The Housing Ombudsman “Learning from: Severe Maladministration” in respect of decants – a review

In the September edition of the Housing Ombudsman’s Service “Learning from: Severe Maladministration” reports, the Housing Ombudsman (“the Ombudsman”) sets out various key learning points that social landlords need to take into account in respect of their handling of decants. The full version of the report can be found here - Learning from Severe Maladministration. The main theme arising from the vast majority of these cases is that landlords need to carefully consider the individuals involved and their specific needs, together with the importance of effective communication.

It is important for landlords to appreciate that a temporary move can place an extreme amount of stress on a tenant and their family, and that stress can be reduced by:

• clear communication regarding the type and location of accommodation they will be moved to;
• the timescales for the move;
• the process and requirements in respect of storage of the tenant’s possessions; and
• the provision from the landlord in respect of subsistence payments and expenses.

The tenant’s particular circumstances also need to be considered. For example, one particular case involved a heavily pregnant tenant whose landlord failed to consider the impact that uncertainty surrounding her accommodation would have on the first few days of her baby’s life, should her baby be born during that period.

Landlords need to ensure that temporary accommodation offered is suitable for the tenant and their family at the time offered, and also throughout the period of the decant, if for a prolonged period. Needs may change over time. Whilst it may be appropriate to move a tenant into a hotel on a short-term basis, if it becomes necessary for a tenant to be decanted for a longer period than initially expected, they may need to be moved into a more suitable type of accommodation.
The location of the temporary accommodation is also important. Day to day responsibilities may be made more difficult for tenants depending on the distance between their home and the decant property.

Decant policies must also be fit for purpose and, crucially, applied in every case.

Decants must also take place as expeditiously as possible, particularly where a property has been found to be uninhabitable. Landlords need to ensure their systems account for the need for urgency where the facts of the case require it.

In summary, quoting the report directly, landlords need to “take an empathetic and human centric approach on every move needed”. The Ombudsman suggests that landlords should explore whether it is appropriate for a tenant to be given a named contact whilst they are decanted from their home to ensure that the tenant does not feel they have been left in temporary accommodation and ignored.

The Ombudsman will no doubt continue to monitor this issue, and make awards of compensation where they consider tenants have not been treated in an appropriate manner when it comes to temporary moves. It is therefore crucial that social landlords review, and where necessary, update their policies as appropriate and follow them correctly.