Clarion Housing Association Limited (202322298)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202322298

Clarion Housing Association Limited

27 September 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 the landlord’s handling of:
    1. The condition of a property at the start of the tenancy.
    2. The adequacy of the heating and hot water system in the property.
    3. A request for a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of a 2-bedroom house which she occupies with her two young children, one of whom has complex needs and health conditions. The resident’s tenancy with the landlord commenced on 10 July 2023.
  2. The resident reported no heating or hot water in the property to the landlord on 4 August 2023. The same day the landlord raised a works order and its contractor attended on 5 August 2023 and found electrical faults with the system. On 7 August 2023, she reported again no heating or hot water. The landlord attended that day and found an issue with the electrical installation which affected the immersion heater. Throughout August 2023, the resident continued to report no electricity, no hot water or heating and during this time the landlord’s contractors attended a number of times but were unable to resolve the issues.
  3. The resident made a formal complaint on 20 August 2023. She said that since moving in she was unable to access heating or hot water and highlighted the impact on her children. he reiterated her complaint in late August 2023. She was unhappy that several repairs were outstanding including her heating system. She requested a new system along with new radiators but the landlord declined this request. She said that the immersion heater was inadequate and did not effectively heat the property and, despite numerous contractor attendances, none were able to fix the problem. She also added that asbestos was discovered in a cracked cupboard which needed to be sealed, there was a hole in the bathroom wall and the kitchen fans did not work. She again reported no heating and hot water on 11 September 2023. The landlord arranged work orders and attended the property a number of times in September 2023.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 29 September 2023. In summary, it said:
    1. It was made aware of an issue with heating and hot water in August 2023 and an emergency repair was raised where it was found that the off peak fuseboard was not connected and follow on works were required.
    2. An electrician checked the immersion heater and reinstated the supply to the time clock, and that parts of the immersion heater, cables and other parts needed replacement.
    3. Various contractors attended the property in August 2023, and the hot water cylinder was rotated and a new immersion heater fitted. Additionally, in late August 2023, its contractor found that the boiler had been turned off for 6 weeks, which meant the resident had no hot water for that period.
    4. Its electrician attended in mid-September 2023 and changed the off-peak immersion heater elements to ensure the system was in working order.
    5. Its operative attended again in mid-September 2023 and noted that the clock on the immersion heater had been altered which affected the warm up time, preventing hot water. The clock was reset and the immersion heater was left working.
    6. With regard to appointments to attend various outstanding repairs including gaps between back door and frame and removal of asbestos, there had been issues with access and missed appointments. It rescheduled appointments for late September and October 2023 to investigate these.
    7. It apologised for the delay in providing its response and recognised that it failed to resolve the heating and hot water repair within the terms of its service level agreement.
    8. In recognition of its service failures, it awarded £609 made up of £150 discretionary payment for heating and hot water, £15 for failing to keep an appointment without giving 24 hours’ notice, £165 for no hot water as a result of an outstanding repair, £195 for no heating as a result of an outstanding repair, £34 for repairs which had gone over target time and £50 for the delay in providing its response.
  5. The resident asked to escalate the complaint on 8 October 2023 and explained:
    1. She had only been able to access hot water since 11 September 2023. She added this caused distress to the household and affected their ability to wash.
    2. There was a strong smell of burning from the cylinder in her daughters’ bedroom and it was noisy. The resident reminded the landlord about her daughter’s complex needs.
    3. There were outstanding repairs to the ceiling and that she was unhappy that her request for a new heating system was declined. Further, she said she had not received a response in writing to her request for a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 28 December 2023. It said:
    1. The resident’s property has an electric heating and hot water system which was checked at void stage and afterwards and found to be working.
    2. A referral was made to the heating operations and asset team to consider a fuel swap to install a gas-fired central heating and hot water system but this was declined by the team and it would not install this.
    3. The first immersion heater was faulty and a second immersion heater was required and it had previously offered compensation for the periods without heating and hot water in its stage 1 response.
    4. There were no current issues reported and the system was in working order.
    5. A decision was made to not install a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet and it apologised if this was not clearly communicated at the time of her request.
    6. There was a delay in responding to the complaint at stage 2. For this, the landlord offered a further £50 compensation.
  7. In the resident’s referral to this service, she stated that the heating and hot water system was faulty, the boost button did not reheat water, and she was frequently contacting the landlord for operatives to attend. She remained concerned about the provision of heating and hot water, particularly in winter. She said the household was still not getting enough hot water to bathe and for sanitation. She said the system would only work intermittently and after a short-term fix. She added that she cannot rely on temporary heaters for financial reasons. As a resolution, she wanted the landlord to replace the current heating and hot water system with a new combi boiler system and install a wash hand basin for the toilet downstairs.

