Accent Housing Limited (202340206)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202340206

Accent Housing Limited

27 August 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 issues with the heating and hot water in his property.

Background and summary of events

  1. The landlord is a housing association. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord since November 2019. The property is a 1 bedroom first floor flat in a low-rise block. The resident said he was registered disabled.
  2. The resident first reported issues with the hot water cylinder and storage heaters in his property in 2021. An investigation by the landlord in March 2021 revealed a problem with the wiring, which meant the resident had wrongly been paying peak electricity charges since moving in. In May 2021 The landlord offered the resident compensation of £170 based on evidence he had provided, and after submitting some further evidence this offer was increased to £1000.
  3. The resident reported issues with the hot water cylinder and storage heaters between July 2022 and June 2023. He made a stage 1 complaint on 13 September 2023. He said that the storage heaters had only worked intermittently since he moved into the property and despite numerous repairs this had not been resolved.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 28 September 2023. It summarised its actions taken in response to the resident’s reports of the heaters not working. It acknowledged the resident’s frustration in having to report repairs but said it had responded appropriately and would not be offering any further goodwill gesture at that time.
  5. On 5 October 2023 the resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint to stage 2. He said he was unhappy with its response and disputed some of the content in the stage 1 response. He said he wanted the issue to be investigated and a resolution offered.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 9 November 2023. The response said that it had reviewed the content of its stage 1 response and was satisfied it was an accurate reflection of events up to that date. In its response the landlord also said that in October 2023 its contractor had visited, noting that although the system was working correctly, the Economy 7 tariff had been removed. The landlord advised the resident to contact his energy provider about this issue. The landlord said that its contractor had also noticed the resident was using supplementary oil heaters. The landlord told the resident in its stage 2 response that to get the best from the heating system he should stop using his own oil heaters in conjunction with the storage heaters. The landlord also responded to a point the resident had made in his complaint escalation where he said he had raised complaints directly with the contractor, advising him to report issues through the correct channels.
  7. The resident was unhappy with the outcome of the stage 2 response and brought his complaint to the Ombudsman on 8 February 2024.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

  1. The Ombudsman may not consider complaints about matters which were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising. 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. In this case, the investigation will consider the resident’s concerns addressed in the landlord’s complaint responses, with a focus on events in the 12 months leading to the resident’s formal complaint on 13 September 2023.
  2. In March 2024 the resident told this Service that the substantive issue has caused damp and mould in his property, damaging some of his belongings. As this was not raised with the landlord at stage 1 or stage 2, it has not had the opportunity to respond to this aspect, and therefore this will not be considered as part of this investigation. The resident may make a new complaint about this matter if he wishes to do so.
  3. The resident has told this Service about a separate issue, which was referred to in the landlord’s stage 2 response, where he had expressed concerns about the landlord changing his electric supplier without his consent. This has been reviewed by the landlord under a separate complaint and will therefore not be considered as part of this investigation

The resident’s reports of issues with the heating and hot water

  1. The Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principals are:
    1. be fair
    2. put things right
    3. learn from outcomes

This Service will apply these principles when considering whether any redress is appropriate and proportionate for any maladministration or service failure identified.

