Massive rise in compensation pay-outs to council tenants in Dudley

Dudley Council’s compensation payouts to tenants for maladministration rocketed upwards by 591 per cent in the last financial year.

The Housing Ombudsman made 22 findings in complaints it received about the authority, and 77 per cent of those findings were maladministration – where a failure has adversely affected a resident.

Between April 2023 and March 2024 Dudley was ordered to pay £6,225 in compensation which is up on the previous year when the maladministration rate was 45 per cent and the council paid out £900.

Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said: “Behind every statistic is a resident’s life that has been disrupted by landlord inaction or ineffectiveness. 

“Our cases show this leads to children missing school, reports of declining health or people forced to sleep on sofas or floors.

“This could be avoided with more investment into existing homes, improved systems and technology and stronger service management. 

“Without tackling the root causes of complaints, trust in landlords will be eroded, with communities and the economy adversely impacted.”

Dudley has been placed in the high maladministration rate category because its rate is above 75 percent, as a result the ombudsman has written directly to the council urging officers to learn from the review.

Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader of Dudley Council, said: “Ombudsman figures for maladministration show Dudley Council is one per cent lower than the national average for local authority housing, but I recognise this in no way diminishes the frustration of our tenants where we have not performed as we should have done.

“Over the last 12 months, we have changed our processes and procedures to better align to ombudsman standards and achieve better service for our customers.” 

The ombudsman’s report highlighted Dudley’s three top categories for complaints; anti-social behaviour generated seven findings against the council with a maladministration rate of 71 per cent, which is higher than the national rate of 68 per cent.

Complaints handling issues reported to the ombudsman resulted in six findings with a 100 per cent maladministration rate (the national rate is 84 per cent), and property condition complaints resulted in six findings, of which 83 per cent involved maladministration compared with a national average of 73 per cent.

Complaints handling compensation payouts cost the council £2,300 in the 23/24 year, anti-social behaviour complaints compensation amounted to £1,900 and complaints against the authority about property condition set the authority back by £1,625.

Cllr Bradley added: “Our complaint handling processes have been refreshed so that we can more quickly and effectively meet customer needs.

“As part of the work of better understanding and delivering upon the needs of our customers, we have recently carried out a full council housing stock condition survey and will soon complete a new strategy to provide better homes for our customers.

“I would like to thank tenants for their patience as we do this work and can reassure them that our statutory obligations around housing maintenance will not be impacted by the council’s broader savings programme.”