London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202333513)

Decision
Case ID	202333513
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London & Quadrant Housing Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Shared Ownership
Date	6 November 2025

Background

1. The resident lives in a 2-bedroom flat on the ground floor in a block. He lives in the property with his wife and daughter. He has reported he has chronic illnesses.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of:
   1. The communal front door not working properly.
   2. Fire safety doors not closing properly.
   3. Communal hallway floorboards creaking.
   4. Bollard lamps along the communal entrance pathway not working.
   5. Gas meter storeroom doors being damp, damaged, and poorly ventilated.
3. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. We have found that there was:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to the communal front door not working properly.
   2. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to the fire safety doors not closing properly.
   3. No maladministration in the landlord’s response to the communal hallway floorboards creaking.
   4. Service failure in the landlord’s response to bollard lamps along the communal entrance pathway not working.
   5. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to gas meter storeroom doors being damp, damaged, and poorly ventilated.
   6. Maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

 

Summary of reasons

The response to reports of the communal front door not working

5. The landlord delayed in completing the necessary works and its repair attempts were ineffective over an extended period of time.

The response to reports of fire safety doors not closing properly

6. The landlord delayed in carrying out an inspection of the fire safety doors for a significant period of time. This caused a delay in completing subsequent repairs.

The response to reports of communal hallway floorboards creaking

7. The landlord’s communication regarding the creaking floorboards could have been better and it could have responded in a more timely manner. However, there is no indication that the issue itself caused the resident any real detriment.

The response to reports of bollard lamps in the entrance pathway not working

8. The landlord did not clarify with the resident in a timely manner that the managing agents were responsible for maintenance and repair of communal lighting.

The response to reports of gas meter storeroom doors being damp, damaged and poorly ventilated

9. The landlord gave inaccurate information to the resident on who was responsible for repairing the gas meter storeroom doors. It delayed in conducting repairs for an extended period of time.

The complaint handling

10. Despite acknowledging the resident’s escalation request, the landlord did not provide a stage 2 response. It only did so a year later, after being contacted by this service.

  

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	Apology order   The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:   The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic.  It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 04 December 2025
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £625 made up as follows: £200 for delays to completing repairs on the communal front door. £150 for delays to completing an inspection and repairs of the fire safety doors. £50 for delays in clarifying who was responsible for repairing the bollard lamps in communal areas. £100 for delays to completing repairs on the gas meter storeroom doors. £125 for delays to providing a stage 2 complaint response. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment.	No later than 04 December 2025

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
18 April 2023	The resident raised a complaint about multiple repair issues in the communal areas.
26 April 2023	The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response to say its contractor had repaired the communal front door on 3 March 2023. It said a staff member would meet with the resident and conduct an inspection of the site, following which it would raise repairs as necessary. This visit happened on the same day.
12 June 2023	The landlord acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate his complaint to stage 2.
Between 28 November and 21 December 2023	The resident contacted our service for help regarding multiple repair issues including the communal repair issues and a separate complaint involving water ingress.
12 June 2024	For the second time the landlord acknowledged the resident’s request to escalate his complaint to stage 2.
27 June 2024	The landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response. It explained that: Following a site inspection on 25 June 2024, it would raise a new inspection for the communal front door, fire safety doors, hallway flooring and the gas meter storeroom doors. It would look into who was responsible for maintaining the bollard lamps in the communal entrance. Although it acknowledged there had been delays and issues with the quality of repairs, it would not offer any compensation for communal issues to individual residents. The resident referred the matter to us on the same day.
14 October 2025	The resident provided an update to us. He said all issues had now been resolved, apart from the creaking hallway flooring.

