A DAMNING report has prompted changes within a local authority's housing department, which has since been ordered to pay a woman and her daughter £5,000 compensation after evicting them from a property their family had lived in for 32 years.

Richmondshire District Council was found to be guilty of ten counts of maladministration in its dealings with the tenant, named only as Ms Smith in a report by Local Government Ombudsman Patricia Thomas.

The case began when Ms Smith's elderly mother gave up the tenancy of three-bedroom home in 1999 when she was admitted to warden-controlled accommodation.

Ms Smith - who doctors described as vulnerable due to ill health - turned down the first offer of alternative accommodation on the grounds the property wasn't suitable.

Her decision was later described as reasonable by the housing association which owned it when it learned of her requirements.

However, after that, the council accused Ms Smith of becoming intentionally homeless and, according to the Ombudsman, the council also deliberately avoided its responsibilities towards her until she complained last May.

"The council had a duty to deal with Ms Smith's housing needs in accordance with the law," concludes Mrs Thomas. "In the event, its actions were so unreasonable that I can only assume they were instigated by malice. The hurt and harm which Ms Smith suffered as a result in my view justifies substantial compensation."

Two officers and a senior housing officer working in the department at the time have since left the authority while eviction panels have been introduced to ensure each case is examined properly before any action is taken.

In a statement issued by the authority, housing chairman Coun Richard Dunn said: "We have many new procedures in place to ensure that this sort of incident can never happen again."

The Ombudsman considers the action taken by the authority provides a satisfactory settlement to the complaint.