Hammersmith and Fulham Council (202202575)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202202575

Hammersmith and Fulham Council

21 October 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 reports of faulty windows by the resident.

Background

2. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
3. Some of the repair records provided by the landlord are incomplete. Some of the repair information set out in this report is taken from the resident’s own correspondence and comments.
4. The landlord’s records show that a repair was raised on 10 December 2019 to correct the gaps around the resident’s windows, which were letting cold air in. Another repair was raised on 21 January 2020 for the same issue. The repair notes state that a contractor attended on 30 February 2020. The resident says he was advised that the windows were beyond repair and a work order would be raised to replace them. There is no further evidence of any work being carried out until another inspection took place in June 2021, when signs of damp and mould were also found. Subsequently, a work order was raised to repair the windows. However, the parts required to complete the repair were no longer available.
5. There is no further evidence of communication or action from the landlord until the resident made contact in February and March 2022, chasing a post-inspection update following the visit in July 2021. The landlord’s records dated 21 April 2022 state that the windows would not be replaced; instead, they needed to be repaired. Another inspection was done on the windows on 16 May 2022, wherein the attending contractor advised it was “out of their scope”, and glazing specialists would be needed. In addition, the contractor said that new windows would potentially be required. The landlord sent a contractor on 9 June 2022, who advised that this was the fourth job they had attended at the property, that all the windows were draughty, and no further repairs could be completed. They did, however, manage to get the windows shutting better.
6. The resident complained on 28 March 2022 about the length of time it had taken to resolve the faulty windows, that there had been missed appointments, and that the situation had impacted his mental health and his children’s wellbeing.  As a resolution, the resident wanted the windows either fixed or replaced.
7. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint and acknowledged that there had been delays in resolving the issue, no communication following the inspection in July 2021, and an overall lack of communication throughout the whole process, making the resident’s experience frustrating and inconvenient. In an attempt to resolve the resident’s issue, it also arranged for the windows to be reassessed, with an appointment booked for 16 May 2022. The landlord offered £100 compensation, which it increased to £400 in its stage two response; a final offer of £600 compensation was made via email.
8. The resident brought his complaint to this Service, explaining that he wanted the windows repaired or replaced and the compensation offer increased, given the length of time the landlord had taken to resolve the issue. Also, according to the landlord, it attended the property on two separate occasions, once on 16 May and 9 June 2022 as explained above. Both of which were after the internal complaints process had been exhausted.

Assessment and findings

9. When there are repairs or replacements needed to windows, they can sometimes fall into the category of major (also known as planned) works rather than a routine repair. In those cases, the time needed to complete the work can vary widely, depending on the nature and complexity of the repair issue, and also sometimes on the landlord’s work plans and scheduling. Landlords still have an ongoing obligation to keep their properties in a good and habitable condition even when the final repairs are delayed by circumstances. During a delayed repair, basic good practice is for a landlord to manage their tenants’ expectations, keep them informed, and show by its actions that it is taking reasonable steps to complete the repairs.  
10. The evidence suggests that the landlord’s contractors failed to repair at every attempt, and explained, at every attempt, that the windows needed to be replaced (rather than repaired). Although it was the landlord’s decision on how it proceeded, nothing in the evidence explains why it continued to send contractors to repair when they had fed back that the windows were beyond repair. Its actions in doing so unnecessarily added to the resident’s frustration and inconvenience, and appear to be one of the main causes for the significant delay resolving the issues the resident was experiencing.
11. Adding to the ongoing delay was the landlord’s repeated inspections of the windows. The landlord’s internal records show that on one occasion a contractor declined the landlord’s order to inspect again given that they had already done so the previous year. On another occasion, when a component needed for the repair was no longer available, there was no follow up by the landlord or contractor, leaving the issue outstanding and unresolved. Overall, the handling of the window problems was significantly delayed and poorly communicated.
12. In its complaint responses the landlord fully acknowledged how poor its service had been, and that the delay and poor communication had caused a great deal of inconvenience and frustration to the resident. It apologised, offered £600 compensation, and explained the steps it would be taking to complete the repairs (albeit requiring a further assessment of the windows). The repair records and the resident’s complaints clearly and vividly document how badly the issue was impacting on him and his family, physically, mentally, and financially (in terms of increased heating costs). The landlord did not directly refer to these impacts in its complaint responses, but did apologise multiple times for the poor service and the effect on him. However, the fact remains that at the time of the landlord’s final complaint response in May 2022, the window problems had not been resolved, two and a half years after they had first been reported.
13. Recent information provided by the resident indicates that following its final complaint response the landlord continued to seek repairs to the windows, and continued receiving feedback from its contractors that further repairs were not possible. The issue therefore appears to still be unresolved, and, if so, at the time of this report is now nearly three years old. In these circumstances, the remedies offered by the landlord may have been reasonable at the time they were offered, if the problems had then been resolved shortly afterwards. However, given that the problems appear not to have been fixed, the remedies the landlord previously offered were not enough to suitably resolve the complaint now.

Determination

14. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of the complaint.

Orders

15. While the landlord took reasonable steps to acknowledge its poor service and impact on the resident, the scale of the delay and nature of the still-incomplete repair work mean that further action and compensation is required. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £300 compensation to reflect the ongoing multiple impacts on him and his family. This payment must be made within four weeks of the date of this report.
16. This payment is in addition to the £600 the landlord has already offered, which should also now be paid, if it has not already been.
17. The delay resolving this repair issue is a serious matter. Within five weeks the landlord must either:
    1. Confirm to this Service (with evidence) that the repairs issue has been completely resolved; or:
    2. Commit to a plan of action to fully resolve the issue within eight weeks of this report. If an eight-week deadline is not feasible or possible, the landlord must explain its interim plan to address the current problems with the windows in the short term, until full repairs can be affected. If necessary, the landlord should consult with the resident to decide what interim options may be available to mitigate the effect of the outstanding repairs, until they are finally resolved.