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	Communal front door not working properly
Finding	Maladministration

11. Records show that since March 2023 the landlord had tried several times to repair the communal front door which frequently jammed. Photos show there were holes above the door frame from the multiple attempts to hang and re-hang the frame. Throughout 2024, the resident repeatedly reported this issue.
12. It was not until June 2024 that the landlord carried out a detailed inspection and identified that a new doorframe may be needed. The landlord has provided records to show it carried out further repairs on 17 July 2024 but these do not indicate when it finally fully resolved the issue.
13. The resident told us the issue was not fully resolved until early 2025, almost 2 years after he first made the landlord aware of it. During this time he repeatedly communicated to the landlord that the issue was still unresolved despite the repair attempts. The resident has explained the situation caused him distress and inconvenience, which was especially significant as his physical and mental health was already affected by his disabilities.
14. The landlord offered an apology and acknowledged there were delays and issues with the quality of repairs. However it stated it could not offer compensation for communal issues to any individual resident. This is contrary to its own compensation policy, which states ‘customers can be compensated for loss of communal services and facilities’.
15. In view of the repair taking at least a year to complete, we consider a financial remedy is appropriate to reflect the inconvenience, time and trouble caused. We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the communal front door.

Complaint	Fire safety doors not closing properly
Finding	Maladministration

16. Records show the resident first reported the fire safety doors were not closing properly in early April 2023. The earliest record we have seen from the landlord regarding fire doors was in July 2023, when it said it would conduct repairs to the closer (a mechanism on the door to ensure it would shut). There was no evidence the landlord followed this up.
17. As of June 2024 the resident was still reporting the same issues as having been unresolved. The landlord conducted a site visit in June 2024 and identified some ‘pattern’ on the glass which showed possible delamination, but no issues with shutting the fire doors. It explained to the resident a surveyor would examine the fire safety doors more closely, however there is no record of further repairs afterwards.
18. The resident explained to us that he had been distressed and worried about the fire doors. He said this was a significant health and safety risk in the event of a fire.
19. While the landlord’s inspection report (from June 2024) indicated the fire doors were likely shutting as normal, it should have offered a survey of the fire safety doors much sooner when the resident reported this issue in April 2023. The lack of a timely response left the resident worried and uncertain over fire safety for a prolonged period of time.
20. While the landlord has acknowledged there was delay in conducting inspections and repairs, it stated in its complaint response that it could not offer any financial compensation for communal issues. This was contrary to its compensation policy.
21. In view of the repair delay, we consider a financial remedy is appropriate to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. We have found maladministration in the landlord’s response to the reports of fire safety doors not closing properly.

Complaint	Communal hallway floorboards creaking
Finding	No maladministration

22. The resident first reported in early April 2023 that the floor boards in communal corridors creaked loudly when he walked on them, causing him annoyance. The landlord met with him and carried out a site inspection on 26 April 2023, however there was no record of repairs or updates to the resident afterwards.
23. The resident did not pursue this matter further until June 2024, when he contacted our service. After conducting a site visit in June 2024, the landlord specifically acknowledged in its stage 2 response that the floorboards were creaking. However there was no record of it raising repairs afterwards or following up with an update to the resident. The resident has stated to us the issue remains unresolved as of October 2025.
24. The landlord failed to provide the resident with updates. It also should have clarified, in a timely manner, whether it believed repairs were necessary or if it had considered whether there were steps it could take to reduce or resolve the creaking.
25. However, due to the relatively minor impact the creaking floorboards would have caused (an annoyance, rather than any health and safety risk), we have not seen any evidence of the resident experiencing any real detriment from this issue. We have therefore found there was no maladministration by the landlord regarding its response to the reports of creaking communal floorboards.

Complaint	Bollard lamps along the communal entrance pathway not working
Finding	Service failure

26. The resident first brought this issue to the landlord’s attention in April 2023. It conducted an inspection 2 months later but following this, there was no further action taken for an extended period. The landlord did not explain that it would look into who was responsible for maintenance of the bollard lamps until June 2024.
27. According to information provided by the landlord, the managing agent acting behalf of the freeholder of the building should be responsible for maintaining the bollards which are located in external communal areas.
28. There was a missed opportunity for the landlord to resolve this matter earlier. It should have clarified to the resident who was responsible for the maintenance and repair of external communal lighting in a time manner following his April 2023 enquiry. It should have passed the resident’s concerns to the managing agents at that time.
29. While we consider the personal impact to the resident was relatively minor, the landlord’s miscommunication caused him inconvenience, time and trouble. We therefore find service failure in this aspect of the complaint.

