The UK’s largest housing association has been criticised by the Housing Ombudsman after a tenant suffering from mental health issues took his own life.
The Ombudsman found severe maladministration in the case of Clarion Housing Association, which has now apologised over its handling of the unnamed individual
The resident, who had long-running mental health issues, reported 18 noise complaints to his landlord over a nine-month period. He attempted an overdose after the first complaint, blaming it on noise nuisance. The complaints related to children jumping on the wooden flooring above him.
Though the landlord took note of the resident’s vulnerabilities, it did not tailor its responses effectively, the Housing Ombudsman said.
In its first response to the resident, the landlord sent a standard ASB letter, agreed to speak to the neighbour, and created an action plan for the issue.
The neighbour agreed to have carpet fitted, but the resident soon spoke about the little difference this made and no risk assessment was made. The resident’s GP also wrote to the landlord, but the Clarion said it was unable to find the letter due to a staff member leaving their post.
Housing Ombudsman said landlords need to take a more tailored approach to residents with vulnerabilities— (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Two months after the initial complaint, a tenancy sustainment officer had weekly contact with the resident.
The landlord said it would not install sound monitoring equipment due to the Covid-19 lockdown occurring at the time, which the Ombudsman said was not a reasonable position to take as while there were still some restrictions in place, government guidance stated landlords could carry out repairs and safety inspections.
When the resident filed two more noise reports, he was once again sent a standard letter he was sent months previously. Over the course of four months, the resident completed 18 noise reports and noise recordings were sent to the landlord but due to some software issues, not all were listened to.
A visit to the property by the landlord found “considerable transmission of both noise and movement from the flat above into the resident’s flat” but nothing more was done.
With issues still ongoing, the mental health team expressed concerns to the landlord about the resident. Throughout the complaint, the resident himself complained of worsening mental health including anxiety and depression, stressed and not eating or sleeping.
In the month before the resident took his life, the landlord installed some sound monitoring equipment for a short period before removing it and taking no further action. It also did not act on his rehousing request and ten days before the resident ended his life, the landlord closed the case.
The Ombudsman’s report notes that at the coroner’s inquest, whilst the resident did not leave a note of intent, there was a history of overdose by medication because of the noise issue. There was no Prevention of Future Deaths order made for the landlord and the coroner concluded the resident took his own life.
Last year, the Ombudsman published its Spotlight report on the handling of noise nuisance raising concerns over the handling of noise-related complaints by landlords. However, the events of this case pre-date the report.
“This is a deeply distressing case,” Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said. “It is clear the landlord’s staff have sought to learn lessons following these tragic events and several of its actions reflect the recommendations we made on our Spotlight report on noise nuisance last year.
“While the events in this case precede our Spotlight report, unquestionably this tragic case shows why the recommendations from this are so important for landlords to urgently address.
“When we published our Spotlight report on noise, we were clear that this was a significant issue for the sector after disrepair. The sector needs to take action to ensure that noise transference is treated with the seriousness it requires.
“Unfortunately, evidence across our casework shows that noise can sometimes be pushed to one side but for residents, this is something that can engulf them.”
A statement from Clarion said: “We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and an unreserved apology for all shortcomings in the service we provided the resident.
“We recognise that our communication process should have been far better and we accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman with humility.”
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