London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202534314)

Background

1. During September 2025 the resident contacted the landlord to report a leak into his bathroom from the property above which was under its ownership.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a leak from the property above.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a leak from the property above.

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

Reasons

4. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will complete emergency repairs within 24 hours. It also says that leaseholders are responsible for all repairs to the interior of the property. Its compensation policy says it will not usually pay compensation where the resident should claim against its building insurance.
5. A job sheet dated 8 September 2025 shows that the landlord attended the property above to investigate a leak. It carried out minor works, including redoing areas of sealant. However, it’s unclear if a leak was found which is a record keeping failure.
6. During September and October 2025, the resident contacted the landlord on at least 6 occasions to report that the leak was ongoing. The evidence shows the landlord attended the property above within its timescales for emergency repairs, raising follow on works where appropriate. There were times when it could not gain access to the property above. However, where this occurred it took appropriate action.
7. The leak was resolved on 30 October 2025 which was 49 days after it was first reported. The evidence shows that the landlord took steps to investigate the leak by attending and carrying out various works. However, the ongoing nature of the leak was unreasonable, causing distress and inconvenience to the resident.
8. During the resident’s repeated contact with the landlord he asked for updates on progress, including timescales. He reported that the leak was getting worse and asked it to inspect his electrics. This was because he was concerned they may be affected by water ingress and become a health and safety risk. He also asked it to confirm what action it would take to repair the internal damage caused to his property.
9. During its communication with the resident, the landlord said it could not provide detailed updates regarding the property above because of data protection legislation. We agree that it could not divulge personal information to the resident. However, it should have provided enough detail to assure him that the matter was being fully addressed. For example, by providing broad updates regarding the outcomes of visits and next steps. Not doing so caused uncertainty and inconvenience, compounding the resident’s distress.
10. The terms of the resident’s lease require him to keep in good and substantial repair and condition all wires, cables and conduits for the purpose of supplying electricity. Therefore, the landlord’s position that it would not inspect his electrics was reasonable. It advised him that he should make a building insurance claim to resolve the internal damage. This was appropriately in line with its compensation policy.
11. Our compensation guidance says that payments of £100 and above should be made where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. In ordering £150 compensation, we have considered the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s communication failures and its delay in resolving the leak.

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.