The Housing Ombudsman has published a severe maladministration for Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), after it failed to carry out a repair to a faulty window, leaving a resident and her young children with a window that posed a health and safety risk to them as well as to members of the public.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found:
- severe maladministration by NHG in respect of the repair and
- maladministration in respect of its handling of the associated complaint.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “A mother had to go to extraordinary lengths to get the landlord to listen to their valid concerns about the safety of the windows for her children. It is wholly unreasonable for the appropriate action to take this length of time. Throughout this period, the landlord did not take sufficient action based on the information being provided by its contractors. Nor was the resident kept up to date with the repair or informed about the potential need for more extensive works. The landlord also showed a lack of empathy for the resident’s concerns. Faults with windows is a potential emerging issue in our casework and can be the cause of considerable distress and inconvenience for residents. There are lessons from this case for other landlords”.