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Ombudsman launches investigation into large local authority following maladministration finding
The Housing Ombudsman has launched a wider investigation into Birmingham City Council to understand whether there are systemic issues at the local authority, following one case that saw the council take four months to repair a “high volume” water leak.
A wider investigation into the local authority is being carried out under new powers recently awarded to the ombudsman and will look into concerns about Birmingham’s complaint-handling and compensation.
The ombudsman announced the investigation as it published a report that found severe maladministration in the council’s response to repairing an extensive water leak outside one leaseholder’s home.
The leaseholder reported to Birmingham that there was flooding outside the front door of her property, however it took four months for this repair to be completed.
According to the report, the leak caused internal damage to the leaseholder’s property and also led to damp and mould, which the leaseholder said had an impact on her and her son’s health.
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Following a complaint, Birmingham acknowledged that there had been a delay in responding, but failed to offer any compensation.
The council also told the resident that she would have to claim for internal damage to her property on her own insurance, which the ombudman said was “inappropriate because damage to the structure of the property from a water leak should be claimed for under the buildings insurance policy”.
The ombudsman found severe maladministation in the council’s handling of reports about the leak, as well as maladministration for its handling of the former complaint.
Birmingham City Council has been ordered to apologise, pay the resident £800 and deal with the damage to her property.
During its investigation into the incident, the ombudsman said it also identified other cases with issues around the landlord’s complaint-handling and compensation.
A wider investigation will now be carried out to determine whether there is any evidence of systemic failings within the local authority.
Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “Other cases with us concern similar issues and may indicate a repeated failing. That’s why we will be conducting a further investigation using our systemic powers under paragraph 50 of the scheme to identify areas for the landlord to learn and improve.
“Landlords must ensure they are compliant with our code, which aims to support a positive complaint-handling culture and enable landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly. That simply did not happen in this case.”
In a statement, Birmingham City Council said it was “extremely sorry for the difficulties the resident has experienced as a result of an underground water leak”.
It said the council has learned several lessons and is working with its repairs contractor to develop improvements, including:
- A site visit when the council received information that conflicts with that provided by its contractor
- A clearly defined process to ensure that complaint-handlers can escalate contractor performance issues to senior management and further training so complaint-handlers can challenge contractors
- The compensation policy has been reviewed and amended to ensure that it is compliant with the ombudsman’s complaint-handling code
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