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Sanctuary Housing Association (202337495)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202337495

Sanctuary Housing Association

12 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 the resident’s:

  1. reports of heating issues.
  2. associated complaint.

Background

2.           The residents are joint tenants and hold a joint assured tenancy with the landlord in a 2-bedroom semi-detached house. The landlord has recorded that both residents have asthma. The complaint has been made on behalf of both residents, with one taking the lead in submitting the complaint. Therefore, for ease of reference in this report, both parties will be referred to as “the resident” and “they/them/theirs.”

3.          On 23 November 2023 the resident raised a repair request by webform for heating issues. In this they said the radiators in the downstairs of the property were not heating in the same way the upstairs radiators were. This was attended on 28 November 2023; however, the contractor was unable to complete the repair. The repair was completed on 18 December 2023.

4.          On 28 November 2023 the resident raised a complaint about the landlord’s response to their service request. In summary they:

  1. said they had completed a web request on 23 November 2023, sent emails to repairs on 24 and 27 November 2023, and called the 24-hour urgent repair line on 27 November 2023.
  2. told the landlord their vulnerabilities.
  3. said they had bought a convector heater and wanted the cost of this refunded and consideration given to their increased costs while using a temporary heater.
  4. provided 5 dates between 4 December 2023 and 18 December 2023 that they were available between 8.30am-10am or from 4.30pm.

5.           On 29 November 2023 the resident raised the issue with their local MP’s office.

6.           The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 14 December 2023. In this it:

  1. said the service request had been raised on 28 November 2023 and attended as an emergency call out, but parts were required to complete the repair.
  2. said the next appointment had been made for 7 December 2023 but had been changed to 18 December 2023 by the resident.
  3. said temporary heaters had been issued on 7 December 2023.
  4. said it had already issued a reimbursement for the purchased heater.
  5. offered £75 compensation as a gesture of goodwill for the time, trouble and inconvenience caused.

7.            The resident escalated the complaint on the same day. In summary they:

  1. said the landlord was incorrect as they had raised the service request on 23 November 2023 and not 28 November 2023.
  2. said the landlord had not acknowledged their vulnerabilities.
  3. listed approximately 16 emails they had sent the landlord between 24 November 2023 and 12 December 2023 and noted that most had not been replied to.
  4. said the contractor had not provided heaters on 28 November 2023.
  5. said that the payment made for the reimbursement of the convector heater and the increased energy costs did not impact the complaint.

8.            The landlord issued it stage 2 response on 23 January 2024. In this it:

  1. apologised for the length of time taken to investigate the complaint and acknowledged the occasions when the resident’s emails had not been responded to.
  2. said it could not locate the resident’s service requests of 23 and 24 November 2023 and the earliest request it could locate was 27 November 2023.
  3. said it had reimbursed the resident for the purchased heater and compensated them for the increased cost of using the temporary heaters.
  4. apologised that the resident’s availability had not been taken into consideration when it allocated the next repair appointment.
  5. acknowledged that the follow up repair on 18 December 2023 had not initially been successful and had to be reattended late at night to complete.
  6. said a further service request had been raised to investigate exposed wires from the repair on 18 December 2023, which was arranged for 23 January 2024.
  7. said on 23 January 2024 visit it also assessed the integrity of the radiators, with the contractor advising they were in working order.
  8. apologised for the resident’s overall experience of how their complaint was handled and the delay of the repair.
  9. increased its offer of compensation to £525.

9.         The resident referred their complaint to us on 23 January 2024. They said that they were seeking an apology for the time it took the landlord to resolve the heating issues for a vulnerable resident.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

10.     The resident has told us about their ill health and has said that they have medical conditions which have been worsened by the cold conditions in the property. We are sorry to hear about this and acknowledge the difficulties they have faced.

11.      The courts are the most effective place to deal with claims about personal injury. This is because an independent medical expert is usually appointed to give information on the cause and effect of any illnesses. We would not be able to draw conclusions on how any illness or injury was caused from a review of the complaint file. The resident may wish to seek independent advice if they wish to pursue a personal injury claim. However, we have considered the impact of any failings by the landlord, including the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident.

