Bristol City Council (202339195)

Decision
Case ID	202339195
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Bristol City Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	22 October 2025

Background

1. The resident has a secure tenancy with the landlord which is a local authority.  She became the sole tenant by succession on 22 August 2022. The property is a 2 bedroom maisonette in a 3 storey block of flats.
2. The resident’s mother passed away on 17 August 2022. The resident is a young adult who lives at the property with her teenage sister. The resident signed the succession paperwork on 13 December 2022. The landlord informed the resident there were rent arrears on the account.

What the complaint is about

3. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. The resident’s succession to the tenancy.
   2. The associated rent arrears.
4. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

5. We have found that:
   1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s succession to the tenancy.
   2. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated rent arrears.
   3. There was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

Succession to the tenancy.

6. The time taken by the landlord to progress the resident’s succession to the tenancy was unreasonably long. This caused distress and inconvenience to the resident.

Associated rent arrears.

7. The landlord failed to clearly set out the resident’s obligation to pay rent from the start of her tenancy. This was despite her repeatedly chasing.
8. The landlord gave incorrect information to the resident regarding her use and occupation account status.
9. The landlord failed to consider whether it should write off the rent arrears because its delays prevented the resident claiming universal credit to cover the period in question.

Complaint handling.

10. The landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s stage 1 complaint and its response was delayed. It failed to try to put things right.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order   The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is provided by a senior manager. The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 19 November 2025
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £500 made up as follows: £150 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s failures in its handling of the resident’s succession to the tenancy. £300 for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s failures in its handling of the resident’s rent arrears. £50 for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s complaint handling. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 19 November 2025
3	Take Specific Action order Considering the failures set out in this report the landlord should review its position regarding its decision to not write off the resident’s arrears. It should write to her to set out the outcome of its review and provide its reasons.	No later than 19 November 2025
4	Review order The landlord is ordered to carry out a review of the failures identified in this report to identify what went wrong and what it will do differently. It should consider if its succession standard operating procedure (August 2023) will achieve its aims.	03 December 2025

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
3 May 2023	The resident submitted an online complaint, the main points being: The landlord had not responded to her contact about her tenancy including how to make rent payments. When she did speak to the landlord she was told “not to worry” about payments. The landlord failed to attend a visit it arranged with her. She was unhappy about a telephone call she had with an officer in the rents team. The landlord was chasing payment for the rent arrears. She asked that the arrears be cleared due to the landlord’s mishandling of the situation.
25 May 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response in which it said: It apologised for the delay in its response to the resident’s contact and upheld this aspect of the complaint. It apologised that it had given inaccurate information about use and occupation. It upheld this aspect of the complaint. It apologised that its officer failed to attend the visit and said this would be raised with them. Its officer from the rents team had acted in line with data protection requirements. It did not uphold this aspect of the complaint. It apologised that advice given by the landlord regarding rent arrears was unclear. It upheld this aspect of the complaint. It was unable to waive the arrears because there was no period when housing costs weren’t required or got suspended.
15 June 2023	The resident emailed the landlord to set out her dissatisfaction with its stage 1 response. She asserted her situation would not have arisen if she had been given timely and accurate information.
14 July 2023	The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response in which it: Upheld its decision at stage 1 about the resident’s discussion with the officer from the rents team. Agreed that the language used to discuss the resident’s rental obligations was “not the best.” It upheld this part of the complaint. Acknowledged it gave incorrect advice about the use and occupation account. However it said this did not impact on whether rent was due. Upheld the resident’s complaint about the lack of communication. It said this was because the housing officer was ill. Partially upheld the complaint and offered £150 compensation.
2 February 2024	The resident contacted us to say the landlord delayed in processing her succession to the tenancy. This meant she’d been unable to claim universal credit to cover her rent from the start of her tenancy. She said that the rent arrears were a result of its failures and asked that they be written off.

 

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s succession to the tenancy.
Finding	Maladministration

 

11. On 7 September 2022 the resident notified the landlord that her mother had passed away. She was told the case was being reviewed.
12. A file note dated 8 November 2022 confirmed the landlord had informed the resident she had succeeded to the tenancy.
13. During November 2022 the landlord referred the resident to an external agency for support.
14. While it’s positive that the landlord referred the resident for additional support this came late in the process. It demonstrated a lack of regard for her individual circumstances.
15. A file note dated 9 December 2022 said the landlord would sign the paperwork with the resident on 13 December 2022.
16. An internal email of 26 January 2023 said the succession was delayed because the responsible housing officer was on sick leave.
17. It took the landlord 3 months to resolve the issue of succession which was unreasonably long. The explanation provided by the landlord was inappropriate.
18. The delay compounded the resident’s distress arising from the loss of her mother and caring responsibilities for her younger sister.
19. The lack of clear communication and support for the resident demonstrated a lack of empathy for her situation. The landlord’s approach did not reflect its succession policy to always deal sympathetically and sensitively with succession requests.
20. The landlord’s failures amount to maladministration because they had an adverse effect on the resident. The landlord has been ordered to pay the resident £250 compensation which is in line with our Remedies Guidance.

