Croydon Council has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for its failure to acknowledge claims a resident was at risk of domestic abuse in her home.
The resident, known as Ms X in the report, was living in a one bedroom flat with her three young children, using her living room as another bedroom.
She told Croydon Council in March 2022 that her medical condition was being made worse by her current property, but received no response.
Ms X filed a formal complaint against the council in June 2022, asking to be moved as her ex-partner was domestically abusing her as he knew her address.
She said her anxiety and physical health was being affected by the flat.
The ombudsman said these ‘urgent’ issues should have triggered the council to carry out a suitability assessment much earlier.
The report said: “She had been a target of hate crime and anti-social behaviour in the local area including racist language being shouted at her and offensive graffiti painted on her fence.
“The property had various disrepair and health and safety issues including intermittent lice and rodent infestations, broken bathroom tiles which were falling on the children, a broken window and toilet and sink blockages.”
The council responded a month later, saying it needed more information about the anti-social behaviour and advised her to contact the pest control team about the rodents.
She was also told to contact the allocations team if her flat was no longer suitable for medical reasons, but did not refer to the domestic abuse she had mentioned.
Despite reassurances from the council, the report said Ms X had to clean the graffiti from her fence herself.
The council also reportedly failed to send a repairs inspector.
The authority said it had no record of Ms X contacting the pest team and that she did not give further information about the anti-social behaviour and racial abuse she was experiencing until February 2023.
The ombudsman said in their report that the delay in carrying out an inspection of the property had caused Ms X ‘avoidable frustration and distress’.
Ms X contacted the council again in July to say she felt unsafe due to the domestic abuse she was experiencing, and was told to contact the authority’s suitability officer.
The ombudsman was reportedly told by the council that Ms X said a domestic abuse organisation was handling the issue.
The resident asked to escalate her complaint at the end of August 2022, saying she feared she would have suicidal thoughts if she stayed in the flat.
She said she had experienced trauma and was ‘tired” of sending emails and filing complaints.
Croydon Council responded to the complaint at the end of November 2022, saying hundreds of families had a higher priority than Ms X on its housing register.
The resident was also told a suitability assessment was being carried out on her flat.
A domestic abuse risk assessment meeting held by local support services a few days later found that both Ms X and her children were experiencing physical abuse from her ex-partner.
Croydon Council’s children’s services reportedly began enquiries into the risk to Ms X’s children at this time.
The council then told Ms X in March of this year that her accommodation ‘had challenges’ but was not unsuitable.
It recommended that she continue to use the living room as an extra bedroom and said that the flat was not overcrowded as Ms X’s children were under 10.
The report said: “Regarding her and her children’s medical conditions, [Croydon Council] said the severity of these did not make the property unsuitable.
“It recommended, for her comfort, due to her physical health condition, to consider using a blow-up mattress or fold-away bed so she could sleep in a larger bed, without taking up additional space.”
The authority said Ms X was responsible for repairing her falling bathroom tiles as they were ‘minor repairs’, but would send the damp and mould team to inspect the property.
However, the ombudsman said this was never arranged.
The council also reportedly did not comment further on the racial abuse Ms X had experienced as no additional information was given, and that it was aware a domestic abuse support charity was handling the abuse she had experienced.
Croydon Council was criticised in the report for its failure to respond in a timely way and for never fully acknowledging Ms X’s claims that she was at risk of domestic abuse in her flat.
It was also said to be at fault for not handling the issue sensitively and for failing to take further action to support Ms X after learning a local domestic abuse service was supporting her.
The ombudsman instructed Croydon Council to apologise to Ms X and pay her £600 for the uncertainty on whether her reports of abuse had been properly considered, as well as for its delay in responding and failure to arrange repairs.
The authority must also carry out another assessment of the flat’s suitability for the family, and take steps to arrange alternative accommodation if it is found unsuitable.
Croydon Council was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
