Great Places Housing Association (202225584)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202225584

Great Places Housing Association

25 April 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:
1. Handling of a leak from the resident’s boiler.
2. Response to the resident’s report of no hot water and heating in her property.

Background

The resident lives in a 2-bedroom terraced house and holds an assured tenancy with the landlord.
The resident contacted the landlord on 26 December 2022 to advise there was a leak from her boiler and she had no heating or hot water.
On 10 January 2023, the resident raised a formal complaint. She was unhappy with the level of service from the landlord in response to a leak and her reports of no heating and hot water. She reported that her family had not been able to wash or heat the property since the boiler stopped working.
On 1 February 2023 the landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response. In summary it said:
1. It failed to attend to an emergency repair for the leak on 27 December 2022.
2. A contractor did not leave a calling card after an attempted visit on 5 January 2023.
3. The landlord stopped the leak on 7 January 2023 following the resident reporting the leak coming through her ceiling.
4. The hot water and heating were reinstated after a new boiler was fitted on 12 January 2023.
5. The resident was without heating and hot water for 17 days. The contractor failed to flag this following the initial visit.
6. It offered the resident £150 for its poor communication.
The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 on 2 February 2023. She said that her family lived in uncomfortable and unhygienic conditions for 17 days. She requested compensation in the range of £1,000 as she felt this would be the price range the landlord would have paid if her family were decanted into temporary accommodation during this time.
The landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response on 9 March 2023. It answered questions raised by the resident and acknowledged delays when responding to the leak and boiler breakdown. It said the resident could be reimbursed if she kept receipts of her energy costs from the temporary heaters, but she declined this. It offered no additional compensation.
The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 26 April 2023. She advised that her family experienced emotional and physical stress whilst the repairs were outstanding. She does not feel the compensation offered is reflective of the detriment caused for the period her family was without heating and hot water. To resolve the complaint, she is seeking additional compensation and an apology from the landlord.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

The resident raised issues about damp and mould to the landlord following the leak. However, the Ombudsman notes that this is being addressed through a separate complaint with the landlord. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence that this matter has exhausted the landlord’s complaints process. As such, the investigation will not consider the landlord’s response to reports of damp and mould in the property. This is in accordance with paragraph 42a of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which says the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which in his opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure.

The landlord’s handling of a leak from the resident’s boiler

The landlord’s repair policy categorises its repairs service as: emergency (within 24 hours) and routine (within 20 working days).
The landlord logged and attended the property within its emergency timeframe after the leak was initially reported. However, the contractor was unable to stop the leak as it identified a plumber was required. In such circumstances, the Ombudsman would expect the landlord to prioritise arranging for a plumber to attend.
On the following day, the resident chased the landlord and requested for a plumber to attend. In response, the landlord logged the matter as an emergency. However, records show it failed to attend. Given the urgency of the ongoing leak, the landlord’s lack of action was unacceptable. The resident incurred time and trouble chasing. The matter was exacerbated by the landlord not providing any updates or explanations to the resident.
The landlord continued to fail to attend to the leak in the following days despite having recorded it as an emergency. It took the landlord a total of 12 days to stop the leak from the resident’s boiler. It did not adhere to its policy timescales or consider the impact of the ongoing leak on the resident. As such, the landlord is recommended to review this incident to identify why it did not respond to the emergency report and ensure its process when responding to emergency repairs is robust.
The Ombudsman notes that the resident did not chase up the landlord about the leak between 30 December 2022 until 7 January 2023. This suggests that the impact from the leak was not significant.
The landlord attended the property after the resident chased up the repair on 7 January 2023. It was positive that on this occasion the landlord attended within 24 hours. A contractor turned off the isolation valve on the cold mains which stopped the leak.
Overall, whilst the Ombudsman does not underestimate the inconvenience caused to the resident due to the landlord’s lack of action to stop the leak, the delays were not significant. Further, records suggest the resident did not experience a significant impact due to the landlord’s delays.
The landlord awarded the resident £150 compensation for its poor communication. The landlord did not clarify how this award was divided between its handling of the leak and its response to the resident’s reports of no hot water and heating. However, the Ombudsman considers it reasonable to reflect the landlord’s poor communication and the time and trouble incurred by the resident chasing. In accordance with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, this level of compensation is appropriate to reflect a failure which adversely affected the resident but where there was no permanent impact.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of no hot water and heating in her property

