Castles & Coasts Housing Association Limited (202423925)

Background

1. The resident has lived in a flat within the block since 2015. The block has a carpark with allocated spaces for each flat. The resident reported concerns about inconsiderate parking on the road by residents, the use of the garden for car parking and a car in the carpark with no MOT and tax to the landlord. She also told the landlord there were incorrect flat signs within the block.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Car parking issues and incorrect flat signs.
   2. The resident’s complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. No maladministration in its handling of car parking issues and incorrect flat signs.
   2. Service failure in its handling of the resident’s complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of car parking issues and incorrect flat signs

4. The landlord replied to the resident’s concerns about car parking issues at stage 1 and 2 and took reasonable and proportionate action by writing to the residents involved. It also wrote to all the residents of the block to ask them to be mindful when parking. The landlord had incorrect flat signs at the block which it updated the same month the resident raised her concerns. The incorrect sign was not for the residents flat.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint

5. The resident agreed the landlord could combine 2 new concerns into its stage 2 response. However, this meant the resident did not have the option to escalate these issues with the landlord if she was unhappy with the response.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

The complaint procedure

 What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

What we did not investigate

6. The resident also complained at stage 1 about the landlord’s handling of her reports of anti-social behaviour and communal repairs. The resident escalated these issues, but the landlord did not respond to these at stage 2. The landlord said the resident agreed its stage 2 response would only consider the car parking issues and flat signs. In the interest of fairness, this report will look at the resident’s concerns the landlord responded to at stage 2.

What we did investigate

7. On 9 October 2023, the fire service told the landlord they found no access issues to the block during a recent check and on previous visits. On 2 August 2024, the landlord sent a letter to all residents of the block to remind them of parking allocation and safe parking around the block to allow access to other residents and emergency services.
8. After the resident complained, the landlord visited her and inspected the block and car park on 4 September 2024. It was reasonable of the landlord to do a visual inspection and send reminder letters to residents.
9. In its stage 1 response the landlord said it would contact the neighbour who was parking on the communal garden to deal with the matter. This was a reasonable response.
10. The landlord checked with the fire service and local authority l regarding emergency access concerns. The landlord told the resident to contact the local authority about the street parking issues. This was reasonable because the road was adopted by the local authority.
11. In response to the resident’s complaints contacted the residents parking on the communal garden and the resident with no car tax or MOT. This was a reasonable and proportionate step for the landlord to take to tackle these issues.
12. The landlord also said it would consider if it could create additional resident car parking spaces for a long-term solution to the issues.
13. At stage 2 the landlord said it was aware of the incorrect internal flat signs, and the signs had been changed. The landlord told us the incorrect signs were wayfinding signs installed in May 2023 for convenience. It said the signs incorrectly showed access to lower ground flats in the main block that were only accessible externally. The landlord said these signs did not affect the fire safety signs that showed the fire exits in the block. It said it assessed the risk internally and the signs did not pose a risk in an emergency.
14. The resident said the landlord had previously been made aware of the incorrect fire signs. However, the resident raised the issue during the month the signs were replaced, and the incorrect signs did not affect the resident’s property. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint at stage 2 and admitted the flat signs had been incorrect.
15. Our role is to consider whether the landlord resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. To do this we considered our dispute resolution principles, be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
16. In summary, the landlord sought advice from different agencies for the parking and access issues. It was advised no further action was needed. It signposted the resident to the local authority and said it would contact the residents responsible for the car parking issues the resident reported. This was a reasonable and proportionate response. The landlord changed the incorrect flat signs in the block. The signs did not directly affect the resident, and they were changed the same month she raised the issue with the landlord.

17. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint at stage 1 within 5 working days and gave a date for its response. Its complaints policy says it will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days but if it needs more time to respond it will agree an extended deadline with the resident. The landlord said it would respond by 9 September 2024, and it responded within that deadline. The landlord sent it stage 2 acknowledgement within 5 working days of the resident’s escalation and its full response within 20 working days. This was within the landlord’s complaints policy times.
18. The landlord said at stage 2 the resident requested a new stage 1 complaint for her concerns about incorrect flat signs and a car parked with no tax or MOT. It said the resident agreed it would include the new issues in its stage 2 response. Its complaint policy says if it sent its stage 1 response, or it would unreasonably delay the response, the complaint should be logged as a new complaint.
19. The new issues were linked to the parking and overall safety within the block. The landlord combined the new concerns and responded to them at stage 2 with the original complaint points. However, the Complaint Handling Code 2024 (the Code) says a resident should have the option to escalate a complaint. The landlord combined the issues into its stage 2 response, and this denied the resident the possibility to escalate these issues with the landlord. We have ordered the landlord to pay £50 compensation for this failure. This is in line with our remedies guidance of a minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided.