Birmingham City Council (202218060)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202218060

Birmingham City Council

31 October 2023

(Updated following review on 13 May 2024)

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 regarding the landlord’s:
   1. Handling of the resident’s reports about the condition of the property upon moving in and subsequent repairs.
   2. Complaints handling.

Background

2. The resident has occupied the property since December 2021 under a secure tenancy.
3. The resident contacted the landlord on 28 December 2021, the day after she moved in, to advise that there was no heating or hot water. The landlord sent an operative round within a day or so (exact date unknown). The operative advised of an issue with the heating, removed a number of the heaters from the wall and advised someone would be back in around a week to remove them and complete the repair. The operative also completed the hot water repair. The heating issue was fixed on 7 January 2022.
4. The resident contacted the landlord on 17 August 2022 to raise a formal complaint. She advised that when she moved into the property she was without heating and hot water. She stated the voids team had told her it would repair a window which was still outstanding and there was a damp and mould issue.
5. The landlord provided its stage one response on 20 September 2022. It apologised for the delay in its response. It stated that the property had been inspected on 6 December 2021 and no hot water or heating issues had been identified. It advised that the only outstanding repair, related to the external kitchen window, apologised that this was outstanding and advised that an appointment would be made the same week to complete the repair. It further confirmed that a repair was raised on 9 June 2022 regarding damp and mould with the job being completed on 13 June 2022. The landlord signposted the resident to it’s repairs call centre to report any further issues within the property.
6. The resident requested the complaint be escalated to stage two on 20 September 2022. She stated that the heating and hot water could not have been working as the upstairs heaters had asbestos in them and had to be entirely removed. She further advised that there was a repair issue with the back door.
7. The landlord provided its stage two response on 25 October 2022. It apologised for the delay in its response. It stated that the garden cutback and lack of door numerals were the only outstanding works identified in the voids process and these have since been completed. It advised that an electrical certificate from 17 November 2021 showed that the heaters were functional during the voids process and suggested the issue may have arisen between the property being returned after the voids process and the beginning of the letting process. Regarding the damp, the landlord advised that nothing had been picked up during the voids process, but a repair had been raised in June 2022 and was completed in July 2022. It advised that no window issues had been raised. The landlord further advised that the repair to the back door had been raised on 18 March 2022 and an operative attended and completed the repair on 22 April 2022. The landlord concluded that there were no repair issues which it failed to address during the voids process.
8. The resident remains dissatisfied and by way of resolution would like the landlord to apologise and compensate her for the distress and inconvenience caused by the condition of the property.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the condition of the property upon moving in and subsequent repairs

