Housing Complaint Decisions by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman – A Roundup

The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman regularly publishes details of decisions made relating to housing complaints, covering various topics, such as disrepair, allocations, interim and temporary accommodation, managing council tenancies, and more.

While the decisions published are in relation to complaints made against local authorities, by making the decisions public, they can be informative and act as a tool to help provide guidance, or in some case act as a warning.

Below, we have collated a roundup of some relevant decisions published recently. All decisions can be found on the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman website, here.

 

Nottingham City Council (22 004 987)

Summary: The Council will not investigate this complaint that they are responsible for delays completing an application under the right to buy scheme. This is because it would be reasonable to expect the complainants to use the legal remedy available to him under the right to buy procedure.

London Borough of Hackney (20 010 984)

Summary: Ms X complained the Council allowed her to live as a property guardian in a property it owned in the knowledge there were serious disrepair issues. She also complained that when she reported her concerns, the Council ended its agreement with the property guardian company, which then started eviction proceedings. Some of aspects of the complaint were made too late and some were outside their remit. The Council was not at fault for those aspects investigated.

London Borough of Wandsworth (21 014 566)

Summary: The Council’s delay completing extensive repairs to Miss X’s temporary accommodation was fault. The Council was also at fault for failing to review the suitability of the accommodation. The Council has agreed to apologise, complete outstanding repairs, pay Miss X £5,900 and take action to improve its service.

Slough Borough Council (22 003 475)

Summary: The Council will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s delays in progressing his Right to Buy application. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to use the legal remedy available to him under the Right to Buy procedure in the County Court.

Law is correct as of 12^th September 2022.

Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the law in this article is correct, it is intended to give a general overview of the law for educational purposes. You are respectfully reminded that it is not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. No liability is accepted for any error or omission contained herein.