Gentoo Group Limited (202122356)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202122356

Gentoo Group Limited

6 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 response to the resident’s reports about issues with the gable end of their home.

Background and summary of events

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of a housing association since 8 August 2016. The property is a semi-detached 2-bedroom home, there is an outhouse attached to the property.
  2. During December 2019 the resident informed the landlord about structural issues with the property. Following this the landlord arranged for a visual inspection of the property to be conducted. It found issues with the property’s structure due to historic foundation settlement occurring. As a result, this caused cracks internally and externally on the property. Despite findings that previous repairs had been done to the gable, it also caused movement to the gable. The landlord recommended that the property be added to the future external repairs scheme and said it was already included in the 2021-2022 re-roofing scheme. For the internal repairs it recommended the plaster be removed and re-applied.
  3. On 7 May 2021 the resident raised a complaint to the landlord about subsidence and explained the issues had been ongoing for a number of years. The landlord proceeded to arrange for a structural engineer to visit the property that day. It followed up with the tenant on 11 May 2021 to see how the meeting went and she said the engineer confirmed there has been significant movement at the property. There were several more conversations that month between the landlord, resident and engineer. Following this, the engineer provided the landlord with a list of remedial works and a plan to monitor movement for 12 months. The resident was updated with the progress.
  4. Through June to September 2021, there were visits and several conversations with the landlord, resident and engineer. The landlord had booked in works for repairs. However, in September the structural engineer informed the landlord, that they were of the opinion that the outhouse was at a lifecycle stage whereby structurally components were beginning to fail. It was also believed that there had been differential movement between the two structures (main property and offshoot) which had attributed to the cracking which was present. It explained the cracking to the brickwork walls in the outhouse may also be attributed to stresses caused by the concrete roof deck. The structural engineer said it was best to consider demolition of the offshoot structure. It noted the brickwork walls were beginning to fail and were likely to deteriorate further.
  5. During October 2021, the landlord discussed options for the work to the outhouse.  It then proceeded to make the resident aware of the options. These were the following:
  1. ‘Demolish the outhouse, repair the distortion, replace wall tiles if necessary and rebuild lower section of the gable end wall. When the external work is completed, we would then carry out the repairs inside the property which would sort out the cracks & bevelling and would allow you to decorate. We would also provide you with a shed for storage’.
  2. ‘Leave the outhouse as it is and continue to monitor regularly, carry out the internal work so you can decorate (as previously advised we cannot guarantee that further cracks would not appear in the future until work can be completed on the gable end wall), then demolish outhouse & gable end should the property become empty, or it becomes necessary’.
  1. When the resident was informed of her options, she advised that she did not want the outhouse to be demolished if it was not being rebuilt. She also did not want internal work to be carried out if the repairs to the gable end had not been done, as she believed it would just crack again. The resident informed the landlord that a contractor had said it would be possible to remove the outhouse roof, repair the gable end, then replace the outhouse roof and this is how she wished to proceed with the repairs.
  2. On 22 November 2021, the landlord issued its stage one complaint response. This outlined the above options and explained that it had sought further advice to see if the repairs could be done the way the resident said she was informed, however this was not recommended by the engineer. The landlord apologised and said if the resident would like it to go ahead with either option, it would commence repair.
  3. The resident was unhappy with this outcome. Therefore, on 15 December 2021, the landlord issued its stage two complaint response which reiterated its previous stance.
  4. The resident remains unhappy with the options available, and therefore raised a complaint to this Service.

Assessment and findings

  1. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies repair obligations for landlords. It states the following:

“In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor — to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes).”

  1. This is also stipulated in Section 10.1 of the landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy, which says the landlord has a duty to carry out repairs pertaining to the structure and exterior of the property.
  2. The resident’s tenancy agreement states the landlord is responsible for the following:

The landlord is responsible for repair to the structure and exterior of the property, the main services within it and those parts of the building used in common with other tenants.

The landlord will also carry out internal repairs to the fixtures and fittings. The landlord has the right to repair, at your expense, any damage caused by your wilful act or neglect or that of any person you have living in or visiting your home.

