Summary: Ms B complained that the Council failed to provide flooring and decoration in her property following Disabled Facilities Grant works to create a ground floor living space for her. She had to borrow the money to complete the work which has caused her significant distress. We have not found fault with the actions of the Council.

The complaint

1. Ms B complained that Redcar and Cleveland Council (the Council) failed to provide flooring or decoration for her ground floor flat as part of Disabled Facilities Grant works. She had to borrow money to do the work and she does not know how she will be able to repay the money. This has caused her considerable distress and inconvenience.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Ms B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Disabled Facilities Grants

5. Disabled Facilities Grants are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable. The maximum grant payable by a council is £30,000. A council can award other discretionary help if it thinks it is necessary.

What happened

6. Ms B is disabled and needed adaptations to her home to create a ground floor bedroom and level access bathroom. The Council met with Ms B at her home in August 2021 to discuss carrying out the work via a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). The Council’s records say that during this meeting Ms B was aware that the only flooring which would be installed with the DFG, was the bathroom. She said she had approached some charities for help with the redecoration of areas other than the new extension and flooring throughout the rest of the ground floor.
7. The schedule of work dated 14 December 2021 specified that the bathroom flooring would be fitted and any new walls would be painted.
8. In March 2022 the OT requested discretionary funding of just over £1,000 to cover the work, because the cost of the works (including a contingency of approximately £2800) had increased to over £30,000. The DFG was approved in June 2022.
9. At a further meeting in June 2022 just before the work started the builder explained to Ms B that the wooden flooring in her living room would be affected by the work. Ms B said she was happy for this to be removed and not replaced because she was looking to have a new floor installed either by herself of with the help of a charity.
10. On 4 August 2022 the occupational therapist (OT) wrote a letter of support for Ms B to give to charities when she was applying for help. The letter said:

“As the DFG grant does not include any costs for furnishings, flooring, or redecoration as part of the grant, I would appreciate if you can offer and look favourably at her request for any charitable support funds to support her at her property once the adaptation has been completed.”

11. Later in August the OT visited Ms B to check progress with the work. Ms B said she was very happy with the progress and asked the OT to sign a form to request charitable funding for flooring and furnishings once the adaptation was complete.
12. In September 2022 a charity provided £250 for flooring but it had to be used with a specific contractor who Ms B said was too expensive.
13. In October 2022 the OT visited once the work was completed. Ms B advised her that the flooring in the bedroom and the decoration would be done in the coming weeks.
14. Ms B complained to the Council that her home had been left in an unusable state with bare floor and walls creating excess dust which exacerbated her health conditions. She said there was a contingency fund of £5,000 which had not been used for the work. The Council visited her in December 2022 and responded to her complaint. It did not uphold her complaint because it was satisfied that Ms B was fully aware that the DFG would not cover the flooring (apart from in the bathroom) and the redecoration.
15. She then complained to us in January 2023. She said she had borrowed £2000 to complete the flooring and decoration but the stress of being in debt was causing her anxiety. She considered the contingency fund could have been used for this purpose. She said the Council only told her in July 2022 just before the work started that the flooring and decorations would not be covered by the DFG.

Analysis

16. I understand Ms B has been caused distress by having to complete the flooring and redecoration works herself, but I have not found fault with the actions of the Council in dealing with this matter.
17. The Council’s records show that Ms B was aware in August 2021 that the DFG only covered the bathroom flooring. Again, in June 2022 she said in response to a question from the builder that she was happy for the flooring to be removed because she was going to get it replaced. In October 2022 after the work was finished, she said the flooring and decorating would soon be done so she could move in downstairs.
18. I consider Ms B was aware of the terms of the DFG before she agreed to the work, and I have not found fault with the Council’s communications with Ms B or its decision not to include the other flooring and decoration in the DFG work.
19. I realise this will be disappointing for Ms B, but the DFG cannot cover cosmetic work to the rest of the property even if the contingency fund was not used. The OT tried to help Ms B obtain money elsewhere with a letter of support but unfortunately this was not successful.

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Final decision

20. I have completed my investigation into this complaint as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Ms B.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman