Summary
Miss C complained on behalf of her aunt (Mrs A), a tenant of the council. Mrs A lived in a property formerly tied to her husband's employment. After her husband's retirement and subsequent death, the council did not take steps to offer a tenancy to Mrs A, meaning that Mrs A lived in the property for over six years without a written tenancy agreement, until the council offered her a Scottish Secure Tenancy. Once Mrs A signed the agreement, the council made arrangements to survey the property and identify outstanding repair works.
A number of issues were noted, including a leaking roof and dampness, and the council undertook to carry out repairs. However, Mrs A was not satisfied with the condition of the property and wished to move to a smaller property. Miss C contacted the council on behalf of Mrs A to make enquiries about moving and to seek updates on repair works. Miss C was not satisfied with the time it had taken the council to arrange for the repair works and she complained to the council.
Miss C had expressed concern that her aunt's property was not wind and watertight and was not suitable for her aunt to live in. Miss C complained further that the council took an unreasonable length of time to complete the repair works. Miss C also said that the council's communication regarding the repair works was poor. The council said that while progress in completing the repairs might have seemed slow to Mrs A, there were reasons for the delays, and that overall the council acted reasonably in relation to the works.
The council explained to me that they transferred their housing stock and housing management staff to Glasgow Housing Association in 2003. The council said that this transfer did not involve tied houses, and therefore did not include the property Mrs A resided in. The council said that they should have taken steps to normalise Mrs A's succession to a tenancy in 2007 but added that this did not happen because of the lack of housing management staff. I considered that the council's failure to make suitable provisions for the management of tied houses was unacceptable and that this failure contributed to the circumstances about which Miss C complained.
Regarding the council's responsibilities to Mrs A once the tenancy commenced, I was critical of their failure to undertake an inspection before the tenancy commenced. I also noted that once the survey was undertaken, the council unreasonably failed to consider whether the property was acceptable accommodation in terms of the tolerable standard (a statutory standard for quality of housing). I was concerned that serious health and safety issues were outstanding for several months from the beginning of the tenancy and I considered that it was unreasonable that the council failed to consider whether Mrs A should have been offered alternative accommodation until the repairs had been completed. I was also critical of the time it took the council to start the repair works and I noted a number of delays that I considered to have been avoidable. I concluded that the council had failed to meet a number of their statutory responsibilities as a social landlord as well as their responsibilities in terms of the tenancy agreement. In view of this, I upheld Miss C's complaint and made two recommendations.
I also considered the council's communication with Mrs A and Miss C. I noted that the council had not told Mrs A about the works that would be undertaken and how long it would be before completion of these works. I was also critical that the council failed to provide a single point of contact for information and queries about the repairs, and I found a number of instances where the council had failed to respond to Miss C's emails. In this respect I concluded that the council had acted unreasonably. I upheld Miss C's complaint and made two further recommendations.
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the council:
- issue a written apology to Mrs A for the significant delay in repairing her rented property;
- abate (refund) Mrs A's rent in full for the period between 1 May 2014 and the date the major repair works were completed;
- issue a written apology to Mrs A for failing to provide reasonable updates on the works; and
- issue a written apology to Miss C for the communication failings identified in this investigation.