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A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202334401)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202334401

A2Dominion Housing Group Limited

10 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

  1. This complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the carpet in the communal area.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. She has lived at the property, which is a flat since 2000.
  2. The resident reported burn damage to the communal carpet on 29 November 2022. The landlord’s contractor inspected the carpet on 2 December 2022 but recorded it did not need to be repaired and closed the job.
  3. The resident complained to the landlord about its decision not to repair the carpet on 5 May 2023. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 May 2023. It acknowledged it had incorrectly said the carpet was okay. It apologised for the delay and offered £50 compensation. The landlord said it had scheduled the works to replace the carpet for 28 July 2023.
  4. The landlord’s contractor completed works on 8 August 2023. It replaced the carpet on a second occasion on 26 September 2023 after the resident said its original replacement did not match the existing carpet’s colour. The resident escalated her complaint on 3 October 2023. She complained there were different coloured carpets in the building.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 27 October 2023. It explained why it had only replaced the damaged parts of the carpet. It did not uphold the resident’s complaint.
  6. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and asked us to investigate her complaint. She requested the landlord replace the carpet in the communal area so that there is one single colour.

Assessment and findings

  1. The evidence shows the resident reported damage to the carpet on the communal stairs on 29 November 2022. She said a firework had fallen into the property and caused the damage. The landlord’s contractor completed an inspection on 2 December 2022. The contractor recorded the damage as a black mark on one step of the stairs. They assessed a repair was not required and closed the job record.
  2. The landlord’s repair policy confirms it is responsible for repairing floor coverings in communal areas. The landlord is entitled to rely upon the expertise of its contractors to make decisions about the requirement to repair. However, there is no information it updated the resident as to the reasons why the repair was not conducted and how she could challenge its decision if she disagreed. This was evidence of poor communication, customer service and may have undermined the landlord and tenant relationship.
  3. On 5 May 2023, the resident raised a complaint with the landlord that it did not replace the area of carpet that she said had been damaged by a firework. She complained she had not received any updates until she called the landlord that day. Following the resident’s complaint, a supervisor reviewed a picture of the damaged carpet and agreed a replacement piece of carpet was required.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 May 2023. It acknowledged there was service failure in its repair handling, as it had closed the works without completing a repair. It explained it would fit a new piece of carpet on 28 July 2023. It also said it had recommended improvements in its communication to keep residents updated. It apologised for the delay in it completing works and for its poor communication. The landlord offered compensation of £50 for its failures.
  5. The evidence shows the landlord’s contractor contacted the resident in July 2023 to rearrange the planned works for August 2023. The works were subsequently completed on 8 August 2023. The resident contacted the contractor on the same day. She complained the replaced carpet was “totally different” to the original carpet. In response the contractor told the resident they had remeasured the carpet and was waiting for a delivery to install a matching carpet. The second replacement carpet was fitted on 26 September 2023.
  6. The resident escalated her complaint with the landlord on 3 October 2023. She said it told her the carpet was going to be replaced, and she had waited a long time for this to happen. She said the building now had different colours of carpet and it looked worse than when it was burned.
  7. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 27 October 2023. It acknowledged the resident’s concerns regarding the colour variation and that it had only replaced the damaged area of carpet. It said the colour variation was inevitable and over time the carpet would naturally loose its original colour due to wear. It explained that in line with its repair policy it would replace the damaged parts like for like, or to the nearest match. It said, “whilst it understood the carpet does not look aesthetically pleasing,” there were no health risks to residents. Therefore, it would not replace the whole carpet for cosmetic reasons. It apologised for any upset this may have caused.
  8. The landlord’s response acknowledged the length of time taken to complete the repair was unreasonable and that the issue had caused the resident time and trouble. It said it had compensated the resident £50 at stage 1 for this.
  9. The resident’s tenancy agreement states the landlord is responsible for keeping the common parts of the property in a good state of decoration. Pictures of the replacement carpet in the affected area show what was a slight colour difference between the carpet on the stairs that was replaced and the surrounding area.
  10. The evidence shows the landlord conducted repairs to the extent required by its repairs policy and complied with its obligations under the tenancy agreement. It provided an explanation of why it would not replace the whole carpet and its response to the resident’s complaint at both stages of the complaint process were reasonable.
  11. When a failure is identified, as in this case, our role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, we take into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be Fair, Put Things Right and Learn from Outcomes as well as our own guidance on remedies.
  12. The landlord offered the resident compensation of £50 for its failures. When assessed against our remedies guidance, this amount is proportionate to the landlord’s failures and the resulting effect on the resident.
  13. Overall, the landlord has taken appropriate steps to acknowledge, apologise and put things right. The landlord’s recognition of the impact its failings had on the resident, along with its apology and financial redress, reasonably put things right and resolved the complaint. This leads to a determination of reasonable redress.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord made an offer of redress which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion satisfactorily resolves the resident’s complaint about its handling of repairs to the carpet in the communal area.

Recommendations

  1. If it has not done so already the landlord should now pay the resident the £50 it offered in its stage 1 complaint response.