London Borough of Hackney (202334288)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202334288

London Borough of Hackney

31 July 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 response to the resident’s reports about a water tank, a hot water cylinder, and pipework lagging, and its compensation for these.

Background

  1. The resident has been a tenant of the landlord since November 2020. The property is a flat in a block. The property is served by a communal heating system but has a cold water tank and a hot water cylinder. The resident says he is severely disabled and has a carer.
  2. The resident previously raised the water tank, hot water cylinder, and pipework in 2021.
  3. In March 2023, the resident contacted the landlord’s rents team. He requested for his hot water cylinder to be updated. He also raised dissatisfaction that this was not insulated when he moved in and that the landlord took a long time to insulate it. The rents team responded they were unable to assist with repairs.
  4. In May 2023, the resident contacted the landlord when contractors removed his neighbour’s asbestos water tank. He raised concerns with how dirty his neighbour’s tank was and queried if the landlord would replace everyone’s.
  5. The resident made a complaint on 19 June 2023. This included additional issues but for the water tank and hot water cylinder:
    1. He said that he wanted his own asbestos water tank removed. He said his child had twice got sick brushing their teeth using the bathroom supply from his asbestos water tank. He also said that the bathroom cold water supply came out warm.
    2. He said that his hot water cylinder leaked a lot of heat and he wanted a sealed one like his neighbour.
  6. The landlord internally discussed the complaint at the end of June 2023. It was noted the asbestos was not easily released, but the tank could be arranged to be replaced. A survey was scheduled for the hot water cylinder. Around the same time, an operative reported that the cold water coming out warm was believed to be due to an issue with the communal boiler house.
  7. The surveyor attended on 30 June 2023. They noted the asbestos storage tank had a problem with cold water getting hot. They noted that the hot water cylinder had a loose jacket, was losing heat and had no hot water control. They also noted there was unlagged pipework. They recommended for the asbestos water tank to be replaced. They also recommended works related to control of the hot water cylinder temperature. It was subsequently noted that a works order would be raised for identified works.
  8. The landlord responded at stage 1 on 4 July 2023. This included additional issues but for the water tank and hot water cylinder:
    1. It explained the water tank contained a small amount of asbestos which was not easily released. It noted the operative’s report that issues with the boiler house was making the cold water too hot. It said a gas manager would arrange for the asbestos team to remove the water tank.
    2. It noted that the resident said the hot water cylinder was old and needed replacing as it was leaking lots of heat. It noted that the property had now been surveyed and said the gas team would arrange needed works.
  9. In August 2023, the landlord took measurements for works and noted it had agreed with the resident to do the works in September 2023. Internal correspondence refers to this relating to works to remove and replace the asbestos water tank, and to replace the hot water cylinder. On 19 September 2023, the landlord replaced the hot water cylinder.
  10. In late October 2023, the resident noted he now had a new hot water cylinder with proper insulation, but he raised dissatisfaction that there was an uninsulated cylinder when he moved in. He said this had previously led to high electricity bills and his flat being excessively hot.
  11. In mid-November 2023, the resident said the engineer had promised to return and lag the pipes on the hot water cylinder, after which a manager asked staff to arrange for the pipes to be lagged. The landlord subsequently confirmed that the resident would be contacted about an appointment, and it acknowledged that the process for the replacement of the cylinder will have caused some inconvenience. It offered £120 for the time, trouble, and distress caused. It explained this was based on the delay from June to August 2023 in progressing the cylinder replacement.
  12. The resident escalated the complaint in mid-January 2024. He raised dissatisfaction that the compensation was only for events in 2023. He also said that the pipes were still unlagged and the asbestos water tank was still there. The landlord subsequently arranged to replace the asbestos water tank and lag the pipework on 21 March 2024.
  13. The landlord responded at stage 2 on 20 March 2024. It confirmed the works scheduled for 21 March 2024. It acknowledged the resident had first reported the issues on 28 June 2023 and apologised for the delays and inconvenience. It increased its award to £620. This comprised £150 for service failings, £390 for delays, and £80 for complaint handling including its response delay.
  14. The resident subsequently expressed dissatisfaction to the landlord and the Ombudsman. He says he should not have moved into a flat with an uninsulated hot water cylinder. He said that his flat was unbearably hot and he had excessive electricity bills due to issues. He says the landlord failed to meet its obligations for the water tank and this led to his health being affected. He said that emails prove he complained about the cylinder and water tank issues from 2020 and he sought for compensation to be calculated from then.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident notes he previously complained about the water tank, hot water cylinder and insulation in 2020 and 2021. The Ombudsman expects a complaint to be about issues that happened in the past 12 months, so this investigation mainly considers events from March 2023. This is because before the resident complained in June 2023, it is not evident that he raised the water tank, hot water cylinder and insulation issues in the 12 months prior to March 2023.
  2. The resident raised several issues in his original complaint. However, his escalation to the landlord and the Ombudsman, and the landlord’s stage 2 response, focused on the water tank, hot water cylinder and pipework issues. This investigation therefore focuses on those issues.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about a water tank, a hot water cylinder, and pipework lagging, and its compensation for these

