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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202338441)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202338441

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

19 August 2025

 

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. repairs after the resident’s reports of hot water issues.
    2. concerns about the conduct of a contractor.
    3. the complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord. The property is a 2-bedroom house where she lives with her 2 children. The landlord has no vulnerabilities recorded for the household.
  2. On 5 October 2023, the resident complained to the landlord about the conduct of an operative. She said, after speaking to him on the telephone, she found him “aggressive” and did not want him to attend. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 October 2023. It said its contractor had now made a note that the operative should not attend the resident’s property for further repairs. The landlord said it would also discuss the matter during its next monthly contractor meeting.
  3. The resident responded to the landlord on 16 October 2023. She said it had not addressed her concerns that it had dealt with the situation “badly”. She also said:
    1. the contractor had attended 4 times to fix the issue.
    2. vibration and heat were coming from her water tank, and it was “unacceptable” that the issue had been ongoing for 3 weeks.
  4. Between October 2023 and February 2024, the contractor and the landlord attended the resident’s property to completed further repairs to hot water issues. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 5 March 2024. It noted the resident’s concerns about a loss of hot water over 4 months. It said this was now reinstated. It awarded her compensation of £500. Around the same time, we wrote to the landlord requesting it respond to the resident’s complaint. It issued another stage 2 complaint response on 21 March 2024 to address issues raised in our correspondence. It awarded additional compensation of £80 in recognition of its delayed stage 2 complaint response.
  5. The resident brought her complaint to the Ombudsman as she did not consider the outcome reflect the impact on her family. She said she had to join a leisure centre, and relied on friends, to use washing facilities. She wanted further compensation, an apology and for the landlord to be held “to account”.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident raised concerns about the impact of issues on her mental health. We acknowledge her comments about this. However, we are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is a matter which is most appropriately decided by a court. It could also be considered by way of a personal injury claim through the landlord’s insurer. The landlord provided the resident with details of how she could make such a claim to its insurer in its stage 2 response of March 2024.

