London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202424174)

Decision
Case ID	202424174
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London & Quadrant Housing Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Date	25 February 2026

Background

The landlord moved the resident to temporary accommodation in September 2022 so that it could complete repairs in her property. The resident was unhappy with the time taken by the landlord to confirm she could remain in the temporary accommodation on a permanent basis. She was also unhappy with the time taken to reimburse her for utility charges from her previous property.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Request to remain in her temporary property.
2. Request for a reimbursement of electric and heat charges from her previous property.
3. Associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

There was reasonable redress by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s:
1. Request to remain in her temporary property.
2. Associated complaint.
There was no maladministration by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for a reimbursement of electric and heat charges.

We have not made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

In summary, we found the landlord:

Request to remain in her temporary property

Acknowledged the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in handling the resident’s request. Apologised and made an offer of compensation which was in line with our remedies guidance.

Request for a reimbursement of electric and heat charges

Responded to the resident’s request and processed the reimbursement payment promptly.

Complaint handling

Made an offer of compensation which was in line with our remedies guidance.

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.

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
We found reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request to remain in the temporary property and complaint handling on the basis it pays the resident the compensation offered via its complaint procedure.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
September 2022	The landlord moved the resident to a temporary property whilst it completed repairs to her property.
4 April 2024	The resident complained that the landlord had not updated her about her request to remain in her temporary property.
5 April 2024	The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint.
16 April 2024	The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response. It apologised for the lack of updates relating to her request to stay in the temporary property. It offered £400 compensation. This included £160 reimbursement for redirection of the resident’s mail. It said its lettings and rehousing team would update the resident regarding the utility payment reimbursement.
25 July 2024	The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2.
05 August 2024	The landlord acknowledged the escalation of the complaint.
22 August 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response. It confirmed it had reimbursed the resident for the heating and electricity costs at the previous address on 7 August 2024. It offered an additional £160 compensation.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident remained dissatisfied and asked us to investigate. She told us she had to repeatedly chase the landlord for updates. As an outcome she wanted the landlord to increase the compensation offered.

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	The handling of the resident’s request to remain in her temporary property.
Finding	Reasonable redress

In April 2023 we determined a previous complaint about the resident’s request to be permanently rehoused. That investigation dealt with issues up to the end of March 2023. We will therefore look at what happened after this date.
We have not seen the landlord’s contact logs. However, the landlord has confirmed the resident contacted it on 18 March 2024 to ask if she could stay in the temporary property. The landlord informed the resident she would need to stay in the temporary accommodation until it had completed the works to her property. This was in line with its allocation and lettings policy which says residents who have been moved to a temporary home will be moved back to their original home when it is ready for occupation.
The resident was unhappy with this response and submitted her complaint. She said she had contacted the landlord several times to request it allow her to stay in her temporary accommodation. She said the only communication she had received was in March 2023 when the landlord refused her medical application to be permanently rehoused.
The landlord’s rehousing operating procedure states, where it becomes evident a resident cannot return home, the landlord should make a rehousing referral for a permanent move. A manager will consider the referral. If approved, it will then ask the landlord’s rehousing panel to consider it. If the panel approves the referral the landlord will update the resident in writing with its decision within 1 working day. It should follow this with a telephone call to the resident within 5 working days.
Following the resident’s complaint the landlord referred the resident’s request to a senior manager for consideration. The manager approved the request. The landlord confirmed in its stage 1 complaint response that the resident could remain in the temporary property. The landlord did not fully follow its policy and there was then a delay of 1 working day in it confirming its decision in writing to the resident. However, this was the outcome the resident was looking for.
Following the resident’s complaint the landlord signed the resident up to a permanent tenancy for her temporary accommodation within 3 months. This was reasonable in the circumstances.
When investigating a complaint, we consider whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with our Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
Due to the landlord not providing copies of its contact logs we do not know what contact there was between the parties between March 2023 and March 2024. However, the landlord accepted in its complaint responses that it was responsible for delays in this case. It attempted to put things right by apologising, offering compensation, and agreeing that the resident could remain in her temporary property on a permanent tenancy.
The landlord’s offer of £500 reflects our remedies guidance which says such a sum would be payable where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. This leads to a finding of reasonable redress.

Complaint	The handling of the resident’s request for reimbursement of electricity and heat charges from her previous property.
Finding	No maladministration

We have not seen any evidence the resident raised this issue before this complaint. In its stage 1 complaint response the landlord said it would investigate the resident’s query about the utility payments she had made for her previous property, whilst in temporary accommodation.
The landlord writes to residents each year setting out the rent and service charges for the upcoming year. Its letter to the resident dated 1 February 2021 showed there was a charge for heat and electricity at her previous property. The resident’s tenancy agreement states she is responsible to pay rent and service charges whilst away from the property. Therefore it was right that she continued to make service charge payments whilst she was in temporary accommodation.
The landlord could not take any steps to assess this issue until the resident’s previous tenancy ended. This is because the resident was the legal tenant of her previous property until the tenancy ended. The previous tenancy ended on 30 June 2024. The new tenancy started on 1 July 2024. The landlord agreed to reimburse the resident for these charges on 6 August 2024 and processed the payment of £2,541.52 on 7 August 2024. This was a reasonable timeframe.
Based on the evidence we have seen, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for it to reimburse her for the electricity and heat charges for her previous property.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The relevant Code in this case was the 2024 edition. Our findings are:
1. The landlord had a published complaint policy which complied with the terms of the Code in respect of the definition of a complaint and timescales at each stage.
2. The landlord acknowledged and responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint on time. This was in line with its policy and the Code.
3. It should have acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate by 1 August 2024. The landlord delayed sending the acknowledgement by 2 working days. It sent the stage 2 complaint response on time.
4. The landlord failed to recognise any learning from this complaint. This was not in line with the Code.
It is not clear why the landlord offered £60 compensation for poor complaint handling at stage 1 when its responses were on time. However, there was a delay in it acknowledging the resident’s escalation at stage 2 and it failed to recognise any learning. The landlord’s offer is within the range of compensation we would award for the failings identified. Therefore, it has taken reasonable steps to put things right and made an offer to the resident which resolves the complaint. This is a finding of reasonable redress.

Learning

The landlord failed to recognise any learning from the resident’s complaint. Landlords should review complaints to identify any service improvements it can make.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

Landlords should keep a robust record of contacts with residents. This is because clear, accurate, and easily accessible records provide an audit trail and enhance landlords’ ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise.

Communication

The resident had to repeatedly chase the landlord for updates in relation to her complaint. Whilst the landlord responded to some contacts, its communication and updates could have been better. The landlord should ensure it has a strategy in place for keeping residents informed.