Online casebook reaches almost 1,000 decisions

Our online casebook continues to expand and now includes almost 1,000 decisions, providing learning for the sector and demonstrating the difference complaints can make for individual residents.

The casebook helps to set out the types of complaints we can consider together with the range of findings. Alongside findings of maladministration, this includes where we have found no maladministration or where something has gone wrong but we believe the redress provided by the landlord was appropriate.

Among the latest batch of decisions published are:

• A case about Clarion (202009271 ) concerning a long period of inaction on dealing with repairs. It missed an opportunity to fix an electrical issue before lockdown and then took no action during lockdown despite being aware of a damaged electricity cable in the property which meant the resident was without the use of a bedroom for seven months. We found maladministration on the repairs and ordered the landlord to pay compensation of £1,400.
• A finding of reasonable redress by Habinteg Housing Association (201910893) following a complaint about mould. The combination of the apologies offered by the landlord, service improvements and compensation award represented appropriate redress for the service failures identified in the way it handled the resident’s reports of mould growth in her property.
• A case about Guinness (202004732) where it responded to the resident’s report of a blocked drain in accordance with its repair policy but failed to adequately consider whether the resident should move out or what could be done to help him to stay. That would have avoided the resident’s inconvenience and expense. We found maladministration for the landlord’s response and for its poor complaint handling. We ordered the landlord to refund the £1,280 rent the resident had paid to his parents for staying with them or refund him the rent paid for his flat while he was absent. We also ordered the landlord to pay £700 compensation for the inconvenience, insufficient response to the resident’s complaints and his request for compensation, replacing an earlier, lower offer.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Our approach to openness through publishing decisions promotes accountability, learning and awareness of the difference complaints can make. They help to illustrate what we find reasonable when considering what is fair in all the circumstances.

“I would encourage landlords to make use of this resource and benefit from lessons learned that we’re sharing across the sector.”

See all decisions

New decisions are published every two weeks and the landlord in each case is identified. They are published three months after the decision date. Details of what, when and how we publish are set out in our publication policy.