Great Places Housing Association (202204457)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202204457

Great Places Housing Association

15 September 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 reports of damp in the property, and the length of time taken for remedial work to be completed.

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
3. The resident has informed this Service that she has experienced on-going issues of damp within her property. Due to the damp returning, the resident further concerns with the landlord in July 2021. The landlord has informed this Service that remedial works were carried out to the resident’s extractor fan in July 2021. Following this, an inspection of the damp was carried out in September 2021, and the landlord has advised that due to a staff member leaving the company, it resulted in delays in remedial works. The landlord has advised this Service that remedial works were due to begin on 11 November 2021, although the resident stated a contractor attended on this date to re-assess the damp. Remedial works then began on 05 January 2022, and were completed on 08 January 2022 due to the plaster needing to dry.
4. The resident contacted the landlord on 18 October 2021 to advise the landlord of the ongoing issues, and due to the dissatisfaction shown, the landlord recognised this as a complaint. The resident expressed dissatisfaction with the length of time the issues with damp had been ongoing, and that despite remedial works which had taken place, the issue had not yet been resolved. The resident was dissatisfied with the amount of compensation offered due to her own redecoration costs and the stress and anxiety which the situation had caused.
5. In the landlord’s complaint response, it apologised for the delays in remedial works and advised this was due to staff absence. It also advised the resident that it would ensure communication with residents would be improved going forward. The landlord offered a total compensation of £125 which consisted of £70 compensation for delays, and £55 to redecorate which could be provided either as a voucher for a specific shop or the monetary amount.
6. The resident remained dissatisfied with the level of compensation offered and escalated her complaint to this service on 06 June 2022. The resident is seeking an increase in compensation, a formal apology from the landlord and improvements in communication from the landlord.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

7. The resident has informed this Service that she has had ongoing issues with damp for the last six years in the property, although no documents were provided in relation to this. The resident has also advised that there were further issues at the end of 2020. However, there was then a gap of seven months before a report was then raised in July 2021. Under 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 incidents provide contextual background to the current complaint, this assessment focuses on events from July 2021 onward
8. The resident has informed this Service that following the repairs in January 2022, the damp returned which in turn, led to more remedial work being completed in the property. The resident states the cause of the damp was then discovered as a surveyor assessed the building next door which had previously had a leak. The resident stated that if the landlord had listened properly to her concerns about the building next door during the original complaint, she would not have suffered to the extent she did. As this is a separate issue to the complaint raised with the Service, this is not something that this Service can adjudicate on at this stage, as the landlord needs to be provided with the opportunity to investigate and respond to this aspect.
9. The resident will need to contact the landlord and, if appropriate, raise a separate complaint to get this matter resolved. This is in accordance with paragraph 39(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which says the Ombudsman will not consider complaints which in his opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint handling failure and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member has not taken action within a reasonable timescale’. It is noted that the landlord has not been given the opportunity to formally consider its subsequent response to the resident’s further reports, including whether further compensation is necessary. As such, the issues reported following the landlord’s final response will not be considered as part of this complaint, but a recommendation will be made for the landlord to do so.

Policies and Procedures

10. The repairs policy states that repairs to flooring i.e. carpets, lino etc. are the tenant’s responsibility. It also states that internal decorations are the tenant’s responsibility.
11. The repairs policy states that some repairs may affect the decoration of the home. If this happens the area will be made good following the repair. We are not able to make good access panels, hatches, ducts or ducting covered with wallpaper, tiles, carpet, wood, laminate or other finishes. In these circumstances’ customers will be advised before work is started.

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp in the property

12. The resident has informed this Service that she has had to replace her carpet and redecorate several times due to the damp. As stated in the repairs policy, the landlord is not responsible for any repairs to flooring and internal decorations, and therefore, this would be the resident’s responsibility. If this is the case, it would be appropriate for the landlord to signpost the resident to claim on her content’s insurance, the insurer is then able to determine the liability for any damages.
13.  Following the residents report of damp returning in July 2021, the landlord arranged for remedial works to be carried out on the extractor fan in the property in July 2021. Given that this was a routine repair, which in best practice, should be completed within 28 days, this was completed within an appropriate timeframe. The landlord should consider adding specific timelines to its repairs policy to provide further clarity to residents.
14.  Following this, a surveyor attended in September 2021 to assess the damp. No correspondence has been provided from either party for the period after the first visit in July and before the second visit in September. It is assumed the resident re-raised this issue as this will have prompted the need for the September visit, however from the evidence available it is not clear when the resident began re-raising the issue after the July visit. After the appointment in September, no further inspections or remedial works were raised or completed until the resident contacted the landlord in October. Whilst this timeframe was inappropriate, the landlord acknowledged this delay within its stage one response, apologised and advised it was due to a staff absence. It also informed the resident that it would ensure communication with residents was improved going forward, and therefore shows that the landlord had learnt from its previous mistake.
15.  The landlord informed the resident in its stage one response that contractors were due to attend on 12 November 2021 in order to begin remedial works, and whilst the resident also stated a contractor assessed the damp on this date, there is no evidence to suggest remedial works took place. The landlord is expected to keep robust records of its voids and repairs works. When there is a disagreement in the accounts of the resident and the Landlord with regard to the condition of the property, the onus would be on the landlord to provide documentary evidence showing how it satisfied itself that the repair work had been completed to a satisfactory standard. Because the landlord did not provide any evidence that repairs work took place in November 2021, this Service is unable to conclude whether the works were completed and to what standard.
16.  There is no dispute that remedial works did take place on 05 January 2022 and completed over a three-day period due to plaster needing to dry. Whilst the three-day delay waiting for plaster to dry is reasonable, the overall timescale and delays between September to January is not. In best practice, routine repairs would be completed within 28 days and therefore the timescale in this case considerably exceeds it. Whilst the landlord has apologised and offered a total of £125 compensation for the delays and redecoration, – The Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord in respect of its acknowledged failings in handling the resident’s complaint put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances.
17.  The landlord acted appropriately in apologising to the resident and informing her of the lessons it had learned from her complaint. It clearly recognised and accepted that its service had been poor, and the actions it took to remedy that were, with one exception, reasonable and appropriate. The exception being the level of compensation it offered to the resident. That was in line with its compensation guidance, but it was disproportionately low when the length of the repair delays is considered (September 2021 to January 2022).
18. To summarise, whilst the landlord has acknowledged its service failings such as, it’s lack of communication and the resulting delays, and it has shown that it has learnt from its mistakes and apologised, the omission of a fair and reasonable consideration of compensation was a service failure.

Determination

19.  In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp within the resident’s property and the length of time for remedial work to be completed.

Orders

20. The landlord should pay the resident £200 compensation in total for the distress and inconvenience caused by the lack of communication and delays in remedial work. This is inclusive of the £125 previously offered if it has not yet been paid.
21. This should be paid within four weeks of the date of this letter.

Recommendations

22. It is recommended that the landlord review its record-keeping processes to ensure that when a dispute in timeline occurs, it is able to provide detailed records of any remedial work and communication with residents.
23. Whilst it was outside the scope of this investigation it is recommended that the landlord investigate whether any further issues regarding the damp were appropriately dealt with, and ensures that any further remedial work has taken place, and if not to arrange for this to be completed. If there were further failings, the landlord should consider appropriate redress.