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Haringey Council (202003505)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202003505

Haringey Council

11 January 2021


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 response to the resident’s reports of a leak coming from the property above her own.

Jurisdiction

  1. What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments regarding her medical conditions mentioned in the initial formal complaint. However, this Service is unable to draw conclusions of the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing, although the Housing Ombudsman has considered the general distress and inconvenience which the situation has caused the resident.
  3. The resident may be able to make a personal injury claim against the landlord if she considers that her health has been affected by the landlord’s actions. This is a legal process and the resident should seek independent legal advice if she wants to pursue this option. The Ombudsman is unable to give legal advice and therefore this Service cannot comment on this matter further.
  4. This is in accordance with Paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more affective to seek remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure.
  5. It is noted that the resident has advised that the leak restarted in July 2020. It is the Ombudsman’s opinion that this would constitute a separate complaint and should be pursued with the landlord accordingly. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s response to the current leak, she should raise a further complaint with the landlord. This Service can, on occasions, look at events after the complaint is brought to us; but because this was reported approximately seven months after a permanent repair had been completed, this would not be within our jurisdiction to consider at this point. However, it is recommended that the landlord reviews the situation and considers paying further compensation if the problems in the resident’s property have not been resolved. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the recent leak, she has the right to make another complaint regarding this and to approach the Ombudsman if the landlord does not resolve the complaint to her satisfaction.

Background and summary of events

Background

  1. This is a secure tenancy agreement between the resident and the landlord.
  2. The property is a flat and forms part of a building with similar properties. The neighbour’s property, in which the leak is said to be coming from, is situated above the resident’s property.

