Clarion told to ‘show empathy’ after disabled resident left without use of downstairs toilet

The case has highlighted the issues around how responsibilities are shared among developers, contractors and landlords when there are defects in new build shared ownership properties. An ombudsman report in 2020 said landlords should effectively pursue developers on a resident’s behalf. 

The new case, published today, found residents in a home – including a person with muscular dystrophy and mobility issues – were still dealing with issues around a blocked toilet 21 months after it was first reported. 

After complaining about blocked drains, the developer blamed residents for flushing wipes and excessive toilet paper down the toilet, according to the ombudsman. 

The residents arranged their own drainage contractor to carry out a CCTV survey, which found multiple issues with the structure of the drains and their installation, but no evidence of wipes being the cause of blockages, the ombudsman said. 

However, while the developer fixed some of the issues, the residents reported that not all actions were carried out and they had to pay for materials to finish tackling the problems. 

“There was also no evidence the landlord effectively monitored the works, and it took action from the ombudsman for the survey to be carried out,” the ombudsman said. “The ombudsman recognises that where a third party is involved, matters may be out of the landlord’s hands to some extent, however its overall limited role in matters was not satisfactory.

“The landlord was not mindful of its interest in the property and responsibility to the resident.” 

As a result, Clarion was ordered to apologise to the residents and pay an additional £1,685 compensation on top of the £770 that it had already offered. 

Mr Blakeway said: “I am especially concerned that, in this case and others, residents who are presenting vulnerabilities, which should change the response, are not always being heard.

“In the scale of its operations, it is important the landlord does not lose sight of the individual impact of cases and the people behind those complaints. Nor should this scale be leveraged to diminish the impact of mistakes that, without the intervention of the ombudsman, would have left the resident without appropriate redress.

“Crucially, it needs to demonstrate empathy for the experience of its residents and double down on its efforts to show complaints are genuinely used as a learning tool, not just a transaction.”

In its response, Clarion said it was sorry the residents had to endure drainage problems for a “sustained period of time” and apologised for the service it had provided. 

It said it was offering “enhanced training” to staff on how to manage, track and prioritise cases where there is a person with vulnerabilities in the household, and also on the management of drainage blockage issues.

Clarion said the problems first surfaced in late 2020 during the “a serious phase” of the pandemic, but did not excuse its performance. It said it has “undergone a lot of change as an organisation since that time”. 

It added: “We are committed to acting on the recommendations of the ombudsman and have updated our internal guidance and customer communications to offer clearer advice. We will be formally updating our defects policy to reflect this too.”