The Housing Ombudsman has urged landlords to better treat tenants with disabilities and mental health issues, following its latest maladministration report.
The Ombudsman’s report is based on 35 investigations with evidence found of “callous and uncaring” attitudes towards tenants with extraordinary needs.
Though good practices were found, Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway has stressed this cannot hide the need for improvement.
“Time and again, these cases reveal communication that is unreliable, inconsistent and unsophisticated for the complexity of the circumstances,” said Richard.
“Some cases may indicate cultural issues, with communication adopting a tone and approach that is both dismissive and disrespectful of residents. This is another aspect of the stigma that can exist towards social tenants.”
In one case a landlord failed to install adaptations 27 months after it was told there was urgent need for them because a child was going through chemotherapy.
In another case, a resident was largely confined to a single room because of trouble accessing rooms in their wheelchair for nearly a decade.
Instances of residents not being effectively communicated with were also highlighted – including an autistic resident who suffering significant distress failed to make reasonable adjustments when communicating with her.
“The report shares valuable lessons on responding to requests for adaptations and improving communication,” added Richard.
“We hope this helps landlords to learn from complaints alongside the insight being provided through our Centre for Learning to foster fairer, better services.”
