Ombudsman rules Flintshire Council left family in unsafe home
A mum and her children were left living in ‘unacceptable conditions’ for five months by Flintshire County Council after reporting damp and mould issues in their home.
The Public Service Ombudsman for Wales has upheld a complaint by the anonymous social housing tenant – known as Miss Y – and ordered the authority to pay her £1,258 for distress and irreparable damaged furniture and possessions, on top of the £500 it had already offered.
The ruling was published just 24 hours after Awaab’s Law came into effect in England and Wales. The law is named after two year old Awaab Ishak who died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in 2020 after Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) failed to deal with the problem.
The Ombudsman’s report into Miss Y’s complaint found that Flintshire County Council failed to appropriately respond to repeated reports of damp and mould, as well as act in a timely manner once the extent of the works needed was known.
The investigation found that the authority failed to identify that Miss Y had made numerous repair requests regarding the same issue. Instead each request had been treated in isolation.
Officers visited Miss Y’s home on numerous occasions to address new issues, despite previous repair requests remaining outstanding. As a result there were many missed opportunities to identify damp and mould and carry out work to resolve the problem.
According to the Ombudsman the council did not act in a timely manner once the extent of the works needed to Miss Y’s home was known and she was left to live in a damp, mouldy property for five months after the council became aware of the situation.
“The failings identified in this investigation are significant,” said Ombudsman Michelle Morris.
“The council missed opportunities to identify damp in Miss Y’s home sooner. When it became aware that extensive work in relation to damp was needed, it did not take timely action to secure alternative accommodation.
“As a result, Miss Y and her children were left living in a home that the council knew to be severely impacted by damp during some of the coldest months of the year.
“Miss Y said living in a home with damp and mould had led to both herself and her children suffering recurrent chest infections and that her youngest child had been diagnosed with asthma.
“Due to them becoming damaged by mould, Miss Y said that she had to dispose of furniture, clothing and other possessions.”
The Ombudsman made several recommendations, all of which were accepted by Flintshire County Council.
These included apologising to Miss Y and providing and paying her financial redress to replace her damaged property.
The authority was also told to ensure Housing and Communities officers complete paperwork accurately, contact Miss Y to confirm any outstanding work and provide a completion schedule and develop processes to identify, record and escalate repeated repair requests.
“A home should be a place of peace and safety – but for the tenant who brought these complaints to us, it became a hazard,” said Ms Morris. “The health impacts of damp and mould are well-documented, but its impact on family life can be no less devastating.
“In October last year, I published a thematic report on how social landlords in Wales respond to request for repairs related to damp and mould. Sadly, we continue to see numerous cases highlighting similar failings.
“The failings identified are ones from which other organisations can learn. It is for these reasons I consider these reports to be of wider public interest. I hope that the experience of Miss Y will serve as a powerful reminder to social landlords across Wales of the potentially devastating human impacts of delayed and inadequate responses to reports of disrepair or damp and mould.”
Further recommendations included creating guidance for assigning Tenant Liaison Officers, developing a more specific decant policy for moving tenants to temporary accommodation during clean-up works and reviewing procedures for conducting and recording pre-letting inspections.
The Ombudsman did note that Flintshire County Council has already made changes to its systems to address some of the failures identified.
Vicky Clark, Chief Officer for Housing and Communities, said: “We acknowledge the findings of the Ombudsman report and accept that, on this occasion, our response fell short of the standards we set and expect.
“We sincerely apologise to the tenant for any stress and inconvenience caused. Since this case, we have made changes to how we respond to reports of damp and mould.
“We now have processes in place to actively monitor all reports to ensure any concerns are dealt with efficiently and effectively. Providing all tenants with safe, well-maintained homes is a key priority for the council and we are determined to ensure delivery of this high priority.”
On October 27 when Awaab’s Law came into force, social landlords in England and Wales were made subject to strict timescales to fix damp and mould issues.
The legislation now states hazards like damp and mould must be inspected within 10 working days and made safe within five days of inspection.
More serious issues such as gas leaks, broken boilers – or when damp or mould are affecting a tenant’s health – will need to be looked at within 24 hours.
Social landlords who cannot meet those deadlines will be obliged to offer alternative accommodation. If they fail, tenants will have the right to take legal action for breach of contract and make formal claims against their landlord via a dedicated complaints procedure.
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