Catalyst Housing Limited (202114965)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202114965

Catalyst Housing Limited

24 November 2022

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:
   1. Handling of the resident’s concerns regarding the temperature in one of the bedrooms in the property.
   2. Complaint handling.

Background and summary of events

Background

2. The resident has an assured tenancy agreement with the landlord which started in 2012. This landlord merged with a larger landlord in 2019 and became subsidiary of it. I will refer to both as “the landlord”. The property is a semi‑detached house. One bedroom of the property is situated above a car port.  
3. Under the terms of the tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and outside of the property in good repair. It is also responsible for keeping installations, services and fixtures and fittings in good repair. 
4. The landlord’s responsive repairs policy says that it is committed to giving its customers a service which, among other things, provides homes that people love. The policy goes on to say that it leaves homes in good condition and has a general responsibility to keep homes in good repair.
5. The National House Building Council (the NHBC) is the UK’s largest provider of new home warranties. It is also the UK’s largest single approved inspector for building regulations.
6. The landlord is expected to meet the home standard set by the Regulator of Social Housing. The Home Standard includes ensuring that homes meet the Decent Homes Standard components of which include the degree of thermal comfort in a resident’s home. There is also the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (the HHSRS) which is concerned with avoiding or minimizing potential hazards. The landlord has a responsibility to keep a property free from category one hazards, including excess cold. Guidance for the HHSRS sets out that a healthy indoor temperature is around 21°C and that temperatures below 16°C, may pose serious health risks for the elderly and below 10°C carries a great risk of hypothermia, especially for the elderly.
7. The HHSRS explains that excess cold can also cause an increase in blood pressure/reduce resistance to infection because of the effect of cold air on bronchial lining and immune system/worsen symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. It notes that sleeping in cold bedrooms greatly increases the health risk and one of the causes is dwellings with low energy efficiency ratings (poor insulation). It lists preventative measures including, among other things, appropriate levels of thermal insulation to minimise heat loss; the level depends on the location/exposure/relationship to other dwellings and the buildings orientation.
8. The landlord has a two-stage formal complaints procedure. It aims to respond to complaints within ten working days at both stages. For more complex cases the timescale for response may be extended. In these cases, the landlord will notify the customer of the reason(s) for the extension, progress to date and when the customer can expect a full response. This notification can be in writing or by phone.
9. The landlord has a compensation policy which says it may offer residents a rebate of a proportion of their net rent if repairs or maintenance for which it is responsible results in a part of their home becoming unfit to live in. This only applies where service timescales have been exceeded and no alternative arrangements have been made. The landlord’s compensation procedure says the amount payable for an occupied bedroom is 15% of net rent.

Summary of events

10. In September 2017 the landlord arranged a visit to the property with the clerk of works. The outcome of that visit is unknown.
11. On 19 December 2019 the NHBC issued a “Resolution Report” following a visit to the property the previous week to investigate the temperature of the bedroom above the car port (the bedroom). The NHBC noted it had undertaken a heating investigation with the space heating on over an hour prior to the investigations and the radiator thermostats set at the highest level. It noted that, as shown in the photographs in the report, the bedroom recorded a temperature which met the heating design requirements. It noted that the bedroom complied with its technical requirements.
12. When the NHBC wrote to the landlord with the report, it said it was unable to ask the building company to carry out any repairs. It added that the concerns raised by the resident were reported during the building company’s warranty period, so any action would need to be taken against the building company.
13. In January 2020 the landlord told the resident that the building company had confirmed they would not install an additional thermostat to the cold room. It added it understood “that this is not helping with the “cold room” adding “Apologies that I cannot do any more for you regarding the “cold room””.
14. In a separate email at this time the landlord made reference to fitting a new carpet in the bedroom that had been damaged during an inspection of it.
15. Internal email correspondence from February 2020 indicates that the landlord, developer and NHBC had all conducted inspections of the “cold room” in December 2019. The correspondence further indicates that additional works were undertaken by the developer however it is not clear what these were in relation to.
16. In February 2020 the landlord told the resident that there was nothing more it could do. It said she should raise her concerns with its estate manager.
17. On 20 August 2020 the landlord wrote to the resident acknowledging her complaint and said it would respond within ten working days. On 10 September 2020 the landlord wrote again saying it was taking longer than expected to investigate and it would respond by 28 September 2020.
18. On 24 September 2020 the landlord wrote to the resident at the first stage of its formal complaints procedure. The main points were:
    1. In December 2019 the NHBC published their report into the cold room in the property (a copy of which was given to the resident). This report included photographic evidence of the readings taken in the room.
    2. The building and temperature in the room had met regulations and the NHBC had confirmed that the building company had complied with all technical requirements. The NHBC said they were unable to ask the building company to carry out any further works.
    3. As the resident’s concerns were reported during the building company’s warranty period, any action she took would need to be against the building company. It said, for that reason, it was unable to uphold the complaint.
19. On 22 January 2021 the resident told the landlord that she wanted compensation for the six years she had waited to have the cold room inspected. She added she had been unable to use this bedroom and had been advised not to by the previous housing association. She asked the landlord to look at her complaint again.
20. On 3 March 2021 the landlord responded to the resident with a final complaint response. It said there was nothing more it could do in relation to the cold room as both NHBC and the building company had deemed it acceptable. The landlord added it would not be taking further action in respect of this room or offer compensation. It signposted the resident to the Ombudsman.
21. In March 2021 the landlord received email correspondence from a contractor connected with the investigations of the issue, advising the landlord to request ‘development or a qualified building surveyor to attend’, providing specific names.
22. When the resident approached the Ombudsman, she said the bedroom was extremely cold and they had been unable to use it since moving in; they referred to it as “the cold room”. She said, as a result, their son had had to share a bedroom with his parents since moving in; he was now aged eleven. She said she had raised the problem with the builder and landlord as soon as they had moved in and, while various solutions had been suggested over the years such as insulating the room or installing a bigger radiator with its own thermostat, nothing had happened.
23. The resident said the bedroom did not retain heat. She explained it would be warm if the heating was on full all day and, while the rest of property kept warm after the heating was turned off, that room did not. She added it was not fair to expect them to keep the heating in the bedroom all the time in colder times of the year and that was not affordable. The resident said that she wanted the problem fixed permanently or a move. She said she also wanted compensation – she believes they were paying £100 a week for that extra bedroom which they could not use.
24. The resident added that the landlord had agreed to replace the carpet when the matter was resolved. (It had been ripped about three years ago when the bedroom had been inspected).  She said she would also like compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused – she said it had been “such a headache and “stressful”.

