London Borough of Hackney (202512684)

Decision
Case ID	202512684
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London Borough of Hackney
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	16 December 2025

Background

1. The resident lives in a flat within a block that was originally supplied with heating and hot water by a combined heat and power (CHP) unit. In 2019, the CHP was damaged beyond repair following a flood, and the landlord replaced it with a boiler system. The resident complained in March 2025 about ongoing boiler breakdowns and whether the system has sufficient capacity to provide reliable heating and hot water to all residents.

What the complaint is about

2. The landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. Concerns about the heating and hot water system.
   2. Associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found service failure for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the heating and hot water system.
4. We found no maladministration for the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

5. We found that:
   1. The landlord repaired the heating and hot water system in line with its policy. It acknowledged its poor communication and offered appropriate redress. However, it did not deliver on the commitments made in its Stage 2 complaint response.
   2. The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint within its agreed timescales and provided detailed information within its 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	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident the £50 it offered in its stage 2 response for the distress and inconvenience caused by the intermittent heating and hot water. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 13 January 2026
2	Communication order The landlord must contact the resident and discuss:   Whether it will reimburse her above the £25 already paid for the increase in her energy bills when the heating and hot water system was not working correctly. This includes the months October 2024 to the end of February 2025. An update on the action it is taking to investigate alternative options for the provision of heating and hot water to the resident’s building. This should include any estimated timescales for making decisions and works. It should also address the resident’s concerns about future breakdowns this winter. It should discuss any health issues or vulnerabilities that it may need to record and consider.   The landlord must confirm the outcome of its discussion in writing to the resident and us by the due date.	No later than 13 January 2026

 

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The landlord should check if the resident is set up to receive text messages about faults with the heating and hot water system. If she isn’t, it should contact her to see if she would like to set this up.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
October 2024 to February 2025	During the period October 2024 to January 2025 there were 6 breakdowns in the block’s heating system.   The landlord sent letters to all residents to update them and advise what action it was taking on 20 December 2024, 28 January 2025 and 17 March 2025.
24 March 2025	The resident made a complaint to the landlord regarding the issues with her heating and hot water. She asked for compensation for the impact this had on her.
4 April 2025	The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said: There were 4 breakdowns with the boilers between October and December 2024. It completed the repairs the same day on each occasion, however it acknowledged that it could take 8-12 hours for the system to get back up to temperature. In January 2025 there was a burst on a heat exchange. It added 2 more boilers to increase the systems capacity. There was another boiler breakdown on 14 February 2025 which lasted 7 days during a cold period. This impacted the level of heat output the system could provide which meant the resident only had heat at approximately 16 – 17c and lukewarm hot water. On 21 February 2025 a temporary boiler was fitted. It replaced the heat exchange and fitted more boilers to ensure the system had capacity at times of high demand and to cover future breakdowns. It was investigating long term solutions for the system and would communicate this to residents when it could. It was monitoring the system 24/7 and had set up a text message system to alert residents of outages and timescales for repairs. In March 2025 it offered £25 to all residents to reimburse any additional costs incurred for the 7 days of low power. If the resident felt she incurred higher costs than this she should provide evidence and it would look into this.
29 May 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. In its response it: Acknowledged the stress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the disruptions of heating and hot water which led to increased bills during the period of the breakdowns. Offered £50 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. Had passed on her electricity bills to the repairs customer manager to assess whether she had incurred costs greater than the £25 it had offered her for this.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident approached our service as she was unhappy with the landlord’s response to her complaint. She said she wanted a permanent and reliable resolution to the heating and hot water issues, reimbursement for increased electricity costs, and compensation for the disruption caused.
27 June 2025	By this date the landlord had exchanged all the heat exchangers which left all the boilers in working order.

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	Concerns about the heating and hot water system
Finding	Service failure

