In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I speak with Jane Hill, a long-term leaseholder, and Morley Young, a former third-party technical consultant, about a window replacement programme involving Guildford Borough Council.

What began as a routine planned upgrade became, according to those involved, a deeply distressing experience for the resident concerned. Jane describes the impact the works had on her home and wellbeing, while Morley explains why he raised concerns when he was brought in to assess the situation.

The episode explores what Jane and Morley say happened during the works, including concerns about safety, health impacts, specification of materials, decision-making, and how issues were handled once problems were identified. It also examines what followed: the halting and restarting of works, subsequent damage, charging concerns, and an ongoing complaint now with the Housing Ombudsman.

More broadly, the discussion raises questions about oversight, accountability, and how residents are protected when major works go wrong. This episode is presented as part one, with a follow-up planned once the Housing Ombudsman process has concluded.

Guildford Borough Council was contacted ahead of publication and offered a right to reply. Their response is published alongside this episode.

Right to reply – Guildford Borough Council Guildford Borough Council was contacted ahead of publication and offered a right to reply. The council provided the following response: “Thank you for your enquiry. Below is our factual response. Two previously published independent reports – the Heminsley Law report and the SOLACE report, provide factual analysis and narrative into our historic housing repairs. Our improvement plans set out what we are doing to address the issues raised in these reports. The Independent Assurance Panel has reported twice on our progress, and their reports have been published as part of our journey to improvement.

We understand that Mr & Mrs Hill have contacted the Housing Ombudsman and therefore it is not appropriate for us to provide further comment.”

Referenced reports and material In their response, Guildford Borough Council referred to previously published reports and improvement documentation. For transparency, links are provided below:

https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/do... https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/do... https://www.guildford.gov.uk/article/...

These documents relate to historic governance and housing repairs issues referenced by the council. They do not address the specific resident experience discussed in this episode. The council did not address the specific questions raised in the episode and said it would not comment further while the matter is under consideration by the Housing Ombudsman.