A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202449236)
|
Decision |
|
|
Case ID |
202449236 |
|
Decision type |
Investigation |
|
Landlord |
A2Dominion Housing Group Limited |
|
Landlord type |
Housing Association |
|
Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
|
Date |
3 December 2025 |
Background
- The resident lives in a first floor flat.
What the complaint is about
- The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
- Repairs to the guttering.
- The associated complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the guttering.
- We have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
Handling of repairs to the guttering
- The landlord has not completed an effective lasting repair to the guttering. It has not logged a repair to the guttering since December 2024. The resident has not been kept updated.
Handling of the associated complaint
- The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint in line with its policy and procedures.
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:
|
No later than 12 January 2026 |
|
2 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £575 made up as follows:
This must be paid to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of the payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid. |
No later than 12 January 2026 |
|
3 |
Inspection and works order We have made an inspection order because we have not seen evidence the landlord has inspected the guttering since December 2024 and the repair issue is ongoing. What the landlord must do The landlord must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. A suitably qualified person must complete the inspection. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the guttering no later than the due date. Completing the works The landlord must take all steps to ensure the work identified in its inspection of the gutter is completed promptly and in any event by the due date. If the landlord cannot complete the works in this time, it must explain to us, by the due date:
|
No later than 19 January 2026 |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
|
Date |
What happened |
|
29 May 2024 |
The resident complained to the landlord that the gutter at the front of her building had detached in 2 places and rainwater was escaping in 3 areas. She said she had complained about the issue previously, but it had not been resolved. |
|
5 June 2024 |
The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It apologised and said that the contractor had not managed the case appropriately, jobs should not be closed until work is complete. The landlord confirmed it had raised a new job for a contractor to attend on 17 June 2024, with the repair scheduled for completion by 26 July 2024.
It offered £175 compensation, broken down as:
|
|
17 October 2024 |
The resident escalated her complaint. She told the landlord that although her complaint had been upheld, no works had been completed. She asked for the guttering to be repaired urgently. |
|
15 November 2024 |
The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It said that the original repair request had been closed in error. A contractor inspected the roof on 13 November 2024. It anticipated the repair would be completed by 17 February 2025.
It offered a further £375 compensation, broken down as:
The landlord said that it had provided additional training to staff on record keeping and communication. It also stated that it had spoken to its contractor about expected service levels. |
|
Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident asked us to investigate her complaint. She told us the landlord has not fixed the guttering. The resident was concerned about health and safety as the guttering was not attached to the property. |
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 repairs to the guttering |
|
Finding |
Maladministration |
- We have considered events that occurred after the landlord issued its final complaint response on 15 November 2024. We consider this approach fair and reasonable, as it helps us assess whether the landlord’s actions resolved the issues raised in the complaint and whether any outstanding repairs have been or are being appropriately addressed.
- The resident has told us she had ongoing issues with the property’s guttering since 2020 and made several complaints to the landlord. Our investigation focuses on the complaint she raised to the landlord on 29 May 2024.
- The landlord’s responsive repairs policy states it aims to deal with standard repairs within 20 working days.
- On 8 July 2024 the landlord repaired a clip and refitted the joint of the guttering. It followed through on its commitment in its stage 1 response. However there is no evidence it updated the resident of the actions it took.
- The landlord cleared and repaired the guttering on 10 December 2024. It inspected the repair from ground level on 23 December 2024 and noted all works were complete. However, the resident reported on 6 January 2025 that the guttering was leaking. This indicates the repair was not effective.
- On 29 January 2025 the resident told the landlord the guttering had come away from the wall and raised concerns about the risk of injury if it fell. There is no evidence the landlord carried out a risk assessment to ensure safety.
- On 6 February 2025 the landlord asked the resident if the guttering repair had been completed on 29 January 2025. The resident confirmed the issue was ongoing and said she was very worried. There is no evidence any works were completed to the guttering on 29 January 2025.
- On 14 February 2025 the landlord said it would contact the resident urgently with an update and the “promise completion date” for the repair was 17 February 2025. The landlord did not then update the resident. This meant the resident spent time chasing the landlord. The landlord has told us the case manager has left the organisation and there is no evidence that actions were taken.
- Overall the landlord completed some repairs to the guttering, however the resident continued to report that the gutter was leaking and hanging off. There is no evidence the landlord investigated why the repairs failed shortly after completion. It has not raised a further repair job since December 2024. On 18 June 2025 the landlord tried to contact the resident by telephone and email to check if she was satisfied with the works. The resident has told us no repairs have been completed, she has not heard from the landlord for a considerable time, and the gutter remains hanging off. We have therefore ordered the landlord to inspect and repair the guttering.
- The resident accepted the landlord’s stage 1 compensation offer of £175. The landlord said this has been paid. In its stage 2 response, the landlord apologised and offered the resident a further £375 compensation. We view the landlord’s apology and compensation offers as reasonable and proportionate to the failings at that time.
- However there were further failings by the landlord following its stage 2 response. This is because the resident continued to be adversely impacted by the lack of communication and failings in the repairs service provided by the landlord. Whilst the landlord had committed to repairing the gutter by 17 February 2025 in its final response, following further reports from the resident there is no evidence that repairs were completed. The landlord has therefore not taken appropriate steps to put matters right and to resolve the issue that the resident originally complained about.
- Overall there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of these repairs and its offer of compensation was not adequate redress because it has not put matters right since. We consider a further £200 compensation is due to reflect the shortfalls in service and resulting impact on the resident including distress and inconvenience after 15 November 2024.
|
Complaint |
The handling of the complaint |
|
Finding |
No maladministration |
- The landlord has a 2 stage complaint process. It aims to acknowledge both stages within 5 working days. It says the resident should then receive a formal response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days of the complaint acknowledgement.
- The landlord provided acknowledgments and formal complaint responses at both stages of the process within the timescales set out within its policy and our Complaint Handling Code.
Learning
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord has introduced dashboards to maintain visibility of promises and tasks, ensuring consistency and ownership even when team members leave the organisation.
Communication
- The landlord did not provide the resident with appropriate updates and there were failings in its overall communication around the repairs.