Assessment and findings

The condition of a property at the start of the tenancy

  1. The landlord has an obligation to ensure that the property must be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout, and it met its lettable standard. The tenant takes the property as they find it and if there is minor disrepair at the property when the tenancy is signed, the resident took it on that basis. Any issues raised that were not likely to have been picked up in the voids processes, should then resolved via the landlord’s repairs team. Its repairs and maintenance policy outlines that non-emergency repairs will be offered within 28 calendar days being reported.
  2. Around 18 August 2023, the resident reported a gap between the back door and its frame. There is no evidence this ought to have been picked up during the period that the property was empty or that it made the property uninhabitable. The landlord arranged an appointment in good time but this was rearranged by the resident to 25 September 2023. This job was attended on 9 October 2023. Additionally, between 19 and 20 October 2023, the landlord renewed draught excluder to external back door and brush draught excluder inside. This was an acceptable time to carry out a routine repair in light of the resident rearranging the appointment.
  3. Following the resident’s report of 21 August 2023 that the immersion heater was leaking, the landlord arranged for an emergency repair and acted fairly by attending within 24 hours and making safe by isolating the hot water cylinder.  The fire service attended that day and confirmed there was a burst water pipe. There appeared to be further emergency attendances on 22 and 23 August 2023. Subsequently, a repair was raised on 8 September 2023 because the ceiling was dented due to a leak from the immersion heater. The repair records indicate that there were splinters coming through the bathroom door due to the leak. The landlord acted fairly by attending and carrying out a repair on 6 October 2023 which again was within its policy timescale of 28 calendar days
  4. Following the water leak, the resident reported that a light fitting in the downstairs toilet had been affected by the water leak. An emergency repair was raised for this on 18 September 2023. This was attended to within 24 hours and the resident advised that the cables for the light fitting would need 24 hours to dry, and once they were dry, the operative could then install a new pendant. This was a satisfactory approach and the follow on works to install the pendant was undertaken on 21 September 2023.
  5. On 1 September 2023, the landlord was reminded by way of its internal systems that asbestos discovered in cracked cupboards needed to be resealed. A works order for removal of the asbestos was raised on 22 September 2023 but following contractor attendance it was noted that it needed to be encapsulated. The ceiling of the cupboard where the asbestos was present was reinstated on 6 October 2023. This was slightly over its repair policy timescale which was a shortcoming. However, there is no evidence it caused a significant adverse affect to the resident.
  6. The landlord attended on 6 October 2023 regarding the outstanding works. It raised several jobs for the various repairs to the property and confirmed all appointments with the resident. The kitchen fans were replaced on 13 October 2023 which was shortly after the job was raised on 6 October 2023.  Following the resident’s escalation request, she said the living room and downstairs bathroom both needed plastering and painting. She also requested that the front and back gardens were tidied up and the shed be removed. The garden works including shed removal took place on 11 October 2023.
  7. On 21 August 2023, the landlord raised a repair regarding the boundary fence. The resident reported that it was unsafe with nails sticking out and three panels were missing. The landlord’s website sets out it is responsible for maintaining and repairs of boundary walls and fencing, and tenants are responsible for garden maintenance, dividing fences and fence upgrades or new fence or gates (where not present before). On 30 August 2023, the landlord’s operative replaced two fence panels and one post and noted that other repairs such as fence upgrades were her responsibility. This was an acceptable approach and the landlord carried out repairs for which it was responsible within its policy timescale and provided appropriate information. Additionally, the landlord further acted fairly by renewing the back gate and 4ft panel in the front garden on 20 October 2023. This demonstrates the landlord’s willingness to assist the resident and carry out repairs reported by her in a reasonable time.
  8. In general, there is no evidence that the property was in a poor condition or unfit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy. Moreover, the landlord raised work orders promptly after being notified. The repairs logs indicate that they were carried out within its policy timescales. In the landlord’s formal responses, it acknowledged that the resident had to report various issues and said it had sought to assist her by carrying out the relevant repairs in a timely manner. This was a satisfactory approach. However, it was understandably frustrating for the resident to have had to report a number of repairs shortly after moving into the property on 10 July 2023 which, in her view, should have been picked up before the property was let. It must be noted that some repair issues may not become apparent until the property is being lived in as a home.
  9. It is also noted that the contractor attending on 11 August 2023 stated that the “electrics are old and haven’t been assessed in over 40 years. Lights in the property also keep tripping”. The Ombudsman notes, however, that the electrics had been assessed as an electrical installation condition report (EICR) was issued on 14 April 2023 prior to the resident moving in. So it was not necessarily accurate to suggest the electrics had not been assessed in 40 years. In any event, tripping of itself may not be a ‘repair’ issue. It can be caused by something overloading the system such as too many plugs or a faulty appliance. On its own, tripping would not necessarily indicate that the landlord was at fault. If the shorting is still occurring the resident would be expected to report that to the landlord and allow a reasonable time to inspect and determine if there was a repair issue.
  10. From the evidence available, the void work was completed around 18 April 2023 and passed back to the landlord where it was confirmed as ready to let. In this case, the landlord was entitled to rely on the opinion of its contractor who checked the property at void stage and there is no indication at the outset that the property did not meet the void standard.
  11. In this case, it is unclear as to what the resident was advised before she moved in as there is no record of this. The landlord has provided a copy of the void photos and details of the works completed during the void period along with the EICR. It is noted that the resident did not report any concerns about issues such as the back door and fencing until a month after she had moved in. As such, there is no evidence to suggest these issues ought to have been picked up during the voids/pre-let checks. After reporting the issues, the landlord responded in a reasonable time and generally carried out repairs in line with its policy timescales.
  12. There did appear to be some issues with arranging appointments and access around the time of the school run, which the resident had advised the landlord to avoid on both 18 August 2023 and 2 October 2023. In the landlord’s final response of 28 December 2023, it stated that on 14 December 2023, it had attended at 4pm to inspect walls and flooring but was unable to gain access. The resident said that the landlord was aware she was on the school run and should not have attended at that time. The resident felt this was a deliberate tactic by the landlord, although it is unclear what information the resident was given when appointments were booked and whether she was given notice and agreed to them. It is a tenant’s obligation to allow access upon 24 hours written notice under section 10(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (the Act).
  13. In the landlord’s final response it appropriately recognised any shortcomings with respect to repairs and access and identified learning from this. A recommendation has been made to reinforce this learning. Overall, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy. The void works were completed prior to the resident moving in and its contractor confirmed it was ready to let. Furthermore, the resident did not report ancillary repairs including the backdoor, fence and crack cupboard until 1 month after moving into the property.