Repairs after the resident’s reports of hot water issues

  1. The landlord said in its stage 2 complaint response that it aimed to respond to reports of loss of hot water within 72 hours, in line with its service level agreement. This is set out in its compensation policy, which outlines its obligation to complete repairs to water heating within 3 working days between 30 April and 1 November. However, it would have been appropriate for it to clarify that its target for the period between 31 October and 1 May was 1 working day. Some of the resident’s reports fell into that period. That it did not explain this was a failing.
  2. After the initial no access appointment on 30 September 2023, the landlord recorded a different operative attended on 5 October 2023 to drain down the hot water cylinder. However, the resident also set out in her initial complaint that the contractor sent a different operative on 2 October 2023, who said that the landlord’s plumber needed to attend. The initial report was of an uncontainable leak and was an emergency repair. Given the lack of record by the landlord about attendances/attempts to attend between 1 and 5 October 2023, it is unclear what it did to ensure the initial report was appropriately addressed. It should reasonably be able to demonstrate it was monitoring the work and making appropriate efforts to arrange early reattendance. That it cannot adequately do so is a failing.
  3. Records show contractors attended 4 times in October 2023. This was to replace a water cylinder, with further attendance after the resident reported issues including noise from the tank and loss of hot water. Each attendance was within the 3 working day target response time. Contractors recorded that the resident had been left with hot water after these appointments.
  4. Contractors attended again on 17 November 2023 to fit a further new water cylinder. However, following this, the resident reported on 20 November 2023 that she was without hot water again. While the contractor reattended on 23 November 2023, that was outside the 1 working day target response time which now applied for this period. The landlord should have acknowledged and apologised for this in its subsequent complaint response. That it did not was a failing.
  5. The contractor detailed on 23 November 2023 that the pump stopped after running 5 gallons of hot water. It said a plumber from the landlord needed to attend to consider the possibility of moving the pump inlet. While the contractor noted that the resident was left with hot water after this visit, the issues identified indicate the supply of hot water would have been disrupted.
  6. We have seen no evidence that the landlord took appropriate steps to arrange for its plumber to attend after the 23 November 2023 appointment. That it did not do so was failing. That is particularly so as it noted around this time that the resident had expressed how the situation was impacting on her mental health and causing “sanitation issues”.
  7. There is no evidence of further attempts to address the ongoing issues until 3 January 2024. Nor is there any evidence the landlord attempted to communicate with the resident about what it was doing to address issues. Its lack of action and poor communication between November 2023 and January 2024 would have added to the distress of situation for the resident.
  8. Records from January 2024 show that the contractor identified a shower pump was causing the issues with hot water. It noted then that hot water was cutting out after 1 minute of use. Subsequently, the landlord’s plumber attended on 16 and 20 February 2024 and completed work which resolved the hot water issue. Given its contractor had recorded the resident was without hot water in January 2024, it is unclear why it then took the landlord nearly 6 weeks to address the issue further. The delay in doing so was a failing, particularly as it had already delayed since November 2023 in inspecting issues.
  9. The Ombudsman published its spotlight report on complaints about heating, hot water and energy in February 2021. This outlined the distress and discomfort caused by a loss of hot water. It also emphasised the importance of good communication with residents. There is no evidence the landlord communicated with the resident between 3 January and 16 February 2024 about how it planned to resolve the issues. That was a failing which can only have added further distress and uncertainty to the situation.
  10. We acknowledge contractors completed a number of repairs in October and November 2023 to attempt to resolve issues. But these did not result in any lasting resolution. Given the frequency of the resident’s reports, and the contractor’s request for it to survey issues in November 2023, the landlord missed opportunities to attend that could have resolved issues sooner. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response did not identify or acknowledge this. That it did not do so was a failing. Overall, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs after the resident reported hot water issues. While the landlord has awarded the resident £500, we do not consider this award fully recognises the impact of its failings.
  11. The landlord awarded a payment of £160 for loss of service. It said that it had found she had been without adequate hot water for “36 days”. But the contractor recorded she was without hot water from 3 January 2024, and the landlord did not complete repairs to restore it until 20 February 2024. That is a period of 48 days. That the landlord did not accurately identify or explain the period over which it calculated the resident was without hot water was a failing.
  12. The landlord’s compensation policy sets out that, where there has been a total loss of hot water, it will pay compensation under Right to Repair of £10 plus an additional £2 “per day (for every extra day the repair isn’t fixed”. Given the period records show the resident was without hot water, the award of £160 is higher than the level of payment that would be due under this arrangement. However, to allow the resident to understand the award, the landlord should reasonably have explained how it had been calculated. That it did not was a failing.
  13. The resident stated that she was without hot water for 4 and a half months. Records we have seen confirm that she was without hot water between 3 January and 20 February 2024. However, given the ongoing issues since October 2023, we acknowledge that there was a significant impact on her ability to use and rely on her hot water until the repair in February 2024.
  14. We also acknowledge the resident said she had been inconvenienced by having to take time off work due to issues. In general, we would not propose compensation for time a resident has taken off work or for loss of earnings while repairs are completed. However, we acknowledge that repair issues caused inconvenience to her. When considering the appropriate level of compensation, we have taken account of the distress and inconvenience caused by failings we have identified.
  15. The landlord’s compensation policy sets out that it may make an additional discretionary payment for the loss of hot water. It awarded the resident £340 in recognition of the distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble she had experienced over a prolonged period. This went some way towards recognising the impact of issues. However, we consider that an increased award is appropriate to recognise its poor communication and its delay attending to inspect ongoing issues. We have ordered that it pay additional compensation of £150. This award, combined with the £500 it has already offered, is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.
  16. The landlord’s compensation policy says it will pay back relevant out of pocket expenses incurred due to its failings. The resident told us that she had spent money on a leisure centre membership so her household could use shower facilities. We have further ordered that the landlord reimburse the resident for these costs relating to the period between October 2023 and February 2024. In line with its compensation policy, this would be subject to her providing evidence of these expenses.

