Decision Report 201702832

Summary

Mr C complained about the service he received from his housing association. He had experienced ongoing issues with his sleep and mental health as a result of noise generated by an extractor fan in the bathroom of the property below him. The property below was privately owned and rented out to tenants. Mr C complained that the housing association unreasonably declined to take appropriate action to address the noise and that the service provided by the association deteriorated after he disclosed his mental health issues to them.

We found that the association liaised with Mr C, the property's owner and the council's noise and environmental health teams to try and reach a solution. The setting of the extractor fan was adjusted but Mr C said that the noise was still impacting on him. The owner of the flat below decided not to allow any further access to the property as the council's environmental team found no issues with the fan. The association no longer had access to the flat below and stated that there was no further action that they could carry out. We considered that the association had taken reasonable steps to resolve the situation and that the owner of the flat below was within their rights to deny access. We also noted that the association's property maintenance manager had inspected the ventilation system and found no faults. Therefore, we considered that the housing association had acted reasonably and did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.

In relation to the service provided by the association, we found no evidence to suggest that the service had deteriorated after Mr C disclosed his mental health issues. We did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.