The Housing Ombudsman has published a severe maladministration finding for Six Town Housing, after a resident’s noise nuisance complaints were ignored or not acted effectively on for nearly two years. Internal correspondence relating to the case contained inappropriate remarks, including officers saying they “could not be bothered to add the resident’s calls to its system”.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “There is clear and repeated evidence of a lack professionalism by the landlord in response to its resident’s requests for help. These failings were over a prolonged period and meant the landlord failed to follow its own ASB policy and procedure. The result was significant distress for its resident over a long period of time. This led the resident to understandably feel victimised by her landlord. The sector needs to respond to noise nuisance far more effectively. It is a significant driver of complaints after disrepair … This case also reflects once more the continued problems that landlords are having with their recording keeping and the detrimental impact this can have on residents”.