The adequacy of the heating and hot water system in the property

  1. In line with section 11 of the Act, the landlord should ‘to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water’. A landlord must complete a repair within a reasonable time of being given notice. This is not specific but depends on the circumstances and levels of urgency. The landlord’s ‘repairs responsibility’ section on its website confirms that it is responsible for immersion heaters, storage heaters and electrical testing.
  2. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy outlines that emergency repairs should be attended to within 24 hours and works to make safe or temporarily repair should be completed at this visit. Follow on works can be completed at a mutually convenient time. Emergency repairs are those classified as ones that present an immediate danger to the resident, or would jeopardise the health, safety, or security of the resident. A report of loss of heating or hot water would be treated as an emergency repair.
  3. The resident’s heating and hot water system is electric. As set out above the resident was a tenant of the property from 10 July 2023. The evidence suggests that she reported issues with the heating and hot water on 4 August 2023.  From the evidence the Ombudsman has seen, there was an electrical issue connecting the immersion circuits, which resulted in the resident having no hot water since moving into the property on 10 July 2023 which the landlord confirmed.
  4. In response, it initially acted fairly by arranging its contractor to attend the next day. However, they were unable to gain access. Subsequently, the landlord acted fairly and in line with its emergency timescales by arranging for its contractor to attend the following day. On attendance, they made safe by isolating the immersion heater and taping up a closed-circuit unit. They also found that there were issues with the off-peak immersion heater elements and identified that follow on works were required which included replacement of cables and tails.
  5. On 8 August 2023, the landlord requested that an electrician attend to rectify the issues. The resident reported again on 10 August 2023 that she was without heating and hot water. A contractor attended on 11 August 2023 – again this was appropriate and in line with its policy timescale. Following this, there were numerous emergency out of hours contractor attendances between August and September 2023.
  6. During the course of repairs of the heating and hot water system, there appeared to be some issues with access. The Ombudsman has seen evidence that the landlord was aware as early as 18 August 2023 of the resident’s availability and that she did school runs, shortly before her formal complaint. In line with the landlord’s repair policy, it should accommodate this. The landlord acted fairly by acknowledging it had not and offered £15 for a missed appointment. However, this service has seen that, despite being aware of the resident’s circumstances, the landlord failed to act in line with its policy by attending at the requested time on 8 September 2023.
  7. On 11 September 2023, the landlord’s internal records state “please assess immersion for replacement as this has been fixed so many times and the cylinder has gone which has caused the tenant to have no hot water for 2 months. This has been repaired over and over. Tenant is very frustrated please assess this for report to [area manager]”. This demonstrated that the landlord was aware of the issue and the impact it was having on the household. The landlord’s contractor attended and found the clock on the immersion had been reduced to only 15 minutes per day which prevented the system from producing hot water. The contractor reset the clock and ensured the immersion heater was left working.
  8. The landlord acted fairly by recognising that on this occasion it failed to attend as an emergency call out, within 24 hours, an issue with the heating and hot water and that there was a considerable delay until the resident had access to hot water on 11 September 2023.
  9. From the evidence available, it appears the resident had experienced a total loss of heating and hot water from 10 July 2023 until 11 September 2023. From that point, the crux of the complaint was that the system was temperamental, hot water and heating were intermittent, and she could not access these when she wanted. As a resolution, she wanted a new gas central heating system installed. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on heating and hot water recommends that when a problem with heating and hot water cannot be resolved quickly, the landlord should ensure residents are provided with a clear timescale for repairs. The landlord did frequently attend the property, though it did not appear to provide regular updates, particularly during August 2023, other than verbally from contractors during their visits. While it is appreciated this was a complex repair requiring many contractor attendances and follow on works, landlords should endeavour to provide an anticipated completion timescale of the hot water system repairs and regularly update the resident.
  10. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 1 response of September 2023 that it failed to resolve the loss of heating and hot water in a timely manner which resulted in repeated visits and that there was a total loss of heating and hot water for 6 weeks. However, it accounted for the delays that arose prior to 11 September 2023 when it stated the issues had been ‘fully resolved’. Indeed, the resident confirmed in her escalation request of 8 October 2023 that she had succeeded in getting hot water from 11 September 2023.
  11. With that said, after this date the resident explained to both the landlord and this service that the household experienced cold water from the hot water supply from 17.00 until the following morning. The resident added the dial knobs were broken and the tank only allowed the equivalent of 3 baths before the hot water ran out. She also said that the boost function took over an hour for the water to heat up again and she wanted hot water with more immediacy. The landlord attended the property on 20 October 2023 and reported that all storage heaters were working fine although the dials were loose. It also commented the down flow heaters were working although old and slightly yellow.
  12. On 4 December 2023, a support worker for the resident contacted the landlord about the heating issue. They said there were concerned that there was very limited or no heating and that two children occupy the home. It requested that the landlord supply temporary heaters to help them during the period while the heating system complaint was being addressed. The resident confirmed that she received the temporary heaters on 7 December 2023, yet the landlord’s repair logs or internal correspondence did not appear to show this. This is concerning and may again indicate issues with record keeping. This indicates the resident was without warmth from 11 September 2023 to December 2023. This was not appropriate. The landlord should have offered temporary heaters sooner whilst the ongoing repair to a heating hot water system took place.
  13. On 18 December 2023, the resident explained how the temporary heaters provided were “expensive to run” and reported that the household continued to have insufficient heating and hot water. However, the landlord did not appear to address this in its final response. This was a shortcoming. While it offered compensation for the distress and inconvenience of time without heating and hot water, it did not consider any reimbursement for her use of temporary heaters. An order has been made to remedy this.
  14. Section 9A of the Act states:
    1. Fitness for human habitation of dwellings in England.
      1. In a lease to which this section applies of a dwelling in England (see section 9B), there is implied a covenant by the lessor that the dwelling —

