SPSO Individual Decisions

Ms C contacted the housing association to discuss the possibility of receiving compensation for the improvements carried out by her mother during her tenancy. The association inspected the property and decided that they could not award compensation. Ms C was unhappy with this and complained to us that the association had failed to deal with her claim appropriately. Although we do not make rulings on compensation, we looked at the relevant legislation and regulations and concluded that the  association did deal with her claim in a reasonable manner, so we did not uphold the complaint. Our investigation also found that the minutes of a meeting of the association's sub-committee contained a number of mistakes. We were particularly concerned that they recorded Ms C's mother's name incorrectly and inaccurate information about white goods at the property. Recommendation We recommended that the association: • write to Ms C to apologise for the errors in the minutes of the meeting and, in particular, for using an incorrect name for her mother. Related reading View Decision Report 201102763 as a PDF (21.73 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

Mr C's mother moved into a sheltered property run by a housing association. Mr C said that she had had been promised that there would be no reduction in the services and faciliites available to her. He also said he had been told the property would be altered to meet her needs. Mr C alleged that the association had failed to make the alterations and that his mother was not being provided with basic services and facilities. He later acknowledged that some of the adaptations requested had been carried out, and said his major concern was that the association had not arranged for a ramp to be installed. He said this meant that his mother could not be taken out of the house by her care provider for shopping and outings. We found that the adaptations promised by the association had all been installed, and one of the main items mentioned was in fact moveable, so Mr C himself could have been expected to arrange for it to be taken to his mother's new home. We also found that responsibility for providing a ramp lay with the council's social work services and that the association had explained this to Mr C. Related reading View Decision Report 201003938 as a PDF (13.93 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018