Clarion Housing Association Limited (202340672)

Decision
Case ID	202340672
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Clarion Housing Association Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Shared Ownership
Date	19 November 2025

Background

The resident lives in a flat situated in a block on an estate. He pays a service charge to the landlord (the freeholder). He requested an explanation of how the landlord calculated the service charge. He was also unhappy with the length of time the landlord took to respond to him and the level of detail it provided. He brought his complaint to us because he wants the landlord to provide the information he asked for.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for explanation of the service charge.
We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

We found that:
1. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for explanation of the service charge.
2. The landlord made an offer of reasonable redress regarding its complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The explanation of the service charge

The landlord delayed in responding to the resident’s initial request for information. It then did not provide the level of detail he asked for. It has not explained to him why it provided the information in the format it did.

The complaint handling

The landlord did not follow the timeframes set out in its complaints policy when it delayed in both acknowledging and responding to the resident’s complaint. However, it put things right when it awarded the resident a proportionate amount of compensation.

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.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 17 December 2025
2	Compensation Order The landlord must pay the resident £300 made up as follows: £200 as offered during its internal complaint procedure £100 for the inconvenience caused to the resident by its failure to provide the information he requested This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 17 December 2025
3	Information Order The landlord should arrange for a suitably qualified member of staff to either meet with or call the resident to establish what information he requires for the 2021 to 2022 service charge period. It should then provide the resident with the information he requests within 4 weeks of the date of the meeting or call. If the landlord is unable to provide any information he requests it should set out its position as to why and consider what alternatives it can provide.	No later than 17 December 2025

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The landlord should consider extending the period covered by the resident’s information request to subsequent service charge years if he requires.
The landlord should pay the resident the £100 it awarded for complaint handling delays in its complaint responses, if it has not done so already.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
7 February 2023	The landlord wrote to the resident to set out the rent and service charge increases for the financial year 2023 to 2024.
3 April 2023	The resident wrote to the landlord asking it to respond to 21 questions he had about the service charge. These included asking for: an explanation of the administration and management fees evidence that works included in the service charge had been completed copies of invoices to show how much the landlord had been charged
26 July 2023	The resident raised a stage 1 complaint. He was unhappy with the length of time the landlord had taken to respond to his questions about the service charge.
31 August 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response. It apologised for its delay in responding to his initial enquiry. It provided a breakdown of the service charge for the year 2021 to 2022. It awarded him £100 compensation for the inconvenience caused from its delay in responding to his query. It also awarded £50 for the delay in providing its complaint response.
2 September 2023	The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2. He was unhappy the landlord had not answered the questions from his initial query in the stage 1 response. He asked it to answer the questions. He also asked it to provide copies of invoices for the expenses included in the service charge.
24 November 2023	The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response. It answered each of the resident’s questions in turn. This included: an explanation of the administration and management fees including reference to his tenancy agreement of why it was able to charge these fees confirmation it had adjusted his service charge account following a review of the caretaking charges and removal of a scaffolding charge details of what caretaking and window cleaning works had been completed providing documents including invoices to show amounts it had paid for services The landlord awarded £150 compensation broken down as: £50 for the delay in providing its stage 2 response. £100 for the delay in responding to his request for information and for the lack of information it provided in its stage 1 response.
28 January 2024	The resident emailed the landlord. He was unhappy with some of the information it provided with its stage 2 response. He asked it to provide invoices, rather than copies of spreadsheets. He wanted the landlord to provide evidence that it had credited his service charge account. He also asked the landlord to explain why invoices were issued for another block, as he feared being charged for unrelated services.
29 January 2024	The landlord told the resident that its stage 2 complaint response was the final stage of its complaints process. It signposted him to us if he remained unhappy. It did not provide any further information.
6 March 2024	The resident escalated his complaint to us. He was unhappy with the delay in responding to his initial query and the subsequent information it provided. He wants the landlord to provide copies of invoices and provide further information about the service charge.

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.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for information about the service charge.
Finding	Service failure

When the resident contacted the landlord to query the service charge it did not respond to him. That was not in line with the aim it sets out on its website that it will respond to emails within 5 working days. It was also not in line with Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (the Act) which gives leaseholders the right to inspect any receipts or invoices which support the landlord’s service charge figures. The request must be made within 6 months of receiving the summary, in writing. The landlord should then provide facilities for inspecting the information within 1 month of the request.
The landlord went some way to putting things right at stage 1. The £100 compensation it awarded was proportionate to the delay in responding to the resident’s query. However, it left the resident’s questions unanswered. That caused the resident inconvenience and resulted in him escalating his complaint.
The landlord responded to the resident’s questions in turn in its stage 2 response, which showed it had learned from its earlier failings. As part of his request, the resident asked the landlord to provide invoices. The landlord did provide some invoices, but most of the information it provided was in table form. It did not explain to the resident why it had not provided copies of invoices for all services, nor did it clarify that it retained the invoices but chose not to share them. The landlord did not show it was following the Act in only providing information in that format because the Act allows for a resident to view receipts or invoices.
The landlord missed an opportunity to resolve matters by failing to engage with the points raised in the resident’s email of 28 January 2024. This delay prolonged the resident’s wait for information causing him inconvenience. The landlord’s lack of transparency over why it has not provided the request invoices also risks the losing the resident’s confidence. For those reasons there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the service charge explanation.
We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident a further £100 compensation. This figure is in line with our remedies guidance. It is also reflective of the amounts the landlord awarded him for its earlier failings. The landlord should also contact him to find out what information he still requires.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The relevant code in this case was the 2022 edition. Our findings are:
1. The landlord had a published complaints policy which followed the terms of the Code in respect of timescales at the time of the resident’s complaint.
2. The landlord responded at stage 1 within 24 working days (26 July to 31 August 2023) – which was not compliant with the Code. The landlord had 5 working days to acknowledge and 10 working days to answer the complaint. In this case, it acknowledged the complaint on 28 July 2024 so was required to provide its response by 11 August 2023.
3. The landlord delayed in acknowledging the resident’s stage 2 complaint. It took 18 working days to reply where the Code allowed 5 working days. It also delayed in providing its response. Under the Code it should have responded within 20 working days of its acknowledgement. It provided its response after 41 working days (27 September 2023 to 24 November 2023).
The landlord awarded the resident £50 for its delays in providing its response at both stage 1 and stage 2, a total of £100. This amount was in line with its compensation policy which states that it will pay between £50 and £250 for failure to meet service standards for responses where the failure had no significant impact. These amounts also fall within the service failure banding of our remedies guidance. As the landlord’s compensation award was proportionate to the length of its delays in the Ombudsman’s opinion the landlord made an offer of reasonable redress regarding its complaint handling.

Learning

Communication

The landlord did not provide prompt responses to the resident. It should ensure it is mindful of its own timeframes for responding to queries and its obligations to acknowledge and respond to complaints in line with the timeframes set by the Code.