Bristol City Council overhauls tenancy processes after ombudsman found it made vulnerable resident homeless

Bristol City Council has reviewed its tenancy processes after the Housing Ombudsman found it made a tenant with vulnerabilities homeless.

The council had demonstrated severe maladministration by ending the resident’s tenancy and disposing of his belongings without his knowledge or consent.

He had previously emailed the landlord stating the intention to end his tenancy and asked it to contact him at his mother’s address. The council told him he needed to complete a form, but given that he did not complete the form, he believed his tenancy remained active.

Months later, without contacting the tenant to check, the landlord changed the locks, cancelled his housing benefit, and disposed of his possessions. When he 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 initial complaint was brought to the watchdog by the tenant’s mother due to his vulnerabilities.

The ombudsman issued a wider order to the council following the incident, where an independent review team investigated the landlord’s policies and identified operational failings. These included failure to consider the tenant’s known vulnerabilities, keep adequate records or offer a “meaningful” apology or referral to support services.

Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, called the landlord’s approach “heavy-handed” and said the resident losing his home and belongings was avoidable.

He added: “This case shows why landlords must see the person behind the complaint and ask questions when residents say something has gone wrong…

“This case is not isolated to this landlord. 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.”

The watchdog also said that the landlord should have explored the issues the tenant raised about his mental health in his initial email and the reasons for wanting to end his tenancy.

In its learning statement, the council said: “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.”