GreenSquareAccord Limited (202227513)

Decision
Case ID	202227513
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	GreenSquareAccord Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	17 June 2026

Background

1. The resident said his property, a timber-frame new-build, is cold and difficult to heat. The resident said he has health vulnerabilities and young grandchildren living in the property with him.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Concerns his property was cold.
   2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns his property was cold.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of repairs

4. The landlord acknowledged its failures and tried to put things right for the resident by offering proportionate compensation. It reinspected the property, but it has not completed all the repairs.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint

5. The landlord did not fully comply with its complaints policy or our 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.

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 provided by a manager 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 15 July 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must reoffer and pay the resident £625 previously offered for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s concerns his property was cold if it has not already done so.	No later than 15 July 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection of the property and possible causes for the cold and draught. It must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date.   What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure the surveyor: inspects the property and produces a written report with photographs to be shared with the resident and us finds the most likely cause of the cold temperature in the property provides a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue (if the landlord is responsible)	No later than 15 July 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
31 January 2020	The resident raised a historic complaint. He said his property was always cold and it was making his 2 grandchildren ill.
18 February 2020	The landlord replied at stage 1. It upheld the resident’s complaint. The landlord said it raised an appointment for a heating system check. It said it relayed insulation in the roof.
14 March 2023	The resident contacted us and asked us to investigate his complaint.
3 May 2023	We asked the landlord to respond to the resident’s complaint within 15 working days.
25 May 2023	The landlord replied at stage 1 (step 2 of its complaints procedure). It upheld the resident’s complaint and offered him £150 compensation. The landlord said the resident chased the property inspection multiple times in January and February 2023. It said it would inspect on 25 May 2023.
23 July 2025	We asked the landlord to provide the resident with a copy of the stage 2 response if it had already been issued.
6 August 2025	The landlord sent a stage 2 response. It said there was a record of a visit to the resident’s property in May 2023, however, no notes were recorded. The landlord said it took no further action and there was no contact from the resident. It said a new appointment was raised for 11 August 2025. It offered the resident a further £475, broken down as: £25 for poor record keeping £100 for the failure to address the draughts £350 for the distress and inconvenience caused
Referral to Ombudsman	The resident said the property is still cold and the landlord did not attend an appointment to check the wall cavity and door seals.   The landlord told us it rearranged the appointment for the end of January 2026.

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	The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports his property was cold
Finding	Service failure

What we did not investigate

6. The resident said he has experienced cold and draughts in his property since 2015. However, we have not seen evidence of a formal complaint exhausting the landlord’s complaints process until May 2023. In the interest of fairness our investigation will focus on events from January 2020 when the resident raised his complaint. We note, however, the passage of time has limited available evidence.
7. The resident said the cold and draughts in his property has impacted his health. The courts are the most effective place for disputes about personal injury and illness. This is because independent medical experts can give evidence. While we can consider the overall impact of the situation on the resident, we cannot decide causation or liability for personal injury like a court can. If the resident wishes to pursue a personal injury claim, he may wish to seek independent legal advice.

What we did investigate

8. In the landlord’s historic complaint response, it acknowledged its failings and it tried to put things right. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will complete routine repairs within 28 working days. At stage 1, it raised repairs within the policy times.
9. In the landlord’s stage 1 (step 2 of its complaints procedure) response, it said it had not inspected the property, and this meant the resident chased the landlord for a resolution. It tried to put things right with an offer of compensation and a new inspection.
10. In January 2024, the landlord inspected the resident’s property and said the central heating was working and all doors and windows were in good condition. It said the property was a comfortable temperature and the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating for the property was good.
11. We asked the landlord to respondat stage 2 to the resident. In its stage two responseit said it visited the property 2 years earlier but there were no records of the visit or follow on works. The landlord increased the compensation offer to try and put things right for the resident. It also raised a new inspection of the property. These were reasonable actions by the landlord.
12. The landlord reinspected the property in August 2025. It raised a repair to reseal the front door in October 2025. The landlord said there was no access to the property to complete the repair in November 2025, and it was booked in for 23 January 2026.
13. Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, our role is to consider whether the redress it offered put things right. In summary, the landlord failed to resolve the resident’s concerns his property was cold at stage 1. It tried to put things right with an offer of compensation at stage 2.
14. The landlord’s combined compensation offers of £625 is proportionate to the level of its failings, when considering our guidance on remedies. It acknowledged there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. However, we have found service failure for the landlord’s handling of the resident concerns his property is cold as the resident reports the issue has not been resolved.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

15. In April 2024, the landlord updated the times in its complaints policy. It stated it would acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, respond to stage 1 complaints in 10 working days and stage 2 complaints in 20 working days. This is in line with the Code.
16. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 17 May 2023 to the Ombudsman. This was outside of 5 working days of us intervening on 3 May 2025 however it replied at stage 1 (step 2 of its complaints procedure) within 10 working days.
17. We escalated the complaint on 23 July 2025 to which it issued its stage two response dated 6 August 2025. A new complaints procedure was in place at this time, and it was reasonable for the landlord to classify this as a stage two response as opposed to a step 3 response. In any event, both would have represented the final stage of the landlord’s complaints procedure. The distinction between a Stage 2 response and a Step 3 response was also explained within the Stage 2 response dated 6 August 2025.
18. As there was a delay in acknowledging the complaint at the equivalent of stage one, and this was not addressed within its complaint responses, a determination of service failure has been concluded.

Learning

19. The landlord should consider how to ensure property inspections are thorough and provide clear findings to residents. The landlord should also consider what appropriate action it can take if the resident’s experience is different to the inspection conclusions.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. The evidence shows the landlord failed to maintain adequate records. We expect landlords to keep a record of contacts and repairs to provide an audit trail and enhance its ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise. Failure to do so can result in landlords not taking appropriate and timely action, missing opportunities to identify incorrect actions and contribute to inadequate communication or redress.