Following a joint investigation by ITV and The Guardian it has been revealed that the Salvation Army has failed to carry out repairs and rectify a number of category 1 and 2 hazards (under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System) in around 40 of its properties in Hadleigh, Essex. Castle Point council has served improvement notices and the Salvation Army has issued an unreserved apology to its tenants who had been left in unsafe living conditions for some years despite the famous charity knowing about the disrepair issues after complaints from tenants.

Properties were "riddled with damp and mould" and some were in breach of fire regulations and infested with vermin.

A council EHO wrote to the charity in 2019 describing the its handling of the disrepair issues as a "sordid mess" but 3 years later it transpired that the charity had still taken no action to resolve the matter and, in fact, the tenants had been left with the impression, after a meeting with the Salvation Army's managing director, that they would be evicted if the charity was not able to finance any repair work.

Whilst admitting that they let tenants down the charity declined to be interviewed by ITV though the programme does interview several of the affected tenants.