London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (202438161)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202438161 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham |
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Landlord type |
Local Authority / ALMO or TMO |
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Occupancy |
Secure Tenancy |
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Date |
26 February 2026 |
Background
- The resident’s property is linked to a communal heating system that provides residents with heating and hot water. She pays a charge for this service in addition to her rent. The resident raised concerns about the reliability of the system and the associated pipework with the landlord. She said it kept failing and had caused frequent outages since 2017, as well as burst pipes under her neighbours’ properties. She was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response to these concerns. The resident told us that she has 2 children with neurodivergent conditions who rely on a routine, which she said was affected by the outages.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the reports of heating and hot water outages and its maintenance of the communal heating system.
- We have also investigated the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We have found that:
- There was service failure in the landlord’s response to the reports of heating and hot water outages and its maintenance of the communal heating system.
- There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
The landlord’s response to the reports of heating and hot water outages and its maintenance of the communal heating system
- The landlord responded to the reports of outages in line with its policies. It acted reasonably by completing works recommended by its contractors and taking steps to secure a permanent solution. It was also reasonable that it recognised the impact on residents and offered compensation. However, it gave the resident estimated timescales for the works but did not update her until 4 months after those timescales had passed.
This was a failing in its communication.
The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint
- The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint outside of its policy timescales. It responded to the stage 2 complaint 5 working days after the timescales it had given the resident. The landlord did not address all points raised in the complaint or explain the reasons for its decisions. This did not meet the requirements of the Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
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.
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Order |
What the landlord must do |
Due date |
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1 |
Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:
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No later than 27 March 2026 |
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Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £75 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures identified in its complaint handling. 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 27 March 2026 |
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Order The landlord must write to the resident outlining:
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No later than 27 March 2026 |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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12 November 2024 |
The resident complained to the landlord about ongoing issues with the communal heating system. She raised concerns about pipework on the estate, which she said had burst under 5 properties. She said that the service she received in return for the charge she paid was unreliable. |
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12 December 2024 |
The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It said that it had instructed a full feasibility review to identify the remedial works required to the heating network. It confirmed that once it received and approved the full specification, it would provide further information on when works would start. It apologised for any inconvenience caused in the meantime. |
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December to January 2024 |
The resident requested to escalate her complaint. She was dissatisfied that the landlord had not acted sooner. She said that she continued to pay for the service and that her electricity costs had increased because of frequent outages and the need to use alternative heating.
The landlord told the resident it would respond to her stage 2 complaint by 30 January 2025. |
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6 February 2025 |
The landlord issued its final response to the complaint. It acknowledged intermittent interruptions to the heating and hot water supply because of burst pipes and other system issues. It apologised for the inconvenience caused by these outages, which it said were generally short in duration. |
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4 August 2025 |
The landlord sent a letter to all residents. It acknowledged that intermittent loss of hot water and heating had caused considerable inconvenience. It offered affected residents £700 in compensation based on the issues reported within the last 12 months. It confirmed it had scheduled the works to start in October 2025. The resident told us she had accepted the landlord’s compensation offer. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident asked us to investigate the complaint because she was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response. She said the issues had been ongoing since 2017, with outages happening at least once a week. She said the works had not yet started, despite the dates the landlord previously advised. To put things right, the resident asked for compensation for the outages and increased electricity costs. |
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 |
The landlord’s response to the reports of heating and hot water outages and its maintenance of the communal heating system. |
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Finding |
Service failure |
What we have not considered
- The resident said that the issues with the system have been occurring since 2017. We encourage residents to raise complaints with their landlord in a timely manner, so the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to investigate the issue while it is still “live” and when sufficient evidence is available. While we understand that general issues with the heating system have occurred for some time, we have no evidence showing how the resident was impacted by these before January 2024. Considering the availability of evidence and the time periods involved, our investigation does not consider any specific events before January 2024.
- We understand that further outages have occurred after the date of the landlord’s final response. We may not investigate issues the landlord has not had the chance to put right first. We have seen no evidence that the resident raised a complaint with the landlord about the later outages. Therefore, we have not included them in our investigation. However, we have considered whether the landlord completed the actions it said it would take in its final response.
What we have considered
- According to the landlord’s records, the resident reported outages to the heating and hot water supply on 5 occasions between January and November 2024. The landlord marked all works as completed on the same day. This met its repair timescales, which required completion within 1 working day between 31 October and 1 May, and within 3 working days between 30 April and 1 November. These timescales align with the statutory right to repair scheme.
