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Homes Plus Limited (202408066)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202408066

Homes Plus Limited

5 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. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of a leak into their property, and the associated repairs.

Background

  1. The resident has held an assured tenancy with the landlord since June 2021, and lives in a 2-bed flat. The landlord confirmed that no vulnerabilities are listed, however they became aware during the complaints process that the resident is dyslexic and has epilepsy.
  2. The resident reported a leak into his property on 24 March 2023. The landlord attended to complete repairs on 27 March 2023. The resident reported water dripping down the walls into his flat on 21 December 2023 and the landlord attended in January 2024 believing the leak to be coming from the flat above. The resident reported that he had no electrics in his kitchen due to the leak on 9 February 2024. The landlord attended the same day to isolate the electric in the kitchen and confirmed it could not be put back on until the leak was rectified.
  3. The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 13 February 2024 and detailed the following:
    1. There was water ingress to the kitchen which had not been rectified and continued to flood the area.
    2. He was left with no power and no lights on several occasions.
    3. He wanted to be moved somewhere safe and receive compensation for items damaged by the leak.
  4. The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint on 28 February 2024 where it advised the resident that the roof was identified as the cause of the leak. It confirmed repairs had been completed and the leak was resolved. It apologised for delays in restoring electric and confirmed this had also been completed. It offered the resident £200 compensation and requested receipts so it could investigate the claim for damaged items.
  5. Following the stage 1 response, the resident advised he was unhappy with the compensation offered. The landlord agreed to increase the compensation to £400 and offered to decorate affected areas. This offer was accepted by the resident. The resident escalated his complaint on 26 March 2024 for the following reasons:
    1. Works were not completed to the kitchen due to a delay in replacing the roof.
    2. The kitchen was being ripped out and he was left again with no kitchen.
    3. He wanted increased compensation for ongoing costs, and for a full roof repair to be completed.
  6. The landlord responded to the resident on 3 June 2024. It apologised for the “significant service failures” it had identified. It confirmed the following:
    1. The repair completed on 23 April 2024 did not provide a temporary resolution as it had hoped.
    2. The roof repair was to commence on 15 May 2024 and would take 3 to 4 weeks to complete.
    3. It would regularly review damp levels in the property and following the roof being water-tight, it would complete internal repairs within the resident’s property.
    4. Agreed to reimburse costs to the resident for food and energy bills each week until the kitchen was usable.
    5. Offered the resident £1000 compensation in addition to the £400 offered at stage 1.
    6. Passed the resident’s claim for damaged items to its legal team and insurer to assess as a formal insurance claim.
  7. The resident initially contacted our service on 11 June 2024 to complain that he did not have use of his kitchen due to the leak from the roof. He advised that this had been ongoing for 10 months and the walls were still wet. The resident was unhappy with the level of compensation offered for his distress during the repair when left without a working kitchen and clothes-washing facilities. He also wanted the landlord to fix the roof and replace items that had been damaged.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident contacted the landlord on 11 June 2024 wishing to raise a new complaint because the roof had flooded again after the repairs had been completed. As the landlord has not had the opportunity to respond to the resident’s complaint for subsequent leaks, we have not assessed any matters following the landlord’s stage 2 response on 3 June 2024.
  2. The resident confirmed to us in February 2025 that the roof had since been replaced and kitchen works had been completed. He also confirmed that he had reached a settlement with the landlord’s insurer for the damaged items for £2500 which he has since received. As this part of the resident’s initial complaint has been resolved satisfactorily by the landlord’s insurers, we will not assess the management of the claim for damages in our investigation.

