The Housing Ombudsman recently found Nottingham City Homes guilty of significant maladministration due to their negligence in repairing a vulnerable resident’s home.
The details were sent in a letter to Nottingham City Council CEO Mel Barrett from Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The organisation reportedly left several repair tasks incomplete, including unresolved water leaks through the front and rear doors for over two years.
Additionally, the resident was left without a functioning toilet due to the organisation’s inaction.
The Ombudsman’s investigation revealed that several repairs were still pending.
The delay in addressing these complaints and the subpar record-keeping practices adversely affected both the resident and her daughter.
The time taken to address these issues was deemed unacceptable, with the organisation’s performance falling short of the expected standards for their residents.
The government emphasises the importance of trust between social housing residents and their landlords.
They stress the need for landlords to provide decent homes and handle complaints efficiently, with the health and safety of tenants being of utmost importance. The recent Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 aims to enhance standards and hold landlords accountable for their responsibilities.
While Nottingham City Homes has issued an apology to the affected resident and says it has learned from this incident, the case will continue to be closely monitored.
The letter ( below ) detailing these concerns has been shared with multiple MPs, councillors, the Select Committee for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Housing Ombudsman.
Councillor Jay Hayes, Portfolio Holder for Housing at Nottingham City Council, said:
“I’d like to sincerely apologise on behalf of the council to the resident affected here for the issues she and her family faced as Nottingham City Homes tenants.
“It’s clear that standards fell well short of where they should have been, and we understand the impact this must have had on their daily lives.
“All recommendations from the Housing Ombudsman have been fully accepted and implemented, and an apology rightly issued on behalf of the authority.
“We took the decision to bring housing management back in-house from April this year, following the previous arm’s-length management arrangements.
“This has reinforced our need and determination to not just put things right in this case, but to introduce the systems and processes to support council staff to get things right first time as part of a broader programme of improvement.”
