Hyde Housing Association Limited (202401047)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202401047 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
Hyde Housing Association Limited |
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Landlord type |
Housing Association |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
10 March 2026 |
Background
- The resident lives in a house. While repairing the neighbour’s roof, the landlord’s contractor damaged a water pipe, which caused a leak in the resident’s property.
What the complaint is about
- The landlord’s response to the resident’s:
- Report of a leak and remedial repairs.
- Associated complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We found the landlord offered reasonable redress for its:
- Response to the resident’s reports of a leak and the remedial repairs.
- Complaint handling.
We have not made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
- There was a short delay in the landlord repairing the damage caused by the leak. The landlord acknowledged its failings and offered reasonable redress for the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident.
- Although the landlord did not acknowledge the complaint or its escalation, it nevertheless made an appropriate offer of redress to put things right.
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.
Recommendations
Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.
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Our recommendations |
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The landlord should pay the resident the £400 compensation offered within its complaints procedure if it has not already done so. |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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12 March 2024 |
The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. She explained that on 27 February 2024, contractors damaged a water pipe while carrying out roof repairs, which caused a leak in her property. Although the landlord repaired the leak on the same day, she said she was still waiting for the landlord to redecorate her home due to the resulting damage. |
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4 April 2024 |
The landlord issued its stage 1 response, in which it:
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08 April 2024 |
The resident told the landlord she was not happy with the amount of compensation it offered. |
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13 May 2024 |
The landlord reviewed its compensation offer. It increased its offer of compensation by a further £100 due to the second leak on 11 April 2024 which further delayed the remedial works. |
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3 June 2024 |
The resident requested that her complaint be escalated, as she remained dissatisfied with the amount of compensation offered. |
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11 June 2024 |
The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It confirmed it would not increase the compensation offered. It also advised that the remedial repairs were now scheduled to be completed on 13 June 2024. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident bought her complaint to us as she remained unhappy with the landlord’s response. |
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.
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Complaint |
Leak and remedial repairs |
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Finding |
Reasonable redress |
- On 27 February 2024, the landlord’s contractors damaged a water pipe while carrying out roof repairs, causing a leak in the resident’s property. The landlord repaired the pipe and resolved the leak the same day, in line with its emergency repair timescales. A further leak occurred on 11 April 2024, which the landlord again repaired and resolved on the same day.
- The resident told us that the leaks caused her significant distress and inconvenience. She explained that water had spread throughout her property, and the leak left water stains on the ceilings in both her kitchen and bedroom.
- In its complaint responses, the landlord acknowledged that it should have completed the remedial repairs sooner. The evidence shows that the landlord did not arrange the works until after the resident raised a complaint. An appointment was initially scheduled for 16 April 2024, but the second leak meant the works could not proceed. The landlord eventually painted over the water‑stained ceilings on 13 June 2024, 44 working days after the second leak, exceeding its target timescale of 20 working days for ‘anytime repairs
- The resident agrees that the substantive issues have now been resolved. This investigation will therefore consider whether the landlord has provided a sufficient remedy to recognise the impact of its failings and to put things right in line with our dispute resolution principles. We have considered both the events that led to the complaint and the landlord’s response. The extent to which a landlord has recognised and addressed any shortcomings is therefore as relevant as the original mistake or service failure. We will not make a finding of maladministration where the landlord has fully acknowledged any failings and taken reasonable steps to resolve them.
- The landlord’s compensation procedure states that it may award compensation for delays, distress, inconvenience, and the resident’s time and trouble. It explains that the level of compensation offered will depend on the impact on the resident. The compensation breakdown provided by the landlord aligns with its procedure for cases assessed as having a low impact. Our Remedies Guidance states that an award between £50 and £100 is appropriate where a failure has had a minimal impact on the resident and was of short duration.
- The total compensation awarded by the landlord was £350. We are satisfied that the landlord’s offer of compensation was reasonable redress for the delays in it completing remedial works and the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience experienced by the resident.
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Complaint |
The handling of the complaint |
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Finding |
Reasonable redress |
- The landlord operates a two‑stage complaints process. It aims to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, issue stage 1 responses within 10 working days, and issue stage 2 responses within 20 working days. These timescales align with our Complaints Handling Code.
- The resident submitted a complaint on 12 March 2024. There is no evidence the landlord acknowledged this in writing. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 4 April 2024, which was just out its policy timescales.
- On 8 April 2024 the resident told the landlord she was dissatisfied with the compensation offered. The landlord wrote to her on 13 May 2024 to say it had reviewed its offer. However, it should have escalated the complaint to stage 2 at this time. This unnecessary additional step delayed the resident’s ability to bring her complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
- The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 3 June 2024. There is no evidence the landlord acknowledged this in writing. It issued its stage 2 response on 10 June 2024, which was within its policy timescales.
- The landlord apologised for not acknowledging the initial complaint and offered the resident £50 compensation. Although it also failed to acknowledge the escalation request in writing, it issued the stage 2 response promptly, so the impact on the resident was limited. The amount of compensation offered was reasonable for the failings identified in this investigation and for the time and trouble caused to the resident.
Learning
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord needs to maintain accurate and complete repair and communication records, ensuring any remedial works are clearly logged before closing any work order.
Communication
- The landlord should review its staff training on complaint handling. It should ensure its staff are adhering to its policies and procedures and effectively communicating with residents to manage their expectations.