Summary of Events

  1. The resident had previously reported multiple leaks on 22 August 2018, 19 October 2018 and 25 October 2018; repair works had been done to the resident’s property on 18 September 2018 as well as on 24 and 31 October 2018. The leak had reoccurred again on 12 August 2019.
  2. The resident made a formal complaint via email on 13 August 2019 regarding the landlord’s handling of her reports of a leak into her property. She said the leak had been emerging from the neighbour’s property above her own. The resident said that the leak had been an ongoing issue since 2018 and that, at present, there were multiple leaks in her bedroom, bathroom, toilet and storeroom. She stated that the leaks were “uncontrollable” and she did not have enough buckets to contain all of the water. She requested that the landlord stop the water supply upstairs and find the source of the leak so that a permanent repair could be completed, as this was causing “great strain” to her and her family.
  3. The resident also stated that she noticed the latest leak coming from the bedroom at 1:30am on 12 August 2019. She said that she contacted the landlord for an emergency call out on 12 August 2019 where a plumber was due to arrive within a four-hour time band; however, this was not fulfilled within the correct timeframe. She had made numerous phone calls in the morning of 12 August 2019 to chase up on the emergency call out, and the resident was given the same answer each time: that a plumber would be out within a four-hour timeframe.
  4. The resident said that an electrician arrived at 11:00am on 12 August 2019 to disable the lights in the bedroom and a plumber arrived around 11:40am (outside of the four-hour timeframe) to discover that the leak was coming from the neighbour’s property.
  5. The resident said she then called the landlord at 3:30pm on 12 August 2019 for an update only to be told that the job was not complete. The resident stated that the leak severity increased as it started to leak in the bathroom as well as the bedroom; there was no specific time mentioned as to when the resident noticed the leak in the bathroom. The resident received a missed call (presumably from the landlord) and then called in again to explain the severity of the leak; however, the resident said she was told that the information would be emailed to the relevant team internally. There were no specific timeframes as to when the resident would hear back from the landlord after the issues had been emailed to the senior office team.
  6. The resident explained that she called in for an emergency appointment again (no specific time or date mentioned) due to the leak spreading; a plumber attended the neighbour’s property but the neighbour refused access. The resident then stated that she called the landlord again and the operator she spoke to could not find information regarding the repairs. This caused further frustration on the resident’s side resulting in her asking to speak to a manager to escalate the issue, yet she said that this request was refused.
  7. The resident stated that a plumber mentioned that the remedy for the leak was for the neighbour to change their bath and taps yet this remedy had not been actioned. This was then later on explained to be incorrect information as stated in the final response letter.
  8. An operative visited the neighbour’s property on 15 August 2019 to stop the leak; this was done by disconnecting the shower hose in the neighbour’s property. Whilst this temporarily fixed the issue, the landlord was not responsible for repairing the issue, as the bathroom unit was installed by the neighbour resulting in them holding full responsibility to repair the leakage issue; this is in accordance with the landlord’s Repairs Handbook which says “We are not responsible for anything you installed yourself”.
  9. The neighbour had not taken the advice and did not resolve the matter resulting in the resident experiencing more leaks in her property. Due to this, the landlord decided to carry out the works in order to remedy the leak.
  10. The landlord issued its stage one complaint response on 28 August 2019, in which the landlord concluded that there was service failure and apologised for the inconvenience the resident had experienced. The landlord stated that the leak was stopped on 15 August 2019 and advised the resident to contact the landlord’s repair team to repair water-damaged areas once it had dried out. The landlord awarded compensation of £10 to the resident for the delayed appointment regarding the emergency call out on 12 August 2019. The lessons learned in the stage one complaint response was that ‘operatives [were] to call residents before leaving site when they cannot gain access to a property following a booked appointment’.
  11. The resident reported another leak on 12 September 2019. The landlord sent a plumber who attended on 13 September 2019; however, the leak was not resolved. According to the landlord’s final response letter, this was due to the shower being reconnected before repair works were done.
  12. On 3 October 2019, the resident had reported a power cut as well as the ceiling dampness due to the leak. An electrician attended the property on 4 October 2019 to rectify the electrical issue.
  13. The resident repeatedly reported more water leakages on 5 October 2019; a plumber attended on 5 October 2019 and advised the neighbour that the taps and panel needed replacing as the water leaks from the taps into the resident’s property whenever the neighbour connects the shower.
  14. The resident called the landlord for an update on 10 October 2019 and was told the work would be completed on 10 October 2019; the resident was also told that she could call an electrician once the wet areas had dried out. In the meantime, the resident did not have lighting in the property.
  15. The resident called the landlord on 15 October 2019 for an update. The landlord stated that the records for the works completed on 10 October 2019 could not be found.
  16. The resident escalated the complaint on 17 October 2019 as she remained dissatisfied and attached pictures showing the damaged areas affected by the leak.
  17. The landlord stated that on 19 October 2019 the toilet ceiling had dried out and it was safe to reinstate the lights; this was assessed by an operative.
  18. On 29 October 2019, the repair works for the lights in the resident’s property had been completed.
  19. A job to replace the existing extractor fan was booked in for 2 December 2019. This work was completed on 3 December 2019.
  20. The necessary repair works to the neighbour’s property had been carried out on 29 and 30 October 2019 and this was reported to have resolved the issue.
  21. A surveyor inspected the property for damage, but the date of this inspection was not provided to this Service; the landlord had also arranged a follow-up appointment with a decorator scheduled for 15 January 2020; this was to repair and decorate the water-damaged areas to the toilet, bathroom, passage, living room and storage areas. On 17 February 2020, an operative attended the resident’s property and carried out decorative works to the ceiling and walls in two separate rooms.
  22. In the landlord’s final complaint response, the landlord concluded that the repair works carried out to the neighbour’s home stopped any further water ingress and an appointment had been booked for 15 January 2020 to repair any water-damaged areas to the toilet, bathroom, passage, living room and storage areas. The landlord admitted to service failure and apologised for its failings as detailed in its stage one complaint response.
  23. The resident remained dissatisfied as she believed the landlord should have done more to ensure access was granted when appointments were booked with the neighbour upstairs. According to the resident, the leakage had not been fully resolved.

