Accent Housing Limited (202326853)

Background

1. The resident was a tenant of the landlord. In December 2021 and January 2022, the resident reported issues with his heating to the landlord. Also, in September 2023 the resident reported that his energy provider removed his electric meter and left him with no electricity. The resident ended his tenancy with the landlord and moved out of the property in December 2023.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Heating issues and no electricity at the property.
   2. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of heating issues and no electricity at the property.
4. The landlord made a reasonable offer of redress, which in our opinion, resolved the errors of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

5. The landlord failed to consider whether alternative options were needed, such as a temporary move to alternative accommodation during the period the resident had no electricity at his property. In addition, there was a delay in the landlord responding to the resident’s initial reports about heating issues.
6. The landlord acknowledged there were delays in it providing its response at stage 2 of its complaints process and offered the resident sufficient compensation to recognise the impact of the delays.

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.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

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.

7. The resident raised as part of his complaint that he had experienced heating issues in his property from December 2021. Our scheme states we may not investigate complaints which were not referred to the landlord as a complaint within a reasonable time, which is normally 12 months. The resident raised a formal complaint in September 2023, and we have seen no evidence he raised a complaint within 12 months of when he became aware of the issues. However, the landlord included the resident’s reports about heating issues between December 2021 and January 2022 in its complaint responses. We therefore consider it reasonable in the circumstances to consider the landlord’s actions from December 2021 onwards. However, considering the approach set out in our scheme we have given greater weight to the landlord’s actions in the 12 months prior to the resident’s formal complaint of September 2023.
8. On 7 December 2021, the resident told the landlord that his heating was not working. The landlord’s contractor attended on 10 December 2021 and found that the consumer unit was switched off and switched it on to resolve the issue. The resident reported further heating issues on 21 December 2021, stating that there was no heating in the living room and the larger bedroom. The contractor attended on 10 January 2022, reset the heating system, and left it working. These reports were made during winter; therefore, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to attend sooner than it did to both reports, and in line with its repairs policy which states it will attend to an emergency repair within 24 hours. A total loss of heating in winter should be considered an emergency.
9. The resident experienced further issues with the heating in his living room and reported this to the landlord on 11 January 2022. The landlord failed to attend until 25 January 2022. During the visit, the contractor found a mice infestation in the storage heater and raised a work order for the storage heater to be replaced. The landlord completed the replacement on 1 March 2022, and the landlord received no further reports from the resident about heating issues after this date. The landlord said that the resident had alternative heaters he could use while the replacement was pending. The landlord acted appropriately by arranging a replacement, and we recognise that ordering and fitting a new storage heater can take longer than the usual timescale for routine repairs to complete.
10. On 1 September 2023, the resident reported his energy provider had removed his electric meter which left him with no electricity at his property. The landlord explained the energy provider removed the meter due to an illegal bypass connection which made it unsafe.  We will consider whether the landlord sufficiently responded to the resident’s concerns about him having no electricity. While the landlord is responsible for installing and maintaining items that supply gas and electricity such as the pipework and boiler, the meter itself – used to charge for supply – falls under the responsibility of the energy company. We do not investigate complaints about the actions of energy companies. The Energy Ombudsman and the resident’s energy provider are the appropriate bodies best placed to consider the matter about the removal of the electric meter. The resident can contact the energy provider directly if he wants to pursue this matter further.
11. On the same day the resident reported the removal of the electric meter, the landlord informed him it was his energy provider’s responsibility to resolve the issue. However, the landlord acted appropriately by attending the resident’s property on 5 September 2023 to look at the meter cupboard and support the resident with contacting his energy provider. The landlord spoke with the energy provider, and it said it would not reinstall the meter until the landlord and the electrical distribution company had completed their required actions.
12. On 12 September 2023, the landlord contacted the electrical distribution company which oversees the physical network, for clarification about the meter. It was informed that the energy provider was responsible for replacing the wiring it removed from the meter. The landlord acted reasonably by updating the resident about the wiring linked to the meter. It also asked the resident to sign a consent form so going forward it could discuss the electric issue with his energy provider.
13. The landlord contacted the energy supplier on the resident’s behalf in September and October 2023. It also continued to keep the resident updated. However, it received no response or confirmation that the energy provider would resolve the issues with the electric meter. We recognise this would have been outside the landlord’s control. It was appropriate that the landlord raised a formal complaint against the energy provider due to the issue remaining outstanding.
14. During September and October 2023, the resident emailed the landlord and said that the removal of the electric meter meant he had no heating, hot water, or electricity, as the property relied entirely on an electric supply. He explained that he initially stayed at his brother’s flat but could no longer remain there because it was too far from his workplace. He also said he paid for a gym membership so he could access shower facilities while he had no hot water at his property. We acknowledge that these circumstances would have been very difficult for the resident.
15. We recognise that the delays in the electric meter being reinstalled were outside of the landlord’s control as the energy provider was responsible for carrying out the repair. However, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider a decant (temporary move) to alternative accommodation, given that the property lacked essential facilities for washing. Particularly when the resident told the landlord that he could no longer stay at his brother’s flat and was using his local gym to shower. There is no evidence that the landlord offered the resident a temporary move, which was a failing. It also failed to offer the resident a payment to cover reasonable expenses whilst he stayed at his brothers flat.
16. The resident also informed the landlord that the situation with no electricity in his property was impacting his mental health as he could not see his young son, as it was not safe for him to come and stay at his property. As above, we acknowledge this has been a very difficult time for the resident. However, it would be fairer, more reasonable, and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused through the courts or the landlord’s liability insurance. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.
17. In November 2023, the local authority’s environmental health officer (environmental health) attended the property to look at the meter, as the loss of electricity remained unresolved. Environmental health confirmed it would contact the energy supplier about the wiring connected to the meter. The resident continued to have no electricity because the meter installation issue was not resolved. Due to this, the resident ended his tenancy with the landlord and moved out the property on 5 December 2023.
18. The landlord should pay the resident £300 compensation to recognise these errors. This is in line with our approach to compensation set out in our remedies guidance, published on our website. The remedies guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure by the landlord, which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact.
19. We have also considered that it would be appropriate for the landlord to pay a disturbance payment for the period the resident stayed at his brother’s property. This is in line with the landlord’s compensation policy which states where a resident has to move out of their home on a temporary basis, they will be entitled to reasonable expenses and a resident’s circumstances will be assessed by case by basis. The landlord’s policy does not include a set amount for reasonable expenses. Therefore, we have considered that £10 per day for the resident would be reasonable. The number of days has been calculated based on the period the resident stayed at his brother’s flat which was between 1 September 2023 and 25 October 2023.
20. The Ombudsman calculates the payment to be awarded as follows:

