Clarion Housing Association Limited (202313846)

Background

1. A representative has supported the resident with her complaint. They will both be referred to collectively as ‘the resident’ in this report.
2. The resident complained about delays in repairing her living room double doors, which caused draughts, damp during rain, and faulty locks. The landlord said it had completed a temporary repair and raised works to replace the doors. The resident escalated her complaint as the works remained outstanding and her flooring was damaged by water ingress.

What the complaint is about

3. This complaint is about the landlords:
   1. Handling of door and floor repairs.
   2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. We found:
   1. Reasonable redress in the landlords handling of door and floor repairs.
   2. Reasonable redress in the landlord complaint handling.

Summary of reasons

Door and floor repairs

5. The landlord acted reasonably in its response to the door and floor issues. It asked the resident for further information, arranged and carried out an inspection, and acknowledged the delays that occurred.

Complaint handling

6. The stage 1 response was issued 11 working days late. The landlord acknowledged the delay and offered compensation in line with its policy. The stage 2 response was provided within the required timescale.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

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.

What we have not investigated

1. The resident told the landlord that cold from the faulty door was worsening her arthritis in her complaint. The Ombudsman is unable to assess the cause of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. The resident may be able to make a personal injury claim if she considers that her health has been affected by the landlord’s actions or inaction. This is a legal process, and the resident may wish to seek legal advice if she wants to pursue this option. Because this issue is more effectively resolved and remedied through the courts it will not be considered in this report.
2. The resident reported she had been having issues with the door for a period of 5 years. However, we have not seen any record of a formal complaint to the landlord until July 2023. Complaints should be raised promptly so that landlords can take action to resolve the issues, and as time passes records become available and memories fade. This investigation is therefore focused on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues at the property from March 2023, up to her complaint in July 2023 and the landlord’s final response to it in March 2024.

What we have investigated

7. The resident complained in July 2023 about delays in repairing faulty double back doors. She said cold air entered the home, the living room was draughty and damp, and repeated repairs left the lock inoperable. A temporary board stopped rainwater but caused further draughts and damp. She wanted the doors repaired or replaced.
8. In its response, the landlord said the resident reported the issue in March 2023. It raised repairs with a new contractor in June and would arrange works. It acknowledged delays and offered £150 compensation.
9. Records show the landlord raised works in April 2023. In August, it told the resident the doors would be replaced after multiple failed repairs and carried out a mould wash. Damp and mould works were completed in September. The door replacement contractor informed the landlord the new door would take 6–8 weeks as the doors were sourced from abroad.
10. The resident escalated her complaint in February 2024, saying works were still outstanding and her flooring had been damaged by water ingress.
11. The landlord’s final response in March 2024 confirmed the doors were replaced on 20 December 2023 and damp and mould repairs completed in September 2023. It said water ingress was resolved, and delays were due to contractor changes and lead times. It offered an additional £100 compensation. It said the resident had only recently reported damaged flooring in February 2024. The landlord tried to contact the resident for details but received no response. It nevertheless committed to an inspection on 7 March 2024.
12. Records show the resident reported damaged flooring in February 2024 and asked the landlord to communicate with her by email. The landlord emailed her after the call and sent a further message on 29 February 2024, explaining it could not progress the issue without more information. The evidence shows the landlord contacted her on at least 2 occasions to request this information but received no response. Records also show it carried out an inspection on 7 March 2024 to assess patio doors that needed adjusting and the reported damaged laminate flooring.
13. The landlord’s actions regarding the door and flooring were reasonable. It acknowledged delays and poor communication, apologised, and it offered compensation in line with its policy and our remedies guidance for failings of this scale and nature. The evidence shows it attempted to carry out the repairs. Some delays were due to a change in contractors and supplier stock issues, which were outside its control. It also completed the inspection it committed to in March 2024.
14. Overall, the landlord appropriately acknowledged when its service had been poor, provided reasonable remedies, and inspected as it said it would do in its final complaint response.
15. The resident has told us that problems with the floors have continued since the landlord’s inspection. As the current situation is after the period considered in this investigation, the resident has the option to make a new complaint to the landlord. Once the landlord has responded to her new complaint, she would be entitled to ask us to investigate it.

16. At the time of the resident’s complaint, the landlord operated a formal two-stage complaints process. It aimed to respond to stage 1 complaints within 20 working days and stage 2 complaints within 40 working days. The landlord’s timescales at the time did not align with the Code, but they have since been updated and now do comply with the current Code.
17. In this case the resident told us that she made a complaint to the landlord in August 2022, however we have not seen any record of this. We passed the complaint to the landlord on 25 July 2023. It responded on 5 September 2023 (31 working days later). It acknowledged the 11-day delay and offered £50 compensation.
18. The resident asked to escalate the complaint on 5 February 2024 as she was unhappy with the response. The landlord responded on 4 March 2024 (29 working days later). The time taken was not in line with the Code but was within the timescales in the landlord’s policy at the time.
19. Overall, the landlord did not meet its own policy at stage 1, providing its response 11 working days late. However, it acknowledged this and offered compensation to recognise the inconvenience caused by the delay, which was appropriate. It met its timescale for the stage 2 response.

Learning

20. The landlord has shown that it has learned from the shortcomings identified in this case. In particular, it acted proactively by arranging another survey when it had difficulties contacting the resident.