(1)  is fit for human habitation at the time the lease is granted or otherwise created or, if later, at the beginning of the term of the lease, and;

(2)  will remain fit for human habitation during the term of the lease.

  1. Under s.10 of the Act, the landlord had an obligation to provide hot water for sanitary reasons. In the circumstance, it appears the landlord has not considered the property may not be fit for human habitation, given the repeated reports of loss of heating and hot water. In the circumstances, the landlord should have carried out an independent inspection of the system to see if the property was fit for human habitation. However, it did not do this and continued to attend emergency repairs which seemed to provide a temporary fix. This was a failing on the part of the landlord. After a number of reports of loss of heating and hot water, the landlord should have opted for a more proactive approach and established if the system was fit for purpose by around early December 2023 following the reports from the resident’s family support worker that the was limited or no heating. Further, the resident advised this service that in December 2023 the household had no heating when returning from school and that there was insufficient hot water.
  2. The landlord stated that as the system was functional and working, it did not need replacement and her request for a new gas central heating system was declined.
  3. Throughout the reports and complaints process, the resident disputed this. The landlord said another reason her request was declined was on the basis that it wished to meet its commitment to net zero by 2050. While the Ombudsman appreciates the landlord’s desire to be environmentally sound, this should not be to the detriment of a resident in terms of adequate provision of heating and hot water.
  4. The landlord made a referral to its heating operations and asset team who declined her request for gas central heating installation. It is noted the landlord’s final response of 28 December 2023 stated the system was working. It said the boiler did not need to be replaced because there had been no issues raised in December 2023.
  5. The Ombudsman understands that the resident continued to report limited access to hot water between April and June 2024, and that the heating and hot water system was faulty and was having a significant impact on the household. She felt that despite multiple attendances for the same issue, the landlord should have replaced what was in her view an antiquated system. While the Ombudsman cannot make any meaningful assessment regarding the landlord’s handling of these latest reports which postdate the final response of the landlord to the resident’s formal complaint, this is very concerning.
  6. Ultimately, the landlord should have undertaken a full review of the condition of the central heating system before it made the decision to refuse an upgrade. This was a failing as the landlord could not have been certain that the property met the Decent Home Standard. This was a failure because the landlord ought to have considered the long standing issues of the outages in assessing whether an upgrade was the only way to offer a full and effective repair.
  7. Importantly, the landlord’s repair logs note its contractor, having attended around 12 April 2024, said they would highly recommend changing over to a combi system due to many ongoing issues with this property and hot water. It also acknowledged on 15 April 2024 that there was no heating in the property and that this had been going on for some time. Its repair logs stated there were a number of out of hour “visits and repairs where we have replaced the cylinders but still has not helped”. It is not clear why this view was not arrived at sooner.
  8. This may have been because the landlord’s repairs records often lacked sufficient detail which indicates issues with the landlord’s record keeping. As discussed in our Spotlight Report of May 2023 entitled “Spotlight on: Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) – on the record”, the landlord should have a robust record-keeping system to ensure appropriate recording of, handling of, and responses to complaints and its delivery of operational service. Put another way, had the repairs logs been clearer – a review of the suitability of the heating system and whether the property was habitable may have been arrived at sooner.
  9. Taken together there was maladministration by the landlord in the way it handled the issues with the boiler. This is because:
    1. The resident was without heating from 10 July 2023 to 11 September 2023
    2. Following this there were repeated repair requests for outages
    3. The resident was without heating and was not offered heaters from 11 September 2023 to 7 December 2023. The landlord only offered these following concerns being raised by the children’s support worker.
    4. There is no evidence the landlord considered whether the property was fit for human habitation or met the decent home standard given that issues faced with the heating and hot water.
    5. The landlord’s repairs records did not provide any meaningful detail.
    6. The landlord refused a replacement in December based on its net zero plans, but has said this may be necessary in June 2024. The landlord ought to have fully inspected and considered this much sooner.
    7. The landlord did not consider the cost of running electric fan heaters.
  10. The landlord’s compensation policy states “where there is a loss of amenity, such as … heating (during winter) and hot or cold-water supply, we will compensate a resident”. The compensation policy also states that when offering compensation, it would consider household vulnerabilities and that discretionary compensation may be considered where any inconvenience has been caused by the landlord’s actions or failure to act. In the landlord’s stage 1 formal response of 29 September 2023, it offered the resident £559 for the heating and hot water issue which included a discretionary amount of £150.
  11. The compensation further states that where there is a loss of heating or hot water as a result of an outstanding repair, it would offer “£5 per day after 7 days of the initial report of each amenity. This timescale allows for circumstances where we attend the appointment within time or at the resident’s convenience but need to order a part to complete the repair.”
  12. There is no dispute how stressful and inconvenient the resident and her family must have found the time without heating and hot water, especially given their circumstances, and the timing being during the winter months. The Ombudsman does not consider that £600 compensation fairly recognises the distress and inconvenience caused by the handling of the heating and hot water from 10 July 2023 until to date, as the issues appear to remain outstanding.
  13. The Ombudsman considers that an increase in the award of compensation is due, together with an order for an independent surveyor of the central heating system to be conducted.

