Brighton and Hove City Council · Case 202003804 · 22 December 2020
Brighton and Hove City Council — case 202003804
The landlord cancelled the resident's mutual exchange due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Following Ombudsman intervention and mediation, the landlord agreed to re-apply and complete the exchange, which was successfully concluded. The resident confirmed satisfaction, and the complaint was resolved as a mediated settlement.
Orders and recommendations
- Take specific action
Re-apply for the mutual exchange on behalf of the resident, undertake necessary checks, and conclude the mutual exchange process within legislative timescales, subject to pandemic restrictions.
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
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Handling of mutual exchange
Mediation / settlementThe landlord cancelled the resident's mutual exchange due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Following Ombudsman intervention and mediation, the landlord agreed to re-apply for the mutual exchange, undertake necessary checks, and conclude the process within legislative timescales. The resident confirmed the exchange was successfully completed and was satisfied with the outcome.
The full determination
REPORT COMPLAINT 202003804 Brighton and Hove City Council 22 December 2020 Our approach Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement. The complaint The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the Resident’s mutual exchange. Determination (decision) In accordance with paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the complainant which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.
How the complaint was resolved The Resident brought a complaint to the landlord abouts its decision to cancel their mutual exchange. The landlord provided its final response to the complaint on 19 August 2020 and explained that it made the decision due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The complaint was referred to this Service for consideration, on 7 September 2020, and the Resident confirmed that they wanted to engage in our mediation process. The Resident said that as a resolution to the complaint, they wanted the landlord to allow for the mutual exchange to go ahead and, offer £700 compensation.
This Service contacted the landlord with the details of the complaint and the outcome the Resident was seeking. The landlord agreed to engage in our mediation process and said that it would: re-apply for the mutual exchange, on behalf of the Resident undertake the necessary checks; and conclude the mutual exchange process within the legislative timescales, subject to restrictions in place as a result of the pandemic. On 15 December 2020, the Resident informed the Ombudsman that they had successfully completed the mutual exchange.
The Resident confirmed they were satisfied with the outcome of the complaint. Paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that: “At any time, the Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.” I am therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this Service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.