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Ombudsman finds ‘multiple failings’ by landlord over £10,000 rent arrears error
A housing association founded to help women fleeing domestic violence was found to have “multiple failings” after a resident was incorrectly told she owed £10,000 in unpaid rent.
A housing association founded to help women fleeing domestic violence was found to have “multiple failings” after a resident was incorrectly told she owed £10,000 in unpaid rent #UKhousingThe Housing Ombudsman ordered an independent review of Housing for Women’s approach to rent arrears and account management, after the “vulnerable” resident was left “struggling to cope” by the error and the threat of eviction.
The landlord incorrectly told her she owed over £10,000 in missed rent payments. The amount in arrears changed to £2,000 after the resident said she would take legal action. However, two days after Christmas, the resident received an eviction notice.
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She made a complaint, but after the landlord failed to respond and, having produced evidence the missing payments had been made, she reported it to the ombudsman.
The watchdog said the landlord’s “adversarial and heavy-handed” approach had negatively impacted the mental health of the resident, leaving her “struggling to cope”.
In its response to the ombudsman review, Housing for Women said the “multiple failings” were down to a single staff member who has now been dismissed. The landlord also said a lack of senior management oversight and finance teams’ understanding of the rent process played a part in its service failure.
Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman, said: “Throughout this case, the landlord took an adversarial and heavy-handed stance towards the resident, despite her regularly expressing the impact legal threats were having on her well-being.
“There can be an inherent imbalance of power between resident and landlord, and this case exemplifies it, very nearly leading to a family being unfairly evicted.
“Landlords have to do their job and residents have obligations to fulfil, too, but the landlord’s handling was fundamentally flawed, and the complaint is littered with missed opportunities to reflect, with a dismissive attitude, including of the ombudsman, from the outset. Even were its actions right, landlords should consider how to adopt the right tone, given the life-changing impact that eviction could have.
“I know many landlords would take an empathetic, person-centred approach, and others should learn from this experience. I also welcome the extensive changes the landlord has made to its record-keeping and practice against the Complaint Handling Code following this review.”
Housing for Women said in a statement that it had conducted its own internal review and identified that it had not “taken into account the resident’s vulnerability”.
It said it had put in place a number of policies, procedures and processes “to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future”, including a new complaints policy and procedure that meets the ombudsman’s code, and a compensation policy that gives staff clear guidance on when compensation should be offered.
Housing for Women said it will also ensure all staff receive training on the complaints policies and processes.
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