The Housing Ombudsman has released its latest ‘Learning from severe maladministration’ report, focusing on home adaptations and landlords’ response to mental and physical health needs.

With the important role that social housing has to play in giving safe and secure housing to millions, the learnings in these reports are designed to help landlords provide effective services that protect this aspiration.

The report is based on 35 investigations where residents have asked for an adaptation to the home or service adjustment. Adaptations include the installation of assistive technologies, such as grab rails, door ramps, and stairlifts, to help people live independently at home.

The report examines how landlords have managed housing adaptations, including liaising with Occupational Health, communication with residents, and making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act.

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 other cases, a resident was largely confined to one room because of trouble accessing rooms in their wheelchair for eight years, and another landlord did not provide adequate evacuation plans for a disabled resident in case of a fire.

There are also cases of residents not being communicated with effectively, including an autistic resident who experienced significant distress when the landlord failed to make reasonable adjustments when communicating with her.

Landlords highlighted in the Housing Ombudsman’s recent report are Bristol City Council, Clarion, Kingston upon Thames Council, Lambeth Council, Longhurst Group, L&Q, Rooftop Housing Group, Somerset Council, Southern Housing, Southwark Council, Sovereign Network Group, and VIVID.

Richard Blakeway, from the Housing Ombudsman, said: “For decades landlords have helped millions of people who may otherwise have experienced poorer housing conditions.

“But this achievement should not obscure the significant failings identified in this report and the searching questions it presents to landlords about handling requests from residents with disabilities, adaptations and mental health needs.

“Callous and uncaring systems and processes are repeatedly exposed through these investigations.

“Time and again, these cases reveal communication that is unreliable, inconsistent and unsophisticated for the complexity of the circumstances. 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.

“This extends not only to some of the cases summarised in this report but also those we have provided links to as further reading: including poor communication with a terminally ill resident who was caring for her disabled children and a disabled resident sleeping on their sofa for 18 months.

“The report shares valuable lessons on responding to requests for adaptations and improving communication. We hope this helps landlords to learn from complaints alongside the insight being provided through our Centre for Learning to foster fairer, better services.”

Importantly, the Housing Ombudsman underlines some key learnings when it comes to occupational therapists’ involvement in home adaptations and also adaptations being carried out.

The Ombudsman says that occupational therapists (OTs) are often involved when installing aids and adaptations in a resident’s home.

Landlords should review whether an OT is needed to visit a home based on either a request from a resident or knowledge about their individual circumstances. The report states that good practice is to do this early to understand what may be required to make the home suitable. Special consideration should be given where the landlord is aware at point of letting household circumstances that make this relevant, and landlords should also consider any mitigations needed if there are delays to an assessment.

It is good practice and appropriate for the OT to attend the property viewing and contribute their professional opinion, the report notes. Once the assessment is complete and the landlord is in receipt of the report, it should complete a feasibility survey and benchmark this against any relevant policies. The outcome of this should be communicated with the resident, emphasises the Ombudsman.

It may be that the adaptations are not possible for structural reasons due to the dimensions and layout of the property or may be cost prohibitive. However, landlords have a responsibility to assess the feasibility of the adaptions and make informed decisions whether or not to proceed with them.

It is also vital that residents are afforded respect by decisions being communicated in a timely way, clear explanations given, and expectations managed appropriately, the report notes.

In the event that a feasibility assessment concludes that the majority of the adaptations are not possible, landlords should continue working with the resident and the OT to find a suitable alternative property.

If there are disagreements about what is holding up work, landlords should engage with the resident’s local partners in a proactive manner to find a resolution, the Ombudsman recommends.

Looking at adaptations being carried out, the report says that landlords should have an effective adaptations policy in place that allows both its staff and residents to understand the expectations surrounding this issue.

Any policy should at least think about the extent of the work required, availability of alternative accommodation, length of the time the adaptation would be needed, if there are other ways to meet the needs of the resident, if a temporary move (or decant) may be required, and what the procedure is for rejecting an adaptation whether on the grounds of feasibility or practicality.

This all helps to manage the expectations of a resident and will also help with timescales for implementation, the Ombudsman states. Landlords should make sure that, throughout the process, residents and any key third parties are kept up to date to reduce frustration or miscommunication.

This extends to operatives and other groups, such as external architects or surveyors, that may be involved in the process. These visits should be factored into plans and not delay the schedule of works.

Landlords considering temporary moves should look at the Ombudsman’s severe maladministration report on this topic for more learning around handling these effectively and sensitively.

If the adaptations are unable to be completed, it is a landlord’s responsibility to decide and inform the resident of this in a timely manner. The resident would then have the knowledge to make informed choices about their future, the Ombudsman adds.