Tenant’s fixing complaints are not upheld

Council workers acted reasonably in taking their time to fix a broken fence despite a woman’s complaints a dog had been to get into her garden causing a“difficult relationship”between her and her neighbour, a watchdog has ruled.

In addition the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) also found council workers responded appropriately to the same woman’s repeated complaints about damp in her home following an investigation by its officers even though a boiler leak went undetected the first time the damp was treated.

The SPSO’s summary of the complaint and its decision, which identifies the woman only as Ms C, read:“Ms C complained to the council about their failure to respond to her requests for repairs and concerns about dampness in her home. She also complained that the council failed to carry out appropriate repairs to her garden fence.

“The council investigated the damp and carried out a number of repairs. However, the problem persisted. It was later discovered that the leak causing the damp was coming from a boiler pipe and this was repaired. The council assessed the repair to the fence as a low priority and only carried out small repairs until the full repair could be completed.

“Ms C was experiencing complaints from her neighbour as her dog was entering his garden through the fence. She believed that if the council had repaired the fence sooner she would not have had such a difficult relationship with her neighbour.

“Our investigation found that the council responded to Ms C’s request for repairs within the specified timescale. We found the council took the appropriate steps to investigate the source of the leak and damp, and repaired it without delay.

“Our investigation also found that the council assessed the repair to the fence as low priority and reminded Ms C of her responsibilities to prevent her dog from entering her neighbour’s garden, which in our view was reasonable. We did not uphold Ms C’s complaints.”