a. 55 days x £10 = £550.

21. We have also considered that compensation based on rent is appropriate for the period the resident when he informed the landlord he could no longer stay at his brother’s property due to the property being uninhabitable. We consider that a full compensation payment based on the regulators average rent for the period between 26 October 2023 to 5 December 2023, which is approximately 40 days. The Ombudsman calculates the payment to be awarded as follows:
    1. Regulars average rent for the area and period per week = £107.34. Rent per day= £15.29.

£15.29 x 40 days = £611.60. (rounded up to £612).

22. The landlord is to pay £550 for a disturbance payment and £612 for compensation based on rent. This amount is in addition to the £300 compensation for distress and inconvenience we ordered above.

23. The landlord’s complaint process has 2 stages. The timeframes in the landlord’s complaints policy are the same as the timescales referenced in the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The Code states a stage 1 response must be sent within 10 working days from the complaint being logged, and a stage 2 response within 20 working days.
24. The Code also states exceptionally, a landlord may provide an explanation to the resident containing a clear timeframe for when a stage 1 response will be received. It states this should not exceed a further 10 days without a good reason and if an extension beyond 20 working days is required to enable the landlord to respond to the complaint fully, both parties should agree this.
25. The resident submitted his initial complaint to the landlord on 18 September 2023. Following this, the landlord contacted the resident on 16 October 2023 and requested an extension of 10 days to provide the resident’s stage 1 response. It also requested a further extension of 10 days on 30 October 2023 due to the complaint issues requiring further investigation. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 9 November 2023. The landlord complied with the extension request requirements referenced in the Code when providing its stage 1 complaint response.
26. On 12 December 2023, the resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process. There was a delay in the landlord logging the resident’s escalation request and providing its stage 2 complaint response. Due to this, we contacted the landlord on 19 February 2024 and asked it to issue its stage 2 complaint response within 5 working days. The landlord then issued its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 26 February 2024. Overall, it took the landlord more than 2 months to provide its response. This would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as he had to wait to receive his stage 2 complaint response before he could progress his complaint with us.
27. The landlord acknowledged that there was a delay in it stage 2 complaint response. It offered the resident £200 compensation to recognise its complaint handling errors. The overall compensation offered for complaint handling-delays was sufficient to recognise the inconvenience caused. It complies with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above. The compensation amounts to reasonable redress for this aspect of the complaint.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

28. The landlord’s records were detailed enough for us to investigate its overall handling of the complaint.

Communication

29. The landlord’s overall communication about the repair issues was adequate. It was also positive that it contacted the energy provider on the resident’s behalf to help resolve the issue with the electric meter.