Haringey London Borough Council (202121406)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202121406

Haringey Council

11 May 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 handling of repairs to the resident’s balcony window.

Background

2. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
3. The resident contacted the landlord and made a formal complaint in May 2021. The landlord noted that the complaint concerned the resident’s faulty balcony window. It noted that the resident reported that its operatives had attended his property many times but had not resolved the issue. It also noted that the issue caused water ingress at the resident’s home, especially when it rained, which he had said caused damage to his possessions.
4. The landlord issued its stage one complaint response on 10 June 2021 and upheld the resident’s complaint. It apologised that the leaks had continued at the property despite several repair attempts by its operatives to reseal the windows. The landlord explained that it had included the resident’s property on a list to survey for window replacement, due to previous works being unsuccessful. It said at the time that, due to operating an emergency service only, the window replacement could not commence until normal service resumed. It agreed to contact the resident to arrange a survey once restrictions eased.
5. The resident contacted the landlord on 1 September 2021 to remind it that the issue had not been resolved. As the landlord was unable to obtain an update from its repairs team, it escalated his complaint on 7 September 2021.
6. The landlord issued its stage two response on 12 October 2021. It apologised for the window leak remaining unresolved, despite normal service having resumed. It reconfirmed its previous agreement, that the resident’s property would be included on a list to be surveyed for window replacement, but said it had no further updates regarding this at the time. It said a member of its staff would continue to chase this for the resident, and provided contact details for the resident to contact its staff member if he had not received an update by 18 October 2021. The landlord offered the resident £227 compensation for the delay in window works and for the time and trouble he spent trying resolve the issue. It explained that it was not able to award compensation for damage to personal items, and therefore provided the resident contact details for him to make an insurance claim via its insurance team. The landlord also provided the resident contact details for this Service, if he remained dissatisfied.
7. The resident brought his complaint to this Service, as he was unhappy that the landlord had failed to resolve the window problems. As of April 2022, the issues remained outstanding.

Assessment and findings

8. There is no dispute that the landlord is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the windows in the resident’s property.
9. The landlord has a repairs policy in which it refers to planned repairs. It describes planned repairs as being those which have to be pre-inspected, in order for larger components to be ordered and manufactured, and gives the example of renewing joinery such as windows. It states for these types of repairs, it will inspect within 28 days and inform the resident at inspection when the job will be undertaken.
10. It is sometimes the case that a landlord is not able to keep to defined timeframes for reasons outside its control. In such cases, basic good practice is for a landlord to liaise regularly with the resident to explain any difficulties and manage their expectations, and take meaningful steps to resolve the repair issue as quickly as possible. In this case, the landlord did not keep the resident informed, nor arrange for repair work to be carried out within a reasonable timeframe in accordance with its policy.
11. The landlord acknowledged where its service was less than it should have been, and upheld the resident’s complaint in its stage one response. This was appropriate. However, the evidence showed that the resident contacted the landlord for an update on several occasions over a considerable time (from him making a complaint in May 2021 up until 07 April 2022). Each time, the landlord apologised for the resident having to chase the matter up and said it would communicate any updates it received. This was unreasonable as it showed the resident had to continue chasing the issue over 11 months after he first registered his complaint, and the landlord failed to provide clear timeframes for when an update would be provided or when the works would be completed.
12. The repair records show that the last job to overhaul the resident’s window was completed on 11 May 2021, prior to him making a complaint. Although the landlord agreed to survey the property for window replacement, the evidence did not show that the landlord proposed or attended any further jobs following the complaint to make interim repairs, despite the knowledge that the window fault caused water ingress at the resident’s home. This was unreasonable as the unresolved leak will understandably have caused the resident distress and inconvenience, added to the damaged personal items he had also explained he was experiencing.
13. The landlord offered the resident £227 compensation in its stage two response, due to not having resolved the issue since its stage one response. The amount consisted of: £52 for three weeks delay, £75 for fifteen weeks delay and £100 for time and trouble in pursuing a resolution. It is unclear from the landlord’s compensation policy how it calculated this. The landlord also explained to the resident how he could make a claim against its insurance for any damage he had experienced from the faulty windows. The landlord’s apologies, compensation, and insurance information would have been appropriate remedies if the window replacements had been completed at the time of the stage two response in October 2021, or if the landlord had taken interim steps to temporarily repair the windows and stop the effects the resident was reporting.
14. However, considering the window situation remains unresolved at the time of this report, a whole year after the resident’s complaint, and the landlord has not been able to provide a clear timeframe for resolving the matter, the resident’s complaint has not been appropriately remedied by the landlord, who has failed, and is failing, in its obligation to keep the windows in an appropriate state of repair.

Determination

15. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the scheme there was service failure by the landlord in respect of the complaint.

Orders

16. In light of the failings found in this investigation, and the inconvenience and frustration they have caused the resident, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Within six weeks, complete the window replacements in the resident’s home. If that is not feasible or possible, the landlord must identify and implement a meaningful interim plan to address the current problems with the windows in the short term. If necessary, the landlord should consult with the resident to decide what interim options may be available.
    2. Within four weeks, pay the resident compensation of £200. This compensation is in addition to that offered by the landlord already, which should now also be paid, if it hasn’t already.
    3. Evidence of compliance with these orders must be provided to this Service by the relevant deadline.