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Council hit with severe maladministration finding after resident left with mould and leaks through winter
The Housing Ombudsman has made a finding of severe maladministration against a council after a resident was left with leaking windows and doors for an entire winter.
The Housing Ombudsman has made a finding of severe maladministration against a council after a resident was left with leaking windows and doors for an entire winter #UKhousingDespite receiving several reports that it was causing damage, Great Yarmouth Borough Council failed to address a mould problem throughout the resident’s property for several months, carried out faulty works that made the problem worse, and then delayed putting right those works.
The resident reported that there was mould in his kitchen, bedroom and living room when he moved in.
Works several months later on his windows and doors meant to address the mould – which had made it impossible to use one of the bedrooms – led to rain water leaking in, “exacerbating” the problem.
The ombudsman’s report said: “During this period, the resident reported that the property was cold, he had to use towels to block water ingress into the property, possessions had been damaged and he believed that the poor quality windows had worsened the damp.
“The resident experienced a full winter with windows and doors that the landlord was aware needed further works.”
It took more than a year to fix the problems.
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The ombudsman found severe maladministration by the council for repair-handling and complaint-handling.
When the resident complained, the council failed to issue a stage one response and delayed in providing responses at each stage of the complaints process.
It also delayed in answering some aspects of the resident’s complaint and did not advise him of the potential recourse of a liability claim for damaged possessions.
The council offered the resident compensation of £500 but the ombudsman, which found that this was insufficient, ordered Great Yarmouth to pay an additional £1,700.
It also ordered the council to review its handling of the case to avoid similar situations.
Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “It was a serious failure that the landlord failed to address the significant damp issue over the course of several months.
“The resident then had to raise concerns about the quality of the improvement works.”
Mr Blakeway said that it would have been “appropriate” for the landlord to prioritise putting the faulty works right “given the impact on the resident”, and that it was already aware of a pre-existing mould growth problem in the property.
“There is no evidence that it considered the resident’s concerns about the impact and that was a further serious failure,” he said, adding that he welcomed the council’s response to the findings.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said it was “sorry for mistakes” in the case, which meant the service provided “fell below the standards that our tenants have a right to expect”.
“We manage 5,700 homes providing detailed planned maintenance and upkeep regimes, and in the vast majority of cases we make prompt repairs where individual issues arise.
“That was sadly not the case here, and we had already apologised and offered compensation to the tenant before the case was reviewed by the ombudsman,” they said.
The spokesperson added that the council was “working with the tenant to put things right”.
“We have also made changes to our procedures around major works and the monitoring of contractors, and reviewed and updated our processes for ordering and managing work.
“We are sorry that our tenant and their family did not receive the proper care and attention to their home that they deserved, and once again we apologise to them for this,” they said.
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