- There was a planned outage in May 2024 while the landlord replaced some pipework. It had informed residents about these works in advance, which was reasonable. There is also a record of a burst pipe on 25 July 2024. We understand this affected supply before the landlord installed temporary hoses on 26 July 2024. During the complaint, throughout November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025, the resident reported 10 more outages to the heating and hot water supply. The landlord recognised that there were vulnerabilities in the household when responding to the resident’s reports. Its records confirm it resolved all outages within its policy timescale of 1 working day.
- We understand that the frequent outages, however short in duration, caused disruption to the resident and her family. When looking at whether the landlord acted reasonably and whether it ought to have taken further action sooner, we considered whether it followed the advice of its contractors. This is because it is reasonable for landlords to rely on expert contractor advice when determining what repairs to carry out and when to carry them out.
- The landlord resolved the majority of the outages by resetting the boilers and flushing out the plate heat exchanger. It often inspected the system in the days after a repair to ensure it was operating correctly. It replaced various parts throughout 2024, and it installed new temporary boilers in February 2025. We have seen no evidence that the landlord failed to act on the recommendations of its contractors during this period.
- In October 2024 the landlord started a major works project to upgrade the system. It is unclear from the records what prompted the decision at that time. Major works programmes can involve several considerations and are often complex and costly to deliver. However given the frequency of the issues and repairs, it was reasonable for the landlord to consider what permanent solutions it could put in place.
- The landlord instructed a contractor to carry out a full design of the works in early December 2024. In its final response, it said that it was aiming to start the works in March to April 2025. However, by April 2025, the landlord had not started the works and there is no evidence that it updated the resident about any delay. While its records show that it continued working on the project between April and July 2025, it would have been reasonable for it to have informed the resident about the new timescales it was working towards.
- The landlord updated all residents 4 months later, in August 2025. It apologised for the delays and said that it had scheduled works to commence in October 2025. It offered all affected residents £700 compensation for loss of service, inconvenience, and time and trouble experienced within the previous 12 months. It was appropriate for the landlord to recognise and consider the impact the disruptions have had on all residents. However, this did not address the individual circumstances and queries raised by the resident
- The landlord did not respond directly to the resident’s requests about reimbursement of charges or increased electricity costs. Its Tenancy Handbook confirms that it will compensate residents for any period over 48 hours without heating and hot water. While we have not seen evidence of outages lasting more than 48 hours during the period considered in this investigation, the landlord should still have responded to the request. The same applied to the resident’s concerns about increased electricity costs. We have addressed this further in the complaints handling section of this report. The landlord also committed to considering compensation once it completed the works. However, it is unclear whether its later offer of compensation related to this commitment because the works had not yet begun.
- Overall, the landlord responded to the resident’s reports of outages we considered in this investigation in line with its policy. It acted reasonably by outlining the next steps and timescales as part of its final response. However, despite missing the timescales it had set, it did not update the resident until 4 months later. The lack of communication about the delay amounted to a minor failure in the service the landlord provided which it did not appropriately acknowledge or put right.
- The landlord updated residents again in November 2025, apologising for further delays. It confirmed it was looking to start works in January 2026. However, the resident told us that as of February 2026, the works have yet to commence. We have therefore ordered the landlord to provide a further update.
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Complaint |
The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- The landlord’s complaint policy at the time of the complaint complied with the definition of a complaint in the Code (April 2024). The timescales in the landlord’s complaint procedure complied with the Code.
- The landlord issued its stage 1 response to the complaint after 22 working days. This exceeded its policy timescale of 10 working days from acknowledgment. The landlord did not provide the date the resident asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2. Therefore, we cannot assess whether it met its stage 2 response timescales. However, it had told the resident it would respond by 30 January 2025, but it did not do so until 6 February 2025. There is no evidence it updated her about this delay, which was unreasonable.
- The landlord focused its complaint responses on future actions. It missed an opportunity to review its handling of the matter or explain why it took actions when it did. It also failed to address all parts of the complaint. This included the resident’s request for reimbursement of heating and electricity costs. The omissions and delays reflected minor failures by the landlord in the service it provided, which it did not appropriately acknowledge or put right. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £75 compensation for the distress and inconvenience its failings have likely caused her. This in line with our remedies guidance for cases where we have found service failure.
Learning
- The complaint process is the landlord’s opportunity to review its handling of the matter, identify any failings, and, if needed, take steps to put them right. Landlords should explain to residents the reasons for its decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.
- We have many resources available for member landlords through our Centre for Learning platform. The landlord may find it helpful to review our eLearning on the Complaint Handling Code.
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord kept appropriate records.
Communication
- When a landlord commits to future actions in its final response, it should ensure it can follow those commitments and update residents about any changes.
- In its final complaint response, the landlord signposted the resident only to the Local Government Ombudsman. The landlord should ensure it directs residents to the correct Ombudsman when matters relate to its housing provision.