Overview
The complainant Mr C raised a complaint on behalf of his mother (Mrs A) about Dundee City Council (the Council)'s handling of refurbishment work carried out to her Council home. In particular, he was aggrieved at Mrs A being expected to return to her home when it was uninhabitable, the delay in carrying out the redecoration work and the inadequate compensation for both the period of absence and damage to carpets. He also complained that the Council did not take the particular circumstances relating to Mrs A into account in relation to her decant arrangements and that they failed to respond adequately to all issues when he raised his complaint.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the extenuating circumstances relating to Mrs A should have resulted in consideration outwith the Council's Decant Policy and the Council failed to provide adequate compensation for the period of absence from the property (partially upheld);
- (b) the cost of replacing damaged carpets exceeded the level of compensation provided by the Council (not upheld);
- (c) the property was uninhabitable on completion of the works (upheld); and
- (d) the Council failed to respond adequately to issues raised in correspondence by Mr C (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) apologises to Mr C for their failure to provide a copy of the relevant Policy on request;
- (ii) gives consideration to the individual and particular circumstances relating to Mrs A and her decant situation;
- (iii) provides Mrs A with a decision in writing in relation to her individual and particular decant situation;
- (iv) apologises to Mr C for their failure to respond fully and appropriately to his letter of 21 December 2004; and
- (v) provides a written response to Mr C that either addresses the questions raised in his 21 December 2004 letter or explains why such a response will not be forthcoming.