A housing boss has accused residents of making it difficult for tradespeople to complete repairs so they can claim more money in damages. 

Susan Clinton, head of housing at Britain’s biggest housing association Clarion, also said people’s “chaotic lifestyles” were stopping workmen and women gaining access to their homes. 

Clinton made the comments at a Lewisham Council housing meeting on March 9, where big landlords in the borough were invited to give councillors an update on repairs.

Asked by Sakina Sheikh, Labour councillor for Perry Vale, to explain what lessons Clarion had learnt from complaints upheld against it, Clinton referred to a case in Bromley, where tradespeople had been unable to access a property.

She said: “We’d endeavoured to gain access to carry out that work and there was lots of frustration around not being able to gain access to the resident’s home to complete the work.

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"I think some of that is possibly driven by wanting to, [I] don’t want to sound too cynical, about wanting to maximise compensation claims.

She added: “Some of it’s around chaotic lifestyles, some of it’s around, I don’t know, maybe we’re not as clear in terms of when the appointment is or when we’re coming to do the work.”

Lewisham councillors criticised Clinton for her comments.

Cllr Sheikh responded: “I think the line of analysis around lifestyle or tenants wanting to maximise compensation does sound like you’re absolving yourself of responsibility.”

Ese Erheriene, Labour councillor for Lee Green, branded Clinton’s remarks “disappointing.”

She said: “Whether you intended that or not, it does come across as though you’re blaming residents.

"I don’t think that’s a great position for a company to put itself in when you’re trying to defend your position. Given how many claims you have with the Ombudsman, it doesn’t look good.”

Cllr Stephen Penfold, chair of the housing committee, added: “In terms of people maximising compensation, my experience of my constituents… they just want their property fixed. If they do go to a lawyer that is very much desperation.”

Cllr Sheikh also criticised Clinton for failing to bring information about how many Lewisham residents were currently making legal claims against Clarion for disrepair to the meeting.

According to Sheikh, there are 160 legal disrepair cases against the housing association currently ongoing across all of South London.

Clarion owns and manages around 125,000 properties across the country, of which 1,384 are in Lewisham.

In December last year, housing secretary Michael Gove slammed Clarion for failing to meet “fundamental housing standards.”

He warned the housing association that the government would take action against it unless improvements were made.

A Clarion spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise if any offence was caused by the comments made by a Clarion member of staff at the recent Lewisham Council housing meeting.

"All of our teams across Clarion strive to do their very best for our residents in Lewisham, and this wasn’t conveyed correctly.

"We absolutely recognise that the vast majority of residents simply want to receive a good service from us, and they have every right to expect this.”