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Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (202401674)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401674

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

30 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 reports of living in a cold property.

Background

  1. The resident is a secured tenant of the landlord who is a local authority. The resident lives in a ground floor flat.
  2. The resident raised a service request on 16 March 2023 about his house being constantly cold. The landlord attended on 17 May 2023 where it identified pointing work was required to the brickwork and seals to the windows needed to be replaced.
  3. The resident made a formal complaint by phone to the landlord on 2 January 2024. He was unhappy the pointing work was outstanding for 3 years. He said he was using dehumidifiers due to dampness.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 5 January 2024. It said it had attended the property the previous day and identified an external wall brick was missing. Although initially complaining about the pointing work being delayed the landlord identified the main complaint was the house being cold and lack of cavity wall insulation. The landlord committed to assessing if his home was suitable for it, especially as the upstairs tenants were leaseholders. It advised the radiators had been replaced in 2023 and the pointing works were on a planned work programme.
  5. Th resident escalated his complaint on 24 January 2024. He believed the stage 1 response did not resolve his problem of a cold house. He said he was spending £70 to £80 per week on gas to heat it. He said he felt draught through the windows and floorboards and that the windows had been condemned by a contractor in the past year. He said he was being ignored and there was poor communication from the repairs team and unnecessary visits. He said he had not had a response from a call on 19 January 2024.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 21 February 2024 apologising for not returning his previous call. It said it had the cavity wall insulation approved. It said it would provide an update in April 2024 regarding the insulation and in November 2024 regarding the pointing. The landlord said it had carried out an inspection on 17 May 2023 in response to his service request of his house being cold on 16 March 2023. It apologised as it had identified the appointment had taken a month more than it should have. As a result it had since pointed the brickwork and fitted additional radiators in the bathroom and hallway. The landlord offered £250 compensation.
  7. The landlord also responded to the windows draughts concerns in its stage 2 response. It said the window replacement request was not part of the original complaint, however the windows had been assessed in October 2023 and as a result it had completed repairs to them on 26 October 2023.
  8. The resident brought his complaint to us as he thought the landlord was “putting off” repairs and not communicating with him effectively.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident stated he had been waiting for his pointing work to be completed for 3 years. While the historical issues provided contextual background to the current complaint, this investigation has primarily focused on the landlord’s handling of the events leading to the resident’s complaint. This is namely his reports of having a cold property from March 2023 that were considered in the landlord’s final response. This is because according to the Scheme, residents should normally complain to their landlord within 12 months of the events occurring. This is so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live,’ and while the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events that occurred. Due to the nature of complaint related to works, the investigation is likely to also consider some events following the end of the internal complaints process.
  2. The resident requested a windows replacement as part of the escalation process which the landlord advised was not part of the complaint. The scope of this investigation is limited to the issues which had exhausted the landlord’s complaints process after being initially raised with the landlord. The landlord in this case appropriately advised that this was not part of the original complaint, explained its handling of the windows repairs and provided the resident with an opportunity to raise his dissatisfaction as a new complaint. However, we have not seen evidence of this being raised or completed the landlord’s process and as such the windows issue will not be considered as part of this investigation. This is because the landlord needs to be given a fair opportunity to investigate and respond to any reported dissatisfaction with its actions prior to our involvement. If the resident wishes to pursue the windows repairs, he may directly address them with the landlord.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of living in a cold property

