Wandsworth Council has been ordered to apologise and pay £250 to a tenant after it took four months to visit her following a complaint about a lack of heating in her temporary accommodation. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found the council at fault for failing to review the suitability of the accommodation after the tenant reported disrepair.
Four-month delay in response
The woman, referred to as Ms X in the ombudsman's report, submitted a complaint to the council in November 2024 about a lack of heating and hot water, as well as damp, in the property. She also said her landlord had not replied to her complaints. The council did not provide any evidence that it responded to her reports until a visit in March 2025, when it accepted repairs were needed but failed to ensure the landlord acted.
Ms X had told the council she was at risk of homelessness in early 2024, before she was evicted on May 9 that year. The authority then moved her into temporary accommodation.
Ombudsman findings
The ombudsman's report stated: "Ms X's reports of disrepair should have prompted the council to reconsider the suitability of the accommodation. The council failed to consider whether the property remained suitable in response to Ms X's reports of disrepair. This was fault. This caused Ms X a period of uncertainty over whether the property was suitable."
While Ms X raised multiple concerns, the watchdog found the council was not at fault for the way it initially handled her homelessness application or for the accommodation it offered her. The fault lay in how it responded to her reports of disrepair and in failing to keep the suitability of the accommodation under review.
Compensation and apology
Ms X has since moved into alternative accommodation. The council was instructed to apologise to her and pay £250 for the uncertainty caused by its failure to review the suitability of her accommodation.
Wandsworth Council has been contacted for comment.
