Sanctuary Housing Association (202440898)

Background

1. The property is a 1-bed flat in a high rise block with a communal heating system which supplies heating and hot water to each property. There were blockages in the pipework in 2024 which affected the heating and hot water supply. The resident complained about the time taken to complete repairs and lack of communication. The problems continued and the resident escalated her complaint to us.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Repairs to a communal heating system.
   2. The associated complaint

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. Maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to a communal heating system.
   2. No maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the associated complaint

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

Summary of reasons

4. The landlord accepted responsibility and conducted communal boiler repairs throughout 2024. These were complex and required multiple appointments by it and its contractors to understand the cause of the breakdowns and rectify them. The faults were intermittent as the contractor sought to provide temporary repairs to provide some service to residents.
5. The landlord accepted that its communication with the resident was poor between February and September 2024. While it accepted these failings and improved its approach after the complaint, it failed to put things right for the resident. It did not fully address the impact its poor communication had on her.
6. The landlord’s complaint responses were issued in accordance with its policies and procedures.

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’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.

What we have not investigated

7. In her reports to the landlord, the resident said that she had no regular hot water from November 2023. The landlord’s records show that it first attended to test the flow rate on 12 February 2024. We have not seen any report prior to this date of a fault with the hot water from the communal boiler. In the absence of any further evidence, we have considered the events from February 2024 as part of this investigation.

What we have investigated

8. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy says that it will carry out responsive repairs promptly and in one visit, where possible. It will regularly update customers on the progress of their repair through proactive communication.
9. It is unclear from the records available what specific periods the resident was left without heating or hot water. In her emails to the landlord, she said that she experienced intermittent faults with both throughout 2024. The landlord responded to the resident’s reports and sent contractors each time. They restored the hot water (albeit at reduced pressure or temperature). Given the nature and regularity of the resident’s reports, we have considered that she was without a steady supply of hot water at least between February and September 2024.
10. The landlord has not disputed that it was responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the communal boiler. It was aware of problems with the flow rate from the communal boiler from February 2024. Its contractor attended on 12 February and shared its findings with the landlord on 15 February. There were several items that it needed to replace and it estimated the completion date would be the week ending 22 March 2024. The landlord’s records are unclear whether the contractor conducted any repairs in March 2024 or how it proactively managed these works.
11. In its April 2024 stage 1 response, the landlord said it had provided a temporary boiler to supply hot water to the block. There was no record of this happening and the resident said it did not otherwise tell her about any temporary boilers. She said that, despite the repairs, the fault continued and she was not receiving clear communication from the landlord. These communication failures feature throughout the timeline of this complaint.
12. We recognised that the repairs to the communal boiler were potentially complex. The landlord and its contractors conducted several inspections throughout 2024 to investigate the cause of the breakdowns. There was evidence of fault testing to find the cause, including quotes and recommendations from contractors. While we accept that the landlord made reasonable efforts to rectify the faults, it did not communicate these actions to the residents. This lack of communication caused the resident additional distress and inconvenience as she was unclear how long the issue would continue and whether, or how, it could mitigate the impact on her.
13. The landlord has not disputed that its communication between February and September 2024 was poor. In its stage 1 response, it accepted that it had failed to communicate effectively with the resident about the boiler repairs. Despite this recognition, its communication did not improve between April and September 2024. The landlord accepted its continued failures at stage 2 and its records show this improved significantly after the complaint.
14. While it appropriately apologised for these failures, the landlord did not make any other offer to put things right for the resident. It did not address the resident’s time and trouble caused by her frequent chasing in 2024. It did not offer redress for her distress and inconvenience caused by the lack of adequate heating or hot water supply. It did not fully consider how the lack of communication impacted her and this was a failing.
15. We find maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to a communal heating system. The resident was without a steady supply of heating and hot water for most of 2024. She had to chase the landlord for updates and it gave conflicting advice about the cause of the fault. While the landlord accepted its communication failures and improved its service subsequently, it did not do enough to put things right for the resident. These failures caused the resident time, trouble, distress and inconvenience.
16. In light of the inconvenience and distress caused to the resident by the repair failings, we order £600 compensation. We award an additional £200 for the resident’s time and trouble caused by the landlord’s poor communication. This is in line with our remedies guidance for circumstances when the landlord has not acknowledged all its failings and there was a significant impact on the resident.

17. The landlord’s complaint handling policy complies with our Complaint Handling Code (the Code). It says that it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and issue responses at stage 1 within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20 working days.
18. We found no maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the complaint. Its complaint responses were issued in accordance with the Code. The resident complained on 25 April and it responded 2 working days later, on 29 April 2024. She escalated her complaint on 5 September and it issued its response 16 working days later, on 27 September 2024.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

19. The landlord’s records were not always clear about the actions it or its contractors took. This caused some confusion in the information it shared with residents, who reported conflicting information from the landlord as to the cause of the repair issues.

Communication

20. The lack of communication was the main contributing factor to the resident’s distress and inconvenience. The landlord recognised this and showed that it had learned from these mistakes. It improved its communication with residents after it issued its stage 2 response by using newsletters and organising meetings to provide updates on the repair. It should continue to use these methods in cases where there are complex repair issues that affect many residents and will take several visits to resolve.