Wythenshawe Community Housing Group Limited (202342905)

Background

1. The landlord has a record of the resident having a mental health condition being PTSD and anxiety. The resident complained to the landlord about the quality of kitchen repairs, which the landlord agreed with. It agreed to replace the kitchen, and it offered to repair the fridge damaged by its contractors. The landlord tried to make a claim for a new fridge through its insurers who decided a repair was most appropriate.

What the complaint is about

2. The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of: 
   1. Works to the resident’s kitchen, and reports of damage to a fridge.
   2. The associated complaint

Our decision (determination)

3. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of works to the resident’s kitchen, and reports of damage to a fridge.
4. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s 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 works to the resident’s kitchen, and reports of damage to a fridge

5. The landlord’s resolution to replace the kitchen rather than attempt further repairs showed it had listened to the resident. Although its initial communication around the kitchen replacement was appropriate, it failed to maintain a reasonable amount of contact until the kitchen was replaced. It did not evidence it considered the resident’s vulnerabilities and adapt its communication appropriately. It dealt with the damage to the resident’s fridge appropriately.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint

6. The landlord managed the resident’s complaint in accordance with its policies and procedures. It provided clear evidence that all complaint issues raised by the resident were addressed at both stages of its complaint process.

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.

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 has happened or comment on all the information we have reviewed. We have only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

What we have not considered

7. The resident told us that he was stressed and had a panic attack while dealing with the circumstances around the complaint. It would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We have not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

The Landlord’s handling of works to the resident’s kitchen, and reports of damage to a fridge

8. In the landlord’s complaint responses it initially offered to have the fridge repaired by a specialist which was a reasonable response given the damage may have been repairable. The resident declined this offer and said he wanted it replaced instead. The landlord listened to the resident and agreed that it would make a claim under its own insurance policy. During February 2024 the landlord confirmed to the resident’s representative that the insurer would repair the scratch, which it could arrange. The landlord says that it did not receive a response from the resident. The landlord’s actions were reasonable as it has attempted to address the damage caused to the fridge and we have recommended that it offers again to repair the damage.
9. It took from August 2023 till February 2024 for the insurance company to provide a response to the claim. It would have been reasonable to have expected the landlord to have chased an answer sooner and evidenced it had maintained communication with the resident. Its failure to do so caused unnecessary distress and inconvenience to the resident.
10. The resident said he has had several jobs completed over the years to repair the kitchen and it was “falling apart”. The landlord agreed that the most recent work in July 2023 was not done to an acceptable standard. In its initial solution it committed to having its own in-house team to complete the work, to ensure a quality repair. This was a reasonable response for the landlord to suggest.
11. The resident however disagreed and said his kitchen needed to be replaced as there had been numerous repairs already made. The landlord acted appropriately and agreed to have the kitchen replaced. It said it would aim to have it installed by Christmas.
12. The kitchen was installed in April 2024 which was 4 months beyond what the landlord had initially stated. We have seen a timeline of the works and can see there was a delay due to the asbestos report being received later than anticipated. This had a knock-on effect which meant it was unable to complete the job during its allocated slot which was out with the landlord’s control.
13. In circumstances where lengthy delays occur we would expect the landlord to maintain contact with the resident and give regular updates. There has been no evidence provided of this happening which resulted in the resident having to chase the landlord on 2 occasions in January 2024. Although the landlord answered the resident the same day there is no evidence it had considered his vulnerabilities and adapted its communication to help reduce his anxiety.
14. The landlord’s poor communication relating to the fridge and kitchen replacement has resulted in a finding of service failure. To put things right we have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation. This amount reflects the likely distress and inconvenience the resident experienced. This is consistent with our remedies guidance where there was minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided and it did not appropriately acknowledge these and fully put them right.

15. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint and escalation request on the days they were made which was within the 5 days allowed in its complaints procedure.
16. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response of 16 August 2023 was sent within the 10 days allowed in its complaint procedure. It also covered all issues raised by the resident in his complaint of 2 August 2023. It appropriately spoke with its contractor regarding the resident’s complaint about the staff members behaviour which resolved that part of his complaint.
17. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 31 August 2023 was sent within the 20 days allowed in its complaint procedure and its response covered the issues raised in his escalation.
18. We have found the landlord’s complaint handling was appropriate and provided timely replies at each stage of the procedure.

Learning

19. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have identified the resident’s vulnerabilities and adapted its communication appropriately. We do appreciate the landlord was dealing with the resident’s parents at points who were helping him, but he has reported how its communication and delays had affected him in a negative way.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. If the landlord does not currently have a process in place, it could consider an alert system with pre-set times to provide updates to residents.

Communication

21. The landlord’s communication about ongoing issues was poor after the complaint process had been completed, however prior to this its complaint responses were all sent in a timely manner.