Horsham District Council has paid a man £500 after failing to properly handle a complaint about the water supply to his home.
A report from the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman said the man – referred to as Mr X – complained to the council a number of times between October 2020 and March 2021 about the low water pressure in his newly built flat.
The report noted that the problem was so bad that the mains-fed tap ran ‘very slowly’ and completely stopped when another appliance was used.
Mr X, who has health problems and was housed in the flat on a temporary basis, was not the first to complain about the matter.
The ombudsman’s report said a number of tenants had told the council about their own problems in August 2020, two months before Mr X was placed in the building. The report said it had been recorded that “there was such a poor water flow rate that the boiler did not recognise the hot tap was on”.
The council was not found to be at fault for placing Mr X in the flat. The ombudsman acknowledged that the management company for the flats had claimed that the flow had been restricted in accordance with building regulations – and the council believed the problem could be easily resolved.
But it was found to be at fault for its handling of the case.
As well as the many complaints from Mr X, the report noted that one officer had told him that no other tenants had complained about the water restrictions, and the chief executive had claimed Mr X had been unwilling to discuss access to the flat.
In fact, he was only unavailable for a visit on one occasion.
The ombudsman added: “I do find the council at fault for failing to handle Mr X’s complaint properly and failing to acknowledge that he was not the only person who complained about the water issue in the flats.”
No evidence was found to support accusations from Mr X that the council’s treatment of him had been motivated by racism.
A council spokesman said: “The council accepts the findings of the report and has implemented all of the recommendations within the ombudsman’s report.”
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