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‘Undeniably unacceptable’ nine-month delay in complaint response by London council left residents in disrepair
The Housing Ombudsman has made a severe maladministration ruling against Ealing Council after describing a nine-month delay in its complaint-handling as “undeniably unacceptable”.
The ombudsman said the outstanding repairs due to the delay left the vulnerable resident without redress and forced it to issue a complaint-handling failure order to get the council to respond.
The complaint related to a leak which the resident believed was coming from the flat above.
After reporting the issue, the landlord visited both flats and made some repairs, but the resident reported the issue was still ongoing and made a complaint two months later.
In the following six months, the resident kept in touch with the landlord, but it provided no update on the complaint. It took the ombudsman to intervene for the council to provide more information to the resident.
The resident then escalated her complaint, but did not receive a response until nine months later, leaving the problems unresolved.
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The ombudsman explained that the resident had to take the time and inconvenience to message the landlord on various occasions to get a response, but it was only after the failure order was issued that Ealing Council responded.
However, the complaint response was described as “inadequate” as it did not cover all of the issues raised in the complaint.
The ombudsman also found maladministration in how the landlord handled reports of a leak and noise from plumbing above the flat.
Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “The fact we’ve had to intervene on numerous occasions during this complaint is undeniably unacceptable. The Complaint Handling Code is there to support landlords to deliver an effective complaints procedure. The timescales are clear markers for landlords to ensure residents are listened to and their concerns dealt with promptly.”
He welcomed the landlord’s response to the case, and highlighted the ombudsman’s decision to host monthly drop-in sessions on the code, which he encouraged landlords to sign up to.
This follows a plea by the Housing Ombudsman earlier this week for the sector to learn from complaint-handling failures ahead of incoming statutory code as it looks to reduce the number of repeated mistakes.
In this case, the ombudsman ordered Ealing Council to pay the resident £1,225 in compensation, update its records with vital information about the case and ensure it is compliant with the code.
In its learning from the case, the local authority said it has overhauled its complaint-handling process and is seeking a new contractor to improve services for residents.
Ealing Council said: “We are committed to providing high-quality housing services to our residents and take complaints and grievances very seriously.
“However, we acknowledge that, in this case, our procedures and communication failed to meet the expected standards. We recognise our shortcomings and the subsequent impact it’s had on our resident’s experience.
“We offer our sincere apologies to those affected by the level of service they received. This is something other than what any tenant should expect in our housing. This case has offered the council many lessons on improving our offering.”
The borough said the maladministration findings allowed it to review where standards have fallen short and make improvements to those services as a result.
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