Westminster council pays out £2K to resident with baby in mouldy flat for two years

By Grant Williams, Local Democracy Reporter

Westminster council has been forced to pay out more than £2,000 in compensation after it left a resident in a damp and mouldy flat for over two years.

The resident raised concerns about the impact the conditions would have on the health of their four-month-old baby.

As the landlord for the property, Westminster council failed to fix the damp and mould in the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway, which dated back to September 2019.

An investigation by the housing ombudsman gave the council a finding of “severe maladministration”.

When the council first visited the property, it was noted that there was damage to a number of walls and ongoing leaks so specialist ventilation would be arranged.

However, the repairs were not completed due to the workman having difficulty accessing the property.

After the resident began legal proceedings, the council carried out a survey to assess the extent of the damp and mould. The report found “significant signs of rising damp” and made a number of recommendations to be completed.

It was a further four months until temporary accommodation was offered. However, eight months later the council withdrew this option after informing the resident repair works could be carried out while the family lived there.

Whilst there was email evidence of the council trying to arrange appointments with the resident for the work to be carried out and emails from contractors advising that the resident had refused, the investigation found that the council “could have also done more to communicate with the resident”.

By the time the investigation had concluded in 2021, some of the work had still not been completed and there were no dates scheduled to get them fixed.

The council has subsequently been ordered to apologise and made to pay the resident £2,300 in compensation. It was also forced to carry out a senior management review.

The Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, said: “There were excessive delays in the landlord progressing the works to remedy the rising damp that cannot be fully justified by issues with access.

“The landlord also failed to recognise, given the age of the resident’s son, the risk of detrimental impact on his health and well-being.”

He added: “After the tragic case of Awaab Ishak, there is a need for landlords to ensure they know their residents and understand the individual circumstances in order to deal appropriately with any issues.”

A Westminster City council spokesman said: “We accept the decision by the Housing Ombudsman Service regarding this case which dates back to January 2021. This determination has been used to add more momentum to our drive for continuous improvement regarding complaint handling and is supported by our new complaints management structure.”

Pictured top: Westminster City Hall (Picture: Westminster council)