A request for a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet

  1. The resident was unhappy that there was no wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet, which is the only toilet in the property. She explained that the household had to use the wash hand basin in the bathroom upstairs to wash their hands after using the toilet downstairs. Prior to the complaint, the resident made a request for the landlord to install a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet but the landlord declined this. To be clear, the bathroom upstairs does not have a toilet but does have a wash hand basin.
  2. In the landlord’s view, it considered the distance from the toilet downstairs to the wash hand basin upstairs to be a “reasonable distance”. However, it is unclear if the landlord took into account that this distance includes a journey upstairs with the individual likely touching the handrail, bannister and/or walls, an issue of hygiene, particularly given the needs of the household.
  3. As early as August 2023, one month after moving in, the resident advised the landlord about her daughter’s complex needs. Indeed, the landlord acknowledged this in its stage 1 response. The resident advised this service that her daughter is vulnerable and has a poor working memory and often forgets to wash her hands after using the toilet.
  4. This was not a ‘repair’ issue. Rather it is a request for an improvement or adaptation. Where adaptations to a property are needed the usual process would be for a resident to obtain and occupational health therapist’s report.
  5. The landlord’s aids and adaptations policy states it requires an occupational therapist referral for all aids and adaptation requests. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to signpost the resident to the council or explain to her that she needed to obtain an occupational health report regarding her request for a sink and her daughter’s special needs. However, the landlord did not do this. Overall, this amounted to a service failure.

