Southwark Council (202416319)

Background

1. The resident reported a leak from the rainwater pipe causing water to collect on her balcony. She complained to the landlord about the length of time it had taken to repair the pipe and the level of compensation it had offered her.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. A leak from the rainwater pipe.
   2. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of:
   1. A leak from the rainwater pipe.
   2. The associated complaint.

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

Reasons

A leak from the rainwater pipe

4. The landlord has not provided a full copy of the resident’s tenancy terms and conditions. However, Section 11 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 inserts into all tenancies repairing obligations. The landlord is responsible for maintaining the structure of the building, including rainwater pipes. The landlord’s repairs policy sets a 20 working day timeframe to complete routine repairs.
5. The resident reported a leak from the rainwater pipe on 22 November 2022. Evidence shows the landlord did not attend the property in a timely manner or complete any repairs. The resident chased this up and the landlord repaired the pipe on 19 January 2023. This was a failing as it exceeded the 20 working day timeframe set out in the landlord’s repairs policy.
6. The resident chased the repair because the landlord did not tell her it had been completed which was unreasonable. She reported that the pipe continued to leak in March 2023 and raised a complaint in October 2023. The landlord should have communicated with the resident and chased the contractor to prevent delays in repairing the rainwater pipe. The landlord’s records should have flagged that a leak was outstanding for 9 months, and it was not reasonable to wait until the resident raised her complaint before repairing the pipe.
7. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 23 November 2023and apologised for the delay and inconvenience caused to the resident. It confirmed that the repair had been booked in for 24 November 2023 but did not explain what it had learnt from the complaint or what it would do to ensure this would not happen again. As a result, it missed an opportunity to ensure that the resident did not experience further delays.
8. The landlord completed the repair on 24 November 2023, approximately one year after she first reported the issue. This was a significant delay and not in line with the landlord’s repairs policy. The landlord recognised this and apologised to the resident for the delay which was appropriate.
9. In the landlord’s stage 2 response it also offered the resident compensation of £410 broken down as:
   1. £150 for the time, trouble and distress caused to the resident.
   2. £260 for the length of time the repair was outstanding calculated at £5 per week for the period 22 November 2022 to 24November 2023 (52 weeks).

The amount was fair and in line with the landlord’s compensation policy.

10. Overall, while the landlord completed the repair, apologised and offered appropriate financial compensation, it did not go far enough to demonstrate it took sufficient learning from the resident’s experience in line with our dispute resolution principles of be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. Landlords are expected not only to fix the immediate problem but also to demonstrate that they have taken meaningful steps to prevent similar issues from happening again. In this case, the landlord did not provide evidence that it had reviewed its processes, identified the root cause of the failure, or implemented improvements based on the resident’s experience. Because of this lack of demonstrable learning, the Ombudsman found there had been a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the leak from the rainwater pipe.

The associated complaint

11. The landlord’s complaint’s policy sets a 15 working day time frame to respond to stage 1 complaints, and 25 working days to respond to stage 2 complaints. This is not in line with The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code 2022 (the Code). The Code states that landlords must respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days, and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days, of acknowledging the complaint.
12. The resident raised her complaint on 25 October 2023, and the landlord issued its stage 1 response on 23 November 2023. This was not in line with the Code because 21 working days elapsed between the complaint and stage 1 response. The landlord did not acknowledge or apologise for the delay in its stage 1 response, which was unreasonable.
13. The resident tried to escalate her complaint on 9 January 2024, but the landlord’s complaint policy requires residents to complete an online form or write to the landlord’s office. This caused further delays, when the landlord was already aware of the reason the resident wanted to escalate her complaint. This was a failing as the Code states landlords must ensure that efforts to resolve a resident’s concerns do not obstruct access to the complaints procedure or result in any unreasonable delay. The landlord did not act fairly by accepting the initial complaint via email and refusing the escalation request via the same method. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 22 February 2024. This means that 32 working days elapsed between escalation and the stage 2 response. This was not in line with the Code or its own complaint policy. The landlord did not acknowledge or apologise for the delay in its stage 2 response either. The landlord did not offer any redress and therefore did not follow our dispute resolution principles to be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
14. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint. We order the landlord to pay compensation of £50 for the inconvenience caused in its complaint handling. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance for service failure.

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.