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Clarion Housing Association Limited (202303913)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202303913

Clarion Housing Association Limited

8 January 2025

 

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 handling of:
    1. A leak into the resident’s property which caused damp and mould.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of the property, and the landlord is the freeholder.
  2. On 1 June 2022 and 21 June 2022, the resident reported there was a leak entering his property from a blocked drain on a neighbouring property’s balcony.
  3. On 13 June 2023, the resident submitted his complaint to the landlord. He stated he was unhappy about the landlord’s delays in completing the necessary repairs to resolve the leak. The resident informed the landlord that he would like the repairs completed and compensation for the delay.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 3 August 2023. It apologised for the delay in providing its stage 1 complaint response. It stated its contractor initially attended to investigate the leak; however, it could not gain access to his neighbour’s property. The landlord confirmed repairs were completed in August 2023, but the repairs did not resolve the leak. It explained it had booked an appointment for its surveyor to attend the property on 3 August 2023 to complete a further inspection to identify the cause of the leak. In addition, in the stage 1 complaint response, the landlord addressed a separate issue about when the resident was impacted by a loss of heating and hot water due to issues with the gas supply. It confirmed that it provided support during this period, such as temporary heaters, hot plates and mini-ovens, access to showers at a local leisure centre, temporary accommodation, compensation, and vouchers. The landlord offered the resident £465 compensation for the repair delays and lack of communication. In addition, it also offered the resident £50 compensation for its late stage 1 complaint response.
  5. On 4 August 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. He explained he had been waiting several months for the landlord to address the leak coming from his neighbour’s balcony. In addition, he stated the leak had caused significant damage to the property, specifically the kitchen. The resident also explained that there was damp and mould within the property.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 30 October 2023. It apologised for the delay and lack of updates regarding the leak repairs. The landlord explained its repairs team attended and completed a repair to the balcony outlet at the neighbouring property above the resident’s and ensured there were no further blockages. It also explained that it had scheduled works for October and November 2023, which included boxing works, stain blocking and painting. The landlord offered the resident £300 compensation for the delay in completing the repairs, poor communication and time taken to resolve the complaint. The compensation offer was in addition to the £515 compensation the landlord offered in its stage 2 complaint response.
  7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated his desired outcome was for the repairs to be completed.
  8. The landlord has confirmed that the works to resolve the leak were completed on 28 February 2024. In addition, the landlord explained that its area supervisor also attended the resident’s property in June 2024 to confirm that the leak had been resolved.
  9. On 28 June 2024, the landlord contacted the resident and offered him additional compensation of £500 to recognise the delays in completing the works it agreed in its stage 2 complaint response.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

  1. The resident explained to the Ombudsman that part of his complaint was about issues with the gas supply, which resulted in him having no heating or hot water for a period. The landlord addressed this complaint in its stage 1 complaint response. However, the resident did not mention the gas supply issue in his escalation request or that he was unhappy with the landlord’s response about the issue in its stage 1 complaint response. Therefore, this complaint point was not considered by the landlord at stage 2 of its complaint process and did not exhaust the landlord’s complaints procedure. For this reason, the Ombudsman will not consider this complaint point as part of our investigation, because we can only investigate matters which have been through the landlord’s complaints process. This is in line with Paragraph 42(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, which states the Ombudsman may not consider a complaint which is made prior to having exhausted a landlord’s complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint-handling failure, and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member landlord has not taken action to address the complaint handling failure within a reasonable timescale.
  2. This report will consider the initial leak the resident reported to the landlord as part of his complaint in June 2023. It will not investigate the new leak which the resident informed the Ombudsman about in September 2024. Approximately 7 months have passed since the repair was resolved in February 2024 and the new leak issue in September 2024. Therefore, the Ombudsman cannot conclude definitively that the new leak issue is linked to the previous leak, based on the evidence provided. In addition, the Ombudsman recognises the landlord should be given the chance to respond to the new leak in line with its repairs policy. If the resident is unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the ongoing repairs, he can raise a new complaint about this to the landlord.

Policies, procedures and lease agreement.

