Blakeway identifies communication, timing, and not following policies as key issues in the maladministration cases reviewed
The Housing Ombudsman has highlighted landlords’ poor handling of temporary moves during works on a resident’s property, with some residents having spent months or years in temporary accommodation and sometimes moved between different hotels.
The Ombudsman said that the human cost of moving residents into temporary accommodation to carry out repairs is “laid bare” in the latest ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report.
He stated that the term the sector uses for these moves, ‘decants’, is “crude, dehumanising, and stigmatising for what can be a difficult and emotional process for any person”.
The report was published yesterday ahead of the introduction of Awaab’s Law, which will impose specific requirements on landlords regarding temporary moves when there are risks to residents’ health and safety.
Commenting on the report, Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman said “you can see in every case the different ways the resident was simply not heard.”
The Housing Ombudsman made five findings in five different cases for how Peabody handled temporary moves, including cases involving a pregnant resident and a care leaver.
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In the case of the pregnant woman, Peabody had to relocate her temporarily because of damp and mould in her home but failed to arrange accommodation in time.
After giving birth, she couldn’t return home until the repairs were completed, and the report said Peabody didn’t offer more suitable temporary options, which caused her additional stress.
In another case, the Ombudsman made a severe maladministration finding against Notting Hill Genesis, for failing to communicate with a resident about a temporary move, and leaving its insurance company to arrange hotels.
The report said this “left the resident passed from hotel to hotel”.
A spokesperson for Notting Hill Genesis said: “Occasionally situations arise which mean that residents have to leave their home to allow for repair work. This can be both disruptive and stressful, and our aim is always to make the process as smooth and short as possible. Regrettably this wasn’t the case for our resident and his family, who were forced to live in temporary accommodation for an extended period of time whilst extensive repairs were carried out to their home.”
The statement added: ”We acknowledge there was more we could have done to find our resident a more permanent home during this period and to provide appropriate financial support. We did not meet our own, or our resident’s, expectations and for that we apologise.”
Notting Hill Genesis said that where it got things wrong, the Om,budsman said it responded positively by apologising to the resident, offering compensation and making efforts to repair the relationship. NHG now has a regular “decant” meeting where it looks specifically at cases where people have been moved from their homes so repairs can be completed and have been waiting to return for “longer than expected”.
Lambeth Council also received a severe maladministration finding for moving a resident into temporary accommodation without properly consulting with them. The Ombudsman said the resident remained “stuck” in this accommodation for three years.
Other social landlords mentioned in the report were: Kensington and Chelsea Council, Moat Homes, Orbit Group, Southwark Council and Wandle.
The report noted that temporary moves also have financial cost to landlords, stating “we understand that temporary moves can be expensive and challenging in areas where pressures on the availability of accommodation is already acute.”
Blakeway said that “providing temporary housing is something almost every landlord will need to do at some stage. Every week there will be successful temporary moves. Given the costs that can be involved in this process, it is important to get it right.”
He added: “Landlords should use this report to improve services for residents who may be required to move due to works or other circumstance. With the incoming legislation from Awaab’s Law, this learning is even more strategically important for senior leaders to grasp.”
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