Waltham Forest Council has apologised after causing “distress and frustration” by failing to consider the medical needs of a mother-of-two seeking housing.

The Housing Ombudsman, which investigates complaints about service failures in local government, found the council had been at fault by not responding to her emails or “properly considering” medical evidence.

Due to a series of delays, she “faced a prolonged period of avoidable distress, frustration and uncertainty,” the ombudsman ruled.

Ahsan Khan, the deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council, said the authority had accepted the findings and was sorry for the “poor” treatment she had received.

The resident – identified only as ‘Miss X’ – had joined the council’s housing register in 2022 and requested an extra bedroom, while applying for medical priority.

The exact nature of her medical priorities were not disclosed in a report published by the independent office.

She was placed on the lowest band – band 3 – and told she did not meet the threshold for any higher priorities. A representative pushed for a review of her needs in December but Waltham Forest did not respond until the following April.

The complaint was then escalated in July, but the council only responded in September. After apologising for the delay, Waltham Forest offered Miss X £100 compensation and said a senior manager would carry out another review of her needs.

The representative was told to email over further evidence but a typo in the email address meant it was not delivered to the council. However, a follow-up email sent in November again went unanswered.

After Miss X’s health began  to “worsen” due to the “unsuitable” accommodation, the issue was again raised with the ombudsman.

Following an independent investigation, the council agreed to pay Miss X the £100 compensation, if it had not already done so, and carry out a new review of her medical priority. Any changes to her banding would be backdated.

Cllr Khan said in a statement: “We want everyone to be confident that Waltham Forest is a great place to live and age well for all.

“In this case, we know that we did not meet the high standard of service that residents rightly expect and demand.

“We have accepted the ombudsman’s findings and recommendations. We apologise to the resident for the poor quality of support they have received, and we are determined to ensure this incident is not repeated.”

In 2023/24, the ombudsman recorded five instances of severe maladministration in how the authority had handled housing complaints – a record high.

Three cases in particular attracted criticism from then secretary of state for housing Michael Gove, who said the council’s services had fallen “well below the standard residents should expect”.

The council, which acts as a social landlord, said it had since implemented a “significant transformation programme” across its housing department.