Milton Keynes City Council (202343176)

Background

1. The resident lives in a ground floor flat within a block of flats. He complained to the landlord that he had no heating from October 2023. In the landlord’s response it said that it was working to repair the fault. It provided the resident with a temporary heater and made payments for the running costs.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the residents:
   1. Reports of no heating.
   2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found:
   1. Service failure in landlord’s response to reports of no heating.
   2. Service failure in in the landlords complaint handling.

Summary of reasons

Response of no heating

4. The landlord did not reasonably manage the resident’s expectations, it also failed to address all points raised in his complaint.

Complaint handling

5. The landlord provided its final response outside the timescale set out in its policy without explanation or acknowledgment.

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

The landlord must comply with our orders in the manner and timescale 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.

Investigation scope

6. As part of his complaint, the resident said the lack of heating affected his health. The Ombudsman cannot assess medical impact or liability. If the resident believes his health was affected, he may wish to seek legal advice about making a personal injury claim. As this is a legal matter, it will not be considered in this report.
7. The resident has told the Service that mould developed in his home due to the heating issues. This was not raised as part of his complaint to the landlord. We can only consider issues that have completed the landlord’s complaints process. The resident may raise this matter as a formal complaint with the landlord and if he remains dissatisfied, he has the option of bringing the new matters to the Service for consideration.

Response of no heating

8. The resident’s tenancy handbook confirms that the landlord is responsible for heating repairs. Issues should be resolved during the first visit where possible, with follow-up appointments arranged if needed. Residents should be informed if further visits are required.
9. In his complaint, the resident stated he had been without heating since 18 October 2023. The landlord’s repair log records the issue as starting on 1 November 2023. It also shows that the landlord provided the resident with an electric heater the following day.
10. In its initial complaint response, the landlord apologised and said it was investigating the heating issue. It stated that a fan heater had been provided to the resident, payments were up to date, and it had been communicating with him about progress.
11. The resident continued to contact the landlord, stating that the heating issue remained unresolved and that payments had stopped after 9 January 2024. He asked when the repairs would be completed.
12. The landlord responded to the escalated complaint almost 3 months later. It repeated that it was working to resolve the issue but did not provide further explanation or address the resident’s concerns about repair timeframes.
13. It reiterated that it was communicating regularly with residents, but there is no evidence of communication beyond the letter it sent to all residents in December 2023. The landlord said future payments would be sent directly to the energy supplier and an officer was liaising with him. Internal emails show that in February, the officer was asked to follow up with the resident, but there is no evidence that this contact took place.
14. The landlord’s repair logs show that the heating was repaired on 13 January 2024. However, in its final response in March 2024, it stated that it was working to resolve the heating issue. There is no record of any new reports of heating failure following January 2024, so it is not clear what further problems the landlord was referring to in its complaint response. Nonetheless, it did not give any details about what the problem was or how long it expected to take to resolve it.  
15. The landlord acted reasonably by providing the resident with temporary heating and payments to cover the associated costs. As the winter period was coming to an end, the impact of the issue would be less significant.
16. However, it did not manage the resident’s expectations, as the issue appears to have continued or reoccurred by at least March 2024, and the landlord did not provide any details about it. The landlord’s failure to do that meant that element of the resident’s complaint went unaddressed.

17. The landlord operates a 2 stage complaints process. Stage 1 complaints should be responded to within 20 working days. Stage 2 responses must be issued within 20 working days from the date of acknowledgement. Any extension should be no more than 10 working days and clearly explained to the resident.
18. The resident made his complaint on 1 December 2023. The landlord responded on 29 December 2023, which was 19 working days later and within the landlord’s complaints policy timeframe.
19. The resident escalated his complaint on 30 January 2024. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 26 March 2024, 41 working days later. Therefore, it did not meet the timescale set out in its complaints policy nor did not notify the resident of any extension or provide a reason for the delay.
20. When the resident referred the matter to the Service, he stated that he was unaware of any complaint responses. While the landlord has not provided evidence that the responses were sent by email, it has provided fully formatted dated responses that appear to have been taken from its case management system. There is no evidence that, in the absence of responses, the resident chased the landlord for them. Therefore, it is unclear what may have occurred, but there is no evidence of a specific failing by the landlord.
21. Nonetheless, the landlord did not acknowledge the delay in its final response or offer any redress. This shows that its complaint handling did not meet the standards set out in its policy and the Code.

Learning

Communication

22. The landlord should consider reviewing the Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report on complaint handling. The report explains that delays, poor communication, and lack of ownership can escalate issues unnecessarily. It recommends clear accountability, timely responses, and proactive engagement to resolve problems early and maintain trust.