Residents car park & disability

Fibleepy

I’ve recently moved to a different Housing Association property which has a private resident’s car park with allocated parking. Nothing was mentioned to me before I moved about my parking bay being a health and safety hazard due to a large tree that has branches overhanging the bay and cause the bay to have bird poo, twigs, leaves, sap and (when very windy) branches, dropping onto it. Our vehicle is constantly dirty and so is the ground. My husband has already slipped on the bird poo.

I’m disabled and at risk of slipping and my husband is my carer and if he injures himself I have nobody to look after me.

The housing association are not budging and refuse to trim the tree branches.

Do they have a duty of care to ensure their residents (including one disabled) are able to park in a hazard free bay?

Ranald

I don't know tbh, one would think so.

If it 2

Ranald

If it was me, and my complaints to the housing association fell on deaf ears, I would send an email to my local councillor, even make a visit to his surgery; that's what they are paid for.

I have done that in the past, including actually knocking on the door of my MSP, and booking an appointment with my MP.

Fibleepy

I’m going to contact Citizens Advice after the weekend but I thought I would ask on here first.

Ranald

Definitely do that Fibleepy. Don't be fobbed off!

Fibleepy

I don’t intend to be fobbed off Renald. The HA are now talking about bringing in permit parking to force all residents to park in their allocated bays (we haven’t been parking in ours).

Jimm_Scope

If your husband has already slipped that should be evidence that the area is unsafe.

Shelter have a fairly comprehensive page about complaints with council housing/housing associations: Complain about a council or housing association - Shelter England

You may also want to read this page about getting repairs done: Council and housing association repairs - Shelter England

It covers the best way to ask for them, what is and is not covered by the landlord (in this case the housing association) and next steps as well as best practices for the entire process.

Please do let us know how you get on, and if you have any other questions!

Fibleepy

Thank you for the information Jimm. I’ll have a read.
It gets worse now because the HA are now saying they want to bring in parking permits to ensure we all stay in our allocated bays. This will mean we HAVE TO park in the bay or be fined (my husband has been parking across the bays instead of in it but he’s not causing an obstruction).
Can the HA force him to park in an unsafe bay?

Jimm_Scope

I do not personally know what they can and cannot enforce, but if something is unsafe to use they cannot make you use it. If they disagree and say it is safe, even beyond a complaint, then whether it is actually unsafe or not would likely end up being decided by the ombudsman.

Shelter are really on top of this kind of stuff and are a great repository of knowledge about these kind of disputes!

Fibleepy

I’m just very confused now over what to do first.

Do I contact my local councillor? Do I go through the HA complaints procedure? Or something else?

WhatThe

Hello Fibleepy, register a formal complaint with your HA is the first step. I can't link but have a look here -

The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) looks at complaints about registered providers of social housing, for example housing associations, and other landlords, managers and agents. The service is free, independent and impartial.

Fibleepy

Thank you WhatThe.

I have a feeling it’s going to take a very long time to get sorted :-(

WhatThe

It doesn't sound like they have much else to do at the moment does it?

Ask for a statement of last year's service charges which presumably include garden maintenance. Is it in-house or contracted out?

My HA isn't very responsive to complaints either 😕 do you have a housing officer or estate manager and have they met you there to discuss the hazard? I would take photographs of your car in its designated bay. I found the following on GOV.UK

How do I make a complaint?

If you’re unhappy with the service from your landlord you should make a complaint to them first.

Complaints could include:

• repairs and maintenance
• issues with communal areas
• health and safety issues
• anti-social behaviour
• customer service

Be assured, you shouldn’t be penalised for making a complaint and it will not affect your tenancy.

Your landlord will typically have 2 stages to their complaints procedure, and each stage takes around 10-20 working days for them to respond.

Advice on how to make an effective complaint can be found in this guide.

I’ve made a complaint, but I’m unhappy with the response

If you’re unhappy with the response from your landlord then you can make a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman will investigate fairly and impartially.

Find out how to escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

Alternatively, you could contact your MP, councillor, or Tenant Panel who may be able to help you resolve the issue.

Fibleepy

Thanks for the info WhatThe.

Unbelievably, the HA say that trees don’t come under garden maintenance!!

I am already dealing with the issue via the Housing Officer.