Lessons from the ombudsman: adaptations and occupational therapists
Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman, shares key learnings to help landlords improve their services and prevent complaints. This month, he discusses how landlords should approach residents who require adaptations
This month, the focus is on adaptations and occupational therapist (OT) referrals. This is an issue which is particularly important, given the pressures on supported housing, and the need for social housing to cater to changing demographics.
In the Housing Ombudsman’s review of 34 cases across the country, seven key lessons emerged.
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1) Act early
In several cases, landlords let properties knowing the resident’s circumstances and that adaptations may be required. These are missed opportunities to prevent what then become protracted delays, negatively impacting the resident.
Landlords should review whether an OT is needed, based on either a request from a resident or knowledge about individual circumstances. Good practice is to do this early to understand what may be required to make the home suitable.
2) Communicate feasibility
Once an OT assessment is complete and the landlord has the report, it should complete a feasibility survey and benchmark this against relevant policies. The outcome should be communicated to the resident in an empathetic, clear and tailored way – qualities sometimes absent in these cases.
“This communication should be empathetic, clear and tailored – qualities sometimes absent in these cases”
3) Find alternatives
If a feasibility assessment concludes that the majority of the adaptations are not possible, landlords should continue working with the resident and the OT to find a suitable alternative property.
In several cases, landlords decided not to make adaptations in favour of moving the resident, but then failed to action this.
4) Balance with planned works and budgets
Several cases related to adaptations to kitchens and bathrooms with an interface with the age of those components, given works may have happened several years ago through Decent Homes but upgrades may not be scheduled for some time. Landlords should be assured they are making decisions that balance the resident’s needs with budgets and planned works programmes.
5) Consider impact
Any adaptations policy should at least think about the extent of the work required, the availability of alternative accommodation and the length of time the adaptation would be needed.
Landlords should also consider if there are other ways to meet the needs of the resident, if a temporary move may be required, and what the procedure is for rejecting an adaptation, whether on the grounds of feasibility or practicality.
6) Equality Act
Landlords must make sure all staff are trained to understand their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and their responsibilities towards vulnerable and disabled residents. This extends to contractors, too.
7) Urgency
When a resident with a vulnerability raises an issue, landlords must assess the risk and look at how urgent the response needs to be. Landlords should also consider whether there needs to be a dedicated policy to handle vulnerabilities and, where one exists, whether it is being fulfilled in practice.
Landlords struggled to respond to issues relating to autism, and this is an emerging issue in our casework.
“Landlords should also consider whether there needs to be a dedicated policy to handle vulnerabilities and, where one exists, whether it is being fulfilled in practice”
Overall, it is important that landlords are aware of their obligations in this area, with the potential detriment towards residents that need adaptations or OTs being particularly acute.
Dealing with these works requires a human-centric approach, with effective communication throughout being vital to manage expectations and explain clearly the reasoning for certain decisions that are made during the process.
These are areas where the governing body member responsible for complaints may want to seek assurance around their organisation’s approach. Another one is how effectively the landlord is at fulfilling its obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman
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