A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202332631)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202332631 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
A2Dominion Housing Group Limited |
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Landlord type |
Housing Association |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
3 March 2026 |
Background
- The resident has lived in a flat since 2000 which has communal grounds. She complained in 2023 about the quality of the gardening service.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
- Concerns about the standard of its gardening service.
- Complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We found:
- No maladministration in relation to the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the standard of its gardening service.
- Service failure in relation to 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 the resident’s concerns about the standard of its gardening service
- The landlord maintained the gardens and grounds fortnightly in line with its service standards. The landlord provided a reasonable response to the resident’s request for additional planting.
The landlord’s complaint handling
- The landlord delayed acknowledging the resident’s request to escalate her complaint. It also gave conflicting information to her about whether the complaint could be considered at stage 2.
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.
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Order |
What the landlord must do |
Due date |
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1 |
Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:
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No later than 31 March 2026 |
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2 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £50 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its poor complaint handling. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.
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No later than 31 March 2026 |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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4 May 2023 |
The resident complained about the landlord’s gardening service. She said it only cut the grass and she wanted the garden, especially the front, to have more planting.
The landlord acknowledged the complaint the same day. |
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16 May 2023 |
The landlord sent its stage 1 response. It said the property services contractor had not had a key to part of the grounds so had relied upon resident’s giving access, but they now had a key. It apologised for not having communicated that there had been an issue.
The resident escalated the complaint the same day. The landlord responded and said the issue had been dealt with as the complaint was upheld, so it would not be escalated. It also said that planting trees and making improvements would need to be agreed by all residents, due to the cost. |
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23 May 2023 |
The resident chased the landlord to check if was going to address the complaint further. |
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26 May 2023 |
The landlord acknowledged it escalated the complaint to stage 2 and said it would send a response by 26 June 2023. |
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20 June 2023 |
The landlord sent its stage 2 response. It said there had been some confusion over the area that required access. It clarified that it was an area at the back of the property where a key was required, but the property services contractor had not missed an attendance. It acknowledged a small bedding area was missing shrubs but said that was not the role of the fortnightly property services contractor. It would be an improvement to grounds. It was reluctant to plant trees close to the building, but any new trees and shrubs would also have to be considered separately anyway, due to the cost to residents. However, it agreed to plant bulbs as a gesture of good will. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident referred the complaint to us on 14 December 2023.
The resident wants the landlord to plant more trees and shrubs and to refund service charges paid for gardening and pay compensation. |
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.
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Complaint |
The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the standard of its gardening service |
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Finding |
No maladministration |
- The tenancy agreement says the resident has access to a communal garden which the landlord is responsible for keeping in good repair. To do that, the landlord has a grounds maintenance contractor that maintains all grounds work on the estate/property.
- The landlord has provided a ‘Gardening Specification’ document which is a schedule of works for the property and the frequency of each job. It also gave the resident a copy. It includes maintenance of grass, hedges and shrubs, planted areas, leaf fall, gravel areas, trees, bins, roof gardens and access ways. It shows it does most of the works fortnightly but others, such as grass cutting and leaf fall, are done as needed.
- The landlord inspected the gardens and grounds on 1 February 2023 and found the grass and shrub areas were in “excellent condition”. There was some initial confusion over whether the contractors had access to all the grounds, but the landlord’s record show it was maintaining all areas. For example, from 2 May to 25 July 2023, it says the gardens and grounds were tended to every 2 weeks as they should have been. Therefore, the landlord complied with its obligations.
- The resident accepts the grass is mowed, but her complaint says she feels that other areas of the garden/grounds need more greenery. She specifically refers to wanting more trees planted and feels she should receive a refund of her service charge because she says the gardens and grounds are not being adequately maintained.
- The landlord’s explanation to the resident, that requesting more plants was not part of the fortnightly maintenance, was reasonable. This is confirmed by the schedule of works. The landlord did not dismiss the resident’s request, it explained that planting trees was normally part of the planning stage of homes and came at a cost. It said it was reluctant to plant trees so close to the property and trees had to be surveyed every 2 to 3 years to ensure they were safe, and that added to the cost. It also said there was a cost associated with adding shrubs and all this would affect the service charge, so it would need to consult all residents.
- Even though there was no obligation on the landlord, it did offer to plant some bulbs as a gesture of good will, later in the year. It planted these later than planned, but in an internal email in August 2024, it referred to the bulbs adding colour to flower beds, which suggests it did plant the bulbs as it said it would, so it clearly followed through with its promise.
- The landlord maintained the gardens and grounds in line with its service standards and addressed the resident’s request for additional plants, so we found no maladministration.
- The resident is unhappy with how the landlord manages the gardens and grounds. She told us she wants to challenge how much the service charge is and wants a refund. The First Tier Tribunal is best placed to consider that, given its powers and expertise.
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Complaint |
The handling of the complaint |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- The landlord has a 2-stage complaints policy. It says it will log and acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It says it will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20 working days. The landlord’s definition of a complaint and response timescales are in line with our Complaint Handling Code.
- The landlord acknowledged and responded to the complaint promptly at stage 1. However, having escalated her complaint, the landlord told the resident it would not escalate her complaint because it upheld it at stage 1. She asked the landlord for clarification and it told her it could investigate at stage 2. The landlord acknowledged the escalation request, but 3 working days later than it should have. It sent its stage 2 response on time.
- While the delay in sending an acknowledgment was minimal, the landlord’s response clearly caused confusion. The resident had to go to the trouble of following up with the landlord, to take the complaint to stage 2. The resident was inconvenienced by the landlord’s approach, however it failed to recognise this in its complaint response. It should therefore apologise to the resident for this failing and pay the resident £50 compensation, for the frustration and inconvenience it caused. This amount is in line with our compensation guidance.
Learning
- The landlord managed the resident’s expectations well in relation to her request for more planting.
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord should have a copy of the resident’s tenancy agreement but it was unable to provide a copy. It should ensure it keeps copies of all tenancy agreements.
Communication
- The landlord’s communication in terms of whether the complaint could be investigated at stage 2 was inconsistent. It should therefore ensure all staff dealing with complaints are up to date on the landlord’s complaint process.