In third came Regenda Limited, which houses people across the North West. Its rate was a highly-respectable 41%.
The Ombudsman said, nationally, there had been a slight fall in the maladministration rate but 72% for landlords was “still too high”.
Residents’ most common bugbear was property condition which accounted for 504 severe maladministration findings.
Complaints handling (113), antisocial behaviour (39) and health and safety (19) were next.
How can I get compensation from my landlord?
Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, says the first port-of-call should be complaining directly to your landlord.
He said: “If something goes wrong it’s important to talk to the landlord in the first instance.”
An initial complaint is stage one of the process.
A landlord must acknowledge a stage one complaint within five working days and respond in writing within ten working days from the date of acknowledgement.
If you are still dissatisfied after you receive a stage one response, you can escalate your complaint to the final stage (stage two).
A landlord must acknowledge a stage two complaint within 5 working days and supply a written response within 20 working days.
The landlord can extend the timescale to provide a response by 10 working days at stage one and 20 working days at stage two.
However, it must let you know and explain why the extension is necessary.
If you feel the complaint isn’t being taken seriously, or you’re not happy with your landlord’s final stage two response, Richard recommends going to the Housing Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman will investigate and can make legally binding orders that tell the landlord it must take action if it finds the council is at fault.
This could include completing repairs, demands for compensation, apologies and other types of redress.
Compensation can range from £50 for minor service failures to more than £1,000 for severe long-term problems.
The level of compensation depends on a household’s unique circumstances.
Richard said: “We look at the household’s circumstances and see what impact it had had on them. Did kids miss school? Did someone miss a medical appointment? That’s an important part of the way we investigate cases.”
If you have complained to the landlord, and are unhappy with its response, you can also go down the legal route.
Russell Conway, partner at Oliver Fisher Solicitors, has been dealing with housing cases for over 40 years.
He said: “I’ve been doing this work over 40 years and the first people say is ‘we’ve been complaining for three years or ten years complaining and nothing’s happened’.”
Russell said he’d seen people “living in the most appalling circumstances” with “water pouring through the roof, damp and cockroaches”.
The Oliver Fisher partner said, in some cases, tenants and residents could get more compensation – up to £50,000 in extreme cases – if they sue their landlord through a private solicitor.
However, make sure you find out what legal fees you’ll be charged if you do hire a solicitor.
Organisations ranked in the ‘worst’ category have been approached for comments.
How complaints differ in the public versus private housing sector
The rules around complaints are slightly different depending on whether you have a public or private landlord.
If you live in a housing association, or council-owned property, you should go through the housing ombudsman, once you’ve approached your landlord.
All housing associations and local authorities are members of the Housing Ombudsman’s scheme so must follow its code.
However, the Housing Ombudsman does not deal with private landlords.
And unfortunately, there is no dedicated ombudsman service for private tenants.
Instead, the Housing Ombudsman recommends you approach one of the following organisations:
Citizens Advice – Renting privately – Citizens Advice
Shelter – Private renting – Shelter England
You may also be able to take your complaint to The Property Ombudsman.
