Notting Hill Genesis (202337724)

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Decision

Case ID

202337724

Decision type

Investigation

Landlord

Notting Hill Genesis

Landlord type

Housing Association

Occupancy

Assured Shorthold Tenancy

Date

16 March 2026

Background

  1. The resident complained to the landlord as she felt the landlord miscommunicated about her rent and service charges including heating and hot water. She asked for a breakdown of how the landlord calculated her rent and was unhappy with the information it provided. The landlord is aware of the resident’s vulnerabilities, including the need for larger text.

What the complaint is about

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s communication regarding:
    1. Heating and hot water charges.
    2. Rent and service charges.
  2. We will also investigate the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

  1. We found:
    1. Service failure in the landlord’s communication about heating and hot water charges.
    2. Service failure in the landlord’s communication about rent and service charges.
  2. There was reasonable redress in respect of the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

Communication about heating and hot water charges

  1. The landlord did not fully explain how the heating system worked when the resident moved in and did not define the term ‘communal heating’. This led to frustration and inconvenience for the resident. However, its position that the resident is responsible for heating and hot water charges within her home is reasonable.

Communication about rent and service charges

  1. The landlord explained how it calculates the resident’s rent and service charges. It provided a full breakdown of service charges in October 2023, but it could have done so sooner.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord did not follow its policy, and this meant the complaint process was confusing for both parties. It acknowledged this in its responses and offered the resident compensation.

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

13 April 2026

2

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £100 made up of:

  • £50 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s communication about heating and hot water charges.
  • £50 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s communication about rent and service charges.

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

13 April 2026

 

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations

The landlord should ensure all staff are aware of how it defines a complaint, and what action to take if a resident expresses dissatisfaction.

The landlord should pay the £50 compensation as offered for complaint handling, if it has not already done so.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date

What happened

21 September 2023

The resident made her complaint. She felt that the landlord should have already raised a complaint as she had made it clear she was unhappy. She said that the landlord should have included her heating and hot water costs in her service charges, and she asked for a breakdown of her rent.

28 September 2023

The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It reiterated its position that in line with the tenancy agreement the resident is responsible for heating and hot water within her property. It apologised for any confusion and said it had raised the issue with the staff member who conducted the property viewing. It also said that she would not get a service charge statement as the resident is on the affordable rent scheme which combines rent and service charges.

It acknowledged delays in complaint handling and apologised. The landlord offered £50 compensation for complaint handling.

29 September 2023

The resident escalated her complaint. She felt that the landlord had not explained its rent calculation in enough detail. She told it that other neighbours with larger properties paid less rent, and she wanted an explanation.

25 October 2023

The landlord sent its stage 2 response. It confirmed that she is responsible for heating and hot water within her flat. It included a breakdown of service charges and apologised for any miscommunication. The landlord also confirmed how it set affordable rent. It offered £50 compensation for complaint handling delays.

Referral to the Ombudsman

The resident is still unhappy with the landlord’s explanation of the affordable rent, and of her service charges. She told us that the landlord said that heating and hot water was included in her rent. This motivated her to take the property.

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 communication about heating and hot water charges.

Finding

Service failure
  1. When the resident viewed the property on 20 December 2022, she asked the landlord to confirm the heating and hot water charges. The landlord told her she would pay for electricity, water, heating and hot water, but in the same email said the service charge included communal heating and hot water. This conflicts with the service charge breakdown provided on 25 October 2023 where communal heating was not listed as a charge.
  2. Internal emails indicate that the building uses a district heating system. A neighbouring block generates the heat and hot water and sends it through communal pipework, so the flat has no boiler. Each property has an individual meter that records usage for billing purposes. The resident believed that as the whole building is heated communally, this was included in her service charge.
  3. The resident also said the landlord did not tell her she needed to switch on her meter. She believed heating and hot water were included in her service charge because of the wording in the email and the use of a district heating system. On 12 January 2023, after she reported her heating and hot water was not working the landlord told her to register with the heating and hot water provider. It did not mention the meter.
  4. We have not seen evidence from the sign‑up visit, so we cannot confirm what information the landlord gave. The landlord noted internally that the usual housing officer did not attend and another staff member carried out the appointment.
  5. The rent and service charge estimate referred to communal heating, but later correspondence suggested there is no heating in communal areas. This inconsistency added to the resident’s confusion. We asked the landlord for clarification about the provision of heating in communal spaces, but it did not respond.
  6. Considering the above, there was service failure in the landlord’s communication about heating and hot water charges. There is no evidence it explained about the individual meter, which led to the resident misunderstanding her liability. Although it later gave the correct information, the resident spent 7 months unaware she was building arrears, causing inconvenience and added to the time spent resolving the issue.
  7. As such, it should pay the resident £50 compensation to recognise the likely time and trouble caused. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance for a failure which the landlord has not fully put right and caused disappointment, time, trouble or inconvenience.

