Haringey London Borough Council (202348575)

Background

1. The resident has been a tenant of the landlord since September 2018. The property is a 1-bedroom, top‑floor flat in a converted terrace house. The resident has not reported any additional needs. Around June 2021, the resident reported missing roof tiles, which resulted in a leak into her kitchen. In May 2023, we issued a determination under case reference 202206204 about that matter. In February 2024, the resident raised a complaint about the landlord’s failure to repair a roof leak, the lack of progress on outstanding kitchen repairs, and the absence of an update on planned kitchen upgrade works. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s responses and brought her complaint to this Service.

What the complaint is about

2. The landlord’s handling of a roof leak and repairs to the kitchen.
3. The landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Our decision (determination)

4. We have found:
   1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a roof leak and repairs to the kitchen.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

Handling of a roof leak and repairs to the kitchen.

5. The landlord did not take timely action to repair the roof leak. It relied on multiple uncoordinated inspections, did not provide clear communication or manage the resident’s expectations, and did not explain how the planned kitchen upgrade related to the repair issues. The landlord also did not meet its commitment to repair the kitchen or provide a clear update on the actions it was taking, leaving the resident uncertain about the overall progress. These shortcomings caused the resident avoidable inconvenience, uncertainty, and prolonged disruption, and the landlord did not offer compensation or demonstrate learning from its failings.

The complaint handling.

6. The landlord did not