Dacorum Borough Council (202309175)
REPORT
COMPLAINT 202309175
Dacorum Borough Council
3 October 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
- The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of plumbing and drainage problems at the property.
- The Ombudsman will also investigate the landlord’s knowledge and information management.
Background
- The resident lives in the property, owned by the landlord, under a secure tenancy. The property is a 3-bedroom house. The landlord does not have any vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
- The landlord’s repairs log shows that the resident first reported a problem with the bath waste pipe leaking on 21 January 2019. On 24 January the landlord cleared a blocked stack and the gulley to the bathroom. At this time, the landlord said that it carried out extensive maintenance to the bathroom, including installation of a new soil vent pipe, to improve the flow of waste water.
- In September 2019 the resident reported water pipes leaking, however the repairs log does not make it clear which pipes these were. In February 2020 the resident reported that the toilet was blocked and sewage was coming up through the bath and sink plugholes and water was leaking through the kitchen light below.
- In June 2020 the resident reported a leaking shower, with water again coming through the kitchen light fitting. She also said the toilet was blocked and backing up into the bath. In September 2020 she reported that water was rising to the top of the toilet and overflowing when flushed.
- In October 2020 she reported an uncontainable water leak from the bath. In July 2021 the resident reported that the drain at the back of the property was blocked and was backing up in to the garden.
- On 14 January 2022 the resident reported that the bath was completely blocked and water was pouring through the kitchen ceiling. She told the landlord that she thought there were serious drainage issues. On 24 January a CCTV survey of the drains was carried out and a break in an underground pipe was found. That day the resident told the landlord she did not have proper use of the toilet. She continued to chase the landlord for updates during February and told it that she did not have a fully working toilet during this period.
- On 16 January 2023 she reported a further leak from the bathroom coming through the kitchen ceiling. In March a further CCTV survey was carried out which found a problem with the pipe. In May the resident reported further problems with the toilet backing up.
- On 22 May 2023 the resident raised a complaint as she was unhappy with the ongoing problems. The landlord sent its stage 1 response on 8 June, in which it said that it had tried its best to resolve issues since 2019. It offered £250 compensation for any inconvenience caused.
- The landlord’s contractor carried out work to resolve the problem on 9 June 2023. The resident asked for the complaint to be escalated on 12 June as she was not happy with the level of compensation. The landlord sent its stage 2 response the next day, in which it said that there were no outstanding repairs and the offer of £250 compensation was a discretionary goodwill offer.
- The resident contacted this service on 19 June 2023 and asked us to investigate the complaint. On 4 September the resident contacted the landlord after receiving an unexpectedly large water bill. Contractors found a leak which was repaired in October.
Assessment and findings
Scope of the investigation
- Whilst the resident did not formally raise a complaint until May 2023, she has provided evidence of her raising dissatisfaction with the landlord about this issue since January 2022. The landlord’s repairs records show that the plumbing and drainage issues had been reoccurring regularly since January 2019. The landlord has considered matters dating back to January 2019 during its internal complaints process. This Service considers it appropriate in this instance to consider the same timeframe, and will consider matters since January 2019.
Handling of plumbing and drainage problems
- The landlord’s repairs handbook says that it will carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours of the problem being reported. It aims to complete all other repairs within 20 working days. Under the ‘right to repair’ repairs should be carried out within one working day if the resident only has one toilet and this cannot be flushed.
- The landlord has a statutory duty under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property. The landlord has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) introduced by The Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its rented properties. Problems with the drainage of waste are a potential hazard and therefore the landlord should take steps to rectify these within a reasonable timeframe.
- The resident first reported a problem with leaking waste and blockages on 21 January 2019 and the landlord carried out work to clear a blocked stack. The repairs log provided by the landlord does not show exactly what work was carried out and what dates the repairs were completed.
- The resident continued to report problems with pipes leaking, the toilet becoming blocked, and sewage backing up in the bathroom regularly between 2019 and 2020. It is not clear from the landlord’s records what work it carried out each time, but it is evident from the recurrence of the issues that it failed to investigate the root cause of the problem.
- The landlord arranged for a CCTV drainage survey in January 2022. There is no evidence of it carrying out such a survey earlier than this, despite at least 7 previous incidents of leaking or blockages being reported. Whilst it is noted that the landlord took action to repair the immediate problems between 2019 and 2022, it took too long to investigate the underlying cause of the problems.
- The landlord carried out the CCTV survey on 24 January 2022 and found that there was a break in a pipe. The resident told the landlord that her toilet was not working Despite being aware that her toilet was not working, the landlord did not take prompt action to repair the pipe. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord considered whether it was suitable for her to stay at the property without a working toilet. It should have considered whether it would have been appropriate to decant the resident whilst it undertook investigations and work.
- On 10 February 2022 the resident chased the landlord, saying the toilet had not been working for 5 weeks. It told her it had got a quote on 11 February and was chasing a start date, however it is not clear from its records when the work was subsequently completed. The resident did not mention this issue again in an email of 2 March, so the work appears to have been completed by this time. The toilet not working should have been treated as an emergency repair in line with the landlord’s policy and repaired within 1 working day. The repair took far longer than this, which was unacceptable given the circumstances.
