Decision Report 201403951

Summary

Miss C said that she and her mother (Mrs C) had lived in their house for more than 35 years but that, in 2012, they began to suffer noise nuisance from their neighbours. Despite complaining at the time and since, they said that no action had been taken. Miss C complained that the housing association's housing officer did little to assist them and also provided misinformation about Mrs C's rehousing prospects. She also complained that no action had been taken on complaints of dampness.

Our investigation showed that Mrs C first raised concerns about noise nuisance in May 2013 but that at that time she did not wish to pursue matters. A few weeks later, as the problem was persisting, the association arranged for Mrs C and her neighbour to enter into mediation but the neighbour subsequently changed her mind. No further reports of noise were made although Miss C expressed herself dissatisfied with the association's actions. In the meantime, in September 2013, Mrs C was awarded medical priority and she was unhappy not to have been rehoused. However, it appeared that the type of property she wanted rarely became available. There were others who had longer-standing priority and her application was being treated in accordance with the association's allocations policy. With regard to outstanding repairs about dampness, this had only been mentioned in November 2014 and the association had responded appropriately. There was no evidence to suggest that the housing officer had acted unreasonably.