Town and Country Housing (202401705)

Decision
Case ID	202401705
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Town and Country Housing
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	9 April 2026

Background

The resident reported that the guttering in his property required replacement. He complained that the landlord had not repaired the guttering despite saying it had in its complaint responses. He also complained that the landlord had stopped the fire alarms working in his flat.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about:
1. The fire alarms in his property.
2. The communal guttering at his property.
We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

We have found:
1. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the fire alarms in his property is outside of our jurisdiction.
2. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the communal guttering at his property.
3. Maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the fire alarms in his property

We have previously determined a case which investigated the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of fire safety including issues about the fire alarms. We cannot investigate matters previously considered.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the communal guttering at his property

The landlord did not rearrange an appointment when the resident told it he would be unavailable. There was a significant delay in the landlord completing repairs to the guttering from when the resident first reported the issue. The landlord did not fully recognise the delays or offer any compensation in its complaint responses.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The landlord delayed by almost 2 months to provide its stage 2 response from when the resident first escalated his complaint. It incorrectly said it had followed its timescales in this response. It failed to put things right in its complaint responses.

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 07 May 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £250 made up as follows: £200 for the distress, upset and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s reports about the communal guttering at his property £50 for the distress, upset and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s complaint 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 07 May 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

07 May 2026

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £250 made up as follows:

£200 for the distress, upset and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s reports about the communal guttering at his property
£50 for the distress, upset and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s complaint

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

07 May 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
We recommend that the landlord contacts the resident to discuss his concerns about the guttering at his property and either assure him that it has repaired this or arrange further repairs if required.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
2 November 2023	The resident complained that the gutters were going to overflow. He said he had mentioned this to the landlord before, but nobody had helped.
3 November 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 response. It said it had cleared the gutters on 13 October 2023. It did not uphold the resident’s complaint because it had completed the necessary repairs to the guttering. It said it did not inform him of the appointment because it was a communal repair. It apologised for this and said it would reattend on 15 November 2023 to ensure it had completed the work effectively.
Between 10 November 2023 and 9 January 2024	The resident escalated the complaint because he said the landlord had not repaired the guttering as it would need to erect scaffolding. He said the guttering was dangerous and he was unable to sleep because of the noise from the constant dripping.
2 February 2024	The landlord provided its stage 2 response. It said it was satisfied that it responded appropriately to the resident’s complaint about the gutters and it had appropriately investigated the resident’s complaint. It said it had followed its complaint process and responded within publicised timescales.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident referred his complaint to us because he felt the guttering was inadequate. He continued to dispute that the landlord had repaired it as stated in its complaint responses.

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 landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the fire alarms in his property
Finding	Outside jurisdiction

On 30 March 2026 we determined case reference 202331438 about fire safety including fire alarms. Insofar as the complaint brought to us is about fire alarms and covers the same period, this element is outside of our jurisdiction and is not one we can investigate.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the communal guttering at his property
Finding	Maladministration

The resident reported that the guttering was full of debris and water leaked onto his windowsill on 13 September 2023. The landlord removed debris and plant growth from the guttering above the resident’s property on 13 October 2023. This was 2 days over its timescale of 28 calendar days to complete non-urgent repairs as stated in its repairs policy. This was a shortfall in its service.
It was reasonable for the landlord to explain in its stage 1 response why it had not contacted the resident to notify him of the appointment for the guttering.
On 10 November 2023 the resident told the landlord that he would not be there for the appointment to assess repairs on 15 November 2023. The landlord attended on 15 November 2023. It recorded that it was unable to gain access. It could have rearranged this appointment when the resident informed it that he would be unavailable.
The landlord raised a further repair to clear the guttering above the resident’s property and refix a piece of guttering on 18 December 2023. A drone inspection completed on 2 February 2024 identified a dislodged tile in the guttering and potential wear on the fascia between the roof and guttering. It is unclear why the landlord delayed in completing this inspection considering the resident’s continued concerns.
The landlord did not identify any failures in its stage 2 response. Its repair records show that it did not raise a request for scaffolding until 19 February 2024. It completed repairs to reconnect 2 guttering unions on 5 July 2024. Its records show the guttering was already clear. In repairing the guttering, the landlord made some attempt to put matters right in line with our dispute resolution principles.
However, there was a delay of almost 10 months from when the resident reported issues with the guttering to the landlord completing repairs. Our compensation guidance allows orders of compensation where there was a failure which adversely impacted the resident. The resident told the landlord that the dripping was causing him to lose sleep. Therefore, we have ordered the landlord to apologise and pay compensation in line with a finding of maladministration. As the resident has raised concerns about the landlord completing repairs to the guttering, we have also made a recommendation for it contact him about this.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Maladministration

At the time of the resident’s complaint the landlord operated a 2-stage complaint policy that was compliant with the Complaint Handling Code (the Code) introduced in April 2022.
The landlord provided its stage 1 response within the timescales stated in its complaint policy. However, it delayed in providing a stage 2 response from 10 November 2023 when the resident escalated his complaint until 2 February 2024. During this time the resident continued to show his dissatisfaction about the landlord’s handling of his complaint. The delay did not align with the landlord’s complaint policy to provide a response within 20 working days of receipt of an escalation request.
In its stage 2 response the landlord incorrectly said it had responded within its timescales. Therefore, it did not attempt to put matters right in line with our dispute resolution principles. Our compensation guidance allows us to award between £50 to £100 compensation if the complaint response was delayed by more than several days. Given there was no permanent impact, we have ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident and pay £50 compensation for any distress or inconvenience caused.

Learning

The landlord did not address the resident’s concerns about it not erecting scaffolding to complete repairs to the guttering or why it required access to his property. It also failed to update him on its ongoing actions to resolve the issue including arranging scaffolding and a drone inspection. These were missed opportunities to reassure the resident and may have prevented him escalating his complaint.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord failed to recognise the delay in providing its stage 2 response. This demonstrated a failure in its record keeping.

Communication

The landlord did not call the resident back when he said he would like this on 10 November 2023. This highlights a learning opportunity around managing follow-up actions and meeting communication commitments.