The tenant, who was placed in the property by Kensington and Chelsea Council, said the ordeal caused her and her family significant stress
A woman with “ongoing leaks” in her flat was forced to call the emergency services after water flooded her light fittings and boiler. The tenant, referred to as Mrs X, who has vulnerable health issues, said the ordeal caused her “significant stress”.
Kensington and Chelsea Council was told to apologise to the resident and pay her a sum of £200. A report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman criticised how the council handled Mrs X’s complaints, including how it monitored the leaks and kept her updated. The West London council was told to reconsider and provide a new decision on Mrs X’s priority on the housing register.
“The council failed to properly consider the bigger picture, including the implications of the ongoing situation for Mrs X, and how it affected her. This is fault,” reads the report.
Even though it was not responsible for repairs in the private flat above Mrs X, the report added that the council “made flawed decisions” around the suitability of Mrs X’s temporary accommodation and that their handling of the complaint “caused avoidable frustration and confusion”.
‘Ongoing leaks’ in tenants home
Mrs X has been living in temporary accommodation under Kensington and Chelsea Council for several years, although her home is located in a separate London borough.
In February 2025, she reported a leak from a privately rented flat above her which she said “had been ongoing for a few years now”. Mrs X complained that her temporary accommodation was unsuitable and asked for an inspection.
Following a visit by a council officer in late March, an internal inspection report said that there was “no active leak” or issue which would make the property uninhabitable.
In April, Mrs X complained about an active leak from the upstairs flat, with pictures. The council asked the managing agent (MA) for a plan to resolve the ongoing leaks. That same day, Mrs X made a formal complaint to the council about the issue which she said was causing significant stress to her wellbeing and family.
Mrs X asked for more priority points for the housing register, providing several medical supporting letters. Two days later, the council told Mrs X it would treat her concerns as service requests, rather than a formal complaint.
In early May 2025, the council sent an internal email to explain that the MA would liaise with the upstairs landlord and the secondary council about any repairs. At the start of June 2025, Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman.
However, at the end of the month another leak in the kitchen flooded Mrs X’s lights, fittings and boiler. She was forced to call the emergency services to switch off the electricity, which she already had to do five days earlier due to a bathroom leak, the report says.
The same day, the council emailed the MA to ensure it arranged the necessary work to resolve the leaks, which sent someone round to make the lights safe.
At the start of July, the council’s Health and Disability Team told Mrs X that it had no requirement to provide her with alternative temporary accommodation. It said there was not enough evidence this was affecting her health and that she needed to contact the relevant team to make requests. Mrs X then asked for a review of this decision.
In late August, the council responded to Mrs X’s Stage 1 complaint to say it was not upheld. It said that the MA confirmed it completed work in her property in May, although this appears to only have addressed the consequences of the leak. However, the MA couldn’t access Mrs X’s property from the beginning of August because she had refused to let them in, the report reads.
At the end of August 2025, Mrs X asked to withdraw the review as she did not want to move to new temporary accommodation and instead wanted the points, which restricted what the council could practically do, the report reads. In late September, the council did not uphold Mrs X’s Stage 2 complaint, telling her that it would arrange an inspection, referring her to an “outdated” process for health points.
The Ombudsman criticised the council’s complaint handling, stating it showed a “lack of oversight” by directing Mrs X to an outdated allocations scheme when she had already completed the health points process. It said that the council failed to understand that the “bigger picture” was that the leak was coming from a privately-owned flat and to consider making an exception regarding awarding housing points. It said it did not have evidence to say if it coordinated with the secondary council over getting the upstairs leak fixed.
‘We apologise for the distress’
A Kensington and Chelsea Council spokesperson said: “We apologise for the distress this situation caused and fully accept the Ombudsman’s findings. We have apologised to the resident and agreed the recommended actions in full.
“We are also changing how we handle complaints across the council. Residents have helped us co-design a new process to ensure that we continue to improve how we listen and respond to and learn from complaints.”
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