PSOW Individual Decisions

Ms A complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association (“the Housing Association”) failed to act appropriately to her reports of antisocial behaviour, where she feared for her family’s safety. Ms A said the Housing Association’s inaction delayed her being rehoused. She said that her mental health was negatively impacted, and she no longer felt able to cope with the situation. The Ombudsman decided that the process for supporting Ms A with rehousing was unclear. The eventual offer of a property was not confirmed in writing, and no timeframe had been provided. She said that this caused delays, frustration, and uncertainty for Ms A at a time that was already very difficult for her. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement within 1 week, to apologise to Ms A for having to contact the Ombudsman and that the rehousing process was unclear, and to confirm the offer of housing in writing with an estimated timeframe for the move. The Housing Association also agreed to review the relevant policies within 1 month, to ensure there is a clear and consistent process for assisting tenants who are victims of antisocial behaviour, particularly where safety is a concern, with appropriate rehousing advice and support.

Mr A complained about the action taken by Linc Cymru Housing Association (“the Housing Association”) to address issues with damp and mould in his property. He said that other residents living on the ground floor of the same building had raised concerns about similar issues. Mr A also raised concerns that he had not been provided with information regarding his options for alternative accommodation. The Ombudsman found that although the Housing Association had taken some action to investigate the concerns reported by Mr A, there did not seem to be a clear plan to further address the ongoing issues. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement to, within 3 weeks, complete a full investigation into the concerns raised by Mr A about the condition of his property and to consider his request for an independent thermal survey and an inspection of ducts and floors. In addition, to consider the concerns Mr A raised about other residents’ complaints regarding the ground floor of the building. Within 6 weeks, the Housing Association agreed to provide a formal complaint response, to include the outcome of the investigations, confirm the action plan and outline the options available to Mr A for alternative accommodation.

Mr B complained that the Association carried out work on his kitchen that was substandard and did not meet his needs, then did not fulfil its obligation to install a new disabled adapted kitchen by the target completion date. The investigation found that Mr B was without adequate kitchen facilities for several months and communication seemed to be lacking at times. The Association agreed to apologise to Mr B for its lapse and to pay him £500 of redress to acknowledge the impact of the delay, particularly given his disabilities. The Ombudsman considered that the action the Association had agreed to take was reasonable and the matter was settled. Mr B would be able to return to the Ombudsman if the Association did not comply with the agreed settlement.

Miss D complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association failed to remedy the mould in her property. The Ombudsman found that whilst the Association had responded to Miss D’s Stage 1 complaint, it had initially closed her Stage 2 complaint in error without taking any action. Whilst the Ombudsman has since re-opened the Stage 2 complaint, the Ombudsman found that this had caused frustration and uncertainty to Miss D and decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Association’s agreement to write to Miss D with an apology for the failure identified and for the delay in issuing a response and to issue a Stage 2 complaint response within 15 working days.

Mr N complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association has failed to complete the structural repair works despite him temporarily moving out of his home in in December 2022. The Ombudsman found that the delay was due to the discovery of more serious structural damage once works had started. The development team had to undergo an options appraisal of the property which was due to be decided by the Executive Team on 20 June 2023. She also found that the concerns raised were not formally logged under the complaint process. She says this caused additional frustration and inconvenience to Mr N. The Ombudsman decided to settle this matter without an investigation and sought the Associations agreement to formally log a complaint and issue a response within two weeks of the Executive Team decision.

Ms I complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association failed to take proactive action to resolve issues of repairs in her home, in particular water leaks. The Ombudsman found that the Association failed to respond to a formal complaint raised by Ms I in January 2023 as it was overlooked. She decided that there had been poor communication and complaint handling which caused additional frustration to Ms I. The Ombudsman decided to settle the matter without an investigation and sought and gained the Association’s agreement to write to Ms I within three weeks to apologise and explain the reasons for the delays. It also agreed to explain the actions it will take to resolve the issues raised and to offer a financial payment of £200 for time and trouble.

Mr B complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association failed to respond to a complaint he submitted via its website on 20 December 2022. The Ombudsman concluded that the Association failed to communicate its decision to informally deal with his complaint, which caused Mr B inconvenience and frustration. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation, and sought and gained the Association’s agreement to apologise to Mr B, explain its decision and the next step of its complaint process. It also agreed to pay Mr B redress of £50 in recognition of the time and trouble he had expended. The Association agreed to complete this settlement within two weeks.

Mr C complained that Linc Cymru Housing Association refused to move his meter reader into or close to his home, from a locked room in a central location. This meant that Mr C could not easily access his meter readings. The Ombudsman found that the Association had made the meter room fully accessible to Mr C and its tenants, but failed to explain the reasons for its decision not to move the meter reader. The Ombudsman sought the Association’s agreement to provide Mr C with a written explanation within one calander month.

Ms A complained about outstanding maintenance issues at her home address. She said that contractors had visited the property and informed her that some the issues are also affecting other residents on the development. The Ombudsman found that Ms A had submitted a previous complaint to his office which was closed on the basis that the Housing Association informed him that some of the maintenance issues were the fault of Ms A and some were due to be resolved. Ms A subsequently provided new evidence to the Ombudsman, advising that contractors had visited her property following the Ombudsman’s decision letter, and confirmed that the maintenance issues were not her fault. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement, within 20 working days, to arrange a properly documented meeting between the relevant contractors and Linc Cymru’s Development Team to establish what maintenance issues are outstanding and who is responsible for rectifying them together with a timescale for any outstanding issues to be rectified. Following the meeting, a detailed joint response, documenting the outcome is to be provided to Ms Turner, and if appropriate, a sum of financial redress should be provided to her in recognition of the time and trouble in her pursuing the complaint.

Miss X complained that the Association had not carried out urgent repairs required in her home, and that it had not responded sufficiently to her complaint. The Ombudsman was concerned about the delays in carrying out the repairs required, the delays in keeping Miss X informed of the status of the repairs and that she had been inconvenienced by the Association’s actions. He decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Association’s agreement to: • Provide Miss X with an apology for the delay in carrying out the issues raised in her complaint • Provide Miss X with a further complaint response, outlining the actions proposed to further address the substantive issues of her complaint, which would include any actions that have already been addressed. The Association agreed to carry out the actions within 2 weeks.