Fortis Living Limited (202013567)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202013567

Fortis Living Limited

24 June 2022


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 resident’s reports of a faulty heating system and electrical issues.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. The resident made several reports regarding her faulty heating system from 20 November 2016. On 7 December 2020, she made a report of only having partial heating at the property. The landlord attended on 21 December 2020 and a follow-on appointment was scheduled for 20 January 2021.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 30 December 2020 as she had experienced numerous issues with the heating system since she had moved in, and it was impacting her due to the cold weather. She added that the issues had caused increased electric bills. In its response, the landlord reiterated the actions it had taken and apologised for the delay in the appointments.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint on 15 February 2021 as the heating issues were still ongoing and she wanted compensation due to increased electricity usage. In the landlord’s final response, it acknowledged that it had attended more times than average for her heating system, but on attendance it found the heating system was working correctly. It said it would complete a review to assess the electricity usage on 24 May 2021. The landlord provided advice on reducing her electricity bill and advised it would complete a further check to ensure the property met electrical standards.
  5. In the resident’s complaint to this Service, she remained dissatisfied that despite numerous appointments, the heating system was still not functioning properly, so she wanted it to be replaced. She also said that she thought electrical issues in the property were causing her to have to frequently change appliances.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In her complaint the resident stated that she had experienced issues with her heating system since moving into the property, over five years ago. In accordance with paragraph 39(e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, we will not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within six months of the matters arising. Therefore, whilst the historical events provide contextual background to the current complaint, they will not be assessed within this report, focusing instead on events six months prior to the complaint being made.
  2. The resident has advised that the ongoing issues with her heating have impacted her health. The Ombudsman is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This would be better dealt with as a personal injury claim through the courts or landlord’s insurer. This is as medical experts can be called on and binding judgements made. This is an accordance with paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which states the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident.
  3. In her complaint to this Service, the resident has raised issues with the conduct of a staff member. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this has been raised to the landlord as part of her complaint. In line with paragraph 39 (a) of the Ombudsman Scheme we are unable to consider complaints that “are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure”. This is because the landlord has to be given the opportunity to investigate and respond to the issues. It is recommended that the resident contacts the landlord and raises a separate complaint if the issue remains unresolved.

Heating system and electrical issues

  1. In line with the landlord’s maintenance policy, the landlord is responsible for maintaining internal fixtures and fittings it has provided. As such, it is expected to attend the properly and inspect any issues reported by the resident in relation to the heating system and complete any required repairs. Its maintenance policy states that emergency repairs should be completed within 24 hours and non- emergency repairs would be completed by appointment (there is no set timeframe). The policy states that a total loss of heating during autumn and winter is considered an emergency repair. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the resident had reported a total loss of heating in the six months prior to the complaint being raised. The landlord would still be required to attend if the resident reported a partial heating loss, but it would not be classed as an emergency. It was reasonable that the landlord discussed the issues with the resident prior to attending to ascertain whether there was a total loss of heating and then arranged appointments accordingly.
  2. The landlord took reasonable steps to identify if there were any underlying issues with the heating system. Following the resident’s report on 7 December 2020 that the radiators were only partially heating, the landlord undertook an inspection on 21 December 2020 and ordered a part for follow-on work. A further inspection was carried out by a specialist engineer, using a thermal imaging camera, and identified that a system flush was required. The follow-on appointment to complete the system flush was attended on 20 January 2021. It was appropriate that the landlord apologised for the delay and explained that the work had not been prioritised as the resident still had heating and it had limited staff over the Christmas period. Despite the delay, considering that several appointments were required to identify and resolve the issue, the timeframe to complete the works was not unreasonable. It was appropriate that the landlord thoroughly explained the cause of the issue and the delay to the resident in its stage one response. The Ombudsman is also mindful of the fact that there was a national pandemic, which impacted all public services.
  3. The resident raised further concerns on 21 January 2021 that the heating system was causing her electricity bill to increase; she stated it had increased from £80 to £140. An engineer attended and checked that the system was functioning properly, and the manufacturer of the heating system had confirmed the system was on the correct settings. A further appointment took place on 31 January 2021 to change the settings to run more efficiently. As there is no evidence that the heating system was causing the resident’s electric bill to increase, the landlord would not be expected to award compensation or replace the system. The landlord had demonstrated that it had substantially investigated the issue, as multiple engineers had attended the property. In light of the resident’s concerns, a further appointment to complete a full review of the heating system was arranged for 24 May 2021, to accommodate the resident’s request to delay any appointments until the end of May 2021. 
  4. It was appropriate that although the landlord had investigated the reported heating system issues and had not found any faults, that it still acknowledged the resident’s concerns with her increased electricity bills. It provided the resident with electricity saving advice, signposted her to her energy provider and ensured the engineer advised her on how to use her heating system most efficiently. It also explained that as her property was only electric, she would be expected to have higher electricity bills than properties that also had gas. The landlord also offered to fit a monitoring device; however, the resident did not allow access for the appointment. Following the completion of the complaints process, the landlord emailed the resident on 28 May 2021 as the appointment that was arranged as part of the complaint resolution had not been attended, due to not being able to gain access to the property. It was reasonable that it explained it would consider compensation if it found any fault with the heating system when the appointment was rearranged.
  5. The landlord also addressed the resident’s concerns that her newly purchased electrical appliances had failed prematurely. It said that the developer had provided a full electrical check, explaining that it was completed in line with the required electrical standards. The landlord exceeded the actions it was obliged to take by arranging an appointment to complete another full electrical test, five years prior to when it was next required to be completed. This was appropriate in light of the resident’s concerns. As the landlord was unable to gain access to the property this did not take place and it is unclear from the repair records when it was rescheduled for. However, the resident emailed the landlord on 31 August 2021, as she had not received the report, indicating that it has since taken place. The landlord should ensure that the resident is provided with a copy of the report as requested.
  6. Overall, the landlord completed inspections and any required repairs in a reasonable timeframe. It would not be obliged to award compensation or replace the heating system as there is no evidence to suggest that the heating or electrical system within the property were causing increased electricity bills or issues with the resident’s appliances. The landlord has also acted appropriately by ensuring it has offered advice to the resident to reduce her electricity bill.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaint handling policy states that it will complete its initial stage one investigation within ten working days, and it will aim to respond to stage two complaints within 20 working days. The resident initially raised her complaint on 30 December 2020 and the landlord responded on 18 January 2021, which only exceeded its response timeframe by one working day. The resident then escalated her complaint on 15 February 2021 and the landlord did not issue its final response until 23 April 2021. While the landlord did not adhere to its timeframe at stage two, it reasonably managed the resident’s expectations as it sent a letter on 19 March 2021 advising that its response would be delayed, and it would respond by 23 April 2021. It also promptly responded to her email on 9 April 2021, in which the resident chased the outcome of the complaint, to reiterate the extended timeframe for the response. Overall, the delay in the response did not detrimentally impact the outcome of the complaint, particularly as the follow-on work had been postponed until late May 2021 to accommodate the resident’s request.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s reports of a faulty heating system and electrical issues
  2. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling. 

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord provides the resident with a copy of the electrical report if it has not done so already.