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A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202439017)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202439017

A2Dominion Housing Group Limited

26 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 repairs to the resident’s boiler and radiator.

Background

  1. The resident occupies a 2-bedroom flat under an assured shorthold tenancy from the landlord.
  2. The resident complained to the landlord on 22 October 2024 because he said his boiler had broken down and he had no hot water for several weeks. The resident said he was told on 10 and 21 October 2024 that replacement parts had been ordered, but the issue had not been resolved.
  3. The resident said the delay in work had caused him and his 2 young children significant inconvenience because they were not able to have baths at home without boiling water, which he said was impractical and unsafe. The resident said he had to resort to using public facilities at a gym to wash or impose on neighbours. The resident said he was seeking an immediate repair to his boiler, or a temporary solution such as a portable water heater or alternative provision for hot water.
  4. The landlord responded to the complaint at stage 1 of its internal complaint process on 13 November 2024. The landlord said it raised a work order on 8 October 2024 but its operative was unable to repair the boiler due to the relays being burnt out within the hot water tank. It established that parts would be required to make the repair.
  5. In respect of the radiator in the resident’s son’s bedroom that was not working, the landlord said the panel heaters were deemed faulty and new heaters were required. The landlord said a new work order was raised and its operative would attend the resident’s property on 15 November, with all works being completed by 20 November 2024.
  6. The landlord noted that there was a delay in the parts being ordered. The landlord upheld the complaint, apologised and offered compensation of £125. This was broken down as £25 for time and trouble, £50 for stress and inconvenience, and £50 for poor communication.
  7. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 on 26 November 2024 because his boiler was still not working and the radiator in his child’s bedroom was still unrepaired. The resident said he felt the landlord’s compensation offer did not reflect the disruption, stress, and financial impact caused by the delay and inadequate prioritisation of repairs. The resident further said he felt the landlord had not applied its policies correctly, and it did not consider the impact on him and his children.
  8. The landlord responded at stage 2 on 2 January 2025 and said all repairs had now been completed to the resident’s satisfaction. It said its operatives attended the resident’s property on 3 and 6 December 2024 and made the necessary repairs. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint in respect of the amount of compensation it had offered at stage 1, and it partially upheld the complaint in respect of how it had applied its policies.
  9. The landlord said its stage 1 response had not carefully considered its compensation policy, and it had not applied its repairs policy correctly in relation to the timescale for dealing with issues affecting heating and hot water. The landlord apologised and offered compensation of £250, broken down as £50 for the delays, £125 for the stress and inconvenience, and £50 for its poor communication. This was in replacement of its previous offer at stage 1. The landlord also commented in respect of its safeguarding policies and said they were not relevant to the complaint as its children and adult safeguarding policies were specific and related to risks of abuse, neglect, or harm.
  10. The resident escalated his complaint to the Ombudsman because he said the lack of hot water and heating in his child’s bedroom for 2 months had a detrimental effect on his and his family’s wellbeing. He said that while the landlord had increased the level of compensation offered at stage 2, he still felt that the compensation did not adequately address the extent of the inconvenience, distress, and financial impact caused.
  11. The resident lastly said he would like the landlord to make improvements to prevent similar matters arising, and for it to reflect on how it applies its policies when there are young children involved.

Assessment and findings

  1. The tenancy agreement makes the landlord responsible for the maintenance and repair of the resident’s boiler and radiator. Its responsive repairs policy offers 4 categories: emergency make safe repairs which should be completed within 4 hours, emergency complete repairs which should be completed within 24 hours, standard repairs which should be completed within 20 working days, and lastly planned and packaged repairs, which should be completed within 90 days.
  2. There is evidence within the landlord’s repair log that shows:
    1. A leak occurred from the flat above the resident’s on 8 October 2024 which affected the electricity supply in the resident’s flat. The repair log notes that an operative did attend the leak but since that happened the resident had no hot water.
    2. The resident had to contact the landlord again on 10 and 11 October 2024 to reiterate the problems experienced since the leak from the flat above.
    3. On 15 November 2024 there was an entry noting that the resident had been without heating in his child’s bedroom for 2 months. It notes to provide heaters for the time being.
    4. There is a further entry on 18 November 2024 indicating that the parts required to make the repair had been discontinued, and a further entry showing the landlord had ordered a new replacement part on 22 November 2024, with follow-on appointments arranged for 3 and 6 December 2024 to make the repairs.
  3. The resident was without hot water and heating in his child’s bedroom for 43 working days / 59 calendar days (8 October 2024 to 6 December 2024) which was inappropriate. Assurances were also provided by the landlord that all repairs would be completed by no later than 20 November 2024 which was not met, however the landlord had to order parts which would have inevitably delayed the full repair.
  4. Concerningly, there was evidence to suggest that the landlord had not offered any alternative heating for the child’s bedroom until 15 November 2024, which was 28 working days/38 calendar days after the heating was lost. That was inappropriate especially as there were young children at the property during colder months. If the landlord could not make a repair quickly it would have been appropriate for it to have offered the resident alternative heat sources at a much earlier stage.
  5. There was no evidence to suggest that the landlord had offered the resident any temporary solution to heat water while the repairs were undertaken. That was inappropriate, especially as the resident had 2 young children. The lack of hot water at the property for 2 months would have had a considerable impact on the household, and it is concerning to hear that the resident had to boil kettles or seek access to washing facilities at public places or neighbours.
  6. It was therefore appropriate that the landlord upheld the complaint and offered compensation to the resident in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused. There is nothing specific within the landlord’s compensation policy outlining how much compensation it should award for a loss of hot water and heating. The policy states that general compensation will be awarded following assessment of the disruption caused, and/or assessment of the amount of effort the customer has had to go to in order to resolve the issue. Assessments are categorised as minor, moderate, or extensive.
  7. However, the landlord’s offer of £250 was not sufficient to acknowledge the impact of its failures on the resident. This is because there was a complete lack of hot water over an extensive period of time and a loss of heating to the child’s bedroom, with temporary heaters only provided 5 weeks after the initial report. For that reason, the landlord is ordered below to pay the resident additional compensation of £400, making a total of £650. This is in line with the landlord’s compensation policy where there has been extensive disruption. It is also in line with our remedies guidance range of compensation where there has been a failure which had a significant impact on the resident.
  8. The landlord said it would learn from the complaint. It said it would ensure it provides a more robust workforce structure by having more trade operatives in position so work can be executed in a timelier manner. Additionally, the landlord said that because of the young children at the resident’s property it would have been appropriate to have treated the repairs as urgent priory given the weather conditions at the time. It provided assurances that it would try to act in line with its repairs policy in future. The landlord’s acknowledgement that it should have acted sooner was appropriate and the learning taken from the complaint is fundamental to ensure future improvements to its service which was appropriate.
  9. While the landlord has noted important learning from this complaint, the Ombudsman has ordered the landlord below to take some additional steps to ensure its good intentions lead to real, lasting improvements to its service. This will not only benefit the resident and his family in future but will also help other residents avoid similar problems if a loss of heating and hot water is experienced.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s boiler and radiator.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks from the date of this report the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident compensation totalling £650 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the handling of the repairs. This includes the amount of £250 previously offered by the landlord and can be deducted if already paid.
    2. Review its handling of the repairs in this case including consideration of how it can make improvements to its repairs service and the steps it can take in future to provide temporary solutions for heating and hot water breakdowns. The landlord should provide a copy of its proposed improvements to the resident.
    3. The landlord should write to the resident to apologise and acknowledge the failings the Ombudsman has identified.
  2. The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with these orders to the Ombudsman within 4 weeks.