Ombudsman orders review at city council after vulnerable resident left homeless and their  belongings disposed of without consent

The review, called a wider order, followed a finding of severe maladministration in a case where a vulnerable resident was left homeless and his belongings were disposed of without his knowledge or consent.

The resident had emailed the council saying he intended to end his tenancy, asking it to contact him at his mother’s address.

The landlord told him he needed to complete a form, but as he did not do so, he reasonably believed his tenancy remained active, according to the Ombudsman.

Months later, without contacting him to check, Bristol changed the locks, cancelled his housing benefit and disposed of his possessions.

The Ombudsman said that when the resident called to query the lock change, staff told him he was still a tenant. He then spent a year in temporary accommodation and only received compensation through the Ombudsman’s investigation.

The Ombudsman found the landlord failed to:

• contact the resident before ending his tenancy or disposing of his belongings
• consider his known vulnerabilities or apply its safeguarding policy
• respond to his attempts to make contact
• keep adequate records
• offer a meaningful apology or refer him to support services
• explore the issues he raised about his mental health and reasons for wanting to leave his home

Following the independent review, Bristol City Council has:

• arranged training for all its housing officers around communication and tenancy processes, using materials developed with its tenant panel
• reinforced record keeping practices and reviewed its tenancy agreement
• committed to considering resident vulnerabilities in all tenancy-related actions
• introduced a new process for managing belongings left in properties, including cataloguing items and providing secure storage.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “This case shows why landlords must see the person behind the complaint and ask questions when residents say something has gone wrong.

“The landlord’s heavy-handed approach and failure to investigate the resident’s led to him losing his home and belongings. This could have been avoided.”

He added: “The landlord also failed to recognise the impact on him when it responded to the complaint or issue an apology.”

Blakeway said this case was not isolated to Bristol City Council. 

“I have seen several cases where residents’ belongings have been disposed. This has included irreplaceable personal items and reports of ashes of loved ones being removed. We would encourage all landlords to consult these findings as it may offer practical lessons for the way they operate.”

Bristol City Council said in a learning statement given to the Ombudsman: “We recognise that our handling of the resident’s notice to quit, our failure to take appropriate steps to understand his circumstances, and the subsequent disposal of his belongings fell far short of the standards we expect of ourselves and those rightly expected by our residents. 

“We apologise unreservedly for the distress caused and are committed to learning from this case. 

“We have already completed a comprehensive review of our procedures, including how we record and respond to resident contact and how we manage tenancy terminations and personal possessions left in properties.”

Harry Rodd