Investigation by NIPSO will focus on repairs, suitability of temporary accommodation and complaint-handling
An ombudsman has begun an investigation into conditions into the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) Margaret Kelly has confirmed the probe into the NIHE, which manages 83,000 homes and also acts as a strategic regional housing authority, will now commence.
NIPSO said the decision to investigate “follows careful consideration of concerns raised about social housing conditions, and that of temporary accommodation, impacting upon the quality of living standards for individuals and the overall wellbeing of our society.”
It said “it is critical that the Housing Executive maintains its properties appropriately and responds to the concerns of tenants.”
The investigation will focus on how NIHE fulfils its responsibilities to respond to repair reports and adaptation requests made by tenants.
It will also consider the standards used to ensure temporary accommodation is suitable and will look at NIHE’s handling of complaints.
>>See also: Northern Ireland Housing Executive adopts sustainability standard
NIPSO said it will publish interim updates on the progress of the investigation. The final report will be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly and may include recommendations aimed at improving social housing services.
A Northern Ireland Housing Executive spokesperson said: “The Housing Executive notes the announcement from NIPSO and can confirm that the notification of the Ombudsman’s own initiative investigation has been received.
“We have been engaging with NIPSO over recent weeks and will continue to work constructively with them to help facilitate their investigation.
“We look forward to working with NIPSO and commit to responding positively to any areas of improvement identified.”
At-a-glance: The scope of the investigation
The Ombudsman will examine the actions of the Housing Executive in the following
areas.
Response repairs, to include:
• How repair reports are responded to by the Housing Executive, in particular
those which raise concerns about health and safety;
• How tenants are communicated with during the process, including the routing
and management of complaints raised about repairs; and
• The extent to which monitoring of, and data on, repair requests and outcomes
is utilised to inform services and measurement against standards.
Adaptations to properties for tenants with disabilities, to include:
• The reasons for delays in delivery of adaptations to Housing Executive stock;
• What steps have been taken to address delays; and
• How tenants are communicated with about delays and how complaints are
managed.
Temporary accommodation, to include:
• The current arrangements in place to check the physical standards of
properties used by the Housing Executive for temporary accommodation
placements;
• The process by which individuals provided with temporary accommodation
can report concerns about physical conditions or raise a complaint; and
• What action has been taken to date to develop standards for temporary
accommodation
.
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