Clarion Housing Association Limited (202216654)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202216654

Clarion Housing Association Limited

28 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 about:
    1. The time taken for the landlord to change the name on the resident’s account and issue keyfobs.
    2. The landlord’s handling of repairs to the communal back door, roof, and communal light.
    3. The landlord’s handling of the complaint and level of compensation.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder and occupies the property which is a 1-bedroom flat.
  2. The resident became the leaseholder on or around 7 October 2021. She contacted the landlord on 6 December 2021 as she wanted to order keyfobs. She was advised that as the account was still in the previous owner’s name, the landlord could not provide them.
  3. On 30 December 2021, the resident reported a leak from the communal roof into the loft that was damaging her ceiling.
  4. On 9 March 2022, the resident complained. She said she had requested fobs on 6 December 2021, but had not been provided any. She was concerned that as the system had not been updated with her details, important information was not acted on. She said she had also reported a leak on 30 December 2021, which had caused mould to form on the walls behind her furniture which had still not been resolved.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 April 2022. The landlord said it had received the notice for transfer on 11 October 2021, but due to high volumes of enquiries, it had not actioned the change. It confirmed this had now been done and apologised. The landlord confirmed that 3 fobs had been ordered and that it would not charge the resident for them. The landlord said the roof repair was initially raised on 30 December 2021. It said that it needed access through the resident’s loft space but had not been able to find a suitable date convenient with the resident. It apologised and offered £250 compensation for the response being outside its SLA and inconvenience caused.
  6. On 4 May 2022, the resident escalated her complaint. The resident said she sent an email on 18 April 2022, to say that the key fobs had not been activated, so she could not use them. She was told she would get a response about the keyfobs within 3 to 5 days but had not.
  7. The resident raised a new complaint on 17 May 2022, regarding the communal back door not working, which left the building insecure. She also reported to the landlord that the communal light outside her flat did not work and was a hazard as she was 26 weeks pregnant.
  8. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 9 June 2022. The landlord said the additional fobs had been ordered and that it had confirmed this in the previous complaint letter dated 12 April 2022. The landlord said there had been further delays in sourcing the correct fobs. The fobs were delivered on 8 June 2022. The landlord confirmed that orders had been raised for the communal light and the door and would be completed. It identified a service failure regarding the provision of the fobs and offered £200 compensation.
  9. The resident requested her complaint to be escalated on 9 June 2022. She said she had raised multiple issues since December 2021 that had not been resolved. She said she had not received the £250 compensation awarded in the previous complaint, and that the communal door and light were still not fixed. She explained that she was 26 weeks pregnant and was concerned for her safety with the door being insecure and no light. She told the landlord that the complaint about the leaking roof had still not been resolved.
  10. The landlord provided its final response on 24 October 2022. The landlord said:
    1. it was sorry for the delay in responding which it said was due to a cyber attack
    2. the £250 compensation was arranged by BACS directly to the resident and was finalised on 5 September 2022
    3. the communal door repair was sent to a contractor on 9 June 2022 but needed further repair which had been passed to the landlord to do. The operative attended on 18 October 2022 and confirmed the communal door was repaired and working
    4. it attended the roof on 22 August 2022 to do external checks
    5. it booked a supervisor to attend to the roof on 31 August 2022 who confirmed it was not currently leaking and there was no evidence of an ongoing leak
    6. the repair to the roof by the contractor resolved the leak
    7. a section of the insulation in the loft may have caused cold bridging
    8. it would pay £150 compensation, £50 for the delays to the complaint response and £100 for the delays to repair the door, time taken, and repeat visits.

