Public Sector Housing

Summary

The requester asked for the number and reasons of complaints regarding public sector housing standards from 2020 to 2025. The Department of Infrastructure disclosed that six specific complaints were recorded, detailing issues such as mould, damp, asbestos, and heating failures.

Key Facts

• Six complaints were recorded specifically concerning housing standards between 1 January 2020 and June 2025.
• Three of the complaints were recurring issues from the same individual regarding mould, damp, and heat retention.
• One complaint involved asbestos and failure to meet modern building standards in older housing stock.
• Additional complaints regarding tenancy management and contractor performance were excluded from the housing standards total.
• The response was issued on 17 June 2025 under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

Data Disclosed

• 6
• 1 January 2020
• 17 June 2025
• 29 May 2025
• 3
• 1
• 4695490

Original Request

Dear Department of Infrastructure (DOI), Under the Freedom of Information Act 2015, I would be grateful if you could provide the following information: 1. The number of complaints received by DOI regarding the standards of social or public sector housing owned or operated by DOI. 2. A breakdown of the reasons for each complaint, where available. Please may the data cover the past five years, from 1 January 2020 to the present date. If any part of this request requires clarification, or if the scope needs to be adjusted to make retrieval manageable, please do not hesitate to contact me. Best wishes.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4695490 17 June 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 29 May 2025, which states:

"Dear Department of Infrastructure (DOI),

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2015, I would be grateful if you could provide the following information:

1. The number of complaints received by DOI regarding the standards of social or public sector housing owned or operated by DOI.

2. A breakdown of the reasons for each complaint, where available.

Please may the data cover the past five years, from 1 January 2020 to the present date.

If any part of this request requires clarification, or if the scope needs to be adjusted to make retrieval manageable, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

'1. Number of Complaints
The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) recorded six complaints between 1 January 2020 and the present date specifically concerning the standards of social or public sector housing owned or operated by the DOI.

Note: Additional complaints were received during this period, but these related to other issues such as tenancy management, contractor performance, and staff communication, and are therefore not included in this total.

1. Breakdown of Complaint Reasons Of the six complaints regarding housing standards:
   • Three were recurring complaints from the same individual, citing mould, damp, condensation, and poor heat retention.

• One complaint concerned asbestos in older housing stock and general failure to meet modern building standards, including issues with damp and water ingress.
• One complaint related to a malfunctioning underfloor heating system.
• One complaint involved mould and damp, with concerns about DOI's failure to intervene and safeguard the tenant.'

Please quote the reference number 4695490 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.