12.      The resident has said they have had issues with the heating since they moved into the property in 2003. We understand that previous issues have been raised with, and addressed by, the landlord when they occurred. As these issues are more than 12 months old and do not form part of this complaint, they will not form part of this investigation. This report will focus on how the landlord responded to the resident’s repair request on 23 November 2023.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of heating issues

13.      The resident has provided evidence that they raised a repair request via the landlord’s webform on 23 November 2023 and followed this with emails on 24 and 27 November 2023.

14.      The landlord has a statutory duty under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to keep in repair and proper working order heating and hot water systems. It must carry out repairs within a reasonable period once they have been notified of the problem.

15.      The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy, in place at the time, states that repair requests will be allocated a distinct priority category and will be responded to in accordance with the timescales below:

  1. emergency repairs which it commits to attend and make safe within 24 hours of receipt of the repair request. A second appointment may be required to complete all remedial works following initial attendance.
  2. appointed repairs which it aims to complete within 45 days with an enhanced service of within 28 days for residents with vulnerabilities.
  3. major repairs which it aims to complete within 90 days.

16.       The landlord considers “heating repairs (during the winter season) where there is no other heating” an emergency repair.

17.       In accordance with its repairs and maintenance policy the landlord should have attended, as an emergency repair, within 24 hours of receipt of the resident’s first report. However, it did not respond to any of the webform or email requests and this was a failure.

18.      The landlord has told us that it could not trace the resident’s webform request and this is a further failure. Our spotlight report on knowledge and information management, published in May 2023, emphasised the importance for landlords to keep robust records of contacts and repairs. Clear, accurate, and easily accessible records provide an audit trail and enhances a landlords’ ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise. Failure to do so can result in landlords not taking appropriate and timely action, as evidenced in this case, missing opportunities to identify when actions were not appropriate and contribute to inadequate communication and redress.

19.      The resident called the landlord’s repair line on 27 November 2023, and an emergency call out was raised to be attended to within 24 hours. While this was an appropriate response, the resident should not have had to use 3 different channels to raise their repair request before this action was taken. Having to do this caused the resident more time and trouble than it should have to report a repair.

20.      On 28 November 2023 the evidence shows that its contractor attended but was unable to complete the repair as a part was required. We understand the resident’s frustration that the repair could not be completed in the first visit, given it was winter, and they had medical vulnerabilities. We note in their emails to the landlord that their expectation was that this repair would not only be attended but would be completed in 24 hours.

21.      Our complaint handling code, in place at the time, expects landlords to provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate. The landlord missed the opportunity to manage the resident’s expectations and explain that in line with its repairs and maintenance policy for emergency repairs “a second appointment may be required to complete all remedial works following initial attendance.” Had it done so, the resident may have better understood the reason why this repair was not completed within 24 hours.

22.      That being said, on such occasions when a repair cannot be completed on the first visit, we expect the follow up repair to be completed in a reasonable time. What is reasonable is not specified in law, so we must consider all the circumstances, including any action taken by the landlord while waiting for the repair.

23.      The landlord was assured by its contractor that the resident had access to hot water and heat. The heater being used had been purchased by the resident on 26 November 2023 while they were waiting for the landlord to respond to their repair requests on 23 and 24 November 2023. The resident requested reimbursement for the cost of the heater, and it was appropriate that the landlord reimbursed this, along with a daily allowance of £5 to cover the increased energy cost to run this.

24.     The landlord also provided the resident with 2 heaters. However, it is noted that this was not until 7 December 2023. Whilst it was fortunate that the resident had the use of her own heater the landlord ought to have ensured that either its contractor attended with a temporary heater, or that it was able to provide one as soon as possible. The landlord has not provided any reason for this delay.

25.      On 5 December 2023 the landlord arranged the follow up repair appointment and left a message informing the resident of this. It was not appropriate that the landlord had not contacted the resident before this time. While waiting for the landlord’s contact, the resident had emailed on at least 5 occasions and sought the assistance from their local MP to arrange this date. The landlord has not provided any reason for this delay and this was a failing which left the resident not knowing how long they would have to wait for the repair and worrying about the effect of the cold on their medical vulnerabilities. It is noted that the landlord acknowledged and considered this in its compensation offer in its stage 2 response.

