Clarion Housing Association Limited (202452405)

Decision
Case ID	202452405
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Clarion Housing Association Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Shared Ownership
Date	7 May 2026

Background

The resident moved into a new-build property in April 2023. In November 2024 she told the landlord that the fridge freezer that came with the property was making a loud noise, shaking and vibrating. She later made a complaint about the landlord’s lack of communication and resolution about the issue. In response, the landlord said that it would repair or replace the fridge freezer.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about her fridge freezer.

Our decision (determination)

There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about her fridge freezer.

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

Reasons

When a resident reports a potential defect in a new-build property, landlords should work with the developers of the new-build to investigate and resolve the matter within a reasonable timeframe.
While the landlord committed to investigate the issue with the fridge freezer and keep the resident updated within its February 2025 stage 1 response, it failed to do so. This resulted in the resident escalating her complaint.
In its June 2025 stage 2 response, the landlord acknowledged its failings and offered the resident £100 compensation. It said that it would aim to either repair or replace the fridge freezer within 28 days and it would keep the resident updated.
The landlord inspected the fridge freezer at the end of June 2025 and noted that as it could not find a fault at the time,the manufacturer of the fridge freezer should inspect it.
On 9 January 2026, the landlord told us that it issued a closure letter to the resident, summarising its findings following its June 2025 visit. We have not seen a copy of the letter. Nonetheless, the landlord told us that it acknowledged the closure letter did not fully reflect the resolutions it had committed to in its complaint responses. It explained that in recognition of this, it had arranged to replace the fridge freezer. This was an appropriate course of action to put things right.
However, we do not have evidence that the landlord has taken any steps to replace the fridge freezer as it said it would. In May 2026, the resident told us that she had not heard from the landlord since June 2025 and the issue with the fridge freezer had become worse. Therefore, while the reason that the landlord has not replaced the fridge freezer is unclear, that it has not is unreasonable.
As such, we have made an order for the landlord to pay the resident an additional £100 for the further failings. We have also made an order for it to replace the fridge freezer.

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 04 June 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £200 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of her concerns about her fridge freezer. This includes an additional payment of £100. 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 04 June 2026
3	Action order The landlord must replace the fridge freezer by the due date.	No later than 07 July 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The evidence suggests that the landlord’s poor record keeping and internal and external communication practices contributed to its failings in this case. Therefore, we recommend that it completes our eLearning on knowledge and information management and communication, which it can find on the Centre for Learning section of our website.