The landlord’s repairs policy outlines that a total loss of heating and/or hot water for all tenants during the winter period (between 31 October until 1 May) is categorised as an emergency repair.
Its compensation policy states that increased electricity costs incurred by residents as a result of a gas heating failure will be reimbursed in full on production of valid receipts.
A contractor initially attended to the heating and hot water outage on the same day as the report. During this appointment, they reset the boiler which did not resolve the matter. The contractor identified that the boiler required replacement parts. The Ombudsman notes that it can take more than 1 visit to complete repairs, particularly if parts are required to be ordered. In such circumstances, landlords should communicate regularly with residents to keep them updated on progress.
The resident incurred time and trouble chasing up boiler repairs with the landlord throughout the rest of December 2022. The landlord cancelled an appointment on 28 December 2022 without providing an explanation to the resident. The Ombudsman identified missed opportunities for the landlord to update the resident or advise when the boiler parts were due in. This was unacceptable.
The landlord left temporary electric heaters with the resident immediately after it identified the resident had no heating. Although this was appropriate, it is unclear what informed its decision to provide 2 heaters. The resident advised the landlord that the heaters provided did not sufficiently warm up one room. The Ombudsman would expect the landlord to have assessed the household’s circumstances to ensure there were sufficient temporary heaters for the property whilst the boiler was not functioning. There is no evidence that this was considered.
The landlord recorded a visit on 5 January 2023 as no access which the resident disputed. In accordance with the landlord’s repairs policy, when attending appointments, it commits to phone residents in advance to confirm availability, contact residents when at the property if no answer, and leave a calling card if no response. According to records, the landlord failed to adhere to any of these steps.
However, it was appropriate that the landlord acknowledged in its complaint response that its contractor failed to leave a calling card following its visit on 5 January 2023. It said it would remind contractors of its process and ensure they carry enough calling cards in future when attending properties. It was positive that the landlord evidenced learning from this failing.
The landlord replaced boiler parts on 9 and 10 January 2023. However, this did not resolve the heating and hot water outage. The landlord identified that a new boiler was required to resolve the matter. It was replaced on 12 January 2023.
It is concerning that when a gas manager reviewed the complaint, they said that the boiler, “should have been referred for replacement on the initial visit based on its age and condition”. The review confirmed that the contractor failed to correctly log that the property was without heating and hot water and the system therefore did not flag that a replacement boiler was required. This caused unnecessary delays for the heating and hot water to be reinstated. Although the landlord identified this in its complaint response, it failed to acknowledge the inconvenience this caused to the resident.
The Ombudsman notes that delays to replace the boiler were not significant. However, the resident described detriment caused to her and her family during the 17-day period she was without heating and hot water. She reported that her family stayed in one room with electric heaters to try to keep warm, were unable to wash, and became unwell due to the cold temperatures. The landlord failed to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident during this time. The landlord’s response fell short, and the resident informed the Ombudsman that she feels the landlord has not taken accountability of its failings. As such, a senior member of the landlord is ordered to provide a written apology to the resident.
The landlord said in its stage 2 response that it offered to reimburse the resident if she retained receipts of her increased energy costs from the heaters. It added that the resident declined to do this. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence of this being offered or declined. It was insufficient that the landlord did not award any compensation for the loss of heating and hot water. Due to the above failings and lack of action to put things right, the Ombudsman has identified maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of no hot water or heating.
The “Right to Repair” legislation covers small, urgent repairs up to the value of £250. The framework sets out compensation applicable 2 days after unresolved heating and hot water issues as follows:
1. Loss of heating between 31 October and 30 April: £10 plus £2 per day until heating is restored.
2. Loss of hot water: £10 plus £2 per day until hot water is reinstated if there was no other method to provide hot water within the property.
To account for the 16 days from 28 December 2022 (2 days after the unresolved heating and hot water) until 12 January 2023, the landlord is ordered to compensate the resident £84 comprised of £42 for loss of heating and £42 for loss of hot water.
To put things right for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s delay to reinstate the resident’s loss of heating and hot water, the landlord is ordered to compensate the resident £250. In addition, to account for its poor communication with the resident (including a lack of updates and failure to follow its process when attending to appointments), it is ordered to compensate a further £100.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was reasonable redress regarding the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of a leak from her boiler.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water in her property.

Orders

A senior member of the landlord must apologise to the resident for its failings over the 17-day period when the resident was without heating and hot water in her property.
The landlord is ordered to compensate the resident £434 comprised of:
1. £84 based on “Right to Repair” for a 16-day period (£42 for loss of heating and £42 for loss of hot water).
2. £250 to account for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s failures to reinstate the heating and hot water in a timely manner.
3. £100 to account for the landlord’s poor communication with the resident, including failure to provide updates and follow its process when attending to appointments.
The landlord should provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks from the date of the report.

Recommendations

If it has not already been paid, the landlord is recommended to re-offer the resident £150 compensation for its poor communication with the resident when responding to the leak.
The landlord is recommended to review its response to the emergency report of the leak on 27 December 2022. It should reflect on why the repair was not attended to until 7 January 2023, and how it can ensure it responds to emergency repairs within its prescribed timescales for future reports.