Summary: The Council was at fault for severe delays in adapting Mrs X's property to meet the needs of her two disabled children. This caused Mrs X to move out of her home for longer than expected and live in a home where she could not meet her children’s care needs. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mrs X to recognise the distress, uncertainty and frustration caused by its failings. It will also develop an action plan to complete the remaining work.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council was at fault for severe delays adapting her property to meet the needs of her two children, following the award of a disabled facilities grant (DFG). She says she had to move out of her home, which has impacted her family’s health. She wants the Council to complete the work, fulfil its offer of a new shed, and compensate her family for the costs they have incurred, and distress caused by the delay.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future 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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. Part of Mrs X’s complaint is late because it concerns council actions that happened more than 12 months before she complained to us. Works first began on adaptations to Mrs X’s property in 2022, with a period of rescoping and retendering up to 2024. I have not investigated events before February 2024. It was open to Mrs X to complain to us sooner about delays before that date and I consider it was reasonable for her to have done so.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Disabled Facilities Grants and adaptations

8. Under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, councils can award Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) to people whose disability means their home needs adaptation. If the person applying meets the qualifying criteria the council must award the grant.
9. Councils only approve grants for work they decide is necessary. An occupational therapist usually assesses need. Eligible works should be carried out within 12 months of the date of approval. Councils can allow further time where they are satisfied works cannot be carried out without carrying out other works which could not have been reasonable foreseen at the time of the application.
10. We expect councils to consider whether interim equipment or temporary works should be provided when it will take them a long time to secure a permanent solution.

Background

11. Mrs X has two severely disabled children, Y and Z, who require constant care and assistance moving. In 2021 the Council approved adaptations to Mrs X’s home. This involved extending and restructuring the ground floor of her home to allow ground floor bedrooms for her children and level access washing facilities. Between 2022 and 2024 works were postponed due to discussions over structural work that resulted in a rescoping of the project and the Council retendering for a contractor. Mrs X and her children moved into a relative’s home as the property was uninhabitable.

What happened

12. Work recommenced in April 2024 but stopped within a week after Mrs X’s neighbour objected to the work. They said there was no party wall agreement in place (a legal agreement where work is being planned on or near to a wall shared by two or more properties). In May 2024 an Occupational Therapist (OT) carried out an assessment of Y and identified additional improvements to the proposed work. Mrs X complained to the Council.
13. In its complaint response the Council accepted it had recommenced work too early. It said it had failed to serve a party wall notice and complete essential building compliance documentation. It also said it had failed to keep Mrs X updated about the work and the reasons behind the new delays. It said it would recommence work as soon as these issues were resolved. As a gesture of goodwill, it said it would replace Mrs X’s shed and carry out some landscaping work to her garden. It committed to monthly case meetings going forward to ensure the project remained on schedule.
14. Due to changes to the front of Mrs X’s property the Council had to submit a planning application in the summer of 2024. The Council resolved the party wall issue later that year. An OT carried out an assessment of Z in November 2024 and recommended equipment for Z while living in their temporary accommodation. Work recommenced around the same time but stopped again shortly after. It is not clear why.
15. The Council granted planning permission in early 2025. At the same time the Council completed a children and family assessment of Mrs X and her children. It said Mrs X required a back operation due to injuries sustained transferring her children. It noted Mrs X and her children needed the property adaptations to ensure Mrs X could continue to safely meet the needs of her children. It said Mrs X was exhausted and overwhelmed by her carers role.
16. Mrs X complained again and work recommenced shortly after. Emails during this time show the Council continued to chase the contractor for updates. Case notes from the children’s social worker said Mrs X’s health continued to deteriorate. In its complaint response the Council said the further delays were due to queries over the structural calculations and bad weather. It said the work should be complete by June 2025. It said it was unsure why the officer who responded to the stage one complaint offered Mrs X a shed but said it would fund up to £2000 of works to Mrs X’s garden. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman.
17. Case notes from Mrs X’s social worker continued to note she was in constant pain and delayed the back operation due to the housing situation. In May 2025 the Council agreed an uplift in the direct payments Mrs X used to support her in caring for the children. In June 2025 the Council ordered specialist seating for one of Mrs X’s children as they had grown too big for their current adapted seating.
18. In response to our enquiries the Council said work had been impacted by several changes to the scope of the project and the resulting increase in costs which needed to be approved. It said it expected work to be completed by September 2025. Work remains unfinished.

My findings

19. It is clear the adaptations to Mrs X’s property are severely delayed. The Council accepted this was in part due to its failure to serve a party wall notice and submit building control documents. This was fault and caused an initial delay of six months.
20. However, there have since been further delays and work remains incomplete with Mrs X still living at a relative’s house. While some of the delays can be attributed to factors such as the weather and changes in the scope, the length of the delays shows that the Council has failed to properly manage the project and has lost control for large periods of time. This was fault. On balance I consider this has resulted in an additional delay of six months.
21. The delays to the project have had a profound impact on Mrs X and her children. The case notes from their social worker detail how Mrs X has put off an operation to her back due to the delays to the adaptations, while the children have continued to live in accommodation that does not meet their needs. This has caused Mrs X a prolonged period of distress, uncertainty and frustration.

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Action

22. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Mrs X for the severe delays in adapting her property. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology.
2. Pay Mrs X £4,000 to recognise the impact of the delay in the adaptations which would have improved the family’s daily life.
3. Develop an action plan setting out the remaining work and a timescale for completion and move in date for Mrs X and her family.
23. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

24. I find fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman