Haringey London Borough Council (202450621)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202450621

Haringey London Borough Council

26 September 2025

 

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the:
    1. Resident’s request for adaptation works to the property.
    2. Associated complaints.

Background

  1. The resident has a secure tenancy with the landlord, a local council, which started in January 1997. The property is described as a 5-bedroom, 3 storey house. The landlord noted that the resident has restricted mobility and other physical health issues. She is being represented by her daughter, and they are both referred to as the resident in this report.
  2. The landlord’s occupational therapy team assessed the resident’s housing needs in November 2021. It made recommendations to the landlord to:
    1. Remove the bath in the bathroom and replace it with a level access shower, so the resident could manage her personal hygiene without assistance.
    2. Install wall-mounted shower seat with back, arms and front support legs.
    3. Install a stairlift to help the resident maintain independence and access to all essential areas of the property in a safe manner.
  3. The landlord approved the works in March 2022.
  4. On 27 May 2022 the landlord advised the resident the adaptation works were on its waiting list. It completed quotations and drawings in December 2022 and noted it would assign a surveyor for the tendering process for a contractor.
  5. The resident advised the landlord on 20 March 2023 that she continued to rely on her family to assist with climbing the stairs in the property. The landlord apologised and advised it was unable to give an indication of when the works would commence. The resident complained that the delay was causing distress. The landlord responded advised her to redirect her query to the responsible team.
  6. The resident raised a formal complaint on 2 September 2024. She complained about the poor communication and the time it was taking to install the bathroom and stairlift. She said it was not acceptable to be left to suffer, and she was appalled by the length of delays and lack of empathy by the landlord. The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on 5 September 2024. It apologised for the failure in communication and inconvenience due to the delays experienced. It indicated the works would be assigned to a contractor by the second week of October 2024.
  7. On 5 September 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint to stage 2. She said an apology was not a sufficient remedy to the issues she had raised. The landlord responded to the stage 2 complaint on 16 October 2024. It reiterated its apology and assured the resident lessons would be learned. It offered £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.

Post complaint events

  1. On 23 October 2024 the landlord advised the resident it was in the process of finding a contractor for the works and would update her on its progress within 5 weeks.
  2. On 13 January 2025 the landlord’s surveyor advised that they would assess the tenders and update her within 2 weeks.
  3. The resident requested an update on 10 March 2025. The landlord contacted her on 13 March 2025 and advised it had encountered an issue which had prolonged the process of choosing a contractor. The resident was not happy with the landlord’s response, and she referred the matter to us for investigation.
  4. The landlord advised us that the resident’s case was significantly impacted by a combination of service pressures and resourcing challenges. It said:
    1. It was hopeful that it would be able to assign the works to a contractor in the week commencing 11 August 2025.
    2. Once the contractor was assigned it would contact the resident to arrange a site visit and start date.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has said the landlord’s handling of the issue has caused deterioration to her health. Such matters are best suited to investigation through the courts or by way of a personal injury. However, we have considered the general distress and inconvenience that may have been caused to the resident.
  2. Where a landlord is a local council, the Ombudsman can only investigate complaints in relation to its housing activities where they relate to the provision or management of social housing. The actions of the local council’s occupational therapy team will be referred to within the report for context only. While the occupational therapy department recommended works in September 2021 we have focussed our investigation on the period from March 2022 when the landlord approved the works.
  3. Part of the complaint brought to us was the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for a new kitchen. We have not received evidence that this matter has exhausted the landlord’s internal complaints process. For this reason, we will not include this matter within this investigation. The resident is advised to pursue the matter under the landlord’s complaints process if she wishes to take the complaint further.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for adaptation works to the property

