Latest Ombudsman case digests

Complaint reference 201202301 - Repairs, Tenant rent and service charges
23 May 13 - Not upheld | Home owner  
A complaint that the council did not deal with the repairs of a leak in a tenement building in accordance with its tenement management scheme.

Complaint reference 201200189 - Housing benefit
23 May 13 - Upheld | Assured  
A complaint that the council was unhelpful when approached with a complaint about a property and its landlord.

Complaint reference 201103415 - Anti-social behaviour, Repairs
30 Apr 13 - Upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained about water damage to her property and about her neighbour's anti-social behaviour which she claimed the council did not scrutinise or monitor.

Complaint reference 201205087 - Tenant rent and service charges
30 Apr 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that she received repeated letters from the landlord relating to rent arrears after she had been informed by the landlord that there had been error and not to worry.

Complaint reference 201205107 - Repairs
30 Apr 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that the landlord had failed to address issues of condensation which in turn had led to the insulation being damaged, as well as damage to wiring.

Complaint reference 201204844 - Repairs
30 Apr 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained about the repairs carried out on her windows by the landlord which she said resulted in her having to use her heating more regularly and incurring costs.

Complaint reference 201204661 - Complaint handling
30 Apr 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Secure  
A tenant complained the Council had failed to provide a complaint response regarding damage to the complainant’s late mother’s property, which had led to financial repercussions.

Complaint reference 201204474 - Repairs
30 Apr 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that the landlord had delayed in repairing the leak to his chimney stack which led to further leaks within the property.

Complaint reference 201202755 - Repairs
23 Apr 13 - Partly upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained that there was a delay in dealing with a collapsed ceiling in his property and that he had been left exposed to live wires following rewiring.

Complaint reference 201202888 - Repairs
23 Apr 13 - Not upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained that she should have been given full redecoration costs following the treatment of dampness in her property rather than the contribution towards redecorating that she was offered.

Complaint reference 201200414 - Allocations, Sheltered housing, Tenancy management
23 Apr 13 - Not upheld | Secure  
A complaint that the council did not take into account the views and wishes of an elderly resident when they decided to defer her application for sheltered housing for six months.

Complaint reference 201104276 - Anti-social behaviour
23 Apr 13 - Partly upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained about the way the council investigated complaints of anti-social behaviour made against her and her family.

Complaint reference 201202244 - Anti-social behaviour, Complaint handling
27 Mar 13 - Partly upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained that the landlord failed to adequately deal with her complaints about noise from her neighbour's house.

Complaint reference 201201678 - Complaint handling, Housing benefit
27 Mar 13 - Partly upheld | Applicant  
A complaint that the council took too long to take a benefit complaint through the four stages of its complaints procedure and did not appropriately deal with complaints about staff members.

Complaint reference 201201082 - Tenancy management
19 Feb 13 - Partly upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained about the landlord's handling of her request for a higher fence between her property and that of her neighbour.

Complaint reference 201202296 - Repairs
19 Feb 13 - Not upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained about the council's handling of a repair to a communal drain and that it failed to treat the repair as a Right to Repair issue.

Complaint reference 201200538 - Estate services, Tenancy management
19 Feb 13 - Not upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained about changes to the lighting in the close that he shares with his neighbour.

Complaint reference 201101706 - Allocations, Anti-social behaviour, Tenancy management
19 Feb 13 - Not upheld | Secure  
A tenant complained that the council failed to assist her in finding safe accommodation when she informed them that she was being stalked by a local man.

Complaint reference 11021734 - Renewal grants
11 Feb 13 - Maladministration causing injustice | Home owner  
A complaint that the council's provision of assistance on roofing works to a vulnerable elderly woman's home was inadequate.

Complaint reference 201200965 - Regeneration, Renewal grants
31 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Home owner  
A home owner complained about the Council’s Home Improvement Agency Service’s failure to properly oversee a grant aided scheme of conversion of her property.

Complaint reference 201202484 - Tenant rent and service charges
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured shorthold  
A tenant disputed the council's assertations that she was liable for a bond claim that it said she owed for damages caused to her private rented accommodation.

Complaint reference 201103223 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Upheld | Assured  
A tenant complained that the landlord failed to carry out appropriate remedial works following cavity wall insulation in her property which she said had resulted in damp caused by condensation.

Complaint reference 201102310 - Homelessness
30 Jan 13 - Upheld | Applicant  
A tenant complained about the council's failure to grant him priority housing status following an attack on him outside his property by his former partner.

Complaint reference 201203156 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that the landlord did not respond to his complaint about repairs and damages to his property.

Complaint reference 201202911 - Anti-social behaviour
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that his neighbour was stealing his hot water and that there was continuous noise and abuse coming from the property above him.

Complaint reference 201202779 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that the windows were faulty in the newly built home she had moved into, and that they allowed rain water and draughts to come into her home.

Complaint reference 201202422 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Secure  
A tenant complained that she was wrongly accused of damaging the carpet in her property, and that she was unfairly charged £300 for a new carpet.

Complaint reference 201202870 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained that there was an unreasonable delay in fixing the boiler in her property, which was deemed unsafe following an inspection.

Complaint reference 201202338 - Repairs
30 Jan 13 - Quick fix & Voluntary settlement | Assured  
A tenant complained about the poor air quality and a continuous bad smell in his flat, and insisted that the housing association carry out an air quality test.

Complaint reference 11011766 - Allocations
24 Jan 13 - Maladministration causing injustice | Applicant  
The council failed to meet the needs of the complainant's family by refusing to rehouse them in a larger home, nearer to the school of his son who has special needs.