Landlord’s handling of reports of a leak and associated repairs

  1. In the landlord’s repairs policy, it states the following:
    1. It will attend emergency repairs within 4 hours to make the situation safe. It will attempt to resolve the issue at this time, however where possible, it will arrange for additional work to be attended within 24 hours.
    2. Minor roof leak repairs should be completed within 7 working days.
    3. It will complete major repairs within 60 days after completion of an inspection, and in exceptional circumstances it may take 90 days.
  2. The landlord was made aware of a leak coming through the resident’s ceiling into a light on 24 March 2023. An electrician attended the same day and gained access which was appropriate in line with its repair policy. The evidence shows the landlord tried to contact the neighbour living above to see if the leak could be contained in their flat, but could did not get through to them. The landlord raised a damp and mould inspection in the property which was appropriate. It called the resident on 26 March 2023 to arrange access for follow-up work but there was no answer. It arranged the damp and mould inspection to take place on 11 April 2023.
  3. On 27 March 2023, an emergency appointment was raised as the electric sockets in the kitchen were not working after a leak, and the bathroom light was full of water. This was marked as complete on 27 March 2023 but no notes were provided to us showing what was completed.
  4. On 20 April 2023, a repair was raised to make good the kitchen window reveal in the resident’s property. This was raised after confirmation that the leak from the flat above was resolved. The landlord advised this was completed on 7 June 2023 which was 32 working days. The landlord’s repairs policy at the time did not advise specific timescales for this type of repair, however this was completed within the target set on the repair log. Therefore, we have deemed that this was reasonable.
  5. On 21 December 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to report that water was dripping down the walls from the rain. He advised this had been ongoing for a year and there was mould around the kitchen window and walls An inspection was carried out on 2 January 2024 and no damp and mould works were required. The root cause was identified as a leak from the flat above and the following repairs were raised:
    1. Re-seal tiled panel below kitchen window exterior on upstairs flat due to possible water ingress.
    2. Check electrics in kitchen as they keep tricking – need to know what’s causing the problem.

Evidence shows these repairs were marked as completed on 10 June 2024 which was not appropriate. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to have investigated the issue with the electrics as an emergency because of the potential danger this posed to the resident.

  1. On 10 January 2024, a repair was raised to make a light safe following a leak in the resident’s flat. This was attended the same day as an emergency which was appropriate. It was noted that the sockets in the kitchen had water ingress, and these were isolated on that visit. The kitchen light was disconnected, and the resident was left with a lamp. There is no evidence that the landlord arranged any repairs at this point which was not appropriate. The landlord should have raised works to begin to investigate and rectify this issue.
  2. On 9 February 2024, the resident called to report the electrics were not safe due to water pouring down the wall. An emergency repair was attended, and it was noted that the kitchen light was still isolated and the electrics could not be put back on due to the ongoing leak. Internal emails from the landlord advise that they had not heard back from the resident since appointments in January so had assumed the situation was ok. This was not appropriate and the landlord should have arranged an inspection sooner to check if the problem was rectified or proactively contacted the resident to confirm this.
  3. An inspection was completed on 9 February 2024 to investigate where the leak was coming from. Internal emails state that several leaks were found and they sent the works to contractors. On 13 February 2024, the landlord inspected the kitchen to assess if the resident needed moving out of the property temporarily. It was noted the kitchen light was still isolated and the resident was running an extension lead from the living room to power the fridge. It was confirmed the next day that power in the kitchen could not be rectified until the roof issue was fixed and that this issue was related to the roof. The landlord’s findings recommended the resident be moved temporarily. There is no evidence that the resident was offered a temporary move at this time. This was not appropriate of the landlord who should have proposed a temporary move after this was identified on 14 February 2024.
  4. Landlord emails confirmed that the roof issue was believed to be rectified after their contractor attended to make it safe on 15 February 2024. No evidence has been provided by the landlord regarding what work was carried out and when, which was not appropriate and demonstrates poor record keeping. The landlord spoke to the resident in person on 21 February 2024 who confirmed there was no further water ingress. The landlord hoped to reconnect electrics and check them the following day. The resident had been left with a dehumidifier to help dry out the ceilings and walls, and repairs would be raised once it was dry. The electric was restored on 27 February 2024 and there is no explanation for this delay which was not appropriate. The landlord should have attended to reconnect the electrics as it had agreed or documented the reason for this delay.
  5. On 28 February 2024, in the landlord’s stage 1 response it confirmed that plastering in the kitchen was to be arranged. It also confirmed following the stage 1 response that it would complete decoration to the kitchen and affected ceiling. The works were raised on 5 March 2024. It did not tell the resident when this would take place which was not appropriate of the landlord.
  6. On 26 March 2024, the resident was offered a temporary move out of the property because of the condition of the kitchen whilst the repairs were carried out. The resident wanted to remain in the property and asked if the landlord would provide him with a food allowance whilst he had no access to his kitchen. The landlord agreed to pay £20 a day for food allowance which was in line with the landlord’s temporary move policy and therefore appropriate.
  7. On 16 April 2024, internal notes from the landlord state that scaffolders were attending the resident’s property on 19 April 2024 to start works on a temporary fix of the roof. It was hoping to keep the roof dry until their contractor could complete repairs on 29 May 2024. The notes also stated that the dehumidifiers in the resident’s flat were not coping, and the corner wall was soaking. There are no repairs evident on the repairs log, and it is not clear how or when the landlord became aware of the repeat issue. This shows poor record keeping from the landlord which was not appropriate.
  8. The landlord completed the temporary repair on 23 April 2024 and took damp measurements of the resident’s walls. It explained that it would review the progress in the kitchen whilst waiting for the roof repair to be completed which was appropriate. A further inspection on 25 April 2024 confirmed that the room smelt damp but there was no mould present at the time. The landlord offered alternative accommodation which was again declined by the resident. The landlord therefore offered to cover the following during this time:
    1. £20 per day expenses for food, and a further £20 a day if the resident’s daughters stayed with him.
    2. £10 per week to cover costs of electric/gas usage for dehumidifiers and increase in heating bills.

