London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202332944)

Back to Top

 

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202332944

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

21 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 response to the resident’s reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB).
  2. The landlord’s complaint handling is also considered.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy that started on 19 November 2010. The property is a 2-bedroom house; The landlord is a housing association. The landlord’s records show the resident has health issues and is vulnerable.
  2. On 16 August 2023 the resident complained to the landlord about its handling of her reports of ASB by a neighbour (‘the neighbour’). She said the neighbour used drugs and the fumes entered her property. The resident said that she had made multiple reports since November 2022. The resident said the neighbour’s behaviour had caused her health to deteriorate.
  3. The landlord provided a stage 1 response on 18 September 2023. The landlord said it had opened a new ASB case, interviewed the resident and written to the neighbour. It said it would contact the resident every 2 weeks to provide support. It apologised for the delay in responding to the resident’s complaint and awarded £10 compensation.
  4. On 18 September 2023 the resident asked for her complaint to be reviewed.
  5. The landlord provided a stage 2 response on 5 December 2023. It restated the actions it had taken but said it had closed the case due to insufficient evidence. It asked the resident to report any suspicious behaviour to the police. The landlord awarded £60 compensation for the delay in providing a stage 2 response.
  6. The resident referred her complaint to us on 18 December 2023 as she was unhappy with the landlord’s response.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has said that she believes the neighbour’s activities have damaged her health. We are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, damage to health and wellbeing. Personal injury is better suited to be considered as part of an insurance claim or to be determined by the courts, as the courts can consider medical evidence and make legally binding findings in this regard. However, where there has been a landlord failing we will consider any general distress and inconvenience the situation caused the resident.

Landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of anti-social behaviour

