Miss C said she was a disabled and vulnerable tenant. She complained that the Council had delayed carrying out housing repairs in relation to 2 properties, and it had failed to safeguard and find her safe accommodation.
Regarding the first property, the Ombudsman noted Miss C had exceeded the timescales for making her complaint to the office and she had moved out of the property 11 months prior. Consequently, this element of the complaint was out of time. In any event, there would be no benefit to Miss C even if the Ombudsman were able to ask the Council to carry out any identifiable repairs to the first property.
With regards to the second property, the Ombudsman found there was disagreement as to the repair issues which remained outstanding. As an alternative to an investigation, the Council agreed to undertake the following to resolve the complaint within 10 working days.
• The Council agreed to contact Miss C to arrange a convenient time and date when officers could attend the property to identify and agree any remedial work.
• It also agreed to provide Miss C with information about how to make a claim to the Council’s insurers for the loss of personal items and financial loss incurred while at the properties.