London Borough of Ealing (20 011 145)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 26-Nov-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained the wet room the Council installed under a Disabled Facilities Grant in 2013 was not fit for purpose. She said that despite multiple attempts to repair her wet room it still flooded and caused unpleasant smells. The Council acted without fault when it assisted Mrs X with her wet room between June 2019 and July 2020. However, we have found the Council’s policy was misleading about who it would consider for extensions, garage conversions, and outbuildings under a Disabled Facilities Grant. The Council has agreed to amend the policy wording and we consider this to be a suitable remedy.

Northumberland County Council (21 003 949)

Statement Not upheld Disabled facilities grants 25-Nov-2021

Summary: Mr X complains that works to his bathroom carried out under a Disabled Facilities Grant were of poor quality and led to problems in his home. Mr X would like the Council to redo the bathroom. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council facilitated the works at Mr X’s property or in the way it responded to Mr X’s reports of defects and offered to carry out remedial works. So, we have completed our investigation.

London Borough of Redbridge (20 012 044)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 18-Nov-2021

Summary: The Council’s failure to deal properly with Mr X’s application for a Disabled Facilities Grant caused avoidable delays of 32 months. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment to Mr X, and take action to improve its services.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (21 005 335)

Statement Not upheld Disabled facilities grants 17-Nov-2021

Summary: There was no fault in the Council’s response to Ms X’s request for a downstairs toilet.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (21 009 848)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 16-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about quality of works carried out under the Disabled Facilities Grant scheme. This is because the Council has already provided a suitable remedy and there is nothing further we could achieve.

Cheshire West & Chester Council (20 011 588)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 11-Nov-2021

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council encouraged her to have a second disabled facilities grant (DFG) on the basis this would repay her for costs incurred repairing damage to her property caused by the first DFG, but it failed to do this leaving her out-of-pocket. After its first response to Mrs X’s complaint, the Council failed to make its position clear and failed to respond to some of her correspondence. This left Mrs X unable to make informed decisions about the work she was unhappy with. The Council needs to apologise and pay financial redress.

London Borough of Haringey (20 014 081)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 10-Nov-2021

Summary: Mr B has a disability and had difficulty in using his adapted bathroom. There was fault as the Council failed to properly progress its assessments of Mr B’s bathroom to determine his need for a further adaption. This caused unnecessary delay. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr B and pay him £400.

East Hampshire District Council (20 011 276)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 05-Nov-2021

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complained the Council failed to properly administer a Disabled Facilities Grant application. We found there was fault that warranted a remedy.

Nottingham City Council (21 009 041)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled facilities grants 04-Nov-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the decision not to award a Disabled Facilities Grant for a new upstairs bathroom in the complainant’s home. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate.

Eastleigh Borough Council (20 013 579)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 24-Oct-2021

Summary: The Council was at fault for the way it responded to Ms X’s concerns about works carried out under a Disabled Facilities Grant. This caused Ms X to have to use a bathroom which was not suitable for her. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment for the distress caused.