London Borough of Hillingdon (19 019 162)

Statement Not upheld Other 13-Jan-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained about the condition of a garage she rented from the Council. She also complained the Council communicated poorly, failed to take action, and did not fully respond to her complaint. The Ombudsman found no evidence of fault in the way the Council responded to Mrs X's reports about damage to the garage she rented.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (19 012 606)

Statement Upheld Other 18-Dec-2020

Summary: Ms X complains about the Council's decision to not backdate her food allowance payments. The Council was at fault for failing to make sure residents were aware of the food payments. This resulted in Ms X not applying for the food payment until she was told by the Council, causing her to miss out on a backdated claim. The Council has agreed to backdate her food payments to remedy the injustice caused.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (19 016 517)

Statement Upheld Other 16-Nov-2020

Summary: Ms X complains about how the Council handled her move with its Homestart Scheme and damage to her belongings during the move. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for not telling Ms X about the 7 day deadline to report damaged items, the time taken to progress the complaint with the removal contractor and for the standard of its complaint handling. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X.

New Forest District Council (19 016 330)

Statement Not upheld Other 13-Nov-2020

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council did not let him use its rent in advance and deposit scheme to rent out his property when taking on his latest tenant. Mr X says the Council has applied a blanket-ban for the use of his property on the scheme without explanation. The Ombudsman did not find fault with the actions of the Council.

South Ribble Borough Council (19 013 023)

Statement Not upheld Other 30-Oct-2020

Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not carry out adaptations she needed to meet her assessed needs and did not provide accommodation suitable to meet her needs. Ms X says she has suffered physically and mentally because of this situation. There was no fault in the Council's actions.

Dover District Council (20 001 279)

Statement Upheld Other 30-Oct-2020

Summary: Ms X complained the Estate Agent, working on behalf of the Council, incorrectly told her she could purchase a 25% share of a new build shared ownership home when the minimum share purchase price was 40%. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault. That has caused Ms X a financial loss through surveyor fees and caused her avoidable distress. The Council has agreed to reimburse Ms X's surveyor fees and pay her £150 to remedy the injustice caused.

Cheshire East Council (19 016 626)

Statement Not upheld Other 07-Sep-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to take action regarding a neighbouring long-term empty property. The Council was not at fault and there is no evidence Mr X was caused a significant personal injustice. In addition, the property has now been sold so there is nothing more that could be achieved by further investigation of the complaint.

London Borough of Havering (19 015 710)

Statement Upheld Other 06-Aug-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman found no fault on Mr Y's complaint about the Council's failure to promptly return the property it rented from him. It followed proper legal procedures to evict its tenant. The Ombudsman found fault by the Council failing to keep him properly updated about progress with its return. It also failed to meet the timescale in its complaint procedure at stage 2. Its offer of £420, and this investigation, remedies any injustice caused.

Westminster City Council (19 013 888)

Statement Not upheld Other 22-Jul-2020

Summary: A Housing Association, acting on behalf of the Council incorrectly accepted, then withdrew Mr C's application for a property. However, the Council subsequently took appropriate steps in rectifying this error by reinstating the offer. There is therefore no evidence of fault in how it dealt with the matter.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (19 014 377)

Statement Upheld Other 19-Jun-2020

Summary: The Council wrongly advertised a property as being eligible for a resident's parking permit. It has accepted fault, but for legal reasons cannot now allow the complainant to purchase a parking permit. The Council had already offered a remedy for the injustice this has caused, but has agreed with the Ombudsman's recommendations to take additional steps.