A landlord in the U.K. is now blamed for the death of his tenant after dismissing the victim's noise complaints; not once, not twice, but 20 times.
Because of this incident, the largest housing association in the United Kingdom, Clarion, got involved. Authorities said that the organization was already warned by the tenant's doctor regarding the effect of noise on his health.
Sadly, the landlord and Clarion didn't listen to the doctor's warning and ignored the noise complaints filed by the tenant.
UK Tenant Commits Suicide After Landlord Ignors Noise Complaints
Residentail flats and apartments in Manchester City centre on August 2, 2016 in Manchester, England. Home ownership acroos the country has seen a sharp drop across Britain, particularly in the North. Home ownership in Manchester has fallen from 72% in 2003 to 58% this year.
The Guardian reported that the tenant filed noise complaints 20 times to the landlord. He pleaded for help because he couldn't stand the noisy neighbor. His doctor also confirmed that too much noise could affect his patient's mental health.
However, the landlord dismissed his pleas, saying that the tenant was just "whining." The residence handler even told the resident that if he wanted to live in London, he shouldn't expect silence.
The landlord's decision to dismiss his complaints and criticize him was too much for the tenant. In September 2021, the victim decided to commit suicide. Inside Housing reported that Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway made a finding of serious maladministration against Clarion and the landlord.
Blakewway, who is also the chair of the U.K. Ombudsman Association, argued that the landlord didn't have any consideration when he was handling the tenant's noise complaints. The housing ombudsman said that this negative behavior of the landlord made the tenant suffer for over nine months.
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Housing Ombudsman Says Clarion is Also to Blame
A general view of flats on the Freehold estate in Rochdale, where two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory illness caused by mould in his home, on March 28, 2023 in Rochdale, England. Today, the UK Housing Ombudsman released its report on Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, prompted by the inquest into the death of resident Awaab Ishak from exposure to mould.
Before the tenant committed suicide, authorities said that he also directly contacted Clarion regarding the problem, warning the organization that he will kill himself because of stress.
He told Clarion that he felt so overwhelmed by the stress caused by the noise that he didn't see any way out. Because of this, Blakeway said that the tenant died because the housing association failed to apply a "considered and tailored approach to the victim."
He added that what the tenant told Clarion should have been a warning to the landlord and the housing organization because the victim showed suicidal intent.
"Unfortunately, evidence across our casework shows that noise can sometimes be pushed to one side but for residents, this is something that can engulf them," said the housing ombudsman.
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