A London council has changed the way it apologises to residents, after the housing ombudsman accused them of shifting blame by saying: “We are sorry you felt the need to complain.”
The watchdog found that the wording and tone of Camden Council’s apology “put the responsibility on residents for taking action, instead of the council”.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council confirmed it had stopped using the phrase, and instead responds to complains from social housing tenants with: “Thank you for your complaint dated [XXX] and for taking the time to express your concerns.”
The report follows a 2023 investigation which identified repeated failings by the north London’s social housing provision.
This included a broken lift meaning a man with arthritis was forced to repeatedly climb the stairs in his council block until he was moved to a new home.
Another report by the government’s social housing regulator found that they had caused “potential harm” to residents by failing to act on serious fire risks.
On their website, the ombudsman stated that landlords should ensure apologies to residents are timely, empathetic, personal and sincere.
It continues: “Apologies should include the reason the apology is needed and avoid shifting the blame, or using passive, ambiguous or dismissive language.”
The council has said it expects to continue to receive a high number of complaints from tenants in the coming years, due to chronic underinvestment, a shortage of affordable homes and an ageing social housing stock.
However, they have said they’ve made significant improvements in recent years, which includes launching a new repairs system, changing how it monitors jobs and training more staff.
Resident satisfaction has also reportedly improved, after falling below the London and national average at the start of 2025.
Camden has the fourth highest waiting list for central London, with recent data from the borough suggesting the waiting list on the housing register has exceeded 7,800.
While it is one of London’s largest providers of social housing, 70 per cent of families are believed to be living in severely overcrowded conditions, with the council announcing a £2.3bn investment into its Housing Strategy in January this year.