26.      The landlord arranged the follow up repair appointment for 7 December 2023. It is noted that this date was not included in dates the resident had told the landlord they would be available. Whilst it is understandable that this caused further frustration to the resident, it is also understandable that the landlord may not always be able to accommodate a resident on particular days. Nevertheless, we would expect both parties to work together to find a mutually convenient date. The landlord acknowledged and considered this in its compensation offer in its stage 2 response.

27.      The resident called on 7 December 2023 and a repair date of 18 December 2023 was booked. It is unclear from the evidence provided if this was the first date offered or if it was the first date suitable for the resident, whose availability was restricted by medical appointments. The landlord’s contact notes do not provide any clarity on this; however, we can see that in an email on 9 December 2023 the resident amended their availability and requested that it attended sooner and there is no evidence that the landlord checked if an earlier appointment was available on the resident’s available dates and this was a failure.

28.      On 8 December 2023 the landlord left a voicemail for the resident telling them that they may only be able to claim for the increased energy costs up until the original repair date of 7 December 2023 because they had changed this to 18 December 2023. This caused increased worry to the resident as they had already expressed concern with the increased energy costs in their previous emails.

29.      This prompted the resident to email the landlord on the same day requesting it take the heaters back as they could not afford to run them. It was not until 12 December 2023 that the landlord confirmed that it would reimburse the resident for the cost of the purchased heater and the increased energy costs between 23 November 2023 and 17 December 2023. It is noted that the landlord acknowledged its lack of response and considered this in its stage 2 response in its compensation offer.

30.      On 18 December 2023 the repair was attended to in the morning, and the heating was working when the contractor left the property. Unfortunately, later that day, the resident discovered that the heating had stopped working and they raised this with the landlord.

31.      The landlord attended this report as an emergency appointment which meant a late night call out. We acknowledge this was inconvenient for the resident. However, on balance, it was positive that the issue was resolved promptly, especially since the resident had returned the landlord’s heaters earlier that day. It was, however, appropriate that the landlord apologised for the inconvenience this issue had caused the resident, and it considered this in its offer of compensation in its stage 2 response.

32.      On 13 January 2024 the resident reported that the repair on 18 December 2023 had left a gap with wires exposed, which they were concerned were a safety issue. They also reported that some of their radiators had visible rust which they believed affected their use.

33.      The landlord attended this, in line within its timescale of an appointed repair, on 23 January 2024. On that appointment the contractor did not report any safety issue to the landlord regarding the wiring and reported that they had sealed the gap and assessed the radiators. Their advice to the landlord was that the rust on the radiators did not affect their use. The landlord provided the resident with this update in its stage 2 response, and they did not raise this issue any further.

34.      The landlord does not dispute there were failures in the service it provided. When a landlord admits failings, our role is to consider whether it resolved the resident’s issue satisfactorily in the circumstances and offered appropriate redress. In considering this, we assess whether the landlord’s actions were in line with our dispute resolution principles: to be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.

35.       We consider that the reimbursement figure of £200 paid by the landlord for the heater and the increased energy costs for temporary heating was in line with its policy and was appropriate. We also consider that the landlord’s final response, which included an apology and a compensation award of £375 to be a reasonable and proportionate response to resolve this aspect of the resident’s complaint. This is in line with what we would have awarded if the landlord had not made an offer. Therefore, the landlord does not need to do anything further to put right its failings in its handling of the residents reports of heating issues.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s associated complaint

36.      The resident submitted their complaint on 28 November 2023, the landlord acknowledged this on 1 December 2023 and issued its stage 1 response on 14 December 2023. The landlord’s complaints policy states that stage 1 complaints should be acknowledged within 3 working days and responded to within 10 working days. So, while the complaint was acknowledged in line with the landlord’s policy timescales, the response was issued 2 days outside the relevant timeframe.

37.      However, the policy also states that if the investigation is complex or requires more time it will contact the resident to discuss and explain the reasons for this and will confirm any extension, up to an additional 10 working days in writing.

38.      The evidence shows that the landlord had updated the resident on 9 December 2023 that it required an extension to provide a response and gave an updated timeline. While it was positive that the landlord updated the resident and provided a new date in which they should receive a response, it did not explain why it “required further time to carry out the investigation.” This was not in line with its policy or our complaint handling code, in place at the time, in which a landlord is expected to explain the reasons for any delay in issuing its complaint response.