  1. The resident complained to the landlord on 16 August 2023 about its handling of her reports of ASB by the neighbour. The resident had previously reported the neighbour used drugs and other substances. She said the smell permeated the walls and were making her unwell. She said that since November 2022 she had made multiple reports about this to the landlord. The landlord had closed the ASB case it had open on the matter on 23 December 2022.
  2. The resident said she was told that for the landlord to investigate, theneighbourwould have to be told about her reports. The resident said she feared for her safety and had asked for the investigation to be anonymous. The resident said she had multiple health conditions, and the neighbour’s behaviour was making these worse.
  3. The landlord’s ASB policy sets out the types of ASB that it will log and record. These include drug or substance misuse or dealing, and harassment or intimidation.
  4. The evidence shows the landlord opened a new ASB case about the neighbour on 21 August 2023.
  5. The landlord’s ASB policy states:
    1. It will review all reports of ASB and consider the risk.
    2. Where the person reporting ASB fails to provide supporting evidence this will be a factor in the assessment.
    3. It will accept anonymous reports and asses them on available evidence and any previous reports.
    4. If the landlord is unable to act, it will explain why and signpost the resident to relevant agencies or information.
    5. It will assign a priority to all ASB cases:
      1. ‘High’ priority cases will be logged assessed within 1 working day.
      2. ‘Standard’ priority cases will be logged and assessed within 3 working days. The landlord will decide if subsequent incidents are assessed, and this decision recorded in the case.
  6. It is unclear what priority the landlord assigned to the resident’s reports when it opened a new ASB case. The landlord logged and assessed the case in 3 working days, which was within the timeline set out in its policy for ‘standard’ priority cases. However, the landlord has provided no evidence that it conducted a risk assessment.
  7. The evidence shows the landlord wrote to the neighbour and contacted the resident on 6 September 2023. The landlord visited the resident on 7 September 2023 to discuss the case. The landlord has not provided case notes or records of these actions.
  8. Good record keeping is an essential part of dealing with reports of ASB. It is reasonable to expect the landlord to maintain accurate and complete records, and for it to be able to provide these to this investigation. The landlord acted unreasonably in not doing so.
  9. The landlord provided a stage 1 response on 18 September 2023. It said after it received the complaint it opened an ASB case, spoke with the resident and wrote to the neighbour. It said it had explained that it could speak with the neighbour and the resident would remain anonymous.
  10. The landlord said in its response the resident had refused the offer as she felt it would put her and her daughter at risk. It said the resident did not want to make a report to the police. The landlord said that it was unable to act without evidence. It asked the resident to gather evidence and report any incidents to the police. The landlord said it would contact the resident every 2 weeks and set out her options to be rehoused, which was something the resident had asked about.
  11. On 18 September 2023 the resident asked for her complaint to be reviewed at stage 2. The resident said she was not unwilling to work with the landlord, but due to her previous experiences of violence she was afraid. She said she had provided video and photos of suspicious activities to the landlord.The resident said the neighbour had recently had a party in the garden. She said around midnight she asked the neighbour to reduce the noise. She said the neighbour swore at her and referred to her ethnicity. The resident said the fumes from the neighbour’s house that were entering her property were affecting her and her daughter’s health. The resident asked the landlord to investigate how it could monitor if there were toxic fumes in her property.
  12. There is no evidence that the landlord considered the party incident referenced in the resident’s complaint escalation request. The landlord’s ASB policy requires it to consider subsequent incidents and record whether it decided to investigate or not. It is unreasonable that the landlord has not provided evidence that it considered whether to assess the report.
  13. The evidence shows the landlord closed the investigation on 7 November 2023.
  14. The landlord provided a stage 2 response on 5 December 2023. It said that after it received the resident’s complaint it wrote to the neighbour and to other properties in the area. It said it visited the resident’s property, but no smells were noted. It reviewed CCTV footage provided by the resident and told her that more “concrete” evidence was required. It said it had also requested increased neighbourhood patrols. The landlord said the case had been closed due to there being insufficient evidence. It did not address the resident’s request to investigate if there were toxic fumes in her property. It asked the resident to report any suspicious activity to the police, and said if the police investigated, it would reopen the ASB case.
  15. The resident told us on 12 March 2025 that the issues with the neighbour were ongoing. She said the fumes continued to enter her property and her health had deteriorated as a result.
  16. In summary, the landlord assessed the resident’s ASB report within its target timeline. However, there is no evidence it conducted a risk assessment or assessed the further report contained in the resident’s complaint escalation request. The landlord therefore missed the opportunity to signpost the resident to services that could have supported her. In its stage 1 response the landlord committed to contact the resident every 2 weeks, however, there is no evidence it did so. These failures were likely to have left the resident both disappointed with the landlord’s service and at a loss as to how she could achieve a positive outcome from the situation. As a result of these failings and the impact upon the resident, there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of ASB. The landlord is ordered to apologise to the resident and to pay £75 compensation. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident complained to the landlord on 16 August 2023 about its response to her reports of ASB by a neighbour. There is no evidence the landlord acknowledged receipt of the resident’s complaint.
  2. The landlord has a 2-stage complaints process. Its complaints policy states that at stage 1, the landlord will acknowledge receipt of a complaint within 5 working days and provide a response within 10 working days. The policy states that at stage 2, the landlord will provide a response within 20 working days.
  3. The landlord provided a stage 1 response on 18 September 2023. This was 12 working days after the target response time set out in the landlord’s complaints policy. The landlord apologised for the delay and awarded £10 compensation.
  4. On the same day, the resident asked for her complaint to be reviewed.
  5. The landlord provided a stage 2 response on 5 December 2023. This was 37 working days after the target response time set out in its complaints policy. The landlord apologised for the delay and awarded a further £60 compensation.
  6. When there are failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord (an apology and/or compensation) put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
  7. The landlord did not adhere to the response timelines set out in its complaints policy. The landlord has acknowledged these failings and apologised to the resident. The landlord awarded £70 compensation. This amount is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for minor failures. This leads to a determination of reasonable redress, as the landlord put things right for its failings in its complaint handling.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its response to the resident’s reports of ASB.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made a reasonable offer of reasonable redress for its complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident £75 compensation for the distress and inconvenience that was felt by the resident as a result of the landlord’s failings in its response to her reports of ASB.
    3. Contact the resident and establish if the ASB is ongoing and if the resident would like to make a further report. The landlord should provide a copy of its correspondence or call log and subsequent response as evidence of compliance.
  2. The landlord must provide to this Service evidence of compliance with these orders within timeline specified.