Complaint

The landlord’s communication about rent and service charges.

Finding

Service failure
  1. The resident asked for a breakdown of her rent, as she felt that other occupants were paying lower rents for larger properties.
  2. The landlord explained that it set the rent level at the lowest of:
    1. 80% of market rent in the area.
    2. The Local Housing Allowance set by the local council.
    3. Its own capping levels which its board reviews annually.
  3. It did not say which of the above figures it used to set the resident’s rent. If the information is confidential or it cannot share it with residents, it should have made this clear to her.
  4. On 4 March 2024 the landlord told the resident that it cannot compare rents like for like, as individual circumstances can affect their rent. It gave an example that a 2-bed property rented since 2016 may be cheaper than the same size property rented since 2023. But it did not explain why. While it can be useful to use such examples, it did not fully explain why there would be differences, so this did not answer the resident’s question.
  5. The landlord gave some explanation about how it calculated rent and service charges, but it did not conclusively say how it calculated the resident’s rent. It gave a broad example of why it cannot directly compare rents but no context about why the figures may differ.
  6. For the reasons above, there was service failure in the landlord’s communication about rent and service charges. The landlord should pay the resident £50 compensation to recognise the likely time and trouble caused. This amount is consistent with our remedies guidance for a failure which the landlord has not fully put right and caused disappointment, time, trouble or inconvenience.

Complaint

The handling of the complaint

Finding

Reasonable redress
  1. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) 1 April 2024 requires landlords to acknowledge a complaint or escalation request within 5 working days. Landlords must issue a stage 1 response within 10 working days of acknowledging the complaint. They must also issue a stage 2 final response within 20 working days of an escalation acknowledgement. The landlord acknowledges these expectations within its complaints policy.
  2. There was confusion about whether the landlord had logged a complaint, and on what date. When the resident requested a stage 2 escalation on 13 September 2023 it told her it had not received a stage 1. The resident felt that she had already expressed her dissatisfaction multiple times and the landlord should have logged a complaint.
  3. The landlord wrote her an email responding to her concerns on 21 July 2023, which she took to be a stage 1 complaint response. The landlord’s policy defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction and says residents do not need to use the word complaint for it to raise one. There was evidence in July 2023 that the resident was unhappy with the landlord’s position and its explanation, and it should have logged a complaint sooner.
  4. The landlord acknowledged this in its stage 1 complaint response and offered £50 compensation. This amount is appropriate. It is consistent with its policy and our remedies guidance.
  5. It provided a detailed response and covered all points raised by the resident. This was reasonable. But it could have broken down the service charges more as it later did at stage 2.
  6. Its stage 2 response was appropriate as it was within policy timescales and was clearly set out. It re-offered the £50 compensation for earlier complaint handling delays. This was reasonable as there were no other complaint delays.
  7. For the reasons above, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling. If it has not already done so, the landlord should pay the resident the £50 as agreed in the final complaint response. Our finding of reasonable redress is made on the basis that it pays this compensation.

Learning

  1. Overall, the landlord’s position was reasonable, but its communication was often confusing and affected the resident’s experience. It could have considered sharing the service charge breakdown sooner and giving more detail about the rent calculation.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

  1. The landlord’s record keeping was generally good. But the lack of information from the sign-up visit meant that it was hard to say what it told the resident about the heating and service charges.

Communication

  1. The landlord said communication was sometimes unclear because newer staff did not fully understand its processes. It said it would learn from this, and we have made a learning recommendation.