39.      The extension request caused disappointment to the resident, and they expressed this in their response. In this they said that the heating issue was still outstanding and that their local MP’s office had requested that their complaint was looked into sooner. While we cannot hold the landlord responsible for the resident’s expectation that their complaint would be addressed sooner it did not respond to this email. Therefore, it missed the opportunity to reassure the resident that the timescale of the complaint response would have no impact on arranging the repair since its repairs and complaints processes were independent of each other.

40.      The landlord’s stage 1 response failed to identify the main aspect of the resident’s complaint which was their attempts to raise a repair request on 23, 24 and 27 November by webform and email. It also failed to present an accurate reflection of how the follow up appointment was arranged/rearranged or identify the issues the resident experienced with those arrangements. This suggests that the landlord did not carry out a full and thorough investigation at that time.

41.       It is also noted that while the landlord offered compensation for “time, trouble and inconvenience” it did not apologise for any failings. This is likely to have caused confusion to the resident.

42.      The resident requested an escalation to stage 2 of the complaints process on 14 December 2023. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 23 January 2024. The landlord’s complaint policy, in place at that time, did not commit to acknowledging escalation requests, however the resident sent emails on 20 and 28 December 2023 asking for confirmation of the date they should expect a stage 2 response. The landlord did not respond to these emails.

43.       In its stage 2 response issued on 23 January 2024, the landlord acknowledged that it had not escalated the complaint or responded to these emails until 29 December 2023. It apologised and offered £150 for its poor complaint handling.

44.      Throughout the complaints process the resident expressed their frustration at the landlord’s lack of response and listed several occasions when the landlord failed to respond to them. It was, therefore, appropriate that the landlord used its stage 2 response to acknowledge that its communication had been poor, apologised and offered compensation.

45.      Our complaint handling code, in place at that time, expects a landlord to acknowledge and provide an explanation or reason when things have gone wrong. Whilst the landlord had made some internal enquiries it missed the opportunity of asking the resident to provide the evidence of her webform and email repair requests.

46.       Had the landlord done this, this information may have assisted it in investigating what had happened and it may have been able to provide the resident with an explanation of what had gone wrong and, if appropriate, apologised for its initial delay in arranging an emergency repair.

47.       It could also have looked beyond the circumstances of the resident’s complaint and considered whether anything needed to be ‘put right’ in terms of process or systems to the benefit of all residents.

48.       Another key part of the resident’s complaint was that the landlord’s response to her repair request had not considered their vulnerabilities. The evidence shows that the resident mentioned this in every email to the landlord, therefore the landlord’s failure to acknowledge the resident’s vulnerabilities throughout the complaints process was likely to have left them feeling unsupported.

49.      The landlord does not dispute there have been failings in its complaint handling and when a landlord admits failings, our role is to consider whether it resolved the resident’s issue satisfactorily in the circumstances and offered appropriate redress.

50.      The landlord’s compensation award of £150 for complaint handling failures was proportionate and in line with our guidance for the failures it identified. However, this investigation has identified further failings not accounted for in this redress, therefore, we are unable to find the landlord’s redress to be reasonable overall. This is because it failed to investigate, acknowledge or apologise for its failings in its initial response to the resident’s repair request on 23 November 2023 and failed to acknowledge the resident’s vulnerability which was a key point in their complaint.

51.      We have noted that since this complaint the landlord has introduced a vulnerable customers policy. We have, therefore, made no orders in respect of this. We have, however, recommended that the landlord contacts the resident to ensure that any vulnerabilities, they wish to disclose, have been recorded correctly on internal records.

52.      We, therefore, find maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the residents associated complaint and make further orders below to put things right.

Determination

53.       In accordance with 53.b of the Scheme, there was an offer of reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of heating issues.

54.       In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

55.       Within 4 weeks of this report the landlord is ordered to:

  1. apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
  2. pay the resident £625 compensation, made up of:
    1. £375 overall compensation for the impact of the failings in the landlords handling of the repair issue.
    2. £250 compensation for the impact of the failings in the landlords handling of the complaint.
  3. provide us evidence that it has complied with these orders.

Recommendation

56.       Contact the resident and establish if they wish to disclose their vulnerabilities, and if so, record these on internal records.