Guinness Housing Association Limited (202217670)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202217670

Guinness Housing Association Limited

30 June 2023

 

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 request for underfloor insulation.

Scope of investigation

  1. The Ombudsman is concerned to note that the resident has said that the temperature within the property has caused a detrimental effect to her health. However, it is outside of the Ombudsman’s remit to determine whether there was any direct link between any action or lack of action by the landlord and any subsequent negative impact to the resident’s health. Such issues are more appropriately considered through a court case or insurance claim. The resident may wish to seek independent legal advice if she wishes to pursue this aspect of her complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord and commenced her tenancy on 1 June 2022. The property is a first floor flat, with an underpass directly below the lounge and kitchen areas.
  2. The resident raised a stage one complaint with the landlord on 14 September 2022. She said she had become aware that there was no underfloor insulation in the property and it was excessively cold as a result. The resident considered that the property could not have passed its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment as she believed the majority of the property was uninsulated.
  3. The landlord’s stage one response to the resident on 29 September 2022 confirmed to her that the recent EPC assessment had found that there was sufficient loft and cavity wall insulation in the property. It proposed to carry out a heat loss survey to investigate the resident’s report of the excessive cold in the property.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint with the landlord on 6 October 2022, repeating that it should provide underfloor insulation in the property and disputing that the property passed an EPC assessment. She highlighted that there was empty space below part of her property which meant insulation was required. The landlord acknowledged the complaint the following day and provided a link to the EPC report. It completed the heat loss survey on 20 October 2022 which found that the heating system in the property required upgrading.
  5. The landlord issued its final response to the resident on 1 November 2022 which confirmed that it would not be installing underfloor insulation. It highlighted that the EPC rating of C achieved by the property meant that it was sufficient to meet upcoming standards and the property met the building regulations in force at the time of construction. The landlord said it would not be making any structural changes to the property but would commence the heating work on 9 November 2022.
  6. The landlord’s records showed that it completed the upgrading of the resident’s heating system on 17 November 2022. She informed the Ombudsman on 21 January 2023 that she continued to be dissatisfied and wanted the landlord to install underfloor insulation to resolve her complaint.

Assessment and findings

  1. The landlord’s tenancy agreement with the resident confirms that it is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the structure and exterior of the property. It is also responsible for the repair and maintenance of the installations in the property for the provision of space and water heating.
  2. It should be clarified that, while a landlord has an obligation to repair and maintain a property, its repairing obligation does not extend to improving a property. The introduction of an element to the property which was not already present when the property was let would be considered to be an improvement.
  3. The property did not possess underfloor insulation, and therefore the installation of this would be considered an improvement to the property. While it is understandable that the resident may expect this to be present considering the unique nature of the property, there was no obligation for the landlord to provide this.
  4. The resident has disputed that the property was insulated to current standards. There is no obligation on a landlord to bring a property in line with current building regulations, provided that the property met the building regulations in force at the time of construction. Therefore, there was no requirement for the landlord to retrospectively install insulation to a property.
  5. Notwithstanding the above, the landlord also has a responsibility to ensure that the property meets the Decent Homes Standard. An aspect of this is that the property should provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. If a landlord receives a report that a property is excessively cold, it would be expected to investigate this and satisfy itself of whether or not any works were required.
  6. In response to the resident’s report of the property being excessively cold, it was reasonable for the landlord to conduct a heat loss survey. The landlord’s records from the investigation of the complaint recorded that it did not have the facility to provide underfloor insulation, even if it chose to do so in excess of its obligations. However, carrying out a heat loss survey was an appropriate mean to identify other measures which it could take to improve the thermal comfort of the property.
  7. It is noted that the resident disputed that the EPC assessment was accurate. Unless there is evidence of an error, it is reasonable for a landlord to rely on the opinions of its appropriately qualified staff and contractors. Therefore, as there was no evidence that the EPC was incorrect, it was reasonable for it to advise the resident that the property was sufficiently insulated, based on the information it had at the time. It is noted that the landlord did not solely rely on the EPC in its consideration of the property’s warmth; it also took into account the findings of its heat loss survey. This was a reasonable approach.
  8. When the landlord’s heat loss survey identified that the property’s heating system required upgrading, it acted appropriately to arrange this. Records showed that this commenced on 9 November 2022 when it installed a new boiler and upsized six radiators. While this was not the resolution sought by the resident, this was a reasonable solution on the landlord’s part to address the excessive cold she reported.
  9. Overall, there was no evidence of a failure by the landlord; it acted reasonably based on the information it had and made reasonable efforts to tackle the cold conditions reported by the resident.
  10. It is noted that, after the conclusion of the complaint, the resident sought the intervention of the local authority, resulting in a damp inspection taking place on 14 April 2023. This proposed certain works which could be addressed to improve the conditions experienced by the resident. This also highlighted a potential discrepancy between its findings and the EPC. The landlord will be recommended to follow through with these recommendations to further seek to improve the situation for the resident. It should also investigate the discrepancy with the EPC, highlighted in the damp inspection report, and carry out any remedial works which are its responsibility.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s request for underfloor insulation.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord is recommended to:
    1. Follow through with the recommendations arising from the damp inspection on 14 April 2023.
    2. Investigate the possible discrepancy between the EPC assessment and the damp inspection, and carry out any works which are its responsibility.