Labour cabinet councillor Meric Apak blamed underfunding from central government – but party leader Sir Keir Starmer has yet to outline what money will be made available if he becomes PM

CAMDEN Council is facing a “special investigation” by the national housing watchdog into its handling of damp and mould complaints.

The Housing Ombudsman said it wants to know why the Town Hall has high maladministration rates. Every week the New Journal receives multiple calls from people living in mouldy homes and who have been fighting to get the problem resolved, but often facing months-long waits for fixes.

Petra Dando, chair of the tenant representative group Camden Association of Street Properties, said: “Camden needs to be honest about the scale of the problem, especially as it affects Camden residents.

“If some councillors think some of the issues are caused by lack of government funding, then they need to be honest and shout out about the current challenges instead of hiding behind wordy officer reports which seem a million miles away from what’s happening to some residents on the ground.”

She added: “We seem to be spending literally thousands of pounds on consultants but without pushing up standards.”

Lorna Jane Russell, Highgate’s new Green councillor, said she was “very concerned but not entirely surprised” by the findings of the Ombudsman.

She said: “For too long residents living in council homes across the borough have struggled with inadequate housing conditions, and it’s clear that this has been compounded by Camden’s failure to carry out necessary repairs effectively and in a timely manner.

She added: “Going forwards, it’s imperative that Camden acts as the responsible landlord we all want it to be. This will require it to put more investment into its housing stock, not just into improving its repairs system, but in getting it ‘right first time’ and ensuring that all of its homes are fit for purpose.”

The leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat councillor Tom Simon, said he was also not shocked by the news, adding: “Camden Labour has a really poor track record on housing repairs, with systemic issues going back years. They have talked a lot in the last couple of years about how they have revamped the service and set up a special damp and mould team, but it is no surprise that the Ombudsman has launched this investigation.”

Labour has repeatedly blamed a lack of spending by the Conservative government, although there have been no pledges from Sir Keir Starmer so far that he will provide funding if the party wins power at the next general election, expected next year.

Camden’s housing chief, Councillor Meric Apak, said: “We are absolutely determined to deliver on this despite the mounting financial challenge that we face. After years of underfunding from government, councils with large housing stocks like ours have been stretched to the limit and resources have been overwhelmed.

“However, we have not shied away. Instead, we have set up new teams to tackle damp and mould and to make repairs.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the ombudsman at this crucial time, as we establish higher standards across our services.”

“The damp and mould cases that were raised by the ombudsman some time ago have now been resolved. However, there is more work to be done.”

The investigation will also review Hackney Council and Hyde Group.

Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman, said: “We have concerns about how each landlord has handled these types of complaints and will investigate further. “Safe and secure housing has never been more important and the learning from these reports will help strengthen the landlords approach to important areas and improve outcomes for residents.” It is the second time this year that Camden has faced questions over how it manages its housing stock.

The government’s Regulator for Social Housing handed an alert notice to the council in July after finding that thousands of fire safety jobs had not been completed. A scathing report said a queue of overdue work was building up and that Camden must take swift action. That investigation followed the death of a woman in a Hampstead block which had not been made safe in 2017. Work had been identified four years previously as needing doing and Camden was fined £500,000 for its failings.

A council service allows residents to flag up serious mould at www.camden.gov.uk/ report-mould It says cases are treated as a “priority”.