Wandsworth agrees to pay tenant £1k for mistakes that led to rent arrears

Wandsworth: So, here’s the scoop. A woman found herself in a bit of a pickle with rent arrears because the council messed up her case. They thought she could handle a rent hike, but her landlord slapped on an extra £100 a month.

An investigation revealed that the council’s blunders led her to sign a lease she couldn’t afford. They’ve now agreed to pay her £1,000 for the hassle. The ombudsman thought that was a fair way to make up for the trouble she went through.

A solicitor even argued that she missed out on a housing offer due to these mistakes, but the ombudsman sided with the council, saying their errors didn’t cause that.

Back in August 2022, she applied for help after getting an eviction notice. The council stepped in, saying they’d help her avoid homelessness, and negotiated with her landlord to keep her in her place. They agreed on a rent of £1,100, which she said she could manage. But then, surprise! The landlord changed it to £1,200, and the council should’ve put that in writing to avoid confusion.

Another hiccup was that the council didn’t check if she was affected by a benefit cap, which meant they thought she had more income than she actually did. They admitted to messing up her application and agreed to cover her rent arrears of £1,894, plus the ongoing shortfall, and of course, the £1,000 for the inconvenience.

They also confirmed they’d take care of her housing needs, put her on the waiting list, and even offered her temporary accommodation. Now, she’s moved into a cozy one-bedroom place.

Labour councillor Aydin Dikerdem said they regretted the errors and were working on improving their training to prevent this from happening again. It’s a tough situation, but at least they’re trying to make it right.