Decision Report 201200385

Summary

Mr C is a tenant of the association. The association installed a lift in his neighbour's property adjacent to the party wall. Mr C complained that noise from the lift disturbed him and his family. He questioned whether the lift had been installed correctly and raised a number of further concerns about the association's response to his complaints about fire safety, roof tiles coming loose and flood and trip hazards in his garden.

Our investigation found that the association had no previous experience of installing lifts in their properties. However, they had appropriately placed the installation and pre-installation planning in the hands of the local council's occupational therapist and the lift company. Although we found no evidence that the level of insulation between the properties had been considered as it should have been, we were generally satisfied that the association took appropriate steps to ensure the lift was installed correctly and in line with national guidance. We also found that the association had appropriately investigated Mr C's complaints about the noise, and had decided to have the local noise enforcement officer measure the extent of this. He concluded that the noise could not be considered a nuisance. We did not consider that the association were obliged to do anything more than this, but noted that they had also taken steps to implement a number of Mr C's suggestions.

With regard to Mr C's other complaints, in each case we found that the association sought the opinion of an appropriate professional and acted on the advice obtained. We considered this to be good practice.