Ombudsman finds Leeds council left tenant in damp home

Leeds City Council has apologised to the tenant and will compensate him

"Severe maladministration" by a council left a tenant living in damp conditions for more than two years, an ombudsman has ruled.

The Housing Ombudsman identified "significant failings" in Leeds City Council's handling of a water leak.

The authority has been ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the tenant.

Leeds City Council has since apologised, admitting it "fell way below standards tenants should expect" and promised lessons would be learned.

The ombudsman said when the resident first reported the water leak in 2019, the landlord stated it would later replace an extractor fan in the bathroom and make multiple repairs to the kitchen, including installing new worktops and cupboards.

While 'measuring up' work took place, there was no indication of any other visits, leading to the resident contacting the landlord six months later to ask for an update, the ombudsman noted.

Internal emails show the landlord did not action the major repairs. When contractors did arrive, they were only tasked with removing units and fitting thermal boarding, which the resident refused as he did not believe it would fix the problem, the ombudsman said.

The resident subsequently reported tiles peeling off the walls and floor. The landlord conducted an inspection of the property, but took a further month to do so.

The inspection found many of the problems from the initial complaint were still unresolved, said the ombudsman. While the landlord notes that the repairs were then completed following this inspection, they do not appear in any records and the resident later told the ombudsman that several jobs were outstanding.

'Poor management'

The ombudsman contacted the landlord to ask for the remaining repairs to be completed, but it took a further eight months for the landlord to be in contact with the resident about the repairs.

The landlord highlighted the impact of the impact of the pandemic on its repairs service, but the ombudsman found this did not account for the "very long delays" and "seemingly poor management of repairs".

Richard Blakeway, from the Housing Ombudsman, said: "The landlord repeatedly failed to complete repairs even though it was made aware of outstanding works over a prolonged period. While I do not doubt the pandemic was a factor, the information available highlights significant failings in the management and monitoring of repairs by the landlord, leading to an adverse effect to the resident."

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "We have implemented several improvements which have strengthened the repairs service, and we have improved our handling of complaints, including providing training for staff."

The tenant has confirmed to the ombudsman that the repairs have now been completed.