Accent Housing Limited (202318044)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202318044

Accent Housing Limited

26 March 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:
   1. Handling of electric repairs in the resident’s home.
   2. Handling of the associated complaint.

Background

2. The resident holds an assured tenancy on a terraced house owned by the landlord. The tenancy agreement began on 1 November 2021.
3. On 24 April 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to report that he had experienced power surges from the electric socket in his kitchen, which had damaged his dishwasher. He said that other appliances had also been damaged by the same socket in the past, resulting in an overall financial loss of £800.
4. In response, the landlord raised the repair, and operatives attended the resident’s home on 23 May 2023 and found a socket in poor condition which they replaced.
5. On 16 June 2023, the resident said to the landlord that he had tried to raise a formal complaint several times, but a staff member refused to register his complaint. He requested a “deadlock letter” to bring his complaint for investigation by the Service. He also said that his contents insurer had confirmed they would “categorically not pay out for something related to landlord negligence, which should have been identified during the electrical test” before the tenancy started. He requested that the landlord compensate him for the financial loss he incurred.
6. Throughout the complaint process, including in its August 2023 final response letter, the landlord said it completed the repair in the resident’s home within the time frame of its policy. It said that its engineers had fully tested the kitchen electrics and found no wiring defects that could have damaged the resident’s appliances. The landlord said that its policy advised residents to obtain content insurance. It said that due to addressing other outstanding complaints from the resident, there was a delay in its complaint response. To reflect the delay it offered the resident £25 in compensation.
7. The resident asked the Service to investigate his complaint on 15 September 2023. He said he was “frustrated, annoyed, disappointed and out of pocket”. To resolve the complaint, he would like the landlord’s apology and increased compensation.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of electric repairs in the resident’s home.

8. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles, which include treating people fairly, following fair processes, putting things right, and learning from outcomes. The Ombudsman must first consider whether a failure on the landlord’s part occurred and, if so, whether this adversely affected or caused detriment to the resident. If a failure by the landlord adversely affected the resident, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord took enough action to ‘put things right’ and learn from the outcome.
9. The landlord’s complaint policy states that residents are expected to arrange their own home contents insurance, which will cover them for loss or damage to their personal belongings. The policy says there may be no right to compensation where a household contents insurance policy would typically cover any loss or damage and where the landlord has not been at fault.
10. The landlord’s records show that it conducted an electrical test of the resident’s property on 11 November 2021, before the start of the tenancy. The report found no issues and recommended that the next inspection take place in November 2026.
11. The resident moved into the property on 19 November 2021. In his complaint, he stated he had experienced power surges in the past. There is no evidence that the resident reported these to the landlord at that time. The landlord, therefore, did not know about the issue and was not liable for the repair.
12. On 24 April 2023, the resident reported to the landlord that the electricity on one side of his kitchen did not work. Operatives attended the property 28 days later, on 23 May 2023, which was in accordance with the time frame set in the landlord’s repairs policy.
13. Operatives reported that they had checked the sockets in the area identified by the resident and found that one socket under the counter had been plastered over and was not in good condition. They replaced the socket, and once it was completed, they rechecked the electrics and confirmed that everything was working as expected.
14. Overall, the evidence shows the landlord responded to the reports it received appropriately and in line with its published timescales and supports the explanations it gave in its complaint responses.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

15. The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) makes it clear that landlords should make it easy for residents to complain and should not obstruct access to the complaints procedure.
16. The resident has experienced considerable difficulty in raising the complaint. The landlord’s records show the resident sought to raise a formal complaint on 24 April, 18 May, 11 June and 16 June 2023. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 19 June 2023. It provided the resident with a holding letter saying its investigation into the resident’s complaint took longer than expected and that it would respond by 14 July 2023. It eventually responded on 24 July 2023. The landlord accepted an overall delay of 7 working days. However, the landlord failed to acknowledge that the resident initially sought to raise a complaint on 24 April 2023, meaning there was an overall delay of 36 days.
17. On 10 June 2023 the landlord said to the resident that it would investigate the difficulties the resident had reported in trying to raise a formal complaint. There is no evidence that t it did so. Landlords are required to respond to all aspects of a formal complaint. The failure to do so damaged its relationship with the resident. It also meant the landlord missed an opportunity to identify learning from the complaint, which was a service failure.
18. As such, its offer of compensation was insufficient. Orders have been made below for the landlord to put things right to the resident and to learn from the outcome.

Determination

19. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of electric repairs in the resident’s home.
20. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

21. Within 4 weeks, the landlord must pay the resident £100 in compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. This amount includes the £25 offered during the landlord’s internal complaint process.
22. The landlord must conduct a case review to identify what went wrong with handling the complaint and what measures it would need to take to ensure these errors do not reoccur. A copy of this review must be sent to the resident and the Service within 6 weeks from the date of this report.