Handling of the complaint

  1. The landlord provided the service with its interim complaints policy which was effective from 17 June 2022. This policy states it aims to respond to complaints received after this date within 20 working days of the complaint being logged. It adds it will respond at stage 2 within 40 working days. However, as of 19 July 2023, this service agreed with the landlord that complaints would be assessed under the normal complaint handling code timeframes, where a stage 1 complaint response should be provided in 10 working days and a stage 2 complaint response provided in 20 working days. These have been used when assessing the landlord’s complaint handling.
  2. The resident initially made a complaint on 20 August 2023. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 29 September 2023. This was 29 working days which was contrary to the Complaint Handling Code (the Code) timeframes. Between these dates, the resident chased on several occasions, and this would have caused distress and inconvenience to her as she would have felt the landlord was not taking her concerns seriously. However, at stage 1 the landlord acknowledged and apologised for the delays and offered £50 compensation. Given the length of delay, an apology and the level of compensation offered was appropriate to put things right.
  3. Following the resident’s escalation request of 8 October 2023, the landlord issued its stage 2 response on 28 December 2023. This was 58 working days and a considerable time outside 20 working days. Additionally, where there are delays, landlords should endeavour to keep residents updated and inform them of extended timescales. However, this did not happen. Indeed, the resident contacted this service between October and December 2023 asking for assistance. This would have caused time and trouble to the resident. The landlord responded following prompting by this service.
  4. While it apologised for the delay and offered a further £50 compensation at stage 2, it had already delayed a response at stage 1 and demonstrates that the landlord failed to learn from its errors. This would have undermined the resident’s trust in the landlord to satisfactorily resolve matters for her. Overall, the remedy offered in stage 2 for its complaint handling failures did not go far enough to reflect the adverse effect of the delays on the resident. In view of this, an order has been made.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the condition of a property at the start of the tenancy.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the adequacy and heating of the hot water system in the property.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of a request for a wash hand basin in the downstairs toilet.
  4. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 28 days of the date of this report, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise to the resident in writing for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident a total of £1,150 compensation, made up as follows:
      1. £950 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the adequacy and heating of the hot water system in the property. The landlord is entitled to deduct the compensation it offered during the complaint procedure from this if it has paid it.
      2. £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the request for installation of a wash hand basis in the downstairs toilet.
      3. A further £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the complaint.
    3. Appoint an independent specialist heating surveyor and instruct them to carry out a survey of the central heating system in the property. An appointment to carry out the survey must be arranged within 28 days of the date of this determination. The survey must:
      1. Assess whether the heating system is in proper working order or whether there is disrepair
      2. If there are repairs, what repairs will put the system in proper working order. Alternatively, whether a replacement boiler is the only to offer a full and effective repair

The surveyor must be instructed to provide their report within 10 working days of the date of inspection. The landlord must then share the report with the resident and the Ombudsman no later than 5 working days from the date it receives it.

If the surveyor identifies works or recommends that a new system be installed, the landlord must use all best endeavours to ensure the works are completed within 28 days of the date it receives the inspection report. If it cannot make this deadline it must set out why, together with evidence of why and when it will be complete the works. The deadline must be communicated to the resident and this service.

  1. Contact the resident to discuss costs of heating and where appropriate make referrals to relevant external agencies for support or financial assistance, and consider reimbursement of the costs of using temporary heaters.
  2. Consider any periods where the resident was without heating and hot water in 2024 and consider compensation where appropriate.
  3. Signpost the resident to arrange an occupational therapist (OT) assessment of the downstairs toilet with regard to the resident’s request for the installation of a wash hand basin, taking into account the resident’s daughter’s medical conditions. The landlord should take any appropriate action following the assessment.
  1. The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to the Ombudsman within the above timescale.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should:
    1. Ensure residents’ availability for appointments are made sufficiently clear on their profile so contractors can attend at a pre-arranged time and date at the convenience of the resident.
    2. Ensure that a vulnerability flag on the resident’s records reflects all occupants’ health conditions – subject to a landlord’s authority to record this data.
    3. Inspect the property and ensure any necessary repairs regarding flooring and walls have been completed to satisfactory standard. If further works are required, the landlord should provide details including anticipated start and completion dates to the resident.
    4. Respond formally to a complaint raised by the resident on 11 April 2024, if it has not done so already. If the resident is unhappy with the landlord’s final response about its handling of the issue from January 2024 onwards, she may approach the Ombudsman for assistance.