  1. As the gable and brickwork is considered part of the structure of the property, the landlord would be responsible for ensuring a suitable repair of the property under the Act.
  2. This Service has considered the landlord’s actions when the resident informed it of the issue, and whether its response was reasonable and met its repair obligations as set out above.
  3. When the resident informed the landlord of the issues in December 2019, it proceeded to arrange for inspections of the property. This concluded the resident’s property would be added to two planned maintenance schemes, however this would be for the year of 2021/22. The evidence also showed that the engineer had recommended further remedial works.
  4. The service has not seen evidence to suggest what was done during the period of December 2019 until the resident complained in May 2021. However, the resident confirmed to this Service that during this period the landlord had visited the property multiple times and was considering how best to proceed.
  5. Whilst this Service recognises the length of time this issue has been present since the resident made the landlord aware, it has not seen evidence to suggest the landlord caused unnecessary delays.  Given the nature of the works required, it was appropriate to include them in its programme of planned works, and it then later gave the resident options as to how it could proceed. It is also worth noting that during this period from March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was prevalent and may have resulted in delays to service. It is the Ombudsman’s view that during this period the landlord was being proactive in attempting to resolve the matter.
  6. Following a complaint from the resident in 2021, the landlord had arranged for further inspections of the property.  The evidence shows that after an inspection with a structural engineer, the landlord made the resident aware of the two options it could proceed with to repair the damage to the property.
  7. The evidence shows that after the resident expressed that she did not feel either option was suitable, as she had been informed by a contractor that the work could be carried out to the gable end by removing the outhouse roof, doing the repairs to the wall and then replacing the timber roof to the outhouse, the landlord proceeded to seek further advice to see if it could be repaired the way the resident wanted. It obtained a report from the structural engineer who stated that would not be a recommendable solution as full access to the lower end of the gable wall was required to fully repair the distortion to the gable end. The engineer also stated that at the current time they had no imminent concerns over structural stability, however the landlord would be unable to resolve the resident’s complaint about distortion without demolishing the outhouse.
  8. This Service understands that the resident is unhappy with the options which the landlord has provided. However, our main consideration is if the landlord is following its obligations and has acted reasonably in the circumstances , based on the information available to it.
  9. Based on a review of the law and the landlord’s’ policies there is no evidence to show that the landlord is obligated to make the repair in the way the resident is insisting.
  10. This is because the landlord’s decision has been made after it inspected the property. It is entitled to rely on the professional opinion of its staff and contractors in its decision–making, and the obtaining of a further opinion was positive, and customer focused. There is no evidence for any failings in the way the landlord’s decision-making was made, particularly since this was based on professional opinions. In addition, the resident does not appear to have provided any evidence (such as a professional opinion) that contradicts the professional opinions on which the landlord’s decisions are based. This Service acknowledges that the landlord has been considerate to the resident’s concerns about needing the outhouse for storage and it offered to put a shed in the rear garden to accommodate this.
  11. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the landlord as freeholder has ultimate discretion about such matters if it has considered these in a reasonable way, and overall, the landlord’s handling of the matter was fair and reasonable and in line with this Service’s Dispute Resolution Principles.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with Paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about issues with the gable end of their home.

Reasons

  1. The landlord has been proactive and is taking steps to try to resolve the issue in a reasonable way. It has provided the resident with options that are fair given the circumstances. These are based on the inspections it has arranged and the advice it has received from a structural engineer.
  2. Whilst the Ombudsman notes that the resident would like a different solution to those offered by the landlord, it has taken professional advice and then based its response on that advice.  The Ombudsman is satisfied that the landlord’s response has been reasonable in order to try to resolve matters and it has acted in line with its repair obligations. While it is acknowledged that this is not the outcome sought by the resident, there is no evidence of service failure by the landlord and the options it has offered are considered to be appropriate in the circumstances.

Orders and Recommendations

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should now write to the resident to confirm if it is still willing to offer the options previously set out in its letter of 22 November 2021 and ask the resident to confirm how she would like to proceed within three weeks.  Given that the landlord had previously advised the resident that the property would be included in its planned programme of roof replacements, it should also confirm in this letter what the current situation with any planned roof works is.