UTTLESFORD Council has been ordered to pay a resident £700 and send a written apology after failing to deal with a noise complaint and then failing to log a complaint about how the incident was handled.
There were “significant failures” in the council’s handling of the incident and the subsequent complaint process, according to the Housing Ombudsman.
The resident, who rented a flat from the council, reported ”severe noise” issues from a nearby home from November 2021 onwards.
The ombudsman stated: "[Uttlesford Council] left the resident in a property with noise transference issues for over two years without attempting to resolve it.
"This caused the resident distress, inconvenience and impacted her full enjoyment of the property."
The ombudsman found the council failed to take proactive steps to minimise the reported noise over a 22-month period, failed to log a formal complaint in February 2022, and breached complaint-handling timescales.
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The council incorrectly said it could not investigate "normal daily living noise" as an anti-social behaviour complaint.
In June 2022, the council commissioned an acoustic survey, confirming noise insulation fell significantly short of modern standards, though the council had no legal duty to exceed the standards applicable at the time of construction.
The council said it would implement "comprehensive improvements" to prevent the problem from happening again, following the ombudsman’s report.
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