Tenants describe living in ‘neglected’ council homes after serious failings found by regulator

One of the council properties in Eddleston Drive, Clifton (LDRS)
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Tenants living in some of Nottingham’s “neglected” council homes have spoken out about their poor living conditions after a regulator said it had found serious quality and management failings.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), the independent body responsible for checking council housing, said it uncovered almost 1,000 live cases of repairs, which have proven a “significant driver of complaints”.
Following its inspection in October last year, it said problems also include gaps in checks on smoke and carbon monoxide detection measures, while tenants are not being properly involved in decisions.
The council was awarded the second-lowest standards rating possible as a result.
Council tenants living in flats in Eddleston Drive in Clifton say their homes had been “neglected” for years.
Jason Ralph, who has lived in his flat since 1996, showed the Local Democracy Reporting Service inside his home, which had been affected by damp and mould.

External woodwork is rotting, while his fence is held up by a single piece of wood following repairs conducted by the authority’s housing services.
“I’m trying my best to keep this place looking nice, but it feels like I’m wasting my time,” he said.
“I know [the council] has got financial problems but they need to sort out the repairs. When you contact [housing services] it is like there’s all this red tape.”
Abigail Azamosa, who lives with her five-year-old, says her first-floor flat struggles to retain heat, and is also affected by peeling render.
“I pay £452 a month and work from home, so they need to help me with the wall and the cold,” she said.
“My house is very cold and I have a child. I’ve had to buy a hot water bottle and an electric blanket.
“I keep having to put my heating up. I did spent a lot this winter, about £150 every month.”
Breda Taylor, 69, who is retired but works two cleaning jobs, said her flat had been “neglected” over the last decade despite now paying upwards of £80 per week in rent.
While she has received a new boiler, guttering and solar panels, she says she has been unable to lay carpet in her bedroom due to mould, while her wooden window-frames have been left rotting.
The external render is visibly peeling from the walls.

“I’ve lived here for 10 years,” she said.
“When I first moved here it was not like this, I would have never moved anywhere like this. It was lovely.
“I was promised new windows, but I’ve been left in this state for five years.”
Cllr Kevin Clarke, leader of the Nottingham Independents and Independent Group, who also represents the tenants’ ward, added: “[The council] needs to pull their fingers out.
“We are living in the 21st Century, do people really have to live in these conditions?”
The regulator has been investigating all social landlords after new consumer standards came into force in April 2024.
It can award four consumer standards grades; C1, C2, C3 and C4.
C1 is the highest grade, while C4, the lowest grade, is given when there are very serious failings which the landlord must make “fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered”.
The council has been given a C3 rating.

It now manages its housing services itself, after it brought its housing services back under its control in April 2023 from arms-length management organisation Nottingham City Homes.
The council says it is currently in the process of undertaking a full condition survey of all 25,000 council homes, and a dedicated team to address problems with damp and mould and clear the repairs backlog is also being set up.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “We have recently completed a retrofit pilot at Eddleston to improve the energy efficiency of homes in the area.
“We’re using the data from that pilot to inform the development of future improvement programmes that will help us to achieve government energy performance targets.
“To support this, we have just completed a bid for additional funding from central government.
“In the meantime, if any of our tenants have a repair or damp and mould issue they’d like us to take a look at, they can call us on 0115 915 2222 to report it and arrange an appointment for us to visit.”
Explore more
Most Viewed
Related News
Gedling solar farm will now operate until 2055
News • Feb 13, 2025