Mrs P complained that Flintshire County Council (“the Council”) in its capacity as her landlord failed to take appropriate action to address a problem with water overflowing from guttering on a neighbouring private property against the wall of the property she rents. She said this had caused a damp problem in her kitchen.
Having reviewed Mrs P’s complaint, the Ombudsman was concerned that following engagement with the neighbour the Council wrongly assumed in April 2024 that the problem had been fixed. It had previously asked the neighbour to confirm that the problem had been resolved but took no further action despite not having received any further contact.
The Council agreed to apologise to Mrs P and explain the steps it intends to take to address the problem and provide reassurance that it will continue to pursue the matter until it is confirmed that the problem has been resolved. It also agreed to within 3 months provide an update on progress to the Ombudsman to demonstrate that it has made satisfactory efforts to resolve the problem, and if the problem remains unresolved, that it has identified reasonable further steps it can take.