  1. The resident’s tenancy agreement outlines the landlord’s obligation to keep the heating and water installations in reasonable repair and working order.
  2. The landlord’s repair policy says it is responsible for repairing essential services such as central heating and plumbing. It will attend emergency repairs within 4 hours and aim to resolve within 24 hours after being attended. It deems an emergency repair as something which is “dangerous or poses an immediate risk to health and/or safety”. All other repairs are classed as routine and will be carried out within 28 days. The policy says it will keep customers informed of the progress of repairs, including appointment reminders and “on way” notifications.
  3. The resident first reported issues with his hot water cylinder on 26 January 2021, saying it was tripping the electrics. The landlord’s contractor visited the property the next day and identified incorrect wiring between the “peak” and “off-peak” cables, as well as the need for a new hot water cylinder. The landlord subsequently contacted the manufacturer on 8 February 2021 to arrange an urgent repair to the cylinder under warranty. It also engaged an experienced electrician to inspect the wiring after the resident had said his electric costs had gone up significantly since being told to use the boost function to get hot water.
  4. By 26 March 2021 the resident had confirmed that wiring works had been completed and his electricity usage had started to reduce. The landlord followed this up with the resident in April 2021 to check this was still the case. On 13 May the resident asked for compensation for the period of time he had been paying too much for his energy costs, initially being offered £170 before this was revised to £1000 upon receipt of further evidence. This service has not seen evidence of how this compensation was calculated. It’s reasonable to assume that this offer was made to compensate the resident for his additional electricity costs and not for any distress or inconvenience, because the landlord’s complaint response referenced that the original offer was based on receipts provided by the resident.
  5. We have seen no evidence to show that that resident reported any further issues until over a year later in July 2022, when he reported an off-peak heating fault, before cancelling the request the following day saying it was no longer required.
  6. On 18 October 2022 the resident reported that his storage heater was blowing out cold air and it was only working intermittently. He said the diagnostics showed no problems with the unit’s function, but the data had falsely showed periods of usage when he had not been using the heating and vice versa. The resident said he thought it was a problem with the wiring. The landlord raised a repair order and its contractor attended two days later, which was within its repair policy timescales. The repair record shows this job as completed, but it is not clear what work was carried out or if the problem was resolved.
  7. The resident contacted the landlord again on 23 February 2023 to report the same problem with the storage heater, but this time said there was also a smell of burning. The landlord responded reasonably, raising a repair with its contractor the same day and informing the contractor to contact the resident in advance because he was in and out of hospital at that time. However, the contractor did not attend until 14 working days later (15 March). The repair records suggest that the resident had switched off the heating system in its entirety, meaning a vulnerable resident was without any heating in February. Taking this into account, together with the resident’s report that the heater smelled of burning, the landlord should have constituted this as an emergency repair and attended within 4 hours, in line with its repair policy.
  8. The contractor made 3 separate attempts to attend to the above repair. The first attempt was on 15 March, but the resident was not home. The contractor called the resident while on location, which was appropriate, but when speaking to the resident, he did not seem to know about the appointment and asked the contractor to confirm the appointment with him next time they were to attend. The landlord’s contractor made further visit attempts on 16 and 17 March, calling the resident on both occasions when finding he was not home, but there was no answer to the calls. After the contractor had logged 3 failed visit attempts, the landlord cancelled the repair. This service has not seen any evidence to show that the landlord or contractor booked these visits with the resident in advance. It is reasonable to assume from the resident’s conversation with the contractor on 15 March that he had not been informed of the first appointment, which was contrary to the landlord’s policy. It was unfair for the landlord to cancel the repair after the 3 failed visit attempts without making reasonable attempts to find out if the resident had been told about these appointments in advance, especially as the landlord was aware he was in and out of hospital at that time.
  9. On 27 March 2023 the landlord raised an order to replace a storage heater after the resident had advised the heater was showing an error code and was not tuning on or off. On 4 April 2023 the resident asked for temporary heaters to heat his home while the storage heater was out of use. The landlord repair notes recognised the resident was vulnerable and treated this action with urgency, which was appropriate. It supplied and set up the temporary heaters the following day, which was fair and showed consideration for the resident’s individual circumstances.
  10. The landlord’s contractor attended to replace the faulty storage heater on 6 April 2023 but found it had already been done by a different contractor. This demonstrated poor repair management by the landlord and likely inconvenienced the resident with an unnecessary visit.
  11. Whilst at the property on 6 April, the contractor spoke to the resident and reported back to the landlord to say there might be an element of human error involved, after the resident had said that the new heater only “works now and then”. In a conversation with the landlord on 13 June 2023, the resident said the new heater was not working. He said he did not want a repair arranged. Instead, he asked for compensation and for his arrears to be written off. The landlord said it could not confirm this. With the contractor’s feedback in mind, the landlord missed an opportunity to offer support to the resident in how to use his new heater correctly. This might have gone some way to restore trust and improve the relationship with the resident, potentially preventing a complaint.
  12. On 13 September 2023 the resident complained to the landlord. He said since moving into the property in 2019 the heaters had worked intermittently and despite many repairs nothing had been resolved. The landlord called the resident on the same day which was a fair response and in line with the early resolution objectives of its complaint policy.
  13. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 14 September 2023.
  14. On 18 September 2023 the landlord raised a repair order with its contractor to overhaul all the storage heaters at the property. It is reasonable to assume this was prompted by the resident’s complaint. By checking all the heaters at the property, the landlord demonstrated a proactive approach in response to the resident’s concerns. This was positive, well intended action and would have likely offered the resident reassurance that the landlord was responding appropriately. The resident told the landlord he was moving home on 29 September and did not want to take time off to have this completed, so the landlord cancelled this order at the resident’s request.
