London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202422626)

Decision
Case ID	202422626
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London & Quadrant Housing Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	28 November 2025

Background

The resident complained to the landlord about ongoing antisocial behaviour (ASB) from a neighbour above. In September 2024, he complained that his emails about noise nuisance were being ignored.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Reports of ASB by a neighbour.
2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found:
1. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of reports of ASB by a neighbour.
2. No Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

While the landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s complaints of noise, it failed to communicate effectively.
The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint within its complaint policy timescales.

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.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 14 January 2026
3	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £75 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its failure to communicate effectively. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 14 January 2026

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Apology order

The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:

The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic.
It has due regard to our apologies guidance.

No later than

14 January 2026

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £75 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its failure to communicate effectively.

This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.

No later than

14 January 2026

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our Recommendations

We recommend that if the landlord receives further reports of ASB from the resident it considers re-offering mediation and sets out a communication plan.
We recommend the landlord advise the resident when the date for his restricted contact (written contact only) is due for review.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
5 September 2024	The resident complained to the landlord. He said he was living in unsuitable conditions and wanted a response to his emails.
6 September 2024	The landlord sent its stage 1 response. It said he had reported issues of noise. His neighbourhood lead (NHL) emailed him on 19 August 2024 asking him to confirm what type of noise nuisance he was experiencing but received no response. It made several unannounced visits but was unable to gain access. It had since offered recording equipment to capture the noise, but he had declined its offer. It offered mediation with the neighbour which was also declined. It said without evidence of the nuisance it was unable to investigate. It would make a referral to the environmental health team (EH) to assist.
6 September 2024	The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2. He said the noise from the neighbour made it difficult to sleep which was affecting his health. In a call with the landlord, he said noise equipment would not be beneficial as it was low pitched. He wanted someone to visit to listen to the noise. He said it had told him on 5 August 2024 to contact the EH team but they had not responded and neither had his MP. He wanted it to respond to his emails and move him to another property.
10 September 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 response. It repeated that he had declined its offer of recording equipment and access to its noise app. It confirmed it could not investigate without evidence of the noise. This meant it had insufficient evidence to consider a move. It said emails should be responded to in 2 to 3 working days. However, if it received a high number of emails from a resident it may reply with a “bulk” response. It apologised and offered £20 compensation for an error in its stage 1 response. This related to advising it would contact the EH team when it should have advised him to.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s response and asked us to investigate. He said his health was deteriorating due to his sleep being disturbed by noise. He added that his neighbour was being “antagonistic”. He wanted the landlord to stop ignoring his emails and assist him.

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.

Complaint	Reports of ASB by a neighbour
Finding	Service failure

What we did not investigate

We made a determination of a previous complaint from the resident about ASB in April 2024. We cannot consider complaints that seek to raise matters which the Housing Ombudsman has already decided upon. For this reason, this investigation will focus on events that have occurred since 23 April 2024 up until the landlord’s final response on 10 September 2024. Any mention of events outside these dates will be for context only.
The resident told us that the landlord’s inaction affected his health and wellbeing. It would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim via the court. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any illness or injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further.

What we did investigate

When assessing complaints about the landlord’s handling of reports of ASB, our role is to assess whether the landlord has adequately investigated the reported issues and taken appropriate and proportionate action in line with its policies and procedures.
Not every instance of annoyance reported to a landlord will be something it has the power to act on. A landlord has 2 main duties when anti-social behaviour is reported. The first is to undertake a proportionate investigation to establish the nature and extent of the ASB. The second is to weigh in balance the evidence, and the respective parties’ rights to enjoy their home and decide what action it should take.
The landlord’s ASB policy states that it treats reports of noise as ASB if persistent, deliberate, or targeted. It does not consider day-to-day noise as ASB.
On 19 August 2024, the landlord asked the resident to clarify the type of noise he was experiencing to determine if ASB applied. In its stage 1 response in September 2024,it confirmed it had not received the details of the noise. It noted that both parties had refused mediation and he declined its offer of sound recording equipment. While these actions were appropriate and in line with its policy, we have seen no evidence to support its offers which the resident disputed.
The landlord’s final response confirmed offering two appointments to install recording equipment. This was evidenced by an email to the resident but was declined due to concerns over privacy.
The landlord also offered a noise app link but the resident declined citing phone compatibility issues. It advised that without evidence, it could not progress his noise complaint. This was reasonable as without sufficient evidence it was limited in the actions it could take.
Both landlord responses referenced contacting the EH team. This was appropriate as EH can confirm statutory noise nuisance and take enforcement action. Its first response incorrectly stated who should contact them, but the landlord apologised and offered £20 compensation for its error. This was proportionate as it was only a short duration (5 days) before it corrected its error.
After its final response, during October 2024, the landlord facilitated an EH Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) noise assessment. EH found no statutory noise nuisance but raised concerns about poor sound insulation. In December 2024, EH requested it appoint a qualified acoustic consultant to survey the flats and assess structure-borne noise before deciding on improvement works. An independent acoustic survey confirmed the noise levels were within compliance and no remedial work was required.
The resident also complained about the landlord’s lack of communication. Its final response said that email response times may be delayed where residents send excessive messages. It was not evident that the resident’s contact was excessive. We note there was a restricted access process in place which was implemented in 2023. Its response did not explain this to the resident or how he could make contact. It also failed to demonstrate that it responded to his correspondence which is a failing.
In summary, while the landlord appropriately responded to the resident’s reports of ASB, it failed to effectively communicate.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	No maladministration

The landlord has a 2-stage complaint process. It aims to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will respond to stage 1 and 2 complaints within 10 and 20 working days respectively. This is compliant with the Complaint Handling Code (the Code)
The landlord adhered to its complaint handling policy. It met its policy response times at both stages of its complaint process.

Learning

Where the landlord restricts contact it should ensure it adheres to its policy and procedure to ensure residents are aware and review this in line with its policy

Communication

The landlord should ensure it communicates effectively with residents and where it has restricted access, confirm its position clearly to manage expectations.