GreenSquareAccord Limited (202438780)

Background

1. The resident reported that her garden fence was damaged on 4 March 2024. She said she was required to make multiple contacts with the landlord to chase progress, with no updates provided.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs to her rear garden fence.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs to her rear garden fence.

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

Reasons

4. The tenancy agreement does not clearly define which party is responsible for carrying out repairs to the boundary fencing. There are no specific clauses that assign responsibility for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of garden fences to either the landlord or the resident. The landlord’s website says it will only repair fence if they border a public right of way. However, in the landlord’s complaint responses it accepted responsibility for repairing the fence and this matter is not disputed.
5. The landlord’s maximum repair policy timescale is 84 calendar days (12 weeks).
6. In its stage 1 response dated 17 October 2024, the landlord acknowledged that there had been delays and poor communication and offered the resident £125 compensation. While it apologised and upheld the complaint, it is significant that an inspection was not arranged until 21 October 2024, over 7 months after the issue was reported. The landlord also indicated that repairs would be completed by the end of the financial year, which already represented an extended and unreasonable delay given earlier assurances.
7. At stage 2 on 19 November 2024, the landlord maintained that the complaint was upheld but focused primarily on the issue of compensation. The resident raised concerns that the compensation awarded had been credited to her rent account rather than paid directly to her. In response, the landlord explained that, in accordance with its policy, any compensation offered would be offset against outstanding rent arrears where they exist.
8. In October 2025 the landlord attempted to carry out the repairs to the fence. However, the works were not completed due to a disagreement between the resident and the contractor, resulting in the job being abandoned.
9. The landlord has since confirmed that works are now scheduled for June 2026, more than 2 years after the original report. Although an attempt to complete the works was made, this ongoing delay remains unreasonable for what appears to be a routine repair. The landlord accepted responsibility for repairing the fence and was therefore required to ensure the works were completed within a reasonable timeframe.
10. The landlord’s compensation policy outlines that compensation may be awarded where there are delays in service, failures to meet response times, and unreasonable time taken to resolve issues. All of these factors apply in this case. The resident was left without a repaired fence for an extended period, despite repeated assurances, which caused ongoing inconvenience and required significant time and effort to pursue a resolution.
11. Overall, the landlord’s actions were unreasonable due to the excessive delay in completing the repair, repeated failures in communication, and its inability to meet its own stated timeframes. While the complaint was upheld and compensation was offered, the landlord’s response did not adequately remedy the situation or reflect the prolonged impact on the resident.

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.