Amplius Living (202321097)
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Case ID |
202321097 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
Amplius Living |
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Landlord type |
Housing Association |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
25 November 2025 |
- The property is a 2- bedroom house. The resident told the landlord in January 2023 that his property was cold because draughts were entering his home through the newly fitted windows and doors. He said the situation was affecting his mental health and his daughter was unable to stay with him due to the property being cold.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint Is about:
- The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns regarding his property being cold due to draughts entering his home.
- The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- There was service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s concerns regarding his property being cold due to draughts entering his home.
- There was reasonable redress by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaint.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
The property being cold
- The landlord’s communication with the resident was poor at times and it failed to respond to his request for updates
Complaint handling
- The landlord offered the resident an apology and compensation for failing to follow its complaints policy and for the delay in issuing its complaint response.
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 |
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 23 December 2025 |
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2 |
The landlord must pay £100 compensation for the inconvenience, time and trouble caused to the resident by its handling of his concerns regarding his property being cold. This must be paid directly to the resident. |
23 December 2025
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3 |
The landlord is ordered to write to the resident setting out its position regarding the outstanding works. The letter should set out the timescales for when the work will be completed, if they have not already been completed. A copy of the letter should be provided to this Service. |
23 December 2025
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Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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23 March 2023 |
The resident made a complaint. He said his property was cold because draughts were entering his home through the newly fitted windows and doors. He noted the situation was affecting his mental health and his daughter was unable to stay with him due to the property being cold. |
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23 March 2023 |
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint and said it would provide a response by 21 April 2023. |
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22 June 2023 |
The resident escalated his complaint. He said the landlord had failed to respond to his complaint and he wanted his concerns about the windows and doors resolving. |
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7 July 2023 |
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint escalation request. It said it would provide a response by 19 July 2023. |
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21 July 2023 |
The landlord issued its final complaint response and said:
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20 February 2024 |
The landlord carried out an inspection of the property. It was noted the front door was not fitted correctly and was possibly too short for the frame. It was also noted there were gaps in the sealant around the door frame and underneath the windowsills. In addition, the landlord noted the back door needed to be overhauled. |
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21 March 2025 |
The landlord resealed the windows and front door. It also confirmed the back door needed to be replaced. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident told this Service that the landlord had not fitted or repaired the windows and doors properly. He said cold air was still entering his home and the situation was affecting his mental health |
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 regarding his property being cold due to draughts entering his home. |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- In considering the landlord’s response to the issues raised by the resident, it is noted that he has referred to a possible impact upon his mental health. Whilst these concerns have been referenced in this report, it should be noted that this Service is not in a position to make findings about the possible impact of the issues under investigation on a resident’s health, as this would be more appropriate for a court to consider. In this respect, the resident is advised to seek legal advice if he wishes to take his concerns further.
- It is noted that the resident has raised concerns for several years about his property being cold. This Service encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlord in a timely manner. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for a thorough investigation to be carried out and for informed decisions to be made.
- Taking account of the availability and reliability of evidence, it is considered fair and reasonable for this assessment to focus on the landlord’s handling of the events leading up to when the resident made a complaint in March 2023, up to July 2023, when the landlord issued its final complaint response.
- The housing records confirm the resident told the landlord in January 2023 that cold air was entering his home through the window trickle vents. The landlord asked its contractor on 26 January 2023 to check the windows and doors given they were still covered under the warranty. The landlord’s actions were reasonable in the circumstances and demonstrated it took the resident’s concerns seriously.
- The landlord’s contractor visited the resident’s home on 2 February 2023. No defects were identified with the windows or the front door. The seal around the bottom of the front door was refitted as it was found to be hanging off. The contractor also checked the back door, although it noted it had not fitted this itself.
- The resident told the landlord on 6 February 2023 that his property was draughty. He said the situation was affecting his mental health and he was struggling to cover the cost of heating his home. The landlord responded on the same day and arranged an appointment for a surveyor to visit the resident’s home. The landlord’s actions were reasonable in the circumstances.
- The landlord visited the resident’s home on 16 February 2023 and inspected the windows and doors. It confirmed with the contractor on 27 February 2023 that the windows were fitted correctly and asked if it was able to fit new window trickle vents that had more filters to prevent cold air entering the resident’s home. It also asked the contractor to inspect the front door, given he said it had dropped. An update was provided to the resident on the same day. This included telling him that it had arranged for the draft excluder on the back door to be renewed. This was appropriate.
