Slough Borough Council (202500054)

Background

1. During 2023 the landlord carried out repairs to the communal boiler which subsequently failed during December 2023. The resident asked the landlord for compensation for the period he was without heating and hot water.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Response to the resident’s request for compensation for the time he was without heating and hot water.
   2. Handling of the associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for compensation for the time he was without heating and hot water.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

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

Reasons

Request for compensation

4. The landlord’s compensation and remedies policy says it will consider compensation where a resident incurs costs as a direct result of its failure of service. It says that it will consider distress and inconvenience as part of its calculation.
5. Neither party has provided us with the specific dates that the boiler was out of service. However, both parties agree it was for the month of December 2023. The landlord confirmed it was fixed on 28 December 2023. Therefore, we have considered the period between 1 December to 28 December 2023 for the purposes of our investigation.
6. In his email to the landlord of 21 October 2024 the resident said that his wife and child had moved out of the property while there was no heating and hot water. He had also incurred additional costs for heating his property. On 24 October 2024 the landlord wrote to the resident to say it would write to all residents affected to offer £120 for increased electricity costs. The letter was issued on 30 October 2024. It said all residents would receive compensation of £120 “to cover additional electricity costs for the breakdown period”.
7. The letter failed to provide an explanation to how it calculated the figure which was a communication failure. This was put right to some extent by its letter of 21 November 2024 when it explained its calculation in respect of heating costs. However, at that point there’s no evidence that it considered distress and inconvenience in line with its compensation policy.
8. In his email to the landlord of 3 December 2024 the resident said the compensation was not sufficient. He added that he’d had to bathe using water from the kettle and kept warm by sitting in his car. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 23 January 2025 said its offer for the cost of additional electricity was reasonable. It also said it would not consider the matter further. It failed to acknowledge or demonstrate empathy for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident based on his individual circumstances which was inappropriate.
9. The landlord’s update to us of 25 November 2025 said it offered oil filled radiators to all residents affected. In its email to us dated 14 April 2026 it said it offered temporary heaters on 15 December 2023. Although we have not seen evidence of this, it is in line with the resident’s account. He said he purchased his own heaters at the outset and was offered temporary heaters by the landlord later. The landlord’s update of 25 November 2025 also provided more detail regarding its offer of compensation. It said it was made up of £80 for the heating element plus £40 for inconvenience. This is contrary to its communication with the resident which only referred to heating costs. This was a communication failure.
10. Our compensation guidance says that compensation of £15 per day should be ordered for a complete loss of heating and hot water. It also says that £8 per day should be paid for a loss of one service. Compensation for loss of heating should not be ordered where an alternative source of heating has been provided. While there’s evidence of distress and inconvenience related to hot water it’s unclear if the resident experienced a total loss. Therefore, we have ordered the landlord to pay £412 compensation comprised of:
    1. £12 per day for 1 to 15 December 2023 (total loss of heating and half the compensation for total loss of water for 15 days) = £180
    2. £4 per day for 15 to 28 December 2023 (half the compensation for total loss of water for 13 days) = £52
    3. £80 for increased heating costs
    4. £100 for distress and inconvenience

The landlord may deduct the £120 it offered if this has already been paid.

Complaint handling

11. Our Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord’s published complaints policy in place at the time complied with the terms of the Code in respect of timescales. It said it would respond to all complaints within 10 working days of receipt.
12. The Code says a complaint must be raised when a resident expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request. The resident’s email to the landlord of 21 October 2024 said he was unhappy it had not set out its position regarding compensation. He said he’d been waiting a long time for an update. It should have raised a stage 1 complaint but instead treated it as an enquiry, providing its response on 24 October 2024.
13. The resident emailed the landlord on 20 November 2024 to ask to escalate his complaint to stage 2. Because it had not yet issued a formal stage 1 response it did not escalate it. Instead, it provided a formal stage 1 complaint response on 21 November 2024. On 4 December 2024 the resident asked to escalate his complaint again. The landlord did not issue its response within 10 working days in line with its policy. This caused time and trouble to the resident who emailed to chase on 14 January 2025. It issued its stage 2 complaint response on 23 January 2025. This was 33 working days after the complaint was received and 23 working days out of time. The landlord’s position was that the delay was mitigated by it having told the resident there would be no change to its offer of compensation. This was not sufficient reason to deviate from its complaints process.
14. The landlord’s failures caused time and trouble to the resident. They also lengthened the complaints process, delaying his ability to approach us to request a resolution. The language used in its stage 2 response suggest it also failed to take an open minded approach to the review. Had it done so, its responses may have appropriately reflected the resident’s lived experience. Our compensation guidance sets out that payments of up to £100 are appropriate to put right a landlord’s failures which may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the resident. In ordering £75 compensation, we have considered the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s complaint handling failures.

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.