A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202407397)

Decision
Case ID	202407397
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	A2Dominion Housing Group Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	20 March 2026

Background

The resident lives in a ground floor flat with a communal garden and an outside bin store. She complained to the landlord that she had not heard back from it about whether it would enclose the bin store, as animals were dragging rubbish from it across the communal garden and people had dumped bulk waste there. She was unhappy with its response and referred the complaint to us.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Reports of the condition of the bin store, the garden area and the subsequent pests.
2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Reports of the condition of the bin store, the garden area and the subsequent pests.
2. Complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Reports of the condition of the bin store, the garden area and the subsequent pests

The landlord delayed removing bulk waste from the bin store within its timeframe of 5 days, as set out in its environmental health policy. It did not update the resident as to what it said it would do in its complaint response in attempt to remedy the issue.

The handling of the complaint

The landlord failed to acknowledge the complaint and the escalation of the complaint. It did not keep clear records to show it met the response times in its complaint policy.

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 17 April 2026
2	Compensation The landlord must pay the resident £300 made up as follows: £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by its handling of her reports of the condition of the bin store, the garden area and the subsequent pests £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by its handling of her complaint The landlord must pay the compensation direct to the resident by the due date. It must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. It may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 17 April 2026
3	Specific action The landlord must write to the resident to update her of what it said it would do in its complaint response. Its response must include whether it had decided to rebuild the bin store and improve signage to direct residents of its proper use or enclose the existing bin store and secure it. It must include what the local authority’s response was to its request to increase the number of bins allowed for the block. The landlord must provide us with a copy of this.	No later than 17 April 2026
4	Learning order The landlord must write to the resident and set out what it has learnt from its handling of the complaint and its record keeping and what actions it will take to prevent the same failures from happening again in the future.	No later than 17 April 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
27 March 2023 to 6 September 2023	The resident requested the landlord clear the bulk waste from the bin area and clean it.
Undated	The resident complained that she had reported to the landlord several times that animals were dragging refuse from the bin store into the communal garden.
6 December 2023	The landlord sent its stage 1 response to the resident. It agreed that people were leaving bulk waste at the bin store. To prevent this, it said it would put up signs and send letters to residents about the proper use of the bin area. It said it would visit the bin store to check the bins were working and it would monitor the situation. It apologised for its poor communication and explained what it had learnt from the complaint.
Undated	The resident escalated the complaint to the landlord. She said what it had proposed at stage 1 had been tried already and had not worked.
25 January 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 response to the resident. It said it had visited the bin store and found it was overflowing with refuse, and people had left bulk waste. It said it would write to residents on how to use the store correctly. It said it would arrange for a surveyor to review costs to see if it would either rebuild and improve signage at the bin store, or enclose and secure the existing bin store. It said it would contact the council to see if would increase the number of bins for the block.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident said that the landlord had not enclosed the bin store to prevent pests and rubbish in the communal garden where her child plays. She said it had sent letters to residents about the bin area, but she had not received an update about the surveyors visit and what actions the landlord may take about rebuilding and improving signage at the bin store or enclosing and securing the existing bin store. She said she had not heard from the landlord as to whether the council would increase the number of bins for the block.

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	Reports of the condition of the bin store, the garden area and the subsequent pests
Finding	Maladministration

The resident chased the landlord to remove bulk waste from the communal areas and bin store on 27 March 2023. However, it is unclear when she first reported this. This is failure of the landlord’s record keeping. The landlord did not respond to her about the issue within the timeframes set out in its environmental services policy, which says it would respond to enquiries and remove bulk waste within 5 working days.
The landlord removed the bulk waste on 15 April 2023, after the resident chased it on 12 April 2023.
On 9 May 2023 and 15 September 2023, the resident reported to the landlord that there was bulk waste in the outside communal areas. On both occasions it had taken the landlord 7 working days to remove the items. This was not in line with its 5 working day timeframe as set out in its environmental service policy.
The resident complained to the landlord that she had contacted it several times to ask that it encloses the bin store to prevent pests dragging rubbish into the communal garden and to prevent other people dumping bulk items. However, there is no evidence of this specific request from the resident and landlord, which has made it difficult to assess its actions and whether they were in line with its policies and procedures.
In the landlord’s complaint response, it recognised it had not met is service standards. It said it had visited the bin store and found a problem with bulk waste around the area. It apologised and set out what it had learnt to improve its communications and inspections of the communal areas. To remedy the issue, it said that it would:
1. Install signs at the bin store to direct residents of its proper use.
2. Write to residents about the proper use of the bin store.
3. Arrange for a surveyor to visit the bin store and assess the options to either:
  1. Rebuild the bin store and improve signage.
  2. Enclose the existing bin store and secure it.
4. Ask the local authority to increase the number of bins allowed for the block.
5. Keep the resident updated about the above.
The resident said the landlord had sent letters to residents about the bin store. However, there is no evidence it had completed the other actions it said it would do in its complaint response. It also had not made an offer of compensation to the resident for the distress and inconvenience caused to her for chasing it about the substantive issue and for its delay to remove bulk items. This was not in line with our dispute resolution principles to be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
We have made orders to put things right. This includes writing to the resident to update her about what it said it would do in its compliant response. We have also ordered compensation in line with our remedies guidance for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by its failures in handling the substantive issue.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Maladministration

Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The relevant Code in this case is the 2022 edition.
The landlord has a 2-stage complaint process. It aims to acknowledge stage 1 complaints within 5 working days and send the resident a stage 1 response within 10 working days. At stage 2, the resident should receive a response within 20 working days.
The landlord had not acknowledged the resident’s complaint, which was not in line with its complaint policy to acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days. It provided evidence of the resident’s complaint, but not the date it received this from her. This has made it difficult to assess if it had responded to the complaint in the time set out in its complaint policy. This is a failure of its record keeping.
The landlord explained in its stage 2 response that it received the resident’s escalation of the complaint. However, it has not provided evidence of the escalation of the complaint or the date it received this. This has made it difficult to assess if it had responded to the escalation of the complaint in the time set out in its complaint policy. This is a failure of its record keeping.
In the landlord’s complaint response, it had not apologised for not acknowledging the complaint in time and had not set out what it had learnt from this. This was not in line with our dispute resolution principles. We have therefore made orders to apologise to the resident and set out to her what it has learnt from its handling of the complaint.

Learning

The landlord set out learning to improve communication with residents, and its management of the bin store. This was positive. However, it had not identified learnings for its handling of the complaint and its record keeping of the resident’s contact. We have ordered it to outline what it has learnt from this.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

Our Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) Spotlight report recommends that landlords keep clear records. The landlord had not provided evidence of all records of the substantive issue and the complaint. This, at times, impacted our ability to assess its actions and could have affected its ability to meet its obligations. It may wish to review its record keeping in line with the recommendations set out in our spotlight report if it has not done so already.

Communication

Our Attitudes, Respect and Rights Spotlight report recommends that landlords provide proactive updates to residents. The landlord had not updated the resident about the substantive issue, and she felt she had to chase it to remove bulk items, which likely contributed to her distress and inconvenience when expecting a response. It may wish to review its communication with residents in line with the recommendations set out in our spotlight report if it has not done so already.