Abri Group Limited (202320191)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202320191

Abri Group Limited

13 June 2025

 

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman, and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of low water pressure.

Background

  1. The resident holds an assured tenancy of a flat owned by the landlord. The tenancy agreement began in June 2023. The property is fitted with a gravity-fed water system. The bathroom is also equipped with an electric shower.
  2. The landlord received a complaint from the resident about insufficient water pressure on 3 August 2023. We have not seen a copy of her formal complaint. According to the landlord, she said that she was unable to perform basic tasks such as bathing, washing her hair, doing laundry, and filling the kettle. She told the landlord she had to travel to her grandmother’s home daily to shower and bathe.
  3. The landlord inspected the property on 7 August 2023 and acknowledged that the system was not performing optimally. It carried out the necessary repairs. In its August 2023 stage 1 response, it confirmed that following the repair, the system was working effectively. It offered the resident £100 in compensation to cover the travel expenses she had incurred while travelling to her grandmother’s home to wash. The resident remained dissatisfied with the water pressure, and she escalated her complaint in September 2023.
  4. The landlord re-inspected the property in November 2023. In its November 2023 final response letter it stated that the system was functioning as it should. It acknowledged that the resident had also raised concerns that using the electric shower would raise her electricity bill. It stated that, based on its calculations, the cost of running the electric shower was lower than that of the plumbed shower. It said it would program her electric shower to save energy.
  5. The resident asked us to investigate her complaint in November 2023. She told us in January 2024 that she remained dissatisfied because she felt the water pressure was insufficient, which she said affected her mental and physical health. The resident said that if the landlord could not repair the issue, she would like to move to another property. If no alternative accommodation can be offered, she wanted to be added to her grandmother’s tenancy.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident’s tenancy conditions reflect the landlord’s obligations under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to repair, keep in repair, and in good working order the structure of the property, including water systems for heating and sanitation. To keep in repair means maintaining the property’s condition throughout the tenancy to ensure all installations work properly. This obligation does not extend to improving or upgrading the property beyond its original state.
  2. The tenancy agreement commits the landlord to ‘keep in repair and proper working order any installation provided by us [the landlord] for space heating, water heating and sanitation, and for the supply of water, gas and electricity, including: a. Basins, sinks, baths, toilets, flushing systems and water pipes’.
  3. The regulator for the water sector (Ofwat) requires water companies to maintain a minimum pressure in the communication pipe of seven metres static head (0.7 bar). The communication pipe comes off the water main and belongs to the water company. This pipe ends at the outside stop valve to a property. The water company has no obligation to meet pressure requirements inside a property.
  4. The available evidence shows that a pressure test was completed on 24 November 2023. This showed that the water coming into the property from the mains supply was at 2 bar. The resident has provided an email to the landlord (date unknown) which indicates that the water company visited and recorded a reading of 2.5 bar at the mains. Both measurements are above the 0.7 minimum requirement. As such, the issues with water pressure that the resident is experiencing is not the responsibility of the water company.
  5. There is no standard minimum requirement for water pressure inside properties. The property has a gravity fed water system. These systems contain a cold water storage tank, usually in the loft, and a hot water cylinder often found in an airing cupboard. The pressure in these systems is determined by gravity, so rooms upstairs will usually have less pressure than those on the ground floor. Water pressure in properties with these systems can be lower than 0.5 bar.
  6. The landlord’s internal email correspondence dated 28 November 2023 shows that its gas and plumbing manager acknowledged that as the water system was gravity fed, all properties within the block were affected by low pressure (as low as 0.1 bar with some outlets) and ‘all available outlets will be remarkably lower than the incoming cold mains (2.0 bar)’. They noted that the resident’s bathroom tap for the basin had no water pressure reading at all during the visit on 24 November 2023.
  7. The landlord’s internal email correspondence indicates that some consideration was given to replacing the bathroom tap as these may not be the correct type for low water pressure. However, the landlord concluded that replacing the taps gave no guarantee of improvement due to the design of the water system.
  8. The landlord has acknowledged that there is no water pressure from the tap in the bathroom basin, but does not appear to have taken any action to remedy this. It is not clear if the lack of water pressure prevents any hand washing in the bathroom basin or if the resident only has a trickle of water to wash her hands. She has reported a similar low water pressure issue affecting the kitchen tap, bath tap, shower and toilet.
  9. Residents should be able to wash their hands comfortably in all sinks and prepare food and drink with sufficient water pressure and water flow. If the taps in the property fail to meet this standard, it is difficult to see how it can be said that the taps are in ‘proper working order’. In addition, if the resident is unable to wash her hands properly in either (or both) sinks, this could potentially be a matter and circumstance that gives rise to a hazard under part 17 (personal hygiene) and/or part 18 (water supply) of the housing health and safety rating system.
  10. The landlord has failed to show that it has taken all reasonable steps to try to address the resident’s water pressure issues. The landlord is therefore ordered to attend the property again and take water pressure and water flow readings from all taps. The toilet and shower should also be assessed. Water pressure is the measure of force of the water. While water flow is the measure of the volume of the water flowing through the pipes. Taps in the home usually deliver at least 10 litres of water a minute.
  11. If any of the outlets are affected by low water pressure and/or low water flow to the point that the plumber concludes that they are not in ‘proper working order’, the landlord should take further action. The landlord could explore the possibility of clogged pipes and/or fittings, fitting specialist low water pressure taps and/or fitting a pump.
  12. It is acknowledged that there are only limited actions that the landlord can take due to the nature of the water system. However, its decision to take no further action when the bathroom basin was found to have no water pressure at all in November 2023 was unreasonable. It is particularly concerning that the landlord has left a vulnerable resident with no water pressure in at least one sink. This has resulted in a finding of maladministration.
  13. We have considered the level of inconvenience, discomfort and distress experienced since November 2023 as a result of the landlord failing to follow up on its finding of no water pressure in the bathroom basin. The resident’s vulnerabilities also justify an increased award to reflect the specific impact she experienced as a result of the landlord’s shortfalls in service. Having considered the overall and cumulative adverse affect on the resident over a long period, compensation of £600 has been awarded. This amount is in addition to the landlord’s existing offer of £100, as this covered the period prior to November 2023.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of low water pressure.

Orders and Recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Provide the resident with an apology for the shortfalls in its handling of their water pressure concerns. The apology should be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on apologies.
    2. Pay £600 in compensation to the resident (this amount does not include the £100 already offered by the landlord) for the shortfalls in its handling of their water pressure concerns since November 2023. This amount should be paid directly to the resident.
    3. Attend the property and take water pressure and water flow readings from all taps. The toilet and shower should also be assessed for sufficient water flow.
  2. Within 8 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. If any of the outlets are affected by low water pressure and/or low water flow to the point that the plumber concludes that they are not in ‘proper working order’, the landlord should take further action (the landlord could explore the possibility of clogged pipes and/or fittings, fitting specialist low water pressure taps and/or fitting a pump).
    2. The landlord should write to the resident with details of its findings, what further action it intends to take and when.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord is to contact the resident and her representative to arrange a meeting (or telephone appointment) in order to discuss her options for moving and the support available to help her through this process.