A disabled woman was forced to get an independent survey of her mouldy home that had cracked walls because the council took so long to carry out repairs. 

The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames has apologised to the unnamed woman for spending months reviewing her home and delaying repairs.

An Ombudsman report has revealed the council took so long to look into the woman’s complaints that her solicitor had to get an independent survey carried out in an attempt to get her home fixed. 

The council first provided accommodation for the woman, referred to only as Miss B, when she became homeless.

Miss B finds it hard to stand or walk due to a brain condition.

Miss B moved into the property in November 2019.

She complained to the council about “black mould and cracks in the walls”. 

But the council didn’t agree to review the property until February 2021, saying it wasn’t clear that Miss B had asked them to look into it.

Miss B then had to wait until August 27, 2021 for the council to decide that the home was suitable.

 When the council asked her about the state of her home, she raised the repair issues and said the lift was unreliable and that she was having trouble using the bath.

The council’s contractors said they needed to review the property before repairing it, but wrote to Miss B on numerous occasions saying they needed more time.

 The contractors took so long, Miss B was forced to get the independent survey of the property in November 2021 and the council finally arranged for work to begin in January 2022.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report said: “There is fault by the Council because it took too long to complete the review of whether Miss B’s accommodation was suitable for her.

"It took around six months to send her its first provisional decision, and then when she challenged this, it took a further five months to send its second provisional decision.”

It added: “In response to my enquiries, the Council has explained that it has periodic reviews with the contractor to monitor performance.

"It has decided that it will now not allow more than one extension without referring the case to a Council manager.

"I welcome this as an appropriate means to make sure avoidable delays do not recur.”

A Kingston Council spokesperson: “We recognise the delay in reviewing the suitability of Miss B’s accommodation caused uncertainty and frustration and we have apologised to her for this.

“While we welcome the Ombudsman’s conclusion that our decision making in this matter was not at fault, we have put in place new measures to ensure better monitoring of our contractors’ performance in the provision of review services to help ensure this delay is not experienced by other residents.”