Aster Group Limited (202338819)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202338819 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
Aster Group Limited |
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Landlord type |
Housing Association |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
22 October 2025 |
Background
1. The resident lives in a 1-bed flat within a block. He reported bed bugs in his property to the landlord between July 2022 and September 2023. The landlord was aware of an infestation in multiple flats within the block. The resident complained in September 2023 and said he was not happy with the landlord’s handling of the pest infestation.
What the complaint is about
2. The landlord’s handling of:
- Pest control.
- The resident’s complaint.
Our decision (determination)
3. We found:
a. Reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of pest control.
b. Service failure in its complaint handling.
4. We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
The landlord’s handling of pest control
5. The landlord acted on the resident’s first reports of bed bugs and treated the property. It applied for £500 from a hardship fund for the cost of replacing furniture and took around 3 months to pay this to him. It failed to raise a job on 2 occasions when the resident reported bed bugs, and it also failed to attend 2 appointments at his property. The landlord recognised these failings and tried to put things right with an offer of compensation in its complaint process. It delayed the compensation payment by around 9 months; however, it recognised this and increased the compensation to put things right for the delay.
The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint
6. The landlord delayed its stage 1 response by 19 working days, and it did not recognise the delay.
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 12 November 2025 |
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2 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £50 compensation for the delay and failure to recognise the delay at stage 1. This must be paid directly to the resident and evidence of payment provided by the due date. |
No later than 12 November 2025 |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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9 September 2023 |
The resident complained to the landlord. He said he had been living with bed bugs for 13 months and was not happy with its handling of the infestation. He said the landlord did not attend 2 appointments and staff did not wear personal protective equipment (PPE) on visits. The resident said he spent £3,000 on replacing furniture due to the bed bugs and they infested the new furniture. He also said when the landlord failed to attend the visits, he bought pesticides himself. |
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20 October 2023 |
The landlord sent its stage 1 response. It said there had been a service failure and offered the resident £300 compensation and £55 reimbursement for pesticides he bought. The landlord said wearing PPE was an operative’s choice and the risk of cross contamination was low. |
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3 November 2023 |
The resident escalated his complaint. He said he was unhappy with the landlord’s response, and it had not responded to his last email. |
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1 December 2023 |
The landlord sent its stage 2 response. It upheld the resident’s complaint and offered him £700 compensation broken down as:
£200 reimbursement for pesticides bought by the resident |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident remained unhappy and brought his complaint to us to investigate. He said he would like the landlord to pay the compensation offered plus more for his experience. |
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September 2024 |
The landlord paid the resident £800 compensation, broken down as:
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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 pest control |
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Finding |
Reasonable redress |
7. From July 2022 there was an issue of bed bugs in the resident’s property and the block of flats. The landlord treated the block 7 times in 2022, however, the resident continued to report bed bugs in his property. In January 2023, the landlord said it would treat all the properties in the block. It also applied for £500 from a hardship fund for the resident to help towards the cost of replacing his furniture. However, the landlord delayed this payment by around 3 months due to an admin error.
8. The resident reported bed bugs again in April 2023 however, the landlord did not attend the appointment to do a treatment. It did not have a pest control policy during this time. The landlord’s compensation policy says it can offer discretionary payments for accepted service failures, but it does not provide amounts.
9. The resident reported the bed bugs to the landlord again on 25 August 2023 however the landlord took no action. On 4 September 2023, the resident reported the bed bugs again to the landlord. The landlord failed to attend appointments in September 2023. In October 2023, the resident said due to the landlord’s nonattendance he spent £105 on pesticides. The landlord’s lack of action and failure to attend appointments will have caused the resident distress and inconvenience.
10. The landlord recognised its failures in its stage 1 response. It also responded to the resident’s concerns about the use of PPE. This was reasonable of the landlord.
11. At stage 2 the landlord recognised its failings in its missed appointments and lack of communication with the resident. It increased the offer of compensation and tried to put things right. The offer of compensation was in line with our remedies guidance for maladministration which had an adverse effect on the resident.
12. The landlord also reimbursed the cost of pesticides the resident bought and this was reasonable. The landlord’s 9-month delay paying compensation will have caused further distress and inconvenience. However, the landlord recognised the delay and tried to put things right by increasing the compensation. This was reasonable and put things right for the resident.
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Complaint |
The landlord’s complaint handling |
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Finding |
Service failure |
13. The landlord delayed sending its stage 1 by 19 working days. It did not acknowledge this delay or try to put things right for the resident. This was unreasonable.
14. The landlord’s response at stage 2 was within the 20 working days of its policy. This was reasonable.
Learning
15. The landlord’s payment of the hardship fund and compensation were both delayed due to internal admin errors. The landlord should make sure it has processes and guidance for staff to make prompt payments to residents.
16. The landlord delayed treatment on 2 occasions when the resident reported bed bugs. The landlord should review the procedure for raising repairs for pest control to ensure jobs are raised correctly.
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
17. The landlord introduced a pest control policy. It should make sure all staff are aware of the policy and any guidance.
Communication
18. Overall, the landlord’s communication with the resident was reasonable. However, it could have followed up with the resident after the treatments to keep on top of the infestation.