  15. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 28 September 2023. The response:
    1. provided an account of the residents reports from February 2021 to June 2023 and the actions it had taken in response.
    2. said it had awarded £1000 compensation in May 2021 to reimburse the resident for the extra electricity costs incurred because of the faulty wiring.
    3. said it understood that although it was frustrating to experience faults with the appliances, it had raised repairs within its policy timescales on each occasion and had ultimately replaced the faulty heater.
    4. said it would not consider any further goodwill gestures at this time.
  16. On 4 October 2023 the resident called the landlord to report an issue with the hot water cylinder. The landlord raised an emergency repair with its contractor, highlighting the urgency because the resident had a disability, and attended the same day. The contractor reported back that new parts were needed. The following day the resident contacted the landlord again to report that his hot water cylinder was not heating the water. The landlord raised a repair and again attended the same day. The contractor reported that they had reinstalled the boost function on the thermostat and ordered new elements which would arrive on 13 October. These responses were reasonable and within the landlord’s emergency repair timescales.
  17. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 by Webform on 5 October 2023. In his complaint, he disputed the landlord’s account, saying he had reported the issue at least 20 times. The resident said he had complained separately to 2 of the landlords’ contractors and had expected these reports to be actioned as a complaint. It is unclear whether the contractor relayed these complaints to the landlord. It is not a failing that the landlord did not action these reports or raise complaints if they were not raised with them directly. The resident’s relationship is with the landlord, not the contractor, so we have made a recommendation that the landlord take steps to remind its contractors of the appropriate procedures when residents make contact, particularly when making a complaint.
  18. On 24 October the resident called the landlord again and said he had had no heating for the last 3 years. He said the off-peak control box was faulty and he thought it needed rewiring. The landlord referred this to its electrical safety team and on 25 October its contractor attended. The contractor swapped the wires on the immersion and changed the time on the LED display to ensure the off-peak was running on permanent supply, which powered up the cylinder. The new elements were also fitted. The contractor notes said that the resident would let them know the next morning if it was all working properly.
  19. The landlord and resident exchanged emails on 25 and 26 October, followed by a telephone call to the resident. The landlord asked the resident to confirm his reasons for escalating the complaint. In this conversation the resident said he had been using an oil heater at colder times. He said he had had much more direct contact with the landlord’s contractor which had not been recorded on the landlords’ systems. As we have noted in paragraph 29 of this report, the landlord should ensure that its contractors are not enabling residents to bypass the correct communication channels and are instead re-directing residents to the landlord appropriately.
  20. The landlord had told the resident that it may need longer to investigate his complaint escalation and agreed to extend its stage 2 response date to 7 November 2023. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 9 November 2023. The response came from the Director of Property Services and said that:
    1. it had reviewed all the content of its stage 1 response and confirmed this was an accurate account of the events.
    2. all repairs should be reported via its technical hub which was introduced in September 2022 because any direct communication between a resident and contractor is not documented on its records.
    3. its contractor had visited on 30 October 2023 and confirmed the heating system was working correctly.
    4. the contractor had noticed the economy 7 option had been removed, which meant the resident was not being charged electricity at the off-peak rate. It said the resident would need to contact his supplier to reinstate the economy 7 tariff to his account as the landlord would not be able to do this on his behalf.
    5. it recommended that the resident should stop using oil heaters because this affects the thermostat and how the heaters will function.
    6. It apologised for any inconvenience caused.
  21. The resident emailed the landlord on 9 November 2023 expressing disappointment with its stage 2 response. He said that he had only been using the oil heaters recently while the heating had been switched off. It is unclear if the heating was working correctly at this time. There is conflicting evidence in that the landlord said the contractor visited on 30 October and found it working correctly, but the resident said the system had been switched off. This Service is therefore not able to determine if the substantive issue had been resolved.
  22. The landlord has informed this Service it has no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident, although numerous references to health conditions are made within the records provided. In April 2023 the landlord acknowledged the customer had vulnerabilities and subsequently prioritised providing temporary heaters because of this. It also prioritised repairs on two occasions in October 2023, asking its contractor to attend as an emergency because the resident was vulnerable. After the complaints process was complete for this issue, the resident contacted the landlord about another matter and told it he was registered disabled. This is a record keeping concern. The landlord had multiple opportunities to update its records with the resident’s declared disability but failed to do so, and a recommendation is made below to address this aspect.
  23. Overall, there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the heating and hot water. The evidence shows that whilst the landlord routinely raised repairs within its policy timescales and had consideration for the resident’s vulnerability when setting those timescales, there was occasion where it did not respond appropriately in the circumstances. The landlord also showed poor repairs management when sending a contractor to replace the resident’s storage heater when this had already been carried out.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the heating and hot water.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord should:
    1. pay the resident a total of £50 compensation. This is to remedy the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s service failure in its handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the heating and hot water. This should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against any arrears.
    2. contact the resident to establish if the heating and hot water appliances are now fully functional or whether any further repairs are necessary.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. reviews its service level agreements with its contractors to ensure contractors understand their position when communicating with residents, and the importance of directing residents to the landlord for all their communications particularly regarding complaints.
    2. contacts the resident to ask whether he would like his records updated to reflect any vulnerabilities or disabilities he may have. If the resident asks for his records to be updated, this should be done within a week. The landlord should provide confirmation to the resident with what information has been placed on his record.