Clarion Housing Association Limited (202337420)

Background

1. The resident’s tenancy was due to start on 21 November 2022 following a mutual exchange. On that day she contacted the landlord to report that the property was uninhabitable. The landlord moved her to temporary accommodation. On 2 May 2023 she moved to new permanent accommodation.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Offer of compensation for its handling of the resident’s mutual exchange.
   2. Handling of the associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found that there was:
   1. Reasonable redress in the landlord’s offer of compensation for its handling of the resident’s mutual exchange.
   2. Reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
4. We have not made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

Compensation for failures in handling of the mutual exchange

5. The landlord appropriately identified failings in its handling of the mutual exchange and its associated response. It apologised and offered compensation in line with its compensation policy and our remedies guidance.

Handling of the associated complaint

6. The landlord’s complaint responses were delayed at both stages. However, it apologised and offered a proportionate amount of compensation to put things right.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

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.

7. The landlord’s compensation policy says it will offer compensation of £700 or above where there was a significant and serious long-term effect on the resident, including physical and/or emotional impact. Our remedies guidance says compensation of £1,000 and above should be offered where there were serious failings by the landlord which had a seriously detrimental impact on the resident.
8. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response of 28 June 2023 offered £701 compensation in addition to waiving the rent arears of £3,414.77. It appropriately set out the issues the landlord considered when calculating the compensation. Its offer was in line with its compensation policy and our remedies guidance. It also signposted the resident to make a claim on its insurance policy for a personal injury claim and/or damage to personal belongings. It’s appropriate for landlords to refer residents to their insurance provider where there is a question over liability. Therefore, in this case, the landlord’s response was appropriate in the circumstances.
9. On 3 July 2023 the resident emailed the landlord to say she was unhappy with the £300 offered for not identifying issues with the property. The landlord replied on the same day to say its decision to write off the arrears was also part of its compensation offer. It explained that although the resident had been moved to temporary accommodation she was still obliged to pay rent. However, in recognition of the circumstances it had decided to write off the arrears. It reminded her that she could also make an insurance claim. Its response was reasonable because it clearly set out the reasons for its decision.
10. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 14 September 2023 identified additional failings. It acknowledged it did not proactively communicate with the resident. It also said it took too long to find new permanent accommodation. It therefore offered a further £400, bringing the total amount of compensation to £4,515.77.
11. In a further letter to the resident dated 4 November 2024, the landlord offered a further £400 compensation for the issues with the temporary accommodation. While this was positive, it was well over a year after its final complaint response.
12. An internal email dated 27 August 2024 confirmed that the resident submitted an insurance claim. It said liability was admitted and its insurer was in the process of agreeing a settlement. We do not know the outcome of the settlement, but as the insurer is not a member of our Scheme, we could not assess it in any event.
13. There were serious failings by the landlord which had a seriously detrimental impact on the resident because she was unable to move into the property. It responded by moving her to temporary and then permanent accommodation. However, there were further failings, including delays with works, ineffective communication, and issues with the temporary accommodation.
14. Our dispute resolution principles are to be fair, learn from outcomes, and put things right. The landlord was open and honest about its failures. It identified the relevant failures and considered them when calculating compensation. Its offer of compensation was in line with its compensation policy and our remedies guidance. The amount offered was proportionate to the issues experienced by the resident. The landlord also appropriately identified learning to improve its service to residents.
15. This investigation considers that while the landlord’s handling of the mutual exchange could reasonably have been improved, it has recognised the impact on the resident and has taken proportionate steps to put things right. As such, a finding of reasonable redress has been made in the circumstances.

16. Our Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord’s interim complaints policy in place at the time of the resident’s complaint said it would acknowledge complaints within 10 working days. It would then respond to stage 1 complaints within 20 working days and to stage 2 complaints within 40 working days of the complaint being logged. This was not compliant with the Code dated April 2022. However, we note that the landlord’s current complaints policy is in line with the statutory Code dated 1 April 2024.
17. The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 24 March 2023. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 25 April 2023. This was 21 working days after the complaint was received and 11 working days out of time. The landlord provided 3 updates to the resident to apologise for the ongoing delays in its response. While this was positive, it failed to say when it would respond to manage her expectations. It then issued its response on 28 June 2023, which was 64 working days after the complaint was received and 44 working days out of time. The landlord appropriately apologised for the delay and offered compensation to put things right.
18. On 4 July 2023 the resident confirmed her request to escalate her complaint. On 18 July 2023 the landlord acknowledged the request in line with its policy. It provided its response on 14 September 2023, which was 52 working days after the complaint was received and 12 working days out of time. The landlord appropriately apologised for the delay and again offered proportionate compensation to put things right.
19. This investigation considers that while the landlord’s complaint handling could reasonably have been improved, it has recognised the impact on the resident and has taken proportionate steps to put things right. As such, a finding of reasonable redress has been made in the circumstances.

Learning

20. The landlord identified some learning in terms of property inspections prior to the date of exchange. We would suggest that it also reflects on its other failures to identify any other areas of learning to ensure they do not reoccur.

Knowledge and information management (record keeping)

21. The landlord provided appropriate records for the purposes of this investigation.

Communication

22. The landlord appropriately acknowledged that it did not update the resident regarding the progress of works.