Family Endures 18-Month Heating Crisis in Council Home
A mother of five children has revealed she was left without reliable heating for a staggering 18 months by Westminster City Council, forcing her family to sleep in cold rooms during the winter months. The Housing Ombudsman has condemned the council's handling of the situation as "severe maladministration" in a damning report published in October 2025.
Chronic Heating Failures and Rising Debt
The unnamed resident, who lives in a four-bedroom secure tenancy council home, first reported heating breakdowns between February 2022 and August 2023. The problems stemmed from issues with her Economy 7 heating system, which is designed to help tenants reduce heating costs through off-peak electricity rates. However, the property lacked a proper Economy 7 board and timer installation.
As a result, the family faced "unreasonably high" heating bills that eventually accumulated over £4,000 in debt by May 2024. The resident was switched to a pre-payment meter by her energy supplier and even experienced a three-day electricity cut-off in September 2023 due to the mounting arrears.
Council's Multiple Failures Documented
The Ombudsman's investigation uncovered numerous failures by Westminster City Council. When the resident reported a total heating breakdown in December 2022—classified as a 24-hour emergency repair—the council took more than 15 working days to respond. Even then, repairs were incomplete, leaving the family without proper heating.
Records show the council's repair team failed to fully check the heating system when concerns were first raised and didn't investigate properly when an operative confirmed the missing Economy 7 board. The council also couldn't provide complete repair records or evidence of considering the family's vulnerabilities, despite knowing one child is autistic and non-verbal.
Inadequate Compensation and Communication
Westminster City Council initially offered just £240 in compensation—£100 for distress and inconvenience, £100 for poor communication, and £40 for late complaint response. After the resident escalated her complaint in January 2024, the council offered an additional £50 in May 2025 while promising to fix the heating system.
The Ombudsman found this compensation "did not reflect the level of distress, inconvenience, time and trouble" experienced by the family. The report also noted the council failed to offer temporary heaters or reimburse the resident for heaters she purchased herself, which she found more reliable than the faulty storage heaters.
Council Apologizes and Implements Changes
A Westminster City Council spokesperson stated: "We fully accept the Ombudsman's findings and are deeply sorry for the failings identified in this case. We acknowledge the distress caused and have apologized unreservedly to the resident."
The council has implemented a new vulnerability policy requiring staff to conduct household support reviews and increased its complaints team size. They've also adopted a new complaint management system and learning framework to improve service delivery.
Ongoing Impact on Vulnerable Family
The resident reported that her autistic child, who cannot communicate when feeling cold due to being non-verbal, suffers from sensory difficulties that prevent wearing jumpers or blankets for extended periods. The family continued to experience unreliable heating and hot water throughout the investigation period, with upstairs heating still not working properly when the Ombudsman became involved in February 2025.
The Housing Ombudsman has recommended the council support the resident in liaising with her electricity supplier and pay the compensation offered in its stage 2 response, including £90 for complaint handling failures.