- The landlord’s contractor visited the resident’s property on 9 March 2023 to replace the draft excluder on the back door. It said there were no issues with the back door and no further work was required. The resident disputed the conclusion reached by the contractor and noted he had taken time off work for the appointment. He also noted he was still waiting for someone to check the front door.
- The resident made a complaint on 23 March 2023. He said he had been raising concerns about his property being cold for over 7 years and even though the windows and doors had been replaced, he continued to have problems with cold air entering his home.
- There is no evidence the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint. This meant he was unclear on what action, if any the landlord was planning to take. It offered the resident an apology on 12 April 2023 for the failure to fit the draft excluder to the back door on 9 March 2023. It said the appointment would be rescheduled, although no date was given.
- The resident asked the landlord for an update on 13 April 2023. There is no evidence the landlord responded to the resident’s request. This led to him chasing up the landlord on 21 April 2023. The landlord apologised for the delay in responding to the resident’s query on the same day and noted it had chased up the contractor regarding the back door. It also said it had arranged for the window trickle vents to be checked. Whilst the landlord’s actions were reasonable in the circumstances, it did not address the resident’s concerns regarding the front door. This was a failure.
- The contractor told the landlord on 21 April 2023 that the window trickle vents met recommended standards. It also confirmed the front door was adjusted and the draft seal refitted.
- The resident noted on 24 April 2023 that the front door had dropped and cold air was entering the house through the gap. There is no evidence the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns. This was a further failure and led to the resident chasing the landlord up on 3 May 2023.
- The contractor visited the resident’s home on 10 May 2023. It was noted there were ‘‘massive gaps’’ in the sealant around the door and mortar was missing around the brick work. The sealant was replaced and the brickwork repointed. This was appropriate.
- The resident told the landlord on 7 June 2023 that his property was still cold and he was struggling financially due to the cost of heating his home. He escalated his complaint on 22 June 2023.
- When considering how a landlord has responded to a complaint, this Service considers not just what has gone wrong, but also what the landlord has done to put things right in response to the complaint. This includes the steps the landlord has taken to address the shortcoming and prevent a reoccurrence, as well as any compensation offered.
- In this case, the landlord provided a chronology of events and noted there had been no service failures in relation to the resident’s concerns about his property being cold. It said it had exhausted all avenues in relation to his concerns about the windows and doors. It also confirmed it could not complete any repairs or replacements. In addition, the landlord noted the window trickle vents complied with recommended standards. This provided clarity and ensured the landlord managed the resident’s expectations.
- In summary, the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about the windows and doors in a timely manner. It arranged for its contractor to carry out inspections and for a surveyor to visit the resident’s home. These inspections confirmed the windows and doors were fitted correctly. The landlord also arranged for the door draft excluders to be refitted and explored options regarding the window trickle vents. Whilst this was appropriate, the landlord’s communication with the resident was poor at times. This caused him time and trouble in having to chase up the landlord.
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Complaint |
The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint |
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Finding |
Reasonable redress |
- The resident made a complaint on 23 March 2023. The complaint was acknowledged on the same day in accordance with the 5 working day target set out in the landlord’s complaints policy. The landlord said it would provide a response by 21 April 2023. This was not consistent with the timescales set out in the landlord’s complaints policy.
- There is no evidence the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint. This was a failure and led to him having to chase up the landlord on a number of occasions in April, May and June 2023. He escalated his complaint on 22 June 2023.
- The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint escalation request on 6 July 2023. This was not consistent with the timescales set out in the landlord’s complaints policy. The landlord confirmed it would provide a response by 19 July 2023.
- The landlord issued its final complaint response on 21 July 2023. Whilst this was consistent with the 20-working day target set out in its complaints policy, the response was issued 2-working days after the date included in the acknowledgement letter. The landlord offered the resident an apology and £200 compensation for its poor complaints handling. The landlord’s actions were reasonable in the circumstances and in accordance with its compensation policy.
- In summary, the landlord did not follow its complaints policy at times and did not respond to the resident’s initial complaint. It offered an apology and compensation for the identified service failures. This demonstrated the landlord took learning from the complaint. In this case, there was reasonable redress by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaint.
Learning
General learning
- The landlord ensures effective monitoring arrangements are put in place to track complaints through to a satisfactory conclusion.
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- We did not identify any concerns regarding the landlord’s record keeping in this case.
Communication
- The landlord’s communication with the resident was poor at times and it failed to respond to a number of his request for updates.