Gateshead Housing Complaints Near 500 as Repairs Top the List

Less than one in five Gateshead Council housing tenants were satisfied with how complaints were handled, while repairs and maintenance made up the vast majority of complaints in the first half of 2025/26.   

Gateshead Council, which owns around 17,500 in the North East, has come under scrutiny for its handling of housing complaints after ChronicleLive reported that almost 500 stage 1 complaints were logged in the first six months of 2025/26. Of those 489 complaints, 360 (74%) related to repairs and maintenance and a further 129 stage 2 complaints were registered over the same period; 93 of them were also linked to repairs. 

Some comments from tenants, captured in the council’s own data included: 

  • "It's taken nearly six months for a simple repair. I keep being told it's on the list, but nothing ever happens",  
  • "The job was raised back in April and still hasn't been completed". 

Those experiences echo wider concerns already flagged by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), which earlier in 2025 gave Gateshead a C2 grading after identifying weaknesses in the quality of complaint responses, the timeliness of replies and the council's approach to learning from complaints. 

Gateshead Council has defended the numbers suggesting that the rise in registered complaints reflects, in part, better recording of issues that may previously have gone formally unlogged, and points to a new Customer Feedback and Insights Team brought in to improve the process. The council has also reported that the proportion of repairs completed "out of time" has dropped from around 50% a year earlier to 17.4% at the end of the second quarter of 2025/26. Even so, complaints about repairs continue to dominate. 

Complaint handling satisfaction fell to 18%

Gateshead Council's housing complaints annual report for 2024/25 said satisfaction with the landlord's approach to complaint handling fell from 26% in 2023/24 to 18% in 2024/25, putting it in the bottom 25% of social landlords. Over the same period, stage 1 complaints rose from 429 to 650, and stage 2 complaints from 56 to 99. 

For tenants chasing unresolved repairs, that low satisfaction figure is not just a statistic, it can mean waiting for inspections, disputing whether work has been completed properly, or living with the same damp patch, leak or broken boiler that was first reported months earlier.

Repairs remain the biggest source of complaints

The council's own report states three common reasons complaints escalate to stage 2:  

  1. unresolved issues 

  1. disagreement with stage 1 findings 

  1. disputes over compensation 

The types of housing disrepair that tend to cause the most harm when left are damp and mould, leaks and water damage, faulty heating or boilers, broken windows or doors and faulty electrics. Left unresolved, problems like these can affect health, damage belongings, and leave homes cold or unsafe. 

What should councils do when repairs are reported? 

Councils that provide social housing must keep their homes safe, habitable and in a reasonable state of repair. Once a tenant reports a problem, the council should investigate, identify the cause, carry out the necessary repairs and keep the tenant informed. Where the same issue keeps returning, the landlord is expected to look beyond surface fixes. Mould, for example, may be linked to water ingress, a defective extractor fan, poor insulation or inadequate heating, and painting over it without finding the underlying cause rarely lasts. 

In England, Awaab's Law now requires social landlords to deal with certain hazards within strict timeframes. The first phase came into force on 27 October 2025, covering emergency hazards and damp and mould that pose a significant risk of harm, with further hazards such as excess cold, structural problems and electrical faults following in 2026 and 2027. 

What rights do social housing tenants have? 

Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, landlords, including councils, must keep their properties in a good state of repair and fit to live in. If you have reported a problem and your landlord has failed to act, carried out poor-quality repairs or allowed the same issue to keep returning, you have options.  

You can make a formal complaint to your landlord, escalate an unresolved complaint to the relevant Ombudsman, seek legal advice, or explore whether you may be able to make a housing disrepair claim. Clear evidence supports any route you take, including dated photographs, repair reference numbers, emails, missed appointment records, damaged belongings, and a diary of when problems were reported, which can all carry weight later. 

Raising a complaint with the Housing Ombudsman   

For council tenants in England, unresolved complaints can be referred to the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS). The Ombudsman can investigate, make findings and recommend action, including repairs, apologies and compensation, and the service is free to use. 

However, the process can take time, and it may not always provide the urgent or enforceable outcome tenants need. The Ombudsman can recommend action, but it cannot force a landlord to take it. Many tenants therefore also choose to seek legal advice, particularly where repairs have been delayed repeatedly, the home is unsafe or unfit to live in, belongings have been damaged, or poor housing conditions have affected health. Legal action through a housing disrepair solicitor can lead to faster, enforceable outcomes covering both repairs and compensation, though every case depends on its own facts, and outcomes cannot be guaranteed. 

How Premier Legal Assist can help 

If you are a social housing tenant and your council or housing association has failed to deal with reported repairs, you may be able to make a housing disrepair claim. Premier Legal Assist works with specialist no-win, no-fee housing disrepair solicitors who handle council cases regularly. They can help you understand your rights, gather evidence, push for the repairs you are owed and pursue compensation where appropriate. 

To find out whether you may be eligible, complete our short claim form or message us on WhatsApp, and a member of our team will be in touch. 

 

 

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