Council being investigated over housing repairs

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A Welsh council has confirmed it was investigated over the way it handled some housing repairs.

Cardiff Council’s director of adults, housing and communities, Jane Thomas, told councillors at a recent meeting that there had been an increase in demand for certain council housing repairs in recent years.

At the community and adult services scrutiny committee meeting on Monday, October 13, she also said the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales investigated the council over a number of cases.

“Quite often they decide not to investigate,” said Ms Thomas.

“But because of the pressure the service has been under they have investigated more and definitely in one case, potentially in two… they may decide to publish their findings and that’s because they saw issues going on for a long period of time and that the complaints process didn’t pick that up and respond in the proper way.

“There were some issues around staff attitude as well which made it worse and really, it did speak to the service being overwhelmed and a certain amount of chaos… coming in and not addressing that repair with a leak over a long period of time and managing to address it properly.

“[The] governance and audit committee are overseeing that as part of their role in overseeing complaints.”

Investigating

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales for further details on the cases relating to Cardiff Council it was investigating.

However, a spokesperson said the public services watchdog was unable to provide further comment at this stage.

Cardiff Council’s community and adult services scrutiny committee was told this week that the number of urgent works faced by the housing repairs team had increased 30% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Since then the increased size of the council’s housing stock through the construction of new homes and taking on homeless hostels has increased demand on the service.

According to council data there were more than 5,000 unallocated housing repair works that needed to be done in May, 2024.

Damp and mold

Ms Thomas also said damp and mould cases “have increased hugely in terms of demand”.

However she insisted a programme of works was being undertaken to improve the council’s housing repairs service and shoots of recovery could already be seen.

Council data also shows that the number of outstanding damp cases reduced from 1,274 to 390 from April, 2024 to July, 2025.

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: We’re committed to providing a high-quality repairs service for our tenants.

“Our Responsive Repairs Unit handles over 14,000 council homes, completing more than 4,000 jobs monthly.

“The service has faced challenges in recent years, especially with backlogs from the pandemic and a 30% rise in urgent repairs.

“Issues co-ordinating and scheduling work also led to delays, meaning that at times the service provided to tenants was below the standard we expect.

“However, a comprehensive review has led to real progress. Since May, 2024, outstanding repairs have dropped by 91%, and damp and mould cases are down 69% thanks to our specialist teams and new case management approach.

“We have also taken steps to improve tenant communication and complaint handling.

“We know there’s more to do, and are commissioning a new repairs IT system and investing in ongoing training and process improvements to keep raising standards for our tenants.”