Sovereign Network Group (202331886)

Background

1. The resident has been a tenant at the property since 2005. The resident has asthma. The resident reported a leak into her bedroom from January 2023 and she said that the landlord delayed resolving this.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. The resident’s reports of a roof leak.
   2. The resident’s complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of
   1. The resident’s reports of a roof leak.
   2. The resident’s complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

4. Following report of water entering the resident’s bedroom on 1 January 2023, there was a 7-monthdelay in completing work to repair the roof. The landlord recognised that it failed to arrange scaffolding when booking the work initially, and apologised for the inconvenience, but did not offer suitable redress at the time of the complaint.
5. There were delays at both stages of the complaints process between 12 May and 31 October 2023. The landlord since recognised the lack of communication and offered compensation that put right the impact on the resident but failed to offer suitable redress at the time of the complaint in 2023.

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.

Our investigation

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.

6. The resident initially reported a leak in her loft space in September 2020. The landlord’s records from 28 October 2020 show that it had inspected and found that it needed scaffolding. We have not seen evidence to show that it took any further action or that the resident continued to report problems prior to her reports of a leak on 1 January 2023.
7. The landlord should have taken steps to resolve the situation at the time. However, we have not seen evidence to support that this was an ongoing issue following the initial report nor that the resident was significantly impacted by its failure to resolve the problem between 2020 and her report in January 2023.
8. Following her report of water entering her bedroom when it rained on 1 January 2023, there was a significant delay in completing work to resolve the problem until the end of July 2023, a period of 7 months. It initially attended within a reasonable time on 5 January 2023 and noted that scaffolding was required. However, it failed to arrange an appointment to complete work until 11 May 2023, over 4 months later.
9. The landlord’s repairs policy at the time said that it aimed to complete routine repairs within 28 days. We understand that larger works, requiring scaffolding, would take a longer time to complete. However, the landlord is obliged to complete this within a “reasonable timeframe” and communicate with the resident. Its records show that she needed to call and chase works which likely added to the inconvenience caused. The initial period to arrange the repairs was unreasonable, especially given the resident’s reports that the situation worsened each time it rained, and that it did not arrange to erect scaffolding in this time.
10. The landlord acted reasonably within its complaint responses by recognising its failure to arrange scaffolding prior to arranging work to fix the roof on 11 May 2023, and that this caused a delay in completing works. Nevertheless, it did not arrange work until 31 July 2023, another 2 and a half months later, and the resident spent further time and trouble chasing a resolution. It completed work to repair the bedroom ceiling on 15 September 2023. This was outside of its routine timescale of 28 days once it had repaired the roof. We note though that it initially raised this work in June 2023 and managed the resident’s expectations of when it would complete the work in advance.
11. In her communication with us, the resident has explained that the landlord told her it needed to complete work to the internal membrane of the roof as this was torn, and noted that the beams were stained and damaged. It acted reasonably by inspecting the loft space on 15 September 2023. Its records show that the loft was in a good condition, but it needed to complete “minor repairs”. We have not seen evidence to show that the landlord arranged these repairs, or offered any other explanation as to why it felt it did not need to complete these. While there is no evidence to show that the resident has been significantly impacted by the outstanding repairs, we have included an order for the landlord to address this.
12. We note that the resident was seeking compensation for her partner’s loss of earnings on 11 May 2023 due to the need to stay in for roofing repairs that could not take place due to the lack of scaffolding. We do not order landlords to pay compensation to residents for their time off work for repair appointments as their tenancy agreement requires them to provide access for repairs. However, given the failed appointment, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to have offered compensation to recognise the inconvenience caused at the time, and the overall disruption caused by the delay in completing work.
13. The landlord committed to discussing compensation as part of the stage 2 process in its communication with the resident on 8 September 2023. While the landlord upheld the complaint and apologised for the delays and impact on her, it did not seek to put right the impact of its failings at the time of its stage 2 complaint response on 31 October 2023.
14. We are aware that the landlord has since reviewed the complaint and made an offer of compensation on 26 November 2024. It offered £450 for this aspect of the complaint to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by delays in completing work and its failure to complete work in 2020, as well as a contribution toward decoration costs.
15. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance which states that compensation in this range can be proportionate in cases where there has been maladministration and failures which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact. The landlord’s offer of compensation is proportionate to put things right for the resident and is in line with what we would have ordered as part of this investigation.
16. However, while resolution focused, the offer was over a year after the stage 2 complaint response, and it is unclear whether the landlord would have reviewed the case and put right the impact on the resident had the case not been pending investigation by the Ombudsman at the time. Our outcomes guidance (September 2022) makes clear that a finding of reasonable redress would not be applicable in cases where a landlord makes an offer of redress following its internal complaints process. We have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the roof leak as it failed to put right its failings at the time of the complaint despite having the opportunity to do so.

17. The landlord’s complaints policy at the time of the complaint said that it aimed to respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days, and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. It would contact the resident if it needed additional time to respond.
18. The resident raised her complaint on 12 May 2023. The landlord’s records indicate that it  responded at stage 1 of its process on 26 July 2023. This would have been 52 working days later which is significantly outside of its complaint response times.
19. We note that the resident has said she did not receive this on 26 July 2023 and it is unclear why this was the case. Once it was aware she had not received the initial response, the landlord acted reasonably by resending this on the same day (30 August 2023).
20. Following her escalation request, the landlord did not provide its stage 2 complaint response until 31 October 2023, around 44 working days later, and outside of its 20 working day timescale. We have not seen evidence to support that it informed her of the likely delay at either stage which was a failing.
21. Landlords should address all aspects of a resident’s complaint. The resident had raised specific concerns about the length of time the repair was outstanding, the disruption caused, and a loss of earnings in her escalation request. The landlord did not address her concerns, or demonstrate it had viewed her escalation request within its final complaint response on 31 October 2023. This was a failing and likely to make her feel that it not taken her concerns, or the impact of its failings on her, seriously.
22. The landlord failed to address or put right the impact of its complaint handling delays at the time of the complaint. The landlord reviewed the complaint on 26 November 2024 and offered £205 for its failure to communicate with the resident during the complaints process or discuss compensation at the time of the complaint as agreed. It acted reasonably by explaining the steps it had taken to improve its complaint handling service since the time of the complaint.
23. The landlord’s offer of £205 is proportionate to put right the impact of the complaint handling delays, and the delay in providing suitable redress. However, as set out above, we are unable to make a finding of reasonable redress as the landlord did not put right its failings at the time of the complaint despite having the opportunity to do so. Again, it is unclear whether it would have reviewed the complaint had it not been awaiting our investigation. For these reasons, we have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

24. The landlord should ensure that staff handling complaints have access to all relevant records when responding to complaints to ensure they provide an accurate response and fully consider a resident’s concerns.

Communication and complaint handling

25. The landlord has acted appropriately in its communication to the resident on 26 November 2024 by explaining the steps it had taken to improve its complaint handling service and recognising communication failures. It has demonstrated that it has since learnt from the complaint.