Complaint	The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the associated rent arrears.
Finding	Maladministration

21. The resident’s emails of 7 September and 11 October 2022 asked the landlord if there were any arrangements in place to make payments.
22. The landlord failed to respond causing the resident distress and inconvenience when she emailed to chase on 30 October 2022.
23. The landlord failed to comply with its Rental Income and Arrears Management Policy to help resident’s through early intervention to avoid debt through unpaid rent. It also failed to comply with its commitment to provide information to new residents to enable them to pay their rent in accordance with their tenancy.
24. The file note of 9 December 2022 set out above said it would let the rents team know once the paperwork was complete. The delay in sharing information meant the landlord’s teams were working independently up to that point. This was inappropriate because it became a barrier to it providing an efficient joined up response. 
25. On 14 December 2022 the landlord advised the resident there was an outstanding amount which would be managed by the rents team. It advised the resident to apply for universal credit and referred her for support to help.
26. On 15 December 2022 the local authority’s Welfare Rights Coordinator recommended that the landlord consider writing off the arrears. This was because universal credit could only be backdated for 1 month. They also recommended that succession cases be referred as early as possible “as there was no reason” the resident could not have claimed universal credit much earlier.
27. In the landlord’s email to the resident of 20 January 2023 it advised her to make a complaint and ask for the outstanding rent arrears to be written off.
28. On 26 January 2023 the resident spoke to a rents officer who requested immediate payment of the arrears. She confirmed she had not read notes on the system and asked the resident about her situation. This caused distress because she had to provide another explanation of her circumstances.
29. An internal email of 26 January 2023 confirmed the resident was advised by an officer from the estates team “not to worry” about the arrears because they knew a payment plan could be created. They said the resident had “repeatedly asked how she could make a payment before the succession decision has been reached.” They asserted it had taken an “awfully long time to come to a decision.”
30. A file note dated 27 April 2023 set out the landlord’s telephone call with the resident. It told her to investigate applying for a discretionary housing payment and gave advice on paying the arrears.
31. The landlord’s stage 1 response of 25 May 2023 said the rent officer did not have access to the estate management information which is why she was asked to explain her circumstances again.
32. It said such restrictions were necessary under data protection regulations. Had the rent and estates officers been able to read each other’s records they would’ve been able to provide a one stop type of approach to the resident. That they could not compounded the resident’s distress.
33. The welfare rights coordinator emailed the landlord on 30 May 2023. They expressed their concerns about pursuing the rent arrears considering its failure to provide support and the length of the succession process.
34. On 16 June 2023 the Citizens Advice Bureau wrote to the landlord on the resident’s behalf. It said the landlord’s failures meant the resident could not backdate her universal credit claim and had no means to pay the arrears.
35. The landlord’s complaint responses said the arrears could not be written off because of the misinformation and confusion. It did not consider whether its failure to set out the resident’s rental obligations at the outset meant she could not claim universal credit for the period in question. Considering the internal communication and the resident’s circumstances this was particularly inappropriate. 
36. The landlord’s failures amount to maladministration because they had an adverse effect on the resident. The compensation offered by the landlord is not considered proportionate to the distress and inconvenience caused by its failures. Therefore the landlord has been ordered to pay the resident £300 which is in line with our Remedies Guidance. It may deduct the £150 it has offered if this has already been paid.

Complaint	We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.
Finding	Service failure

37. The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaint. The relevant Code in this case was the 2022 edition (April 2022). The managing agent has published a complaints policy which complied with the terms of the Code in respect of timescales.
38. The landlord responded at stage 1 within 46 working days (20 March to 28 May 2024). The landlord had 5 working days to acknowledge and 10 working days to respond to the complaint (up to 15 working days).
39. Our dispute resolution principles are to be fair, learn from outcomes and put things right.
40. There is no evidence that the landlord acknowledged the complaint and its response was outside the timescales set out in the Code and its policy. Its complaint response failed to acknowledge its failure therefore it also failed to try to put things right.
41. It was positive that it acknowledged some of its failures. However, it failed to provide an explanation. It also failed to consider how it could put things right by referring to our Remedies Guidance which it follows to calculate compensation. 
42. The landlord’s stage 2 response was issued in line with the timescales set out in the Code and its policy.
43. The landlord’s failures amount to service failure because they may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the resident. The landlord has been ordered to pay the resident £50 which is in line with our Remedies Guidance.