Ms Y was a tenant of Newport City Homes, a social housing landlord (“the Association”), and complained to the Ombudsman about whether the Association took appropriate actions in relation to a complaint she made to it about anti-social behaviour (“ASB”) by one of her neighbour’s children. She also raised concerns about the Association’s handling of her complaint.
The Ombudsman found that the Association responded appropriately to Ms Y’s complaints about ASB; there were regular meetings and liaison with relevant third parties. The Association and third-party involvement appeared to have led to a reduction in reported ASB incidents. This aspect of the complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman found that the complaints policy in place at the time of Ms Y’s complaint lacked detail. It encouraged early informal resolution of a complaint but implied that all complaints would receive a written response. The Association has since changed the policy to make the position clearer. The Ombudsman did not uphold the complaint but suggested it would have been helpful for the Association to have confirmed agreed actions in writing to Ms Y.