Assessment and findings

The time taken for the landlord to change the name on the resident’s account and issue keyfobs

  1. The resident’s solicitor sent the notice of transfer letter to the landlord on or around 7 October 2021. The landlord has confirmed that it received the notice on 11 October 2021, 4 days later. The landlord has provided a guide on how its staff change the details on the system following a transfer of lease. The guide does not give any timescales on when this will be done or how long the process takes to complete.
  2. The resident requested the keyfobs on 6 December 2021. The resident raised her complaint on 9 March 2022, which included not receiving the keyfobs she had asked for. A request was sent to the housing team on 31 March 2022 for 3 fobs. The landlord confirmed on 12 April 2022, that they had been ordered and that it would not charge the resident for them. This is reasonable under the circumstances. The resident contacted the landlord on 18 April 2022, as she had still not received the keyfobs.
  3. The landlord sent an email to the housing team on 20 May 2022, as the resident had only received one keyfob and it did not work. The fobs were delivered to the resident on 8 June 2022. This was 8 months after the transfer and 6 months after the resident first requested them. This is not acceptable and is a service failure by the landlord. This will have affected the resident’s ability to access the property.

The landlords handling of repairs to the communal back door, roof, and communal light

  1. The lease states that the landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building. To keep in repair the halls, passages, staircases, landings, and communal areas including those common areas the leaseholder is entitled to use.
  2. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy states that for some communal repairs, it will offer appointments. It states repairs should be appointed depending on whether it is an emergency or non-emergency, but that the repairs must be completed within 28 days.
  3. The key and fob management policy explains that when a customer contacts the landlord regarding the door entry system, it will report it to its contractor who will arrange for the completion of the repair. It states emergency repairs will be attended within 24 hours and routine repairs within 28 days.

  The roof

  1. The resident first reported the roof on 30 December 2021. The repair records state that the repair was with the contractors to be completed on 9 February 2022. The job was noted as cancelled on 3 March 2022. The landlord has said this was due to no access by the resident. The resident disputes this and has said the dates offered were not convenient as she was at work. The resident said that she offered alternative dates to the landlord, but it did not respond.
  2. On 9 March 2022, the resident complained about the roof. The landlord responded on 12 April 2022 and apologised to the resident that the roof had not been completed. The landlord raised the roof repair again on 17 April 2022. There is no further evidence of the landlord contacting the resident about repairs to the roof. This is not acceptable.
  3. The records note the roof as repaired on 17 June 2022. The resident has confirmed this. The landlord’s policy states that repairs must be completed within 28 days. The repair took almost 23-weeks to complete. This is not in line with the landlord’s policy and is service failure by the landlord.
  4. The resident explained at the time that she was pregnant, and the water ingress was causing dampness. The landlord’s delay was unacceptable in all the circumstances and likely caused distress, frustration and inconvenience to the resident.

The communal light

  1. The evidence submitted does not confirm when the communal light was raised or when the repair was completed. The resident told the landlord on 17 May 2022, that she had no communal light outside her flat. She told the landlord she was 26-weeks pregnant and that this was a hazard. On 9 June 2022, the landlord said a works order had been raised. There is no record of the repair being raised on the repair log submitted to us.
  2. In the final response dated 24 October 2022, the landlord said the landlord was resolved. This was at least 5-months after the resident raised it. The landlord’s policy states repairs should be done within 28-days, it failed to meet its obligations and is service failure.
  3. There is no evidence the landlord considered the resident was pregnant and the risk to her safety without a light.