- On 16 January 2023 the resident reported that water was again leaking from the bathroom through the kitchen ceiling. She said that black waste was coming up through the bath when the toilet was flushed. That day the landlord visited the property and said that it was one of the worst situations it had seen and that work needed to be completed as an emergency. However, from the information provided it does not appear to have treated it as an emergency. It has not provided an explanation for why it did not act in line with its own professional’s opinion, which was not appropriate.
- On 2 March 2023 the landlord raised a job for another CCTV drainage survey, which was carried out on 8 March. This found that the first 1.5m of the WC line had a back fall and needed to be replaced. This needed the bathroom floor to come up. It is not clear from the landlord’s records if/when this work took place.
- On 12 May 2023 the resident reported a further problem and a contractor attended on 15 May. They found that with the bath half full when the plug was pulled the water in the toilet rose. The resident told them that when this had happened over the previous weekend the toilet had overflowed.
- A contactor visited on 17 May 2023 to carry out work to the soil pipe. It reattended the following day to reinstall the bath and basin. The resident raised a complaint on 22 May as she was unhappy that she had been repeatedly left with no toilet or washing facilities.
- The landlord sent its stage 1 response on 8 June 2023. It said that following the first report of a problem with the soil pipe backing up in January 2019 every contractor had tried their best to resolve the situation. It said it had carried out extensive maintenance to the bathroom. It did not acknowledge any failings in the service it had provided, despite the resident reporting many issues over more than 4 years, which was inappropriate. It did, however, offer £250 compensation for any inconvenience caused as a goodwill gesture.
- The resident responded on 12 June 2023 to say that she was unhappy with the compensation offer as it did not even amount to a week’s rent. The landlord escalated the complaint to stage 2 of its internal complaints process and sent its final response the next day.
- It said that the soil pipe repairs were completed on 9 June 2023 and there were no outstanding repairs. However, the resident has since reported further drainage problems, so these repairs did not fully resolve the situation. It said the £250 compensation it had offered was discretionary and that she could refer it to this Service if she remained unhappy, which she did on 19 June. The landlord did not take this opportunity to fully consider the impact this issue had on the resident.
- In September 2023 the resident received a larger than expected water bill and raised this with the landlord, who suggested there could be a leak. On 7 September the water company wrote to the landlord to say it had traced a leak back to the property. Based on the ongoing plumbing and drainage issues, it is reasonable to conclude that the landlord was responsible for this increase in water usage. There is no evidence that the landlord has considered reimbursing the resident for this, however it would have been appropriate for it to do so.
- From 3 October 2023 a contractor attended over the course of 4 days to undertake works to re-route the supply and stop the leak. This was attended to within 20 working days in line with the landlord’s policy, which was reasonable, especially as it may been a complex repair.
- The Ombudsman considers there to have been maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks at the property. The landlord’s records are incomplete but it does appear that it sent contractors to carry out works each time the resident reported problems. However, it took too long, and too many reoccurrences of the problems for the landlord to take investigative action to identify the root cause.
- These reoccurrences left the resident with inadequate washing and toilet facilities for protracted periods on a number of occasions. She has explained that the backing up of the waste pipes left her living in filthy conditions.
- Whilst the landlord did make an offer of compensation, this amount was not proportionate to the amount of distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. It did not fully consider the length of time the problems went on for and so did not offer appropriate redress, in line with its compensation policy.
- The landlord’s compensation policy provides for compensation from £500 for cases where “there was a failure which had a significant impact on the resident”. With this and the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance in mind, an order has been made for the landlord to pay additional compensation to the resident of £750 to recognise the length of time the repairs took and a further £250 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. This brings the total compensation for this issue to £1,250.
- An order has also been made for the landlord to reimburse the resident for the additional water charge due to the leak. This is subject to her providing it with bills so it is able to calculate the increased usage.
Knowledge and information management
- Effective knowledge and information management plays a vital role in a landlord’s ability to manage both repairs and complaints effectively.
- As explained above, the landlord has failed to provide this Service with full records of the repairs that were carried out. It is likely that its failure to keep complete records in relation to the repairs contributed to the delays in getting to the root cause of the problems. Had it kept complete records of the repairs, it should have been evident that there was an underlying problem that needed further investigation.
- The Ombudsman considers there to have been maladministration by the landlord in its knowledge and information management as it has failed to keep complete records and update the resident’s records where appropriate.
- An order has been made for the landlord to self-assess using the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on knowledge and information management.
Determination
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its handling of the resident’s reports of plumbing and drainage problems at the property.
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its knowledge and information management.
Orders
- The landlord to pay the resident compensation of £1,250, less any amount already paid during its internal complaints process.
- The landlord to reimburse the resident for the additional water charge due to the leak located in September 2023, subject to her providing it with copies of her bills, if it has not already done so.
- A senior manager at the landlord to provide the resident with a written apology.
- The landlord to provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service within 28 days of this report.
- In accordance with paragraph 54(g) of the Scheme, the landlord to self-assess using the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on knowledge and information management. The landlord should produce a report setting out the findings and learnings from the review, and provide a copy of this to this Service within 8 weeks of this report.