9. The resident advised the landlord on 28 December 2022, the day after she moved into the property that she had no hot water or heating. The landlord sent an operative round within a day or so (exact date unknown). The operative advised of an issue with the heating, removed a number of the heaters from the wall and advised someone would be back in around a week to remove them and fix the issue. The operative also fixed the hot water issue. The heating issue was fixed on 7 January 2022.
10. When raising a stage one complaint the resident further reported an issue with her front window, damp and mould in the property and an issue with her rear door.
11. The landlord’s empty property repairs standard states that it “aims to provide homes that are clean safe and ready to move into”, it states that a heating appliance, in good working order, in the main living area, will be available on move in day and that a hot water supply will be available. Upon receiving the resident’s report of this standard not being met, this service would expect the landlord to conduct an appropriate investigation into the voids process and fix any repairs within a reasonable period of time.
12. In its stage one response the landlord advised that the property had been inspected on 6 December 2021 and no issues were found with the heating or hot water. In its stage two response the landlord made reference to an electrical certificate, dated 17 November 2021, which has been seen by this service. This certificate showed that the heaters were functional at that time. At stage one and stage two this information regarding the heaters was checked by two different staff members who both provided the same outcome. Further, the landlord has stated at stage two that no issues with damp and mould, the rear door or the front window were raised during the voids process. As such it has been evidenced that the landlord did conduct an adequate investigation into the condition of the property during the voids process.  
13. The landlord’s repairs policy states that all urgent repairs will be completed within one, three or seven working days based on the requirements of The Secure Tenants of Local Housing Authorities (Right to Repair) Regulations 1994. It further states that all routine repairs would be completed within 30 days of reporting.
14. The Secure Tenants of Local Housing Authorities (Right to Repair) Regulations 1994 states that total or partial loss of space or water heating between 31 October and 1 May should be repaired within 1 working day.
15. The resident advised that the landlord sent an operative out within a day or so (exact date unknown) and the hot water was fixed. This is appropriate and in line with the landlord’s repairs policy.
16. The resident advised that the same operative found an issue with the heating and removed a number of the heaters from the wall stating someone would be back in around a week to remove them and complete the repair. The heating issue was fixed on 7 January 2022. This was longer than this Service would have expected, given the time of year. No redress has been offered by the landlord.
17. The landlord’s failure to appropriately handle the reported repairs has been aggravated by the compensation policy. Paragraph 3.1.1 of that policy instructs the landlord’s staff, “DO NOT Make any payments that are ‘discretionary’ or ‘good will’. Any payments made where there is no liability are illegal and the person authorising such payments can be surcharged” [sic]. Paragraph 3.2.2 point a, of that policy explicitly states that the landlord will not make payments of compensation for “inconvenience/distress etc”.  
18. Such policies are not in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, which states “In awarding compensation, a landlord must consider whether any statutory payments are due, if any quantifiable losses have been incurred, the time and trouble a resident has been put to as well as any distress and inconvenience caused”.
19. In January 2023 the landlord agreed to implement a new compensation policy as part of our special report under paragraph 49 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme. While the landlord has drafted a new policy the landlord is yet to implement it.
20. The landlord’s repairs policy states “where the breakdown of a central heating system or other heating appliance cannot be remedied on the same working day, and the tenant has no other form of heating, a temporary loan heater may be provided”. The resident has advised that no heater was provided and no offer of one was made. Following review, this service has seen evidence from the landlord in the form of repair notes which shows the resident responded ‘not required’ when asked if temporary heating was required. Given that this heating failure occurred during the coldest period of the year it was appropriate for the landlord to offer the resident an alternative heating solution, by way of a temporary heater.
21. In both its stage one and stage two responses the landlord advised that two jobs were left outstanding after the voids process, a repair to the external kitchen window and a cutback to the garden.
22. The resident began her tenancy on 27 December 2021. The garden cutback was completed on 7 February 2022, 42 days following the beginning of the tenancy. This is not in line with the landlord’s 30 day routine repair policy. At stage one the landlord apologised that the repair was left outstanding. It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge the outstanding issue and apologise for the delay.
23. The external kitchen window was repaired sometime during the week of 20 September 2022, 9 months following the beginning of the tenancy. This is significantly outside of the 30 day routine repair policy. At stage one the landlord apologised for the delay in the repair and advised an appointment would be made that week. While it was appropriate for the landlord to apologise for the delay and arrange for the works to be completed that week, the length of delay was so significant that further redress would have been appropriate.
24. The landlord raised a job to repair damp and mould within the property on 9 June 2022. Following review, the landlord has provided evidence which shows this was reported to the landlord on the same day.
25. This Service expects landlords to keep robust records to provide an audit trail. If there is disputed evidence and no audit trail, the Ombudsman may not be able to conclude that an action took place or that the landlord followed its own policies and procedures. Clear record-keeping is core to a repair service and assists the landlord in fulfilling its repair obligations. Accurate, complete and accessible records ensure that the landlord can understand what repairs are required, monitor outstanding repairs and enable the landlord to provide accurate information to residents. Landlord staff should be aware of its record management policy and procedures and adhere to these.
26. The resident also reported damp and mould in her initial complaint dated 17 August 2022. At stage one the landlord confirmed a repair had been raised on 9 June 2022 and an operative had attended and completed the repair on 13 July 2022. However, even if the job was reported and raised on the same day, that being 9 June 2022, the repair was not completed until 13 July 2022. This is over the timeframe for routine repairs set out in the landlord’s repairs policy by four days.
27. The resident further stated that she had been advised by the voids team that the front window would be repaired, and this had not happened. At stage two the landlord advised that it had no record of a repair being raised to the front window during the voids process or at any time since the resident moved in. The evidence seen by the Ombudsman supports the landlord’s position that a repair had not been previously raised regarding the front window. The landlord signposted the resident to its repairs contact centre and advised that any and all repairs should be reported via that channel. This was appropriate and practical advice.
28. Lastly the resident reported a repair to the rear door. At stage two, the landlord again advised that no repair had been raised during the voids process, but a repair had been reported by the resident and raised on 18 March 2022. An operative attended on 22 April 2022, fixed the repair and offered to seal around the door and the frame. This is over the timeframe for routine repairs set out in the landlord’s repairs policy by five days.
29. The Ombudsman recognises that the landlord provided full and practical explanations and advice relating to all highlighted repairs, however, multiple delays were noted, one significantly outside of the landlord’s prescribed timeframes. The landlord was also unable to provide this Service will full records relating to the report of damp and mould within the property. The failures ultimately amount to service failure. Taking guidance from the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, a compensation offer of over £100 would be expected. As such the landlord’s apology is not proportionate redress.  

The landlord’s complaints handling

30. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it will respond to stage one complaints within 15 working days and stage two complaints within 20 working days.
31. The resident contacted the landlord with the initial complaint on 17 August 2022. The landlord provided its stage one response on 20 September 2022, 23 working days after the initial expression of dissatisfaction. The resident requested the complaint be escalated to stage two on 20 September 2022. The landlord provided its stage two response on 25 October 2022, 25 working days after the escalation request.
32. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code is a guidance document that sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for how landlords should handle complaints. It states landlords must respond to a stage one complaint within ten working days and a stage two complaint within 20 working days, with any delays communicated and not exceeding an additional ten working days.
33. The resident chased the landlord for both a stage one and stage two response however the resident’s request for an update was ignored on at least one occasion.
34. This service has seen no evidence to suggest the landlord attempted to keep the resident up to date with her complaint, only that it responded to her requests. These responses provided apologies and reasoning for the delay but failed to provide expected timeframes. This is not in line with the Ombudsman’s complaints handling code.
35. Had the landlord kept the resident up to date and provided new timeframes for responses, it would have saved the resident time and trouble chasing said responses, as well as showing her that her complaint was being taken seriously and her concerns were being treated fairly.
36. Although the impact of the late responses would have been minimal, this Service has determined that there was a service failure as the landlord responded outside of defined timescales at both stages with no valid reasoning.
37. This Service also notes that the landlord’s complaints policy timeframes were not in line with the Ombudsman’s complaints handling code. The Ombudsman has been issued with the landlord’s new complaints policy that is in compliance.

Determination

38. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the condition of the property upon moving in and subsequent repairs.
39. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaints handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

40. Within four weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is;
    1. To pay the resident £250 –
       1. £150 in recognition of the landlord’s repair failures.
       2. £50 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s repairs failures. 
       3. £50 in recognition of the landlord’s complaints handling failures.
    2. To provide a written, formal apology, to the resident for delays in repairs and complaint handling failures.
41. Within twelve weeks of this determination, the landlord should implement its draft compensation policy.
42. Within the above stated timeframes, the landlord is to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with these orders.