The Housing Ombudsman has published two severe maladministration findings for Catalyst Housing, for failing to fix damp and mould repairs issues as well as a damaged driveway, causing significant distress to a disabled resident and her son. The issues persisted for 19 months.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found:
- severe maladministration in the way Catalyst handled the repairs, including the damp and mould and also in the way it handled the condition of the driveway
- maladministration in the way it handled the related complaint and
- service failure in the way it handled an issue relating to bins and also in its record keeping.
The Ombudsman also found that Catalyst did not do enough to eliminate discrimination as required by the Equality Act 2010.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “Throughout this case, there is evidence of the landlord not taking the resident’s concerns seriously enough and not acting with the urgency required. The length of time that the resident and her son have had to deal with the issues, and the number of times they have had to raise it with the landlord, is unacceptable. The landlord had the opportunity to rectify these issues during the complaints process but failed to do so. The resident clearly had additional needs and it is concerning that the landlord had not demonstrated that it had considered its obligations under the Equality Act”.