Believe Housing criticised for asbestos and repair delays

There are regulations concerning surveying for, and removing, asbestos

A housing association has been ordered to pay compensation after failing to repair a tenant's bathroom ceiling and address concerns it contained asbestos.

The Housing Ombudsman said Believe Housing left the County Durham house in an "unacceptable state of repair".

The landlord did not properly respond to reports of damp and mould or check for asbestos when it should.

Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said it was "unreasonable" the resident had to complain multiple times to get action.

"The landlord did not only leave the resident's bathroom in an unacceptable state of repair for approximately two years, but it excessively delayed in taking action to investigate the resident reports of damp and mould," he said.

Believe Housing had also "not demonstrated that it gave adequate regard to the safety of the resident regarding its handling of asbestos", Mr Blakeway said.

'Asbestos scrape'

Work to repair plaster and clear mould in March 2020 was cancelled because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Almost a year later, the tenant said her son, who is autistic and has sensory issues, would no longer use the bathroom due to fears of the ceiling collapsing.

The landlord said the work would be carried out, along with a planned "asbestos scrape" which had also not been done.

However, despite reminders from the resident, the work was still not carried out and was only completed after another 13 months.

The ombudsman found the delay was "considerable" and the landlord's communication was at times poor.

'Severe maladministration'

Mr Blakeway ruled the landlord did not go far enough in offering £100 compensation and blaming delays on the pandemic and ordered it to pay the resident £1,500.

Believe Housing was also told to review how it dealt with, responded to and monitored reports of asbestos.

In a statement, it said it had introduced a new complaints system, better aftercare and improvements to its communications.

"We're sorry that our service fell short of expectations on this occasion and have apologised to the customer for not resolving the issue sooner and for the stress it caused," it said.

"Despite having evidence there was no asbestos in this customer's home, we didn't adequately reassure her of this and are truly sorry for the unnecessary distress this caused. "   

The ruling of "severe maladministration" was made in October last year but publication of the ombudsman's report was delayed to allow for any potential review.