  1. The evidence shows that in the timeframe of the complaint, the resident initially raised queries about the hot water cylinder in March 2023 and about the water tank in May 2023. The rents team were reasonable in their response to the resident, as he had the option to report the issue through a more appropriate channel such as the repairs team. However, it is not evident that he received a reply to his May 2023 queries about his water tank, which is not entirely satisfactory.
  2. The evidence then shows that after the resident complained, the landlord arranged to inspect his concerns. This led to an operative identifying that warm water coming out of the bathroom cold tap was an issue with the boiler house, and a surveyor recommending for the water tank to be replaced and the hot water cylinder to be repaired.
  3. The subsequent actions for the warm water issue are unclear. The evidence does show some repairs related to the communal system were done, but it is unclear to what extent these related to the warm water issue. This is not entirely satisfactory. However, there were no further reports about the issue, which indicates the issue was resolved, and further reports would have given the landlord the opportunity to investigate further if it had not been.
  4. The landlord evidently decided to replace the hot water cylinder and this was done 3 months after the resident’s complaint. The resident had a longstanding desire to have a newer and more insulated hot water cylinder, but it is not in the Ombudsman’s authority or expertise to determine when components such as boilers should be replaced. We mainly consider how a landlord has met its day-to-day repairs obligations. The replacement of the hot water cylinder 3 months after the complaint was reasonably timely, as the landlord normally does this as part of its planned works programme, the June 2023 survey did not specifically recommend for it to be replaced, and it is not evident it was non-functional.
  5. The June 2023 surveyor recommended for the asbestos water tank to be replaced, and it is evident that the landlord intended to do the works round the same time it replaced the hot water cylinder. However, the water tank was replaced in March 2024, 6 months after the hot water cylinder was replaced in September 2023, and 8 months after the landlord said in its July 2023 stage 1 response that it would be replaced. This was a lengthy delay and the evidence suggests the landlord may have taken replacement of the hot water cylinder to mean that the water tank had been replaced. This was not satisfactory given its commitment.
  6. The landlord agreed to insulate the pipes in November 2023, after the resident reported that the engineer who replaced the hot water cylinder said this would be done. The pipes were lagged when the water tank was replaced in March 2024, 6 months after the hot water cylinder was replaced. The landlord is not clearly obligated to insulate pipes under its day-to-day repairs obligations if it receives ad-hoc requests to do so. However, the building regulations say that accessible pipes in a dwelling should be insulated if a boiler or hot water storage vessel is replaced in an existing system. This suggests that while the landlord was appropriate to acknowledge an obligation to do this after the resident raised the issue in November 2023, the length of time to lag the pipes was not satisfactory.
  7. The Ombudsman does not have the expertise to say that there should not have been an uninsulated hot water cylinder when the resident moved in, or that the landlord should have decided to replace the hot water cylinder and water tank earlier than it did. We also do not have the expertise to make definitive decisions about water safety, liability and the impact on health.
  8. The Ombudsman cannot therefore say that the landlord failed to meet its obligations for the water tank, that this impacted the health of the resident and/or his child, or that the landlord should reimburse him for periods where the previous tank and cylinder made his flat hotter and bills more costly. He has the option to seek independent advice if he wishes to pursue these aspects further. Based on British Standards guidance we have seen, a landlord is not obligated to regularly test drinking water stored in single dwellings like the resident’s, but we have recommended for the landlord to review its obligations for water storage tanks.
  9. However, aspects of the landlord’s response to the resident’s 2023 reports and complaint were not satisfactory. It is not evident it replied to his May 2023 email about the water tank. Its actions for the warm water issue were unclear. It replaced the asbestos water tank 8 months after it said it would. It lagged the pipes 6 months after the hot water cylinder was replaced, after chasing from the resident. It is not clear that it always effectively communicated or managed the resident’s expectations. He will have been caused some distress, inconvenience, and time and trouble by its handling and delays.
  10. The landlord’s stage 2 response demonstrates that it sought to acknowledge and put right failings in the case, through practical action and compensation in line with its compensation policy and our remedies guidance. The £620 that it paid to the resident is in the region of what our remedies guidance says may be applicable where there has been maladministration or severe maladministration, significant impact, and physical and/or emotional impact.
  11. In the Ombudsman’s view, this reasonably addressed the issues and impact evident. This leads us to find reasonable redress in the landlord’s response about the water tank, hot water cylinder, and pipework lagging. This does not mean that we think that the issues, landlord’s handling or impact on the resident were “reasonable.” The finding reflects that there were failings, which the landlord has reasonably remedied in line with our approach.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about a water tank, a hot water cylinder, and pipework lagging, and its compensation for these.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord is recommended to ensure that its heating team and contractors are aware of their obligations for insulation of heating and hot water pipes when it replaces components such as hot water cylinders and storage tanks.
  2. The landlord is recommended to review its maintenance obligations for asbestos water storage tanks in its housing stock, particularly in respect to the safety of the drinking water stored in single dwellings, and ensure its handling is in line with its obligations and relevant standards.