  1. It is stated in the terms of the tenancy agreement that the resident may be entitled to certain additional repairs and decorations if they meet certain criteria.
  2. The landlord’s grants and housing adaptations policy (effective 2017) states that:
    1. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are carried out under the provisions of the Housing Grants, Construction & Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended) and are awarded to applicants who are registered or eligible for registration as a disabled person, to help them remain in their own home.
    2. The principles of the policy are to ensure that all residents have access to accommodation that enables independent living, privacy and dignity for the individual and their families. This may include offers of alternative accommodation or modifying disabling environments.
    3. Proposed schemes must be supported by a referral from its occupational therapy team.
    4. Its timescales for processing DFGs and major adaptations exceeded 52 weeks, but it was aiming to reduce this to an average of 12 weeks by 2019/20.
  3. The landlord’s compensation policy states it will consider the level of disruption and inconvenience to residents when determining the level of compensation. It further states that:
    1. Compensation will be paid for the loss of use of a room, amenity, or service, where something, which is its responsibility has gone wrong and the contractual deadline for completing the repair has passed.
    2. Compensation will be calculated based upon a 50 per cent reduction of the weekly rent for loss of a kitchen or bathroom, and 25 percent per room for all other rooms (up to a maximum of 100 per cent of total weekly rent).
  4. The occupation therapy report highlighted that the resident:
    1. Mobilises independently with difficulty and experiences breathlessness and fatigue.
    2. Struggles with bath transfers due to pain and stiffness in her shoulders, hips and knees, reduced balance and breathlessness on exertion.
    3. Requires assistance to raise her lower limbs over the bath edge to transfer onto shower board once a week for a seated over-bath shower.
    4. Depends on a daily strip-wash for most of the week to minimise risk of falls with bath transfers.
    5. Struggles with stair mobility and would like to maximise her safe and independent access to essential areas in the property.
  5. Following the landlord’s approval of the adaptation works in March 2022 it failed to advise the resident of the next steps. We have seen it apologised to the resident on 27 May 2022 and advised her the property was on its waiting list for a survey. However, it missed another opportunity to explain the process and the timeframe in which it expected to complete the adaptation works.
  6. The evidence shows the survey was completed on 26 October 2022 and the landlord arranged to get a contractor to carry out the works. Based on the evidence it did not provide an update to the resident until 20 March 2023. This was approximately 12 months after it approved the adaptation works. The resident reported that her physical health had not improved, and she was unable to climb the stairs in the property independently.
  7. During its conversation with the resident on 20 March 2023, the landlord said it did not know when the works would be carried out. It would have been reasonable for the landlordto discuss the impact of the delays on the resident andto explore other housing options to enable her to live independently.Its adaptations policy highlights alternative accommodation as an option to help residents live independently. We have not seen evidence that the landlordconsidered this.
  8. In her complaint dated 18 May 2023 the resident urged the landlord to put measures in place to alleviate the suffering being caused by the delays. She said its explanations about staffing issues was not acceptable. It is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure it has enough resources to fulfil its obligations to its tenants, in accordance with its policies. From the evidence seen, there was no further contact by the landlord until July 2024 when the resident requested an update. This was approximately 28 months after the landlord approved the works.
  9. The landlord completed another survey of the bathroom around 18 July 2024 but it is unclear why it needed to carry out another one. Itexplained the next steps to the resident and assured her it would proceed with the tendering process for a contractor by October 2024.In its complaint response on 5 September 2024 the landlord acknowledged it was experiencing severe delays with its adaptation works. It apologised and assured the resident it was committed to improving the service and communication through its implementation an improvement programme.We have seen from the evidence the landlord did not contact her until January 2025 and it had not started the works despite its repeated assurances.
  10. The resident highlighted in correspondences to the landlord that it was not acceptable to leave her to suffer due to its internal issues. The landlord had not met its commitment to complete major adaptations within an average of 12 weeks as set out in its policy.This left the resident unable to access key areas of her home independently or to bathe without support.The landlord acknowledged the resident had experienced distress due to its poor communication and the severe delays.However, it has not demonstrated it addressed the impact the delay in carrying out the adaptation works had on her.
  11. The Ombudsman notes the landlord’s explanations that the delays were caused by a shortage of staff and exceptionally high demand for aids and adaptations. However, its adaptations policy anticipated delays in completing major works, and it has not satisfactorily demonstrated it put measures in place to improve the service and minimise the impact on its residents. Also, the evidence shows there were long periods of minimal to no contact with the resident, which suggests the progress of the case was not being monitored. The landlord had ample opportunity to put things right, but it persistently failed to do so. From the evidence seen, the works remain pending, and the landlord has not responded to our recent request for an update.
  12. The lack of communication and failure to manage the case in a proactive manner caused the resident avoidable distress, frustration and uncertainty over an exceptional period of more than 36 months. The resident said the landlord failed to recognise how the delay had affected her and has requested a change to improve customer experience. She advised us she had been confined to the ground floor of her property, because she was not able to climb the stairs to her bedroom or bathroom. She said she suffered a fall and had been going to her daughter’s house to access basic hygiene needs.
  13. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s adaptation works amount to severe maladministration. The landlord’s offer of £100 does not reflect the severity of the issue, the level of detriment and the time and trouble incurred by the resident in pursuing the matter.
  14. To address this, we have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £8,029.20. In deciding this, we have considered the detriment to the resident during the period April 2022 to August 2025 when she had partial use of the bathroom and limited accessibility of her home. This replaces the landlord’s award of £100.
  15. We have calculated this amount based on 20% of the resident’s monthly rent of approximately:
    1. £759.42 per month (£175.25 per week) for April 2022 to March 2023.
    2. £812.59 per month (£187.52 per week) for April 2023 to March 2024.
    3. £875.16 per month (£201.96 per week) for April 2024 to March 2025.
    4. £898.73 per month (£207.40 per week) for April to August 2025.
  16. This comes to an award of £1,822.61 for 2022/23, £1,950.21 for 2023/24, £2,100.38 for 2024/25 and £2,156.95 for 2025. This is in line with the landlord’s compensation policy and our remedies guidance, where a series of significant failures have had a seriously detrimental impact on the resident.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual or group of individuals.
  2. It would aim to acknowledge complaints received with 5 working days and respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days of acknowledgement.
  3. The landlord did not address the resident’s email of 18 May 2023 as a formal complaint. In her email, the resident expressed dissatisfaction with the delays in carrying out the adaptation works to the property. Therefore, it was a failing on the landlord’s part for not addressing this under its complaints policy.
  4. The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint within the times published in its complaints policy. However, the stage 2 response was delayed by approximately 9 working days as the landlord responded 29 working days after it received the complaint. The landlord did not acknowledge these failures or apologise to the resident. Therefore, we have found service in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.
  5. To address this, we have awarded £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. This is line with our remedies guidance where the landlord failed to acknowledge its failings and has not tried to put things right.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, we have found severe maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for adaptation works to the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, we have found service failure with the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. Make a verbal apology by its CEO to the resident for the failings in this case.
    2. Pay the resident £8,079.20 broken down as:
      1. £8,029.20 for the distress and inconvenience for its handling of the adaptation works.
      2. £50 for the time and trouble to the resident for its handling of the associated complaints.
    3. Contact the resident and provide an update on the steps it is taking to secure a contractor for the works. If a contractor has been assigned, the landlord must oversee the arrangement of appointments to prevent any further delays.
    4. The landlord is ordered to provide the resident and the Ombudsman with a schedule of works for both the stairlift and the wet room installation. This must include timescales for the completion of the works.
  2. Within 12 weeks of the date of this determination the landlord must share evidence of the changes it committed to implementing within its adaptations team, to improve communication and overall customer experience.