Leeds City Council acknowledges there were failings within its repair service that led to a resident living with damp for two years in both the kitchen and bathroom.
The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration for the council after the landlord failed to effectively tackle a water leak.
When the resident first reported the leak, the council said it would replace the extractor fan in the bathroom and make multiple repairs to the kitchen. While the measuring up work took place, there was no indication of any other visits, and the resident was forced to contact the council six months later to ask for an update.
During the investigation, the Housing Ombudsman saw internal emails which showed the landlord did not action the major repairs, and therefore no quick action was taken.
The council eventually carried out some work but it was insufficient to address the main problem and the tenant subsequently reported tiles peeling off the walls and floor.
The Ombudsman contacted the landlord to ask for the remaining repairs to be completed, but after a ‘no access’ report from the contactor, it took a further eight months for the landlord to be in contact with the resident about the repairs.
The Ombudsman ordered the landlord to pay the resident £1,000 in compensation, start staff training on complaint handling, and carry out a review of this case for future learning.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: ‘Our teams are working hard to ensure that all repairs are dealt with effectively and in a customer focused way. On this occasion, it is acknowledged that there were failings within the repairs service which lead to significant delays in completing essential repairs and we have apologised for this. The service on this occasion fell way below standards that tenants should expect.
‘As a result of the learning that we have taken from this case, we have implemented several improvements which have strengthened the repairs service, and we have improved our handling of complaints, including providing training for staff.
‘We have reviewed this case in-line with our overall approach to resolving outstanding repairs in council homes and improving complaint outcomes for tenants. We will continue to engage and listen to our tenants to identify further improvements and to ensure that the improvements that we have put in place remain effective.’
