London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202410151)

Background

1. The resident has a visual impairment which the landlord was aware of. She reported damage to the bedroom wall, which she said was caused by a tree branch growing into the property. The landlord carried out repairs in 2023/24, but the resident said this was not fully resolved.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. The resident’s reports of damage to the bedroom wall and associated repairs, including redecoration.
   2. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damage to the bedroom wall and associated repairs, including redecoration.
   2. Reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

4. The landlord was responsible for the maintenance of the communal garden and for the damage caused by the tree. The landlord delayed for a long period of time in responding to the issue. While its compensation award was reasonable, it did not offer repairs to ‘make good’ damage in line with its repairs policy.
5. The landlord did not follow its complaints policy timeframes and did not respond to the resident’s complaint for 6 months. This caused her distress and inconvenience. Its apology and compensation offer were sufficient given the circumstances of the case.

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.

What we have not investigated

6. The resident has told us that her health was impacted by these matters. It would be fairer, more reasonable, and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of injury and how long it will last. We have not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience the situation may have caused.

What we have investigated

7. The tenancy agreement states the garden is communal. In line with its repair policy, the landlord is responsible for maintaining communal areas, including trees where they may cause damage.
8. The resident said she first reported the damage to the bedroom wall on 20 October 2022. Repair records in November 2022 and early 2023 identified a tree branch growing into the property as the underlying cause.
9. The landlord was therefore required to take appropriate steps to remove the cause of the damage and complete the necessary repairs within 25 calendar days as outlined in its repair policy.
10. The evidence shows that while the landlord identified the underlying cause of the damage in late 2022 to early 2023, it did not complete the necessary works until May 2024. Although there were occasions where access was delayed by the resident, this only partially explains the length of time taken.
11. The landlord remained responsible for resolving the cause of the damage and for completing the repairs within its policy timescales, and it did not do so. This resulted in the issue persisting for a long time, causing distress and inconvenience to the resident. This has been considered below in the Ombudsman’s assessment of compensation.
12. The landlord initially stated in its stage 1 response dated 30 March 2023 that it had instructed contractors to carry out plastering and redecoration works. However, before these works were completed, it retracted its position and, in an email to the resident on 10 August 2023, advised that redecoration was her responsibility.
13. The landlord’s repairs policy confirms that it is responsible for the structure of the property and for managing communal areas, including trees where they are dangerous. In this case, the damage was caused by a tree branch affecting the structure of the property, which was the landlord’s responsibility to address. It was also the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the communal garden.
14. The landlord’s repair policy states that it will make good surfaces affected by repair works. As the redecoration arose directly from works required to address a repair the landlord was responsible for, it was reasonable to expect it to redecorate the affected wall(s).
15. The landlord did not clearly explain the change in its position regarding redecoration. This contributed to the resident’s dissatisfaction and delays in progressing the works.
16. In its stage 2 response dated 19 April 2024, the landlord partially upheld the resident’s complaint and awarded £440 for the repair-related failings. This is within a range that the Ombudsman would recommend where there was a failure that adversely affected a resident. Given the inconvenience caused to the resident over an extended period by the landlord not completing remedial works and unreasonably refusing redecorations, we have concluded that there was an adverse impact and have not awarded further compensation. However, we have still found maladministration because the decorations need to be put right.
17. The landlord is ordered, within 4 weeks, to redecorate all affected wall(s) following the tree-related damage and associated repairs.

18. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The relevant Code in this case is the October 2022 edition. The landlord says it will acknowledge complaints by the next working day and will issue its stage 1 response within 10 working days and its stage 2 response within 20 working days.
19. The landlord had a complaints policy which was in line with the Code. It appropriately acknowledged, and responded to, the resident’s stage 1 complaint the day after it was received.
20. The resident escalated the complaint to stage 2 on 12 October 2023. The landlord said that it knew it would not be able to respond on time. This was not in line with the Code.
21. The landlord did not issue its stage 2 response until 19 April 2024 and failed to keep the resident appropriately updated during this period. This was a delay of approximately 6 months from the point of escalation, which is not in line with the expectations of its complaints policy or the Code. This contributed to the resident having to repeatedly chase a response.
22. Overall, the landlord did not respond to the complaint within a reasonable timeframe or manage the resident’s expectations effectively.
23. In recognition of the failings identified, the landlord offered £320 for complaint handling failures. The Ombudsman’s compensation guidance recommends awards of up to £250 where there has been a complaint handling failure which had a significant impact on a resident. We therefore consider that the landlord’s award of £320 was fair.

Learning

Repairs

24. The landlord should ensure it identifies the root cause of repairs at an early stage, and it takes timely action to resolve this.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

25. The landlord maintained clear and accurate records in relation to the repairs and complaint handling, which supported the investigation. It should ensure this standard is consistently maintained.

Communication

26. The landlord should provide clear and consistent information about repair responsibilities and explain any changes in position at the earliest opportunity.