Decision Report 201401887

Summary

Mr C complained that it took the council over four months to identify the cause of a leak to the living room window at his former home, and also the time taken to complete the work. He was unhappy with the disruption caused to his family and with the council's refusal to refund one month's rent.

We were satisfied that the council's initial action was reasonable and in accordance with their repairs policy when Mr C first reported the problem. However, there was a lack of evidence to show the action that the council took following a further inspection around three weeks later when the leak continued. The council's refusal to refund one month's rent was on the basis that they did not consider the property was uninhabitable and that alternative accommodation had been offered. On reviewing the evidence we were satisfied that the council's position was reasonable.

In relation to the time taken to complete the work, we found that the inspections carried out were within the council's timescales and that repair work was also done within a reasonable timescale.

Recommendations

We recommended that the council:

• review their record-keeping process with a view to ensuring that accurate records are maintained when arranging and completing repair work in line with their repairs timescales; and
• review their guidance to consider including the timescales for repair work.