Our Work & Reports

A public housing resident had been bothered by the stench emanated from her bathroom for a long time. Notwithstanding many complaints she lodged with the Housing Department (“HD”), its staff invariably concluded that no odour was detected after each inspection. Frustrated by the persisting problem and considered HD to have not addressed it properly, she approached The Ombudsman for assistance.

Upon receiving her request for assistance, we first found out in detail when and where she smelled the odour, and the hygiene condition of her flat. We then asked HD how its staff had conducted inspections. HD explained that after replacing the bathroom’s drainage trap, and inspecting the upstairs and downstairs flats to confirm there were no odour or hygiene problems, its staff concluded that the issue was resolved.

Noting that the resident had mentioned that the odours became strong when the bathroom door was closed with the exhaust fan switched on, we suggested that HD staff replicate the scenario and inspect the bathroom again to trace the origin of the odour. Subsequently, HD replaced the external drainage pipes of her flat and continued to follow up on this case, with a view to resolving the problem.

Through mediation, we have restored the communication between HD and the resident.  Drawing on this mediation case, HD has called on its staff to put themselves in the shoes of the public, explore solutions from multiple perspectives and proactively adopt proper measures to handle the public’s requests for assistance.