Council in £12.5K pay out to tenants as disabled woman left without taps for 17 months

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A central London council is poised to dish out over £12,500 in compensation to tenants living in mouldy flats.

Westminster City council called a meeting of its General Purposes Committee to clear a backlog of complaints, which included a disabled woman being left unable to wash her hands without help for 17 months.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said Westminster council was “at fault” for long delays in assessing Miss X’s need for replacement taps and installing them ordered they apologise and pay out of £2000.

A report released by the council showed Miss X lodged a complaint in September last year but was unhappy with the response which only consisted of an apology and escalated it to the Ombudsman. The council offered her £500 in February.

The council blamed the delays on a supply issue with their contractor and have since switched to a new contractor.

The council also denied delaying Miss X’s assessment but this was challenged and rejected by the Ombudsman.

Westminster is also being forced to pay another tenant £5,033 after failing to repair her mouldy flat.

The Housing Ombudsman said Westminster Council committed “severe maladministration” in dealing with the repairs and “maladministration” with her complaints about damp and mould issues.

The resident was moved into the property in June 2020 after leaving her previous flat due to a regeneration project. Over the next two years, the tenant complained about damp and mould in the property and told the Ombudsman that constant chasing up had taken a toll on her mental health.

The council admitted failing to acknowledge the woman’s vulnerabilities, despite the resident sharing information that she lived with a mental health condition, a council report revealed.

Another resident will get £2,100 after the council failed to repair damages to their property caused by contractors in a “reasonable” timeframe.

At the time, the tenant had been living in the flat for more than 18 years and was going through chemotherapy.

The council was also told to compensate the tenant for the time scaffolding was in place and problems they had with their TV aerial.

The council said it has spoken with the contractor and is reviewing how it communicates with tenants.

Another tenant will receive £3,430 for the ‘unreasonable’ time it took the council to fix a leak in her roof, nor check if the flat was suitable to live in before ending her temporary accommodation.

The tenant complained about a leak in the roof of her three-bedroom mid-terrace council flat in July and October 2021 where she lived with her two teen children, aged 17 and 21 at the time.

The Ombudsman said Westminster’s response had been “delayed” and “did not adequately address the concerns the resident had raised”.

In its August 29 decision, the Ombudsman found the council liable for “severe maladministration” over its handling of the repairs, her complaint, and rehousing the tenant. The council had previously awarded the tenant £30 for the time and trouble it took for the resident to complain.

The council has said it has carried out reviews since these cases concluded and implemented changes.

Westminster council was contacted for comment.

(Picture: PxHere)