Mrs D complained that her landlord, Cardiff Council (“the Council”), had delayed in responding to her reports to it concerning mould and repairs to a rear wall. The Ombudsman’s investigation considered whether the Council had responded to Mrs D’s report of mould (and associated repair work), and addressed the underlying causes of it, appropriately and in a timely manner.
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint. The Council did not comply with its own timescales for completing the inspection or the identified routine repairs; it took too long to rectify these issues which caused detriment and inconvenience to Mrs D. The Council’s communication with Mrs D was substandard, requiring her to chase up updates on the repairs and to seek intervention from the Ombudsman’s office twice in order to obtain a response and progress the repairs. The Council accepted that it had a current backlog of repair work, which it was addressing. It also accepted that its internal processes and communication with tenants needed improvement, and it was currently reviewing its repairs processes.
The Ombudsman recommended that the Council should provide a written apology to Mrs D and a redress payment of £300 for her additional time and trouble in having to pursue her complaint to the Ombudsman on 2 occasions. The Council also agreed to complete the review of its internal repairs processes, within 4 months, to ensure that its systems are fit for purpose and provide a copy of it, and any resulting action plan, to the Ombudsman.