B3 Living Limited (202505675)

Background

1. During 2022 the resident contacted the landlord to report issues with his heating and hot water. He complained to the landlord that he had been without heating and hot water for 2 years before the boiler was replaced in September 2024. He has mental health diagnoses.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was reasonable redress in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water.

Reasons

4. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will update residents during the repairs process, especially if works need to be rearranged and/or are delayed. It aims to carry out routine repairs within 20 working days.
5. Following reported issues with the resident’s heating and hot water, the landlord attended the property on 28 January 2022. It identified that follow on works were needed to the boiler. However, the resident did not respond to its attempts to book an appointment to carry out the repair. It’s unclear how many times it tried to contact him or what methods it used which is a record keeping failure. The resident called the landlord again on 7 December 2022 to report ongoing issues. It attended and identified the same follow on works which were outstanding. It phoned the resident and left a voicemail but he did not respond.
6. The landlord responded to the resident’s reports within the timescale set out in its repairs policy. There’s no evidence that the resident was without heating and hot water between January and December 2022. However, the landlord was aware that follow on works remained outstanding over an 11 month period. It also knew that the resident required additional support. Therefore, it should have gone further to try to engage with him to complete the repair rather than closing it prematurely. By not doing so, it failed to comply with its repairs policy which says it will meet individual needs and preferences.
7. On 28 February 2024 the landlord was put on notice that the heating and hot water was only getting warm and was using a lot of electric. Its records show that when it attended on 1 March 2024 it left the system in working order. However, on 8 March 2024 the resident again reported he had no heating and hot water. When the landlord inspected it concluded the boiler may be uneconomical to repair. Its records state that it provided the resident with temporary heaters and that the hot water was left in working order.
8. The landlord’s records say that it wrote to the resident on 11 March 2024 to book an appointment to inspect. However, there was no response so it closed the repair. We’ve not seen a copy of the letter which is a record keeping failure. Furthermore, this was a further example of closing a necessary repair without considering the resident’s individual needs. The landlord’s evidence shows that on 12 April 2024 the resident called to seek an update. It inspected on 18 April 2024 and concluded that the boiler should be replaced. The file note confirms the resident had hot water and the use of temporary heaters at that time.
9. There’s no evidence that the landlord complied with its repairs policy by providing updates to the resident. This caused inconvenience when he chased for an update on 9 May and 18 June 2024. On 18 June 2024 the landlord’s contractor told the resident it had provided a quote to the landlord. On 24 June 2024 the resident told the landlord his boiler was not working. It’s unclear if he had hot water at this time which is a record keeping failure.
10. A repair appointment booked for 26 June 2024 was cancelled at the resident’s request. On 5 July 2024 the landlord visited the property to decide the best plan for replacing the boiler. While this was positive, it was 3 months after the decision was made to replace it. Its overall response was unreasonably delayed, despite the one cancellation by the resident. By 25 July 2024 the boiler had arrived and the landlord carried out preparation works, including carpentry and electrical adjustments. On 12 September 2024 the appointment to install the new system was booked for 30 September 2024.
11. The landlord’s stage 1 response dated 4 October 2024 partially upheld the complaint and apologised. It said it had been unable to complete the repairs to the boiler due to incidents of no access. It didn’t clearly set out where there had been a failure of service but said it had consulted with relevant teams about how it could improve its engagement. It said it would provide a further update by 4 November 2024 but failed to do so.
12. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 8 September 2025 acknowledged that it had been aware of the resident’s mental health diagnoses and his need for additional support. It appropriately identified that it should have gone further to engage with the resident to ensure his needs were met. It also apologised for its failure to provide an update as promised in its stage 1 response, or to consider compensation. It offered £400 compensation for the delays and £100 for the issues relating to its stage 1 complaint response.
13. Neither of the complaint responses directly addressed the resident’s assertion that he’d been without heating and hot water for 2 years. The evidence does not corroborate his account of events. However, we acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused by the ongoing issues with the boiler. The compensation offered by the landlord is in line with our compensation guidance where the landlord’s failure had an adverse effect on the resident. Therefore, we consider that it took proportionate steps to put things right.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.