  1. The resident’s lease agreement states that the landlord is responsible for repairing the main structure of the building, including the foundations, as the roof and all external parts of the building, including window frames, gutters, and downpipes. In addition, the lease agreement explains that the landlord is responsible for repairing the water pipes and drains.
  2. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy includes the following response timescales for repair categories:
    1. Emergency repairs – the landlord will respond within 24 hours.
    2. Non-urgent repairs – the landlord will respond within 28 calendar days.

A leak into the resident’s property which caused damp and mould.

  1. On 1 June 2022, the resident contacted the landlord and reported a leak entering his property from a blocked drain on a neighbouring property’s balcony. The resident also reported the same issue again on 21 June 2022. The landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property on 22 June 2023 and cleared the blockage to the balcony outlet. The landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s report about the leak and completed the necessary repairs.
  2. The resident experienced further issues with the leak from the balcony above his property. Due to this, he contacted the landlord on 10 January 2023 and explained that the balcony above his property was overflowing and the water was coming through to his kitchen. The landlord responded to the resident’s report by booking an appointment for 7 February 2023. Considering this was a reoccurring issue and water was leaking into the resident’s kitchen, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to book an urgent appointment. However, the landlord failed to do this.
  3. The landlord’s contractor attended the booked appointment on 7 February 2023. The repairs note from the visit states that the landlord’s contractor identified the leak was coming from the internal stack pipe and access to the pipe was via a different property. However, the landlord’s contractor could not gain access as the resident’s neighbour was not at home. The Ombudsman recognises that this would have been outside the landlord’s control. The landlord acted reasonably by rearranging a follow-up appointment to carry out an inspection. An appointment was initially booked for 7 March 2023; however, it was then changed to 3 April 2023 due to roofing related issues. There was a considerable length of time between when the landlord’s contractor attended in February 2023 and the booking of the follow-up appointment. The delay was unreasonable.
  4. From reviewing the landlord’s repairs records, it is unclear whether the landlord’s contractor attended in April 2023 to carry out the necessary repairs at the neighbouring property and to the roof. However, the resident contacted the landlord on 24 May 2023, chasing for an update on the leak repair. In response, the landlord booked an appointment for 28 June 2023 for its roofers to attend to carry out repairs. Therefore, it appears that the landlord did not attend in April 2023 or if it did attend, it did not resolve the problem, and the resident had to follow this up.
  5. Due to the leak remaining outstanding, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 13 June 2023 and explained that he would like the necessary repairs completed to resolve the leak.
  6. The landlord’s roofer failed to attend the property on 28 June 2023, as agreed. This was unreasonable and resulted in the resident living with a leak entering his property for a considerable length of time. The landlord’s contractor attended and completed repairs to the guttering on 1 August 2023. However, the repairs did not resolve the leak at the resident’s property and the resident contacted the landlord on the same day to explain that the leak was still ongoing. It would have been inconvenient for the resident to have to contact the landlord multiple times over a period of months because it had not resolved the leak.
  7. Shortly after, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 3 August 2023. It confirmed it had booked an appointment for its maintenance surveyor to attend the resident’s property on 3 August 2023 to complete an inspection. It explained following the inspection, it would raise any required repairs to resolve the leak. The landlord also confirmed that it had raised a work order for the damp and mould in the resident’s kitchen. The landlord acknowledged that there were delays in resolving the leak and offered the resident £465 compensation to recognise the delays. It was a positive step by the landlord that it recognised its errors and offered compensation for this.
  8. After the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property and neighbouring property during September 2023 and completed repairs to the balcony and a temporary repair to the roof. However, the repairs did not resolve the leak entering the resident’s property. In addition, the landlord’s repair notes from 27 September 2023 stated there was mould in the cupboards and the wood was rotten due to the leak and water had gone behind the units. The landlord also cleaned the mould as an interim measure.
  9. The landlord’s surveyor visited the resident’s property on 19 October 2023 to identify the required works. The required works included repairs to the balcony, boxing in works, stain blocking and painting. The resident stated he did not want the kitchen units replaced because he was getting a new kitchen installed. The landlord confirmed that the required works would be completed on 24 October 2023 and 14 November 2023. It was reasonable that the landlord carried out an inspection, but it should have taken more action to fix the leak sooner.
  10. On 30 October 2023, the landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident. It acknowledged and apologised for the delays in completing the necessary repairs and for its poor communication. The landlord offered an additional £300 compensation to recognise the delay, poor communication, and its delay with complaint handling. The compensation offer was in addition to the £465 the landlord offered in its stage 1 complaint response for repair delays. The compensation offered up to this point was reasonable to recognise the landlord’s repair delays. The landlord also reconfirmed that the required works would be completed by 14 November 2023.
  11. On 21 December 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and explained that he still had a leak entering his kitchen. The landlord raised a work order for a roofer to attend to complete repairs. The roofer installed new coping stones and new fiberglass to the roof. This was completed on 28 February 2024. The landlord eventually resolved the leak, but the time taken to resolve the leak was unreasonable. This resulted in the resident living with an ongoing leak for over 18 months, causing considerable distress and inconvenience.
  12. The Ombudsman recognises the landlord identified that the resident had experienced delays in the leak being resolved and offered substantial redress for this during its complaints process. However, the landlord confirmed in its stage 2 complaint response that it would complete the necessary repairs to resolve the leak in November 2023. The leak was not fixed until the end of 28 February 2024. In addition, after the Ombudsman requested a copy of the landlord’s file for this case in May 2024, the landlord reviewed the case and offered the resident further compensation for the additional delay in resolving the leak. The landlord offered a further £500, and this additional compensation was offered on 28 June 2024. The total compensation awarded during and after the landlord’s complaints process is in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation, which is set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £1000+ where there has been a single significant failure in service or a series of significant failures which have had a seriously detrimental impact on the resident.
  13. It is the Ombudsman’s role to consider the landlord’s handling of a complaint through its internal complaints process and, in assessing this, we consider the reasonableness of any offers made during the complaints process and its completion of any actions such as repairs. Where a landlord fails to complete repairs in line with a timescale referenced in its stage 2 complaint response and makes a reasonable offer of compensation after the end of its complaints process, the Ombudsman may make a finding of service failure or maladministration by the landlord as the complaint was not resolved satisfactorily through its complaints process. In this case, the repairs to resolve the leak were completed in February 2024, which was not in line with the timescale the landlord referenced in its stage 2 complaint response. In addition, the further offer of £500 compensation was not made to the resident until June 2024. Therefore, there has been a service failure in the landlord’s handling of a leak into the resident’s property, which caused damp and mould. The landlord should pay the resident the £500 compensation it offered unless this has already been paid.

