Significant failings under the Equality Act are found to have exacerbated a resident's poor mental health
Posted 01.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
A resident with poor mental health was failed by Tandridge District Council for nearly a year, as it did not abide by its duties under the Equality Act or its own safeguarding policy.
This led to a severe maladministration finding by the Housing Ombudsman. It ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident in person, pay £1,000 in compensation and review its Vulnerabilities and Reasonable Adjustment policies.
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ASB and disrepair cases feature in latest Ombudsman round up of good practice
Posted 02.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
Every month, the Ombudsman shares cases where he has found landlords responding well to complaints - to provide learning across the sector.
Often these cases demonstrate good practice with clear communication, effective records and swiftly putting things right where they have gone wrong.
In this edition, the Housing Ombudsman has looked back over good practice decisions made in May to show where the sector is getting things right.
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Lambeth Council told to pay compensation to a family left in damp and mould
Posted 06.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
The Ombudsman has ordered Lambeth Council to pay £6,500 in compensation to a resident and her family after it left them for six years in damp and mould following a leaking roof.
This resulted in a severe maladministration finding for the landlord.
The Ombudsman also found severe maladministration for the landlord's record keeping, after it failed to keep track of the complaint following its stage two response.
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Unacceptable nine-month delay in complaint response left residents in disrepair
Posted 15.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
The Ombudsman has made a finding of severe maladministration after Ealing Council took nine months to respond to a stage two complaint, delaying repairs and redress for the resident.
The resident had to take the time and inconvenience to message the landlord on various occasions to get a response.
It was only when the Ombudsman issued it with a Complaint Handling Failure Order that the landlord sent its formal response.
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Council to pay £5,500 after 120 repairs raised over four years
Posted 20.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
The Ombudsman has made a finding of severe maladministration against Milton Keynes Council after its inappropriate complaint handling led to a disabled resident and her son living with multiple repairs issues outstanding for years. It ordered the landlord to pay £5,500 in compensation.
The complaint relates to various repairs jobs that were not completed, with repairs logs showing at least 120 jobs raised for the one household alone over four years.
But it was the complaint handling where the Ombudsman found severe maladministration, with a host of issues hampering the resolution of the repairs issues.
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Years of ASB failings led to Peabody resident terminating her own tenancy to escape
Posted 27.06.23
Housing Ombudsman: Further reading
The Ombudsman found severe maladministration for how Peabody responded to reports of anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance, which caused a resident and her terminally ill husband stress and anxiety.
Throughout the case the landlord's actions lacked professionalism with critical failings against core legislation and its own procedures.
These were exacerbated by its lack of consideration for the use of any non-legal tools to tackle the reported anti-social behaviour.
The Ombudsman ordered Peabody to pay £2,000 in compensation and for the landlord to review how it manages ASB.
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