The number of homelessness and neighbour nuisance complaints received by the Local Government Ombudsman has soared in the past year.
The ombudsman’s annual report for 2003/4, published on Tuesday, said complaints related to homelessness were up 19% to 348 cases on 2002/3. Neighbour nuisance complaints rose 17.5%.

However, the number of housing benefit complaints received was down 9% to 1876.

Altogether, the number of complaints received has increased 8.4% to 18,982 against the previous year’s total of 17,610. Of these 18,658 were settled.

Tony Redmond, chairman of the Local Government Ombudsman, said a major challenge for the body was to continue to raise public awareness of the service.

A MORI poll at the end of 2002/3 revealed that less than half the population of England had heard of the Local Government Ombudsman.

  • Ombudsman Patricia Thomas has criticised Leeds City Council for delaying a tenant’s right to buy.

    The council took 44 weeks to provide the tenant with an offer to purchase, during which time the elderly tenant died. The ombudsman recommended that the tenant’s family be allowed to buy the house for the sum at which it was valued in September 2002.

    • Source

    Housing Today