London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202400474)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202400474

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

25 September 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

This investigation considers:
1. The landlord’s response to the resident request that it renew his bathroom and kitchen.
2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant and occupies a one-bedroom flat. His tenancy started on 15 September 2003.
On 17 April 2023, the resident complained to the landlord. He said the landlord promised to renew his kitchen and bathroom due to their age but never carried out the work.
The landlord responded on 18 April 2023, saying that it had contacted the relevant team for updates and would provide further information before 9 May 2023. It sent a further email on 21 April 2023, saying it would contact the resident when the work would take place.
The resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint on 18 May 2023 as he was not satisfied with its response.
The landlord provided its final complaint response on 8 April 2024. It said it would contact the resident when his bathroom and kitchen were due for upgrade but could not give a timescale. It acknowledged the delay in providing its complaint response and said the reason was due to a backlog. It apologised, offered £270 compensation and explained how it would use his complaint as feedback.
The resident brought his complaint the Service. He explained that he asked the landlord for a new kitchen and bathroom over several years because they remain the original installations from over 20 years ago. He wants the landlord to agree to renew them.

Assessment and findings

The bathroom and kitchen renewal

The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy states where age, and wear and tear affect key components such as kitchens, bathroom, doors and windows, these will be replaced through a planned programme of work. It replaces or renews kitchens and bathrooms based on age and wear. The landlord reviews its maintenance budget annually in January and notifies eligible residents each March.
On 17 April 2023, the resident complained to the landlord. He reported that both kitchen and bathroom installations dated back to the property’s construction in 1999. He said the landlord inspected his home in 2022 and 2023, advised replacement was necessary, and said work would begin within 3 months. No work commenced, prompting the resident to complain.
The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint on 17 April 2023 and confirmed it would provide information about the kitchen and bathroom upgrade by 9 May 2023. It followed up on 21 April 2023, saying it would notify the resident when his property qualified for renewal but could not offer a timeline.
On 18 May 2023, the resident escalated his complaint due to his dissatisfaction with the process. He continued contacting the landlord several times until 8 April 2024, when it issued its final response.
The landlord reiterated its intent to notify the resident when upgrades were due but did not confirm a timeframe or provide reasons as to why it could not be more specific.
However, the evidence shows that in response to the resident’s enquiries and complaints the landlord made enquires internally. The advice it received was that the kitchen and bathroom were “done” in 2010 and 2014. They were due for upgrade in 2030 and 2040 respectively, but that this was not guaranteed and could be subject to change. This information was not conveyed to the resident. That was not reasonable because even if the dates were not definite that could be explained, and the dates and timescales would help manage his expectations.
Furthermore, knowing when the landlord believed the rooms to have last been renewed would have allowed the resident to challenge it and provide evidence if he believed the information was wrong.
In addition, the resident had complained that he had been told in 2022 and 2023 by the landlord’s operatives that the rooms would be replaced shortly. The landlord did not address this or investigate his concern that he had been misled. That omission was not in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) which states all elements of a complaint must be considered and responded to.
It is not the Ombudsman’s role to say whether a resident’s kitchen and bathroom should be upgraded. That responsibility lies with the landlord, and its decisions should be based on the relevant factors. In this case nothing in the evidence indicates the landlord’s decision about renewing the rooms at this stage was counter to its policies, the information in its records or the opinions of its operatives.
Nonetheless, while the landlord’s decision was reasonable, its responses to the resident’s enquiries and complaints omitted useful information which it could have easily shared with resident. It also did not address the full scope of his complaint.

The landlord’s complaint handling.

The landlord operates a formal complaints process with 2 stages. It aims to respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days of acknowledgement.
In this case the landlord acknowledged the stage 1 complaint on 17 April 2023 and responded on 18 April 2023, 1 working day later.
The resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint on 18 May 2023. The landlord acknowledged the stage 2 complaint in May 2023but did not respond until 8 April 2024, almost a year later. In its response, it acknowledged poor complaint handling, apologised, and offered £270 compensation. It said it had learned from feedback and advised the resident to contact the Ombudsman if he remained dissatisfied.
The landlord’s complaint handling delay was significant and a clear failing, which it acknowledged. It offered redress and compensation consistent with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for a case involving inconvenience and delay but no lasting impact.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlords in its handling of the resident request it renews his bathroom and kitchen.
In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about its complaint handling satisfactorily.

Orders

In light of the failings found in this investigation, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident compensation of £150 within 4 weeks of this report.
This complaint and the evidence show an apparent discrepancy between the age the resident and landlord believe his kitchen and bathroom to be. Given the importance of that information to the landlord’s renewal policy and decisions, the landlord is ordered to contact him within 6 weeks of this report to discuss and clarify his understanding of their age. The landlord should then take steps to ensure its records about their age are accurate. It must write to the resident following its conclusions and any impact on its renewal decisions.
The landlord must provide evidence of complying with these orders by their respective deadlines.

Recommendation

If it has not done so already, the landlord should also now pay the resident the £270 it offered for its poor complaint handling.