The Housing Ombudsman has published a severe maladministration finding for Waverley Borough Council, after it unreasonably delayed the installation of disability adaptations to a property. Consequently the resident was forced to undertake the works himself. His son, who has cerebral palsy, was waiting 18 months for the home to be suitable for his needs.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “Whilst not technically classified as urgent works, clearly they were clearly immensely important to the family and should not have been unreasonably delayed to the extent that they were. These delays were compounded by the resident then sometimes being ignored. This was unacceptable during a period of time that the resident was trying to get vital adaptations for his son completed. I welcome the learning the landlord has taken from this case and urge other landlords to look at this case for lessons on how to deal with disability adaptations and the sensitivities in doing so”.