Disabled resident had 'maggots falling from kitchen ceiling due to dead rats'

A disabled resident was left with maggots falling from his kitchen ceiling due to due to dead rats because of a housing group’s failure to carry out repairs.

Along with issues with pests, the resident also reported issues with mould, damp and other repairs being carried out at the property in Easton on The Hill near Stamford.

Now landlords The Longhurst Group have been ordered to pay the resident more than £2,000 in compensation by The Housing Ombudsman.

‘Maggots falling from the kitchen ceiling’

A report from the ombudsman said: “We found severe maladministration for Longhurst Group after it left a resident with maggots falling from the kitchen ceiling due to dead rats, mould growing on the walls and various other repairs failures. These combined issues had a seriously detrimental effect on the disabled resident, leading us to raise concerns about the sector’s handling of some vulnerable residents.

“After the resident reported the pest infestation, it took nine days for the landlord to clear the rats despite it being a category one hazard. The resident reported maggots dropping from the kitchen ceiling due to the dead rats above. A deep clean of the kitchen was ordered for the next day but no one attended.”

The report said that while it was noted loft insulation needed replacing, it took months for the works to be finished, leading to a partial return of rats.

‘Sewage in the garden’

More works in the wet room, kitchen and on the roof were needed, with reports of sewage in the garden and the kitchen ceiling was close to collapse – but when works were carried out, damp proofing failed, leaving the wet room smelling ‘horrible.’

The report said: “Two years after his first complaint, the resident said repairs to the roof and the wet room renewal was still outstanding. He expressed concerns about the renewal given his disability and living without a proper toilet for a period while this work took place.

“Furthermore, the delay in resolving the damp in the bedrooms meant that a vulnerable resident has lived with a category one hazard for an extended period. Nor were the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould appropriate.”

‘We take full responsibility for these failings’

A spokesperson for The Longhurst Group said: “Firstly, we’d like to publicly apologise to our customer for the experience they received.  We’ve apologised in person and taken steps to make amends, including paying compensation and ensuring they’re happy that repairs have been completed to a high standard.

““We acknowledge we made mistakes and took far too long to resolve the issues reported to us. We didn’t communicate well with our customer or deal with their complaint properly and we failed to hold our contractors to account strongly enough.

“With more care and attention, the frustration and distress our customer experienced could’ve been avoided, and we take full responsibility for these failings.”

The ombudsman ordered the group to pay £2,300 compensation review its compensation policy and undertake the necessary works and action in relation to the wet room.