New report highlights two providers that failed to respond to pest complaints effectively
The Housing Ombudsman has advised social landlords to “prepare and be proactive” regarding pest cases, which will be covered by Awaab’s Law this year.
In its latest report, the watchdog highlighted the findings of wider orders made to Guinness Partnership and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham following resident complaints about pest infestations.
In the case of Guinness Partnership, the 66,000-home landlord “failed to deal effectively” with a mice infestation, with children impacted by delays to work.
In its learning statement, the landlord said: “The service provided to our resident in this case was not good enough, and we are very sorry for letting them down.
”We recognise the distress caused by delays in addressing the mice infestation and by a lack of timely, coordinated action, and we have apologised to our resident for the impact of our failings.”
It said it has since introduced a dedicated complex repairs team and “improved cross-team working to ensure better coordination when handling cases of this nature.”
In the case involving the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the landlord “failed to deal with bed bugs and only offered £25 compensation.” The ombudsman noted a lack of escalation and a failure to offer alternative treatment methods to the resident.
In its learning statement, the council said: “We have made significant improvements to the housing and pest control services following the Housing Ombudsman’s findings in June 2025.
“We now have a new pest control policy, improved escalation process and a more compassionate approach to complaint management after carrying out a comprehensive review.”
It also apologised to the complainant.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Clear action should be taken on pests but sometimes there is confusion over responsibility between the landlord and resident. There can also be a focus on rats and mice without fully recognising the impact of insects.
“The pest hazard will eventually come under Awaab’s Law, so the time for landlords to prepare and be proactive is now.”
The first phase of Awaab’s Law, which came into force in October 2025, requires social landlords to address reports of significant damp and mould and emergency hazards to fixed timeframes.
During 2026, the law will expand to cover additional hazards, such as excess cold and heat, falls, structural issues, fire, electrical risks, and hygiene problems like pest infestations.
By 2027, the legislation will extend to the remaining hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (excluding overcrowding).
A wider order from the ombudsman requires a landlord to carry out an independent review and identify the root causes for operational issues.
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