HOS awards up to £10,000 to two residents following “inexcusable” failures by Southwark Council

Article summary

The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) has awarded two residents £10,000 in compensation after two findings of severe maladministration against Southwark Council. In Case A, the landlord failed to satisfactorily respond to complaints of heating loss by a resident who was pregnant and had a young child. The landlord’s responses were delayed, failed to address the concerns of the resident, and did not follow complaints policy. The landlord also failed to escalate the complaint according to its severity until intervention by HOS and a local MP. The resident was consequently left without heating for six months and the landlord was consequently ordered to apologise to the resident and pay £2,000 in compensation. In Case B, there was severe maladministration for the landlord’s failure to fix damp and mould for 17 months after the resident and his young family complained of a worsening leak throughout the home. The landlord also refused the resident’s requests...