Assessment and findings

  1. The Tenancy Agreement states that the landlord is responsible for the structure of the building, including any installations for the provision of water, electricity, the ceiling, walls, doors and windows. This also includes any water pipes.
  2. In the landlord’s Repairs Handbook, it states that if there is a leak present, the landlord will agree a time to come around to the resident’s property and carry out any repairs identified as necessary to fix the leak. Other obligations stated in the Repairs Handbook include repair and sustainment of walls, ceilings and roofs are the responsibility of the landlord. It also stated that the landlord is not responsible for anything installed by a tenant.
  3. The landlord’s Repairs Handbook also states that repair appointments are categorised into four categories, these are:
  1. Out of hours, which does not have a specific time scale mentioned in the landlord’s Repair Handbook.
  2. Emergency repairs, which refers to putting a person at risk; therefore, the landlord will have to attend the property within twenty-four hours of the initial report of the repair issue. These repairs include burst pipes or major water leaks.
  3. Agreed appointment repairs relate to anything which can be completed in a single visit, this is usually attended within 28 days of the resident reporting the issue.
  4. Planned appointments are for repairs jobs that have to be pre-inspected; this pre-inspection can occur within 28 days of the report of the repair but there is no specific time frame mentioned for when the repair will be carried out for planned appointments.
  1. In accordance with the landlord’s Repair Handbook, it was the landlord’s obligation to attend the leak within a twenty-four-hour timeframe as it was considered an emergency repair. In this case, the landlord responded to the leak within twenty-four hours and completed a temporary fix. Despite the apparent delay in attending the resident’s property when she first reported the leak on 12 August 2019, the landlord did attend the property within the prescribed twenty-four-hour timeframe for emergency repairs.  However, the landlord acknowledged its failings surrounding the emergency call out when the operative did not attend as stated in the resident’s phone calls to the landlord, which was supposed to be within four hours.  To put matters right, the landlord apologised for the error and awarded £10.00 compensation for the missed appointment. This is a reasonable amount as it in line with amounts awarded in similar cases and industry best practice for missed appointments. The Ombudsman is satisfied that the landlord adhered to its obligations, and where service failure was identified, it provided adequate redress.
  2. In regard to the landlord’s handling of the leak after the temporary fix, the landlord was obliged to repair any water damaged areas to the resident’s home affected by the leak. The landlord can also take measures to force entry into the neighbour’s property in order to repair the leak. However, the landlord will not repair fixtures or fittings installed by tenants themselves. This is in accordance with the landlord’s Repair Handbook and the Tenancy Agreement.
  3. The landlord’s operatives found the source of the leak on 15 August 2019, which was coming from the neighbour’s property. As the source of the leak was due to a shower hose which the neighbour had installed, the landlord correctly advised the neighbour it was their responsibility to repair. Unfortunately, the neighbour did not comply with these instructions and as a result the resident experienced more leaks. The landlord therefore decided to complete the repair itself in order to resolve the issue. This was reasonable as the landlord had given the neighbour reasonable opportunity to resolve the leak themselves before intervening.
  4. In light of the above, despite the obvious inconvenience and stress caused to the resident, the landlord acted accordingly in line with its Tenancy Agreement and Repairs Policy; the landlord carried out a temporary fix and advised the neighbour of their responsibility to complete the repair which was in line with its obligations. Moreover, once it was evident that the neighbour was not compliant, it took it upon itself to fix the leak by carrying out the permanent repair on 29 and 30 October 2019. Furthermore, the landlord arranged for the damage caused to the property by the leak to be repaired. This was reasonable as the landlord adhered to its obligations of repairing the ceiling and walls which was in line with the landlord’s Tenancy Agreement and repairs responsibilities.

Determination (decision)

  1.  In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its  response to the resident’s reports of a leak coming from the property above her own.

Reasons

  1. The Ombudsman agrees that the landlord had acknowledged its service failure and offered appropriate redress for its failings;
  1. The landlord issued £10.00 compensation for the missed appointment and apologised for its failings.
  2. It carried out a temporary fix within the twenty-four-hour response time frame
  3. It informed the neighbour the correct advice and repairs obligations and when the neighbour did not comply, the landlord took the appropriate action to complete the repairs.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord is to arrange an inspection of the recent leak as well as any damaged areas caused by the leak and provide this Service and the resident with an update of the findings. The landlord should complete all the remedial works required within the timescales set out in the landlord’s Repairs procedure.