Assessment and findings

25. From speaking to the resident, it is apparent that the temperature of the bedroom has been an issue since the family moved into it almost ten years ago. The Ombudsman’s jurisdiction means it would not be appropriate to investigate the handling of the reports of the cold bedroom back to 2012 as too much time has passed. Therefore, our investigation has focussed on events since the merger of the landlords in 2019.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns regarding the temperature in one of the bedrooms in the property

26. The landlord’s decision to involve the NHBC in 2019 was reasonable because this gave an opportunity for experts to give their opinion as to whether there was a building defect. Their conclusion was that there was no defect.
27. The landlord’s inspection of the bedroom was also reasonable prior to that of the NHBC. There was no issues found with regard to the temperature in the property under the HHSRS (paragraph 6).
28. Whilst no issues were found, it is clear there were still concerns and the landlord continued engaging with its contractor, in order to resolve the issues. Following the contractor advising the landlord to request ‘development or a qualified building surveyor to attend’ in March 2021, the landlord had taken no further action. The landlord did not act appropriately as it failed to carry out the advice of its contractor, despite it being evident that there was still concern surrounding the matter, therefore further investigation was required. Namely, to check the temperature of the bedroom and the extent to which it retained heat.
29. The landlord has an obligation to check the bedroom retains heat in line with the tenancy agreement which states it is responsible for the structure of the building (paragraph 3); it also has a responsibility to ensure that the property does not suffer from category one hazards such as excess cold (paragraph 6). This Service notes the NHBC inspection took temperatures in the room after the heating had been on over an hour; however, it is not reasonable to expect the heating in a room to be on constantly to keep it at an acceptable temperature. 
30. The landlord failed to recognise that it, rather than the resident, is responsible for this matter; in its complaint response it stated she would have to act against the building company. As the tenant the onus is not on the resident to act; that is the responsibility of the landlord.
31. In relation to the failures identified, the Ombudsman’s role is to provide fair and proportionate remedies where maladministration or service failure has been identified. In considering this the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be Fair, Put Things Right and Learn from Outcomes as well as our own guidance on remedies.
32. Financial redress is appropriate here for the inconvenience and distress caused to the resident and her family by the landlord’s failure to investigate the cold room further, following the advice from its contractor. The sum of £250 is appropriate for the delay in taking such action.
33. To remedy matters, an order has been made below for the landlord to take action to investigate the cold bedroom. An order has also been made below relating to compensation if the investigation finds that the temperatures in the room do not fall within the range set out within HHSRS.

Complaint handling

34. At stage one the landlord acted appropriately by telling the resident its response would be delayed. However, at stage two the landlord took over five weeks to issue the response. This delay was not appropriate as the landlord did not respond within the timescales set out in its complaints procedure nor was there evidence that it had told the resident there would be a delay. That delay was a service failure.
35. This meant that the landlord lost the opportunity to resolve matters at the earliest opportunity; it also missed an opportunity to improve the landlord/resident relationship. Financial redress of £100 is appropriate for the impact of that delay which would have caused frustration and inconvenience to the resident.

Determination (decision)

36. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s concerns regarding the temperature in one of the bedrooms in the property.
37. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.

Reasons

38. While the landlord acted reasonably in involving the NHBC in 2019 to identify if there was defect with the building, it failed to take action to investigate the cause of the cold bedroom after that in line with its obligation to ensure the property is free of category one hazards such as excess cold.
39. There was delay by the landlord at stage two of its complaints procedure whereby it took over five weeks to respond. This was not in line with its complaints procedure of ten working days.

Orders and recommendations

40. The landlord should take the following action within four weeks of the date of this report:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident compensation of £350 made up of:
       1. £250 for the impact on her and her family for its failure to investigate the temperatures in the bedroom following the NHBC report at the end of 2019.
       2. £100 for the impact of the delay in issuing the stage two complaint response.
41. Engage with an appropriate member of the development and / or a qualified building surveyor to investigate the temperature of the bedroom. This investigation should consider:
    1. The temperature in the bedroom with and without heating during both the day and night should this be feasible.
    2. The extent to which the bedroom retains heat
    3. Whether or not that information falls within the normal range.
    4. his report should be shared with the resident and the Ombudsman with a deadline of 24 January 2023. 
42. On receipt of the investigation report, the landlord should take appropriate remedial action, if appropriate,
43. If the report finds that the temperature for the room does not fall within the normal range, the landlord should pay the resident compensation as set out in its compensation procedure, that is, a 15% rent rebate for the period from March 2020 to the date compensation is awarded. Compensation should be calculated and paid by 24 February 2023.
44. Keep a robust record of contact and evidence in relation to each casefile to ensure that the Ombudsman is provided with the full and relevant casefile upon being called upon.

Recommendation

45. It is recommended that, following this investigation, the landlord replaces the previously damaged carpet.