Ombudsman finds severe maladministration for Peabody

Article summary

The Housing Ombudsman Service has found severe maladministration for how Peabody responded to reports of anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance for a significant period of time, which caused a resident and her terminally ill husband to end their tenancy. The husband, who died during the case, had been caused stress and anxiety due to the anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance. The resident’s ongoing reports of nuisance went unanswered for months on end, causing her to terminate the tenancy and rent another property to care for her terminally ill husband. Peabody’s inaction meant that it did not consider the guidance on supporting victims and witnesses as outlined in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (ABCPA 2014), or as described in the landlord’s own policies and procedures. As a result, the landlord has introduced specialist community safety teams to work with residents and communities on any anti-social behaviour issues and has created a dedicated complaints team. The Chief Executive at the...