  1. Under the Homes Fitness for Habitation Act 2018 a landlord is responsible for ensuring the property is habitable and is capable of being heated to a reasonable temperature. The Landlord and Tenant Act require landlords to complete repairs within a reasonable time frame. We have seen within the landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy some planned works may take up to 18 months to complete. It includes pointing and structural work that is not a health and safety risk under this definition. Its policy states the resident will receive a letter within 14 days of the inspection to confirm what has been agreed and then quarterly updates, with estimated completion dates.
  2. It is not in dispute that the landlord failed to attend the resident’s service request (16 March 2023) of his home being cold within its repair policy timeframe of 25 working days. It attended on 17 May 2023 (total of 42 working days) which is 17 more than allowed in its repairs policy which was not a reasonable response. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to have maintained communication with the resident at the time and give reason for the delay. Its failure to do so was not a customer-focused response.
  3. The landlord appropriately identified works to resolve the issue. It fitted 2 additional heaters (hallway and bathroom) on 16 June 2023 and had the window seals replaced on 28 June 2023. Although the inspection was delayed the landlord completed the 2 repairs within its repair policy time frames which was a reasonable response. We have seen evidence of further works to the windows on 26 October 2023 following a maintenance inspection in October 2023. These were appropriate and timely steps.
  4. The landlord also identified pointing work during its visit and placed this on its planned works schedule (18 months). The pointing was complete on 24 June 2024 meaning the work was completed within 12 months of the inspection which was a reasonable response. We have seen positive internal landlord communication (24 May 2024) where the landlord was proactive in bringing the works forward. The landlord sent an update and estimate of when the repair would be approved in November 2023. This was 6 months from the inspection. It could not evidence it followed its repair policy and updated the resident within 14 days of the inspection and then again quarterly. This was inappropriate.
  5. The landlord attended the resident’s property on 4 January 2024 and identified cavity wall insulation could help with his concerns of the house being cold. It placed this on a planned works programme (18 months) on 19 February 2024 to be completed by August 2025. The work was completed within 8 months on 30 September 2024 which considering the complexities surrounding this repair was an appropriate response. We have seen the landlord spoke with the resident in June and September 2024 keeping him appropriately updated regarding the cavity wall insulation.
  6. In its stage 1 response (5 January 2024) to the complaint, the landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s concerns regarding the property being damp. The resident reported in his complaint having to use dehumidifiers. It is unclear if the landlord had provided these to the resident as an interim measure while waiting for the pointing work to be completed. It is also unclear of whether the damp was related to the property being cold or there were further repair concerns.
  7. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have evidenced it had assessed the property for damp and taken appropriate measures (additional heaters or plan of works), depending on the severity of the issue. This was a missed opportunity for the landlord to further inspect the property and potentially identify any issues that may be related to the damp and the coldness. The landlord’s omission to do so was unreasonable and amounts to service failure. The resident recently reported the landlord’s contractor, working near the roof advised him water was entering an open gap. He also reported continued issues with cold and damp which he stated had caused him chilblains. This prompted an inspection by the landlord in October 2024. This was following the end of the landlord’s complaints process and as such we are unable to fully assess its response to those reports or the outcome of the landlord’s visit. However, we have seen no evidence to date of any comprehensive damp inspection being carried out. As such, we have made an order below for the landlord to assess the property for damp.
  8. In its stage 2 response (21 February 2024) to the complaint, the landlord appropriately provided a summary of the work completed to date to resolve the complaint of the property being cold. It appropriately advised of a plan of works for the pointing and newly approved cavity wall insulation. The landlord offered the resident £250 compensation for the failings it identified. It apologised for failing to return his call of 19 January 2024 which caused the resident to have to escalate his complaint. It also apologised for its failure to attend the residents service request in March 2023 within its repair policy time frames.
  9. It is positive the landlord acknowledged the initial repair delay and its poor communication within the complaint process. However it did not acknowledge its failure to assess the property for damp or evidenced it had considered any additional measures following the resident complaint from January 2024. For these reasons we have found the landlord’s offer of £250 was insufficient. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident total compensation of £350 (including £250 already offered) for its failure. This is in line with our remedies guidance where the landlord has failed to acknowledge a failing.
  10. We find there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of living in a cold property.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman’s Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of living in a cold property.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay the resident £350 compensation (including the £250 already offered during its complaints process if it has not paid already) comprising:
    1. £250 already offered during its internal process.
    2. Additional £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its failure to assess the property for damp.
  2. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to assess the property for damp and provide a plan of works for any repairs identified.
  3. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord should confirm to us compliance with the above orders.