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The Housing Ombudsman has ordered Yorkshire Housing to pay £3,780 after it found three findings of severe maladministration for how it handled reports of a leak, damp, and mould, complaint handling and considering the resident’s welfare.
With the important role that social housing has to play in giving safe and secure housing to millions, the learning in these reports should help landlords provide effective services that protect this aspiration.
The landlord was aware of the resident's poor mental health and the two young children living within the household but failed to take appropriate action to support the resident during their move to temporary accommodation because of the condition of their property following a leak.
The Ombudsman found the landlord neglected to follow its own decant policy and its repairs policy for vulnerable residents was also not adequately implemented, failing to consider the needs of the resident and provide the necessary support.
The resident, who had two young children under six years old at the time, faced significant challenges due to the emergency decant. The lack of communication and support from the landlord further exacerbated the resident's anxiety, distress, and feeling of being forgotten about.
In addition to these failures, the resident's initial complaint was ignored, and a stage two complaint remained unanswered, leading to the perception that the resident was unimportant and that the landlord did not care.
This highlights the importance of following the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, with the statutory code published this week that will be effective from 1 April 2024 .
The landlords' contractors were often depending on the resident to return to their property before they could complete necessary repairs. As a result, the resident experienced frequent disruptions and distress, especially since they were working from home during the national lockdowns.
The resident had repeatedly informed the landlord about the negative impact on her mental health caused by the events, lack of communication, and support. She reported that because of the temporary accommodation the household was moved to she was “eating their Christmas dinner on the floor” and “sleeping on mattresses for months”. This should have prompted the landlord to consider additional support for the vulnerable resident, but no such action was taken.
The landlord's poor communication, oversight, and heavy-handed approach was particularly detrimental to a resident with mental health vulnerabilities, especially during a pandemic and national lockdowns.
The landlord's complaint handling was poor, with significant delays in response times.
The Ombudsman ordered a senior member of staff from the landlord to apologise to the resident, complete all remaining repairs in the permanent address within six weeks and £3,780 in compensation.
In its learning from this case, the landlord has provided the resident with a single named contact if they need to move out of their home whilst they carry out repairs and formed a new Complaints Team.
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