The associated complaint.

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s interim complaints policy from the time of the complaint states that the landlord will provide a stage 1 response within 20 working days and a stage 2 response within 20 working days. These timescales were not compliant with the Code. However, the landlord’s recent complaints policy includes the same timescales referenced in the Code.
  2. The resident submitted his initial complaint to the landlord on 13 June 2023. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 3 August 2023. The response was approximately 27 working days late and not in line with the timescales referenced in the Code, which was a failing by the landlord.
  3. On 4 August 2023, the resident requested his complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint process. There was a delay in the landlord providing its stage 2 complaint response to the resident, and it was approximately 40 working days late. The response was late and would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as he was delayed in progressing his complaint to the Ombudsman because he needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service.
  4. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 1 and stage 2 complaint responses that there were delays in issuing its complaint responses. The landlord apologised and offered the resident compensation to recognise the delay and inconvenience caused. The landlord offered the resident £50 compensation in its stage 1 complaint response for its complaint handling error. In addition, in its stage 2 complaint response, it offered the resident overall compensation of £300, which recognised repair delays and complaint handling errors. The compensation offered to the resident is compliant with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the delay on the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress in this case. The landlord does not need to do anything further regarding its complaint handling in this case.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was as service failure in the landlord’s handling of a leak into the resident’s property which caused damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about the landlord’s complaint handling satisfactorily.

 

 

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident the additional £500 compensation it offered in June 2024 if it has not already done so.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above order within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord pay the resident its original offer of £815 compensation made during its complaint process if it has not already done so. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress for complaint handling is based on the understanding that this compensation will be paid.