Richard Blakeway [Housing Ombudsman Service]

A VULNERABLE mother who was left living in a flat riddled with damp and mould for two years despite concerns for her toddler’s health has won a case against the council.

The city council was found guilty of “severe maladministration” in a damning ruling that may open the door for many other tenants living in such conditions. The ruling draws parallels with the death of two year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, a boy found to have contracted a fatal respiratory condition from mould in his flat.

This week The Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said the city council had an obligation not to leave any “residents with damp and mould for an extended period” before listing a series of “failings” in the case.

He said: “After the tragic case of Awaab Ishak, there is a need for landlords to ensure they know their residents and understand the individual circumstances in order to deal appropriately with any issues.

“The landlord [Westminster] failed to recognise, given the age of the resident’s son, the risk of detrimental impact on his health and wellbeing.”

A detailed report from the ombudsman, a government-appointed official investigating complaints and procedure, added: “We have found severe maladministration for Westminster City Council after it failed to deal with damp and mould in a resident’s home for over two years.”

Promises of new ventilation units and repairs to walls and leaks were not followed through with until a legal threat finally triggered a survey of the home. The offer of a decant was made to the woman and then taken away again after eight months. Another five months passed by and nothing had been done. Despite the process beginning in 2021, nothing has been done to sort out the flat, the report said.

The council said it would use the ruling as “momentum” to drive through better standards for vulnerable tenants. It has been told to pay the tenant £2,300 and launch a review of the case.
The delays and failures will chime with the real life experiences of hundreds of tenants living in damp and mouldy flats in the borough.

The new Labour council has made improving existing housing stock one of its key targets since coming to power in May 2022. It says it is putting a greater proportion of the council’s money than ever before into sorting out the repairs service that was for years outsourced to an “arms-length management organisation” called CityWest Homes. The company was judged to be failing to provide a decent service and responsibility for housing was brought back “in-house”.

The radical move was welcomed by the Labour group, in opposition at the time, who said there was a need for a culture shift.

The council has also recently announced a policy of fixing temperature sensors into council flats in north Westminster that provide data in real time back to Westminster City Hall.

The council’s statement said: “We accept the decision by the Housing Omb-udsman Service regarding this case which dates back to January 2021. This determination has been used to add more momentum to our drive for continuous improvement reg-arding complaint handling and is supported by our new complaints management structure.

“We’ve learned several lessons from this case and have initiated numerous pieces of work which will improve how we identify, record and tailor our service to support vulnerable housing residents.”

It said it had reviewed its processes for supporting vulnerable residents and reviewed training for staff.