Amplius Living (202332134)

Background

1. The resident lives in a 1-bedroom flat. Following a survey in May 2023, repairs were identified to improve the ventilation at the property. The resident complained to the landlord because it had not completed these repairs 4 months after the survey.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. concerns about the delay in completing the ventilation repairs.
   2. complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found that:
   1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the delay in completing the ventilation repairs.
   2. There was reasonable redress in the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

4. There was a significant delay by the landlord in raising and completing the ventilation repairs following the survey.
5. The landlord failed to communicate clearly with the resident and miscommunication from its contractor caused further delays.
6. The landlord failed to provide the correct information in its stage 1 complaint acknowledgement, and delayed acknowledging the resident’s stage 2 complaint request.

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

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.

7. The landlord completed a survey at the resident’s property on 26 May 2023 following reports of damp and mould. It did not provide to us evidence of notes or inspection reports from this visit. This was not appropriate as we expect the landlord to keep good records of repairs and surveys.
8. The resident complained to the landlord on 26 September 2023 because repairs identified in the survey had not been arranged or completed. The landlord raised the repairs. This was reasonable of the landlord who acted within 4 working days to raise the repairs following the resident’s contact.
9. On 3 October 2023 the landlord noted it had made an appointment on 20 October 2023 for the bedroom vent repair and told the resident about that. The landlord followed up with the resident on 3 October 2023 explaining that the sub-contractor would complete all the works. This was reasonable action by the landlord to ensure the resident was kept updated.
10. On 20 October 2023 the resident told the landlord the sub-contractor had attended in relation to the extractor fans work and not the bedroom vent repair. The landlord subsequently booked an appointment for 1 December 2023. The failure by the landlord to ensure that its subcontractor was aware of the full extent of the works contributed to the delay in completing the works.
11. The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on 13 November 2023. In its response, it confirmed it had booked an appointment for 1 December 2023 to fit the vent in the bedroom. It advised that it had contacted its contractor about the extractor fans installation, but it had not been provided with a date for this to be completed. In its complaint response, it would have been reasonable to confirm what actions it would take in organising the repair and when the resident would be updated.
12. The resident rang the landlord on 21 November 2023. She said the landlord’s contractor had not attended a repair scheduled for that day and she was confused by the different dates she had been provided for different repairs. The landlord called the resident on 22 November 2023 to confirm all dates of repairs. This was a reasonable response of the landlord to provide clarity and avoid further confusion for the resident.
13. The evidence suggests the contractor cancelled the appointment on 1 December 2023 in error. This appointment related to the extractor fans. It is not clear from the evidence that the landlord took any action to chase its contractor for a new date of this repair. This delayed the repairs further. This was inappropriate as it was the landlord’s responsibility to ensure the repairs were completed.
14. The resident called the landlord on 11 December 2023 to express her dissatisfaction that the contractor had not arranged an appointment for the bedroom vent. The landlord contacted its contractor to chase for a new appointment. However, there is no evidence of the landlord taking action. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to tell the resident what action it would take and when she could expect an update.
15. The bedroom vent repair was scheduled for 22 December 2023 but upon attending, the repair could not go ahead because the bedroom needed emptying of items. The landlord made an appointment for 12 January 2024.
16. The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint at stage 2 on 10 January 2024. In its response it confirmed the appointment for 12 January 2024. It advised that it would continue to monitor her appointment to ensure it went ahead. The landlord acknowledged failures and miscommunication that caused delays in carrying out the repairs. The landlord awarded the resident £200 compensation for the inconvenience caused by its miscommunications and delays.
17. The repairs were identified on 26 May 2023 and were eventually completed on 23 February 2024. The landlord’s repair policy says it will complete this type of appointed routine repair within 28 calendar days therefore it should have completed the work by 23 June 2023. There was therefore an 8 month delay. Considering this delay, we do not find that the £200 compensation offered by the landlord was proportionate to the inconvenience, frustration and distress caused to the resident over this 8-month period. Therefore, we have made a finding of maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s repairs. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident additional compensation of £200 (bringing the total to £400) for the delay in completing the repairs. This is equivalent to £50 for each month of delay. This in line with our remedies guidance which says such a sum is appropriate where there has been a failure that adversely affected the resident but did not have a permanent impact.
18. The landlord has since identified learnings and told us that it has implemented several improvements to prevent the repetition of the errors made. These include:
    1. Providing surveyors access to tools to upload completed surveys onto its repair system.
    2. Holding contractors to account when delays occur.

19. The resident expressed her dissatisfaction with the repairs service on 26 September 2023. The landlord acted appropriately in raising a complaint and acknowledged this in 3 working days, in line with its complaints policy.
20. In the landlord’s acknowledgement, it advised the resident that they would respond within 20 working days. The landlord’s policy states it would respond to a complaint within 10 working days. If further time was required, the landlord should provide a valid reason to the resident. It did not provide a reason to the resident why it needed more time in its acknowledgement which was inappropriate.
21. The landlord contacted the resident on 30 October 2023 and requested an extension to respond to her complaint. This was reasonable by the landlord and it agreed with the resident it would respond to her complaint within 10 working days. The landlord responded at stage 1 on 13 November 2023 as per its agreement with the resident.
22. The landlord took 8 working days to acknowledge the resident’s request for a stage 2 review. The landlord did not have timescales to acknowledge an escalation request in its policy at the time. However, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to acknowledge the request within the same timescales as a stage 1 complaint.
23. The landlord contacted the resident on 11 December 2023 to request an extension to respond at stage 2. This was appropriate of the landlord as it was within its timescale to respond to the complaint and managed the resident’s expectations.
24. The landlord responded to the resident on 10 January 2024 which was 33 working days after the complaint was acknowledged. This was appropriate based on the landlord agreeing an extension with the resident as per its policy. It apologised for the delay in acknowledging her escalation request, and delay in resolving her complaint.
25. In summary, the landlord acknowledged failures in its handling of the resident’s complaint. It awarded her £150 compensation in its final response for the time taken to resolve her complaint. We consider that sum to be proportionate and in line with our remedies guidance, as referenced above. Therefore, we have made a finding of reasonable redress for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
26. The landlord has advised us that it completed further training with its staff and implemented changes to improve its complaint handling. These include:
    1. Ensuring there is responsibility for acknowledging and responding to complaints on time.
    2. A lead from the appropriate service is assigned to each complaint and are responsible for investigating, raising actions and taking ownership of their completion, and capturing learnings.

Learning

27. The landlord should ensure that all repair notes including surveys are recorded correctly and actions are completed.
28. The landlord may consider reviewing how it manages its customer’s communication with its repair contractors to prevent confusion or misunderstandings.