Conduct of a contractor

  1. In her initial complaint to the landlord in October 2023 the resident explained her concerns about an operative who was due to attend a leak at her property in the evening of 30 September 2023. She said she had found the operative to be “aggressive” when they spoke on the telephone prior to his attendance. She said that she had asked him not to attend the appointment as she felt “uncomfortable”. Further, she said she had called the landlord that evening and was told someone else would attend the repair. However, she said later that evening the same operative attended, and she refused access.
  2. We have seen evidence of the operative’s no access attendance on 30 September 2023. However, we have seen no records showing details of any discussions the resident had with the landlord about the issue prior to this. The landlord took some appropriate steps, by reassuring the resident in its stage 1 complaint response that its contractor had added an alert to ensure the same operative did not attend again. Further it told the resident it would discuss the issues raised at its next contractor meeting.
  3. These actions went some way towards addressing the resident’s concerns. However, none of the landlord’s complaint responses explored or acknowledged what the resident had said about the operative attending despite her request that he did not.
  4. That it did not adequately explore or address her concerns was a failing which left her without a full resolution. As a result, we have found service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s concerns about the conduct of a contractor. With consideration to the circumstances, we have ordered that it make an award to the resident of £50 in recognition of the impact of this failing. This award is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord operates a 2-stage complaints process. It aims to respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of acknowledgement and to those at stage 2 within 20 working days of acknowledgement. The landlord’s initial response to the resident’s complaint was timely. The resident’s response on 16 October 2023 set out her outstanding concerns. She also said that she found the ongoing problems with her water tank to be “unacceptable”. While she did not specifically ask to escalate her complaint, the landlord should reasonably have contacted her to check whether she wanted to do so. That it did not do so, or even respond at all, was a failing.
  2. Later, on 23 November 2023, the landlord noted the resident had asked that it reopen the complaint as the situation was worse and she was without hot for 2 months. Despite this, there is no evidence it explained to her how, or when, it intended to address her complaint. It was not enough to simply reopen the case.
  3. The landlord’s eventual stage 2 response was not provided until 5 March 2024, with it providing a further response on 21 March 2024. That was following contact from the Ombudsman setting our other concerns the resident had raised. These responses were provided more than 3 months after the resident had requested it reopen her complaint. That was far outside its target response time for stage 2 complaints.
  4. Through investigating the resident’s ongoing concerns within its complaints procedure, the landlord could have explored meaningful steps that might help to remedy the issues. That the landlord failed to provide the resident with a timely complaint response meant it missed the opportunity to do so.
  5. While the landlord awarded the resident £80 for delays in its stage 2 complaint response, with consideration to all the circumstances, this is not sufficient recognition of the impact of the delays and poor communication we have identified. We have ordered that it pay an increased award of £150. This amount is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. Overall, we have made a finding of service failure by the landlord in its complaint handling.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was:
    1. maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs after the resident’s reports of hot water issues.
    2. service failure in the landlord’s handling of concerns about the conduct of a contractor.
    3. service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord should:
    1. write to the resident to apologise for the failings we have identified.
    2. pay the resident compensation of £850, made up of:
      1. £500 already awarded in respect of its handling of hot water issues.
      2. £150 further award in recognition of its poor communication and delay in attending to inspect ongoing issues.
      3. £50 for failings in its handling of concerns about the conduct of a contractor.
      4. £150 for its complaint handling failings. This includes the £80 it has already awarded.
      5. any payments already made to the resident should be deducted from the total.
    3. reimburse the resident for leisure centre membership costs relating to the period between October 2023 and February 2024. This is subject to her providing evidence of these expenses.
  2. Within 6 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must review failings identified in its handling of hot water issues. It should consider whether it now has adequate guidance and processes in place to ensure failings we have identified are not repeated. It should provide the Ombudsman with the outcome of this review within the same period.