The Housing Ombudsman has published another severe maladministration finding for Clarion, with previous findings being published in April, May. and July.
The latest severe maladministration finding relates to Clarion’s failings in handling a resident’s request to be removed from a tenancy. It had a significant impact on the resident as he was unable to start a new tenancy, so did not have a secure home for two years and caused him considerable time and effort in pursuing the issue.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found:
- severe maladministration by Clarion in the way it handled the resident’s request to be removed from the tenancy and
- maladministration in the way it handled the complaint.
Clarion was ordered to:
- pay total compensation of £1,000 to the resident and
- remove the resident from the tenancy within four weeks of the date of the Ombudsman’s report.
The Ombudsman also recommended that Clarion:
- its reviews its policy for tenancy changes and develops a clear procedure for removing a tenant from the tenancy agreement
- provides training to staff handling requests for tenancy changes to ensure that the correct process is followed and residents are given clear information at each stage and
- reviews its record keeping practices to ensure that it properly records all communication with its residents.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “There were a number of failings by the landlord in this case which had a significant impact on the resident. He was put to additional time and effort in pursuing the complaint, which prolonged the stress and inconvenience waiting for his tenancy issue to be resolved. Action is still required by the landlord to achieve a positive complaint handling culture. This needs to be driven by strong leadership focused on redress and learning, with its governing body continuing to play a key role to help achieve oversight and scrutiny”.