The communal door

  1. The evidence does not confirm when the communal door was first reported as not working. The resident lodged a complaint about the communal door on 17 May 2022. She told the landlord that the fob station on the door did not work leaving the building completely accessible and that she felt unsafe.
  2. The landlord’s records show that the repair was not passed to the contractor until 9 June 2022. This was 23-days later. In line with its policy the landlord should report the issue to its contractor who will arrange for the completion of the repair. It states emergency repairs will be attended within 24-hours. As the building was accessible and the resident had raised that she was 26-weeks pregnant and had concerns for her safety, this service would have expected the landlord to have passed the repair to its contractor sooner.
  3. The contractor is reported to have completed the repair but that a further repair was needed, which the landlord needed to do. The landlord has confirmed a lack of communication resulted in this not being done.
  4. The resident contacted the landlord on 20 September 2022, to say the repair was still outstanding. On 4 October 2022, the landlord recorded that the repair was raised. The repair was recorded as completed on 18 October 2022. The landlord told the resident that the operative had confirmed this by sending a video of it working.
  5. A further repair was recorded for the door on 21 November 2022, with a completion date of 14 December 2022. In communication with this service on 4 January 2024, the resident has told us that the door is still not fixed and can still be pulled open. She is concerned that this leaves the building insecure and that she feels unsafe in her home.
  6. In line with its policy, the repair to the door should have been completed within 28 days of it being reported. It took the landlord 23 days to pass the repair to its contractor. The landlord’s records show the door was completed a second time on 14 December 2022, there are no records submitted to us beyond this date. As such, we cannot say with any certainty that the issue was resolved on that date.
  7. The resident has told us that the door is not resolved and that she has reported it again in January 2024. This service would expect the landlord to investigate and arrange for a long-term resolution. There is no evidence it has done this. This has left the resident feeling anxious and unsafe in her own home whilst being heavily pregnant and now with a small child. This is not acceptable.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint and level of compensation

  1. The landlord has a two-stage complaint process. It states that it will acknowledge and respond at stage 1 within 10 working days. Following a request to escalate, it will provide a final response within 20 working days. It further states that if it is unable to meet the timeframe, it will keep the resident informed, explain why, and provide timescales for its response.
  2. The resident lodged her complaint on 9 March 2022. In line with its policy, it should have provided its response by 23 March 2022. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 April 2022, this was 24 days after the complaint was raised. The landlord apologised and awarded £250 compensation, £50 for the response times being outside its SLA and £200 for inconvenience. This is reasonable redress for the complaint handling.
  3. On 4 May 2022, the resident requested her complaint to be escalated. She raised a further complaint on 17 May 2022, which the landlord logged as a new stage 1 complaint. It provided its stage 1 response on 9 June 2022. The landlord identified service failure for the provision of the fobs and offered £200 compensation. This seems reasonable under the circumstances.
  4. It is not clear from the evidence what the landlord did regarding the request to escalate the previous stage 1 complaint. The landlord did not provide a stage 2 response. This is not acceptable.
  5. On 9 June 2022 the resident requested her complaints to be escalated. She said that the issues she had been raising since December 2021 had not been resolved. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 24 October 2022. This was 96 days later and not in line with its policy. The landlord apologised for the delay in providing its response and said it was due to a cyber attack.
  6. In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord addressed the issues raised in both stage 1 complaints. It confirmed the repairs were now resolved and offered £150 compensation. £50 for the delayed complaint response and £100 for the delays in repairing the communal door. The landlord has apologised for the delays in its complaint responses and has offered compensation to reflect this. As such, this service considers this reasonable redress.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in the time taken to change the name on the resident’s account and issue keyfobs.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to the communal back door, roof, and communal light.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the complaint and level of compensation.

Orders

  1. The landlord must, within 28 days of the date of this determination:
    1. pay the resident £1,250 compensation as follows:
      1. £250 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in updating the system to reflect the resident as the leaseholder and for the delays in providing the resident with working fobs.
      2. £400 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in repairing the roof.
      3. £200 for the delays in repairing the communal lights.
      4. £400 for the delays in investigating, reporting, and repairing the communal door.

The compensation must be paid directly to the resident.

  1. To further inspect the communal door to determine if it is working as it should. The landlord should its report on the door with the resident and the Ombudsman within 28 days of this determination. It must complete all works required to the door, also within 28 days of the date of this determination. If it cannot do this, it must explain why and the likely timescales for responding. Again, this must be within 28 days of the date of this determination. The landlord should consult with its contractor to ensure a long lasting and effective repair is carried out to the door.
  2. Prove evidence to this service that it has complied with the orders.