Complaint	Gas meter storeroom doors being damp, damaged, and poorly ventilated
Finding	Maladministration

30. As early as 25 December 2022, the resident told the landlord he was concerned about the gas meter storeroom having no ventilation on the doors. He believed this may be a safety risk. At the time the landlord arranged for an engineer to attend on an emergency basis and found there was no gas leak, which was appropriate.
31. When the resident raised this issue again in January 2023 and November 2023, the landlord asked him to report any gas issues in communal areas to the managing agent. The landlord has since explained to us that it was typically responsible for all internal communal repair issues, while the managing agent was responsible for external communal repairs. The landlord therefore gave the resident incorrect advice about who should address any reported issues with the gas meter storeroom issues itself.
32. The landlord did not act further on this matter until June 2024 (about 18 months after the initial report) when it carried out an inspection of the communal areas. On 1 October 2024 it arranged for a vent to be added to the doors. However it only completed this work only in March 2025, about 2 years after the resident first reported the issue.
33. There is no evidence to show there was a gas safety risk. However, as well as giving the resident incorrect information about who was responsible for repairs, the landlord also missed multiple opportunities to resolve this issue earlier. The significant delay of about 2 years caused distress and inconvenience to the resident.
34. While the landlord has acknowledged there was delay in conducting inspections and repairs, it stated in its complaint response that it could not offer any financial compensation for communal issues. This was contrary to its compensation policy.
35. In view of the lengthy delay in resolving this issue, we consider a financial remedy would be appropriate to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. We have found maladministration regarding the landlord’s response to the reports of the gas meter storeroom doors being damaged and poorly ventilated.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	Maladministration

36. The resident requested an escalation of his complaint on 7 June 2023. The landlord acknowledged this but then did not provide a further response. Following contact from us, the landlord acknowledged the escalation request a second time and issued a stage 2 response on 27 June 2024, 11 months after the request was first acknowledged.
37. The landlord had been in frequent contact with the resident during this time regarding other complaints and enquiries. However, it failed to respond to the complaints regarding communal repairs until our involvement. This caused the resident time, trouble and inconvenience. The landlord did not acknowledge this delay in its final response and did not offer any remedy. Therefore we find maladministration in the complaint handling.

Learning

38. The landlord should respond promptly to residents reports regarding communal issues. It should conduct inspections and progress repairs in a timely manner.
39. Where it is unclear who was responsible for repairs in communal areas, the landlord should clarify this promptly. It should communicate effectively with the managing agent and/or the freeholder to clear up any confusion and ensure communal repairs are handled effectively.
40. The landlord should adhere to its own complaints policy and observe the timeframes set out in the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. On this occasion it did not keep track of the resident’s complaint and the delay in issuing a stage 2 complaint response was significant. It should also ensure it adheres to its compensation policy, or otherwise review this, to ensure it is providing accurate information to resident regarding whether it pays individuals compensation for communal issues.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

41. The record keeping seen in this case was poor. The landlord conducted two separate site inspections about a year apart. The first inspection did not result in a detailed report. It did not clarify what the issues were or which areas needed repairs. This led to the landlord avoidably having to carry out a repeat inspection almost a year later.
42. The landlord’s repairs history records were unclear on when a repair was completed. For example there were multiple repairs raised on the system for the communal front door and the gas meter storeroom doors, however we could not see details regarding what work was done and when the work was completed.

Communication

43. The landlord’s overall communication was poor. It provided the resident with incorrect or contradictory information. It also delayed in following up on agreed actions and providing its final complaint response.