Greatwell Homes Limited (202009209)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202009209

Greatwell Homes Limited

8 April 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 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 management transfer.
    2. The resident’s requests for adaptations to the property.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. The resident applied to the landlord for a management transfer in February 2020, with supporting evidence provided by support and social services regarding domestic violence at her former home from December 2019 onwards. The management transfer was granted by it, and she subsequently moved into a new property in October 2020. In correspondence with this Service, the resident said that she was dissatisfied with the time taken for the management transfer to be completed, the condition of the new property, and the required adaptations to the new property for this to be suitable for her children with autism. We then contacted the landlord about this on 12 March 2021 and it raised a stage one complaint.
  3. The landlord issued its stage one response on 25 March 2021. It said that, due to the resident’s specific requests for the location and size of the new property, it had taken a long time to find a suitable property, and the necessary void works to this were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which it regularly updated her on. The landlord stated that, as a result of the delay, it had paid for the locks to be changed at the former property, to ensure her safety. It said that it had discussed the resident’s adaptation requests for her new property over the telephone, and that a surveyor would attend about this once the lockdown restrictions were lifted. The landlord also stated that it could consider a disabled facilities grant to pay for the adaptations based on an assessment and recommendation by an occupational therapist (OT).
  4. The resident escalated her complaint to the final stage of the landlord’s complaints procedure on 25 March 2021, as she was dissatisfied that she had not been given an apology or compensation for the delay in the management transfer by it. She reiterated that she required adaptations and repairs to support her children’s needs. In the landlord’s final stage complaint response to the resident of 22 April 2021, it said that it was unable to facilitate the installation of the sensory room, downstairs bathroom, or remodelling of the stairs that she had requested, but it recommended that she apply for funds under the local authority’s disabled facilities grant for these.
  5. The landlord again informed the resident that she would require an OT assessment and recommendation in order to obtain a disabled facilities grant, and it advised her to discuss this with her social worker. It signposted her to useful resources, including funding sources, to support her situation. The landlord stated that it could not facilitate additional electrical sockets, removal of the gas meter or underfloor heating that the resident had asked for either, but that she could request permission for and complete the works for these herself. It also said it had raised the necessary repairs that she had requested to make good and box-in exposed pipework, and to check and repair ventilation plates and internal doors.
  6. In her complaint to this Service, the resident said that she remained dissatisfied that she had been signposted to an OT, as this did not guarantee that the requested adaptations would be completed, and that she had concerns regarding the cost of the work if she completed this herself. She also stated that she had not received an apology or compensation from the landlord for the delay in actioning the management transfer, and she later reported having financial difficulties and seeking heating, green energy, lighting, flooring, door, bathroom, kitchen, fireplace, loft, utility meter, garden, wiring and damp works at the property. The landlord then confirmed to us that it had arranged to fit additional electrical sockets there, referred her to an OT and written off her debt for rechargeable repairs at her former home.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. As the landlord’s final stage complaint response to the resident was followed by her advising us of further issues with her finances and the condition of the property, these matters are outside the scope of this investigation. This is because, under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this Service cannot investigate aspects of a complaint which have not exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure, as it needs to be given the opportunity to formally respond these first, and there is no evidence that it has done so yet in respect of the further issues.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s management transfer

  1. Following evidence of domestic violence from her ex-partner provided by support and social services from December 2019 onwards, the landlord granted a management transfer to the resident after her application for one in February 2020, after which she moved in October 2020. She was dissatisfied that it had not apologised or offered her compensation for the length of time that it took for the management transfer to take place.
  2. Under the landlord’s allocations policy, management transfers are granted at its discretion for individual circumstances requiring lettings outside of its established policy, in exceptional circumstances including to flee violence or significant harm. It is required to seek independent evidence from partner agencies and other professionals to highlight the need for such transfers, but it does not have guidelines outlining how long these will take. The landlord offered a reasonable explanation in its stage one complaint response as to why the resident’s management transfer was delayed as, due to the limited availability of properties and the specific location and property size requests made by the resident, it took several months to identify a suitable property.
  3. The void works to enable the resident to move to the new property were then also delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions, which was not unreasonable as the landlord had to abide by Government guidelines on these that were beyond its control. It therefore acted appropriately by providing regular updates to her in August and September 2020 regarding the progress of the works. As a result of the delay, the landlord implemented interim measures until the management transfer could be completed, by changing the locks at the resident’s former home to ensure that her ex-partner could not gain access there.
  4. Overall, the landlord handled the resident’s management transfer appropriately, as it considered evidence from support and social services for her request for this in accordance with its allocations policy, and it granted her transfer in light of the evidence supporting this. It also informed her of the reasons for the subsequent delay in the transfer that were outside of its control, made her former home safe in the meantime, and provided her with updates on the void works necessary for her to complete the transfer. The landlord was therefore not obliged to apologise or offer compensation to the resident for this, as there was no evidence of failure on its part in respect of its handling of her management transfer.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for adaptations to the property

  1. The resident’s tenancy agreement states that the landlord will consider requests for adaptations to the property on a case–by–case basis. Furthermore, its adaptations policy states that, if the cost of an adaptation is estimated to exceed £1,000, an OT assessment is required, and major works will be considered by the disabled facilities grant.
  2. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s concerns regarding her children’s wellbeing and requirements, and considered her adaptation requests in line with its adaptations policy, when it was informed about this from March 2021 onwards. Due to the scope of the requested works, which included converting the loft into another bedroom, installing a downstairs bathroom and installing a sensory room, it was reasonable to find that the adaptation works that she had asked for would exceed £1,000. This is particularly in light of the resident reporting that an independent builder had told her that these would cost at least £30,000, and the landlord finding that similar projects had cost approximately £50,000. As a result, it was appropriate, and in line with its policy, for the landlord to signpost the resident to an OT assessment in March 2021.
  3. The landlord informed this Service that it does not employ an OT, and so it was therefore appropriate for it to advise the resident to discuss an assessment by one with her social worker in April 2021. While she had concerns regarding the outcome of an OT assessment, it was reasonable that it signposted and then referred her to one, as it was required to do so by its adaptations policy, and OTs are qualified to assess her children’s needs and recommend such adaptations as she had suggested. The landlord also signposted the resident to organisations that offered grants, in order to further support her children’s needs, which was appropriate.
  4. When the resident’s requested alterations to the property did not fall under the adaptations policy, the landlord adhered to its repairs and maintenance policy to address the relevant repairs that it was responsible for there in line with the policy. It raised a work order to make good and box-in the exposed pipework, and to inspect the ventilation plates and internal doors for damage and repair where required. The landlord also explained that the resident could request permission to complete the further improvements that she had asked for herself, in line with the tenancy agreement that allowed her to do so with its permission that would not be unreasonably withheld.
  5. This included the installation of additional electrical sockets that the landlord,  due to the delay in the OT assessment, agreed to install itself as a gesture of goodwill, together with writing the resident’s debt for rechargeable repairs at her former home. It was appropriate it addressed her dissatisfaction with this and the other improvements that she sought at the property, which it explained were not qualifying adaptations.
  6. Overall, the landlord addressed all of the resident’s repair concerns, improvement and adaptation requests, and it acted in line with its relevant policies in doing so. It also gave her clear advice on how to proceed with the adaptations and improvements, and it referred and signposted her to an OT and relevant support organisations for these.

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 management transfer.
  2. 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 requests for adaptations to the property.

Recommendation

  1. It is recommended that the landlord contact the resident to discuss and respond to her latest requests for works at the property, and to update her on the progress of her requests for adaptations there, if it has not done so recently.