The Housing Ombudsman has published a severe maladministration finding for Metropolitan Thames Valley (MTV), after it failed to give a resident any reassurance over a fire safety issue in its complaint responses for over 10 months.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found:
- maladministration by MTV in respect of the complaint about the condition of the fire alarm call unit and
- severe maladministration in respect of its handling of the associated complaint handling.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “The resident repeatedly stated he had a disability, and this was not acknowledged or responded to at any point by the landlord. Yet the resident’s disability should have been recognised by the landlord and informed its approach, both in terms of the timescale it responded to the repair of the fire alarm call unit and its handling of the complaint. The handling of the complaint meant safety questions remained outstanding and this undoubtedly caused frustration and anxiety for the resident. This is another example of how landlords need to strengthen the handling of complaints involving fire safety”.