These offers were appropriate of the landlord as it is in line with its policy and the resident had chosen to stay at the property during this time. The landlord has provided evidence that it paid a total of £3657.64 to the resident between 9 April 2024 and 31 July 2024.

  1. The landlord completed a visit to the property on 14 May 2024 to check damp readings and it confirmed that it was below parameters so internal repairs could be carried out. The roof repair was brought forward to 15 May 2024 and this was confirmed to the resident. The internal repairs were scheduled for 30 May 2024 for 2 days, and decoration was to be completed on 5 June 2024. This was confirmed in a letter to the resident sent on 17 May 2024 which was reasonable of the landlord to ensure the resident was kept updated.
  2. In summary, the landlord has demonstrated the following failures:
    1. It took 120 working days to complete repairs from first being put on notice by the resident of the initial leak which was outside of its repairs policy.
    2. It failed to log or attend repairs following inspections, or follow-up on repairs that were completed.
    3. It did not offer the resident a temporary move for 30 working days from recognising that it was required.
    4. Poor record-keeping, with no repair notes documented on the repairs log provided in its evidence.
  3. Our investigation was hampered by the poor quality of the landlord’s records that were provided to this Service. The landlord’s repair records lacked detail such as dates of repairs to the roof, and details about the actual works completed. Therefore, we have recommended that the landlord reviews its record keeping in relation to repairs to ensure information is clear and comprehensive.
  4. In its stage 2 response on 3 June 2024, the landlord apologised for the failures it had identified during its investigation. It offered the resident £1000 compensation for its failures and the impact this had on him, in addition to £400 offered in its stage 1 response. It had already recognised the inconvenience not having a kitchen had on the resident by offering a temporary move and after this was refused, provided a food allowance during this period. These were reasonable actions by the landlord. The £1400 compensation is in line with our remedies guidance for severe maladministration, demonstrating that the landlord has recognised the impact this had on the resident. The resident has confirmed he has received this compensation. Consequently, we have made a finding of reasonable redress by the landlord.
  5. In his communication with us, the resident explained that he is still awaiting reimbursement from the landlord for his daughter’s food when she stayed with him. The landlord agreed this in a letter to the resident on 1 May 2024 upon production of receipts. Therefore, we recommend that the landlord contacts the resident to discuss this matter.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, reasonable redress was offered in the landlord’s handling of reports of leaks and the associated repairs.

Orders and recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord reviews its record keeping practices with regards to repairs.
  2. We recommend that the landlord contacts the resident to discuss reimbursement for his daughter’s food expenses when she stayed in the property whilst there was no access to the kitchen.