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Cork County Council - Faulty Heating System

Year Concluded: 2005

Complaint Details: The Ombudsman received a complaint from a woman who had been allocated a house by Cork City Council in October 2004. She was unable to reside in the property as the newly installed gas central heating system was not working correctly and she had to stay in private rented accommodation until the heating was repaired.

Her complaint was that the Council should have inspected the property and ensured it was adequately heated before it was allocated to her. She considered she should be compensated for the fact that her private rented accommodation cost double the amount of rent she would have paid for the Council property.

When the Ombudsman took the matter up with the Council it acknowledged that there had been a problem with the heating and efforts were made to rectify it. However, the Council refused to accept responsibility for the delays which prevented the complainant taking up occupancy of the house. It said it had constantly urged the main contractor to get competent sub-contractors to resolve the central heating problem. The Council also advised my Office that, with the benefit of hindsight, it would not have accepted the keys of the property had it known about the faults.

In effect, while the Council accepted that the property was not suitable for allocation to a tenant in October 2004 it was passing the blame for the delay in providing a working central heating system to its building contractor. the Ombudsman considered that, as the employer of the main contractor and his sub-contractors, the Council was ultimately responsible for ensuring that the house was in good order before it was allocated to the complainant. The problem with the heating system was not resolved until April 2005 and the Ombudsman considered the complainant was due some form of redress for the expense, anxiety, time and trouble caused by the delay in making the property ready for occupation and that the onus should not be placed on the complainant to pursue the contractor for redress.

Outcome: The Ombudsman asked the Council to review the case and to consider what redress might be appropriate, taking into account that the complainant had to pay for alternative and more expensive accommodation for approximately six months.

The Council reconsidered the case, agreed to pay the complainant €1,000 in compensation and also apologised to her.

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