6. The resident told us that she has experienced issues with her heating and hot water since 2019. We encourage residents to raise complaints with us promptly, as older issues become harder for both the landlord and us to review effectively. It is reasonable for us to consider events from October 2024, as the evidence shows this is when the heating system broke down which triggered the resident to make her complaint.
7. The resident submitted her complaint in March 2025, raising concerns about how the landlord managed the boiler breakdowns. The landlord did not maintain adequate records of when these issues were first reported. It confirmed that it could not provide any records of work carried out on the heat network between October and December 2024. The information it provided for works completed between January and August 2025 was also very limited. This represents a failure in record keeping.
8. In its complaint responses, the landlord stated that it attended to the 4 breakdowns between October and December 2024 within 24 hours. This is in line with the emergency repair timescales set out in its repairs policy. While the landlord has not been able to provide evidence that it recorded this at the time, it has not been disputed that it attended promptly to these earlier reports. The landlord also acted reasonably by installing two new boilers in January 2025 to increase system capacity and reduce the risk of further issues for residents.
9. However, in January and February 2025, there were two further boiler breakdowns. Although the landlord took steps to resolve these issues promptly, the failures affected the heat output of the network. In January, residents experienced a slight drop in temperature for six days. In February, during a cold period, the system only delivered heat at around 16–17°C and provided lukewarm water for seven days.
10. In her complaint the resident told the landlord the lack of adequate heating and hot water caused her to become unwell. She also said the situation caused her to suffer from anxiety and depression. We are not medical experts so cannot assess whether these issues impacted the resident’s health or wellbeing. The resident would need to seek independent advice regarding this or consider a claim through the courts. While we cannot determine impact on health, we have considered the impact of any failings by the landlord.
11. The landlord acknowledged that there was initially a lack of communication about the breakdowns between October and December 2024. It listened to residents’ concerns and took steps to improve this. It sent letters to update all residents on the works being carried out in December 2024, January, and March 2025. It also introduced a system to send text alerts when a network issue was identified, including repair timescales and an estimated timeframe for restoring normal temperatures. Although the landlord provided the resident with details of this system, she told us she was unsure whether she received these text messages. A recommendation has been made for the landlord to contact the resident to discuss this further, as there is a concern that the resident’s case file may not be up to date.
12. During the breakdown in February 2025, the landlord acted appropriately by offering all residents temporary heaters and crediting £25 to their accounts to cover any additional energy costs. In its complaint responses, the landlord acknowledged the impact of the intermittent heating and hot water on the resident, issued an apology, and offered a further £50 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.
13. In its Stage 2 response, the landlord promised to review the resident’s electricity bills and consider reimbursing more than the £25 already offered. The resident provided her bills on 14 May 2025. However, at the time of this investigation, 7 months later, there is no evidence that the landlord has given the resident its decision. This delay is unreasonable.
14. The landlord informed all residents that it was exploring long-term options to improve the heating network. An investigation was carried out in March 2025 to identify potential alternative solutions. In November 2025, the landlord told us it was considering the proposals outlined in that report. While we understand that planning major works takes time, it is unclear whether the landlord has kept the resident updated on progress as promised in its complaint responses.
15. In summary, the landlord carried out repairs in line with its repairs policy. During the periods when heat output was reduced, it offered temporary heaters and credited £25 to all residents to cover any additional energy costs. It acknowledged its initial poor communication and took steps to improve this. Although the breakdowns had a significant impact on the resident, the landlord recognised this in its complaint responses, issued an apology, and offered £50 compensation for distress and inconvenience. This was consistent with its compensation policy and our remedies guidance, and we consider this to be appropriate redress up to the end of the landlord’s internal complaint’s procedure.
16. However, the landlord has not demonstrated that it learned from this complaint, as it failed to follow through on the commitments made in its Stage 2 response. Because of this, our overall determination is service failure. An order has been made for the landlord to contact the resident to confirm whether it will reimburse her for increased energy costs and to provide an update on the heating and hot water system.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	No maladministration

17. The landlord has a 2-stage complaint process. It aims to acknowledge both stages within 5 working days. It says the resident should then receive a formal response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days of the complaint acknowledgement.
18. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint and issued its responses within its agreed timescales. It contacted the resident to discuss her complaint, and its responses were detailed, empathetic and covered all the complaint issues raised.
19. We find no maladministration for the way the landlord handled the resident’s complaint.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. The landlord acknowledged that it did not keep adequate records of the works carried out between October and December 2024. The landlord must ensure that the outcomes of all inspections and repair visits are properly documented to ensure it can be proactive when issues arise.
21. It was positive to see the landlord recognised that it did not hold adequate data on the vulnerabilities of its residents and it took action to improve this. It has now introduced its policy ‘supporting residents with additional needs to thrive’.

Communication

22. The landlord acknowledged it had failed to keep the resident updated about repairs. It listened to the concerns of residents about its poor communication and introduced a text message system. This allows the landlord to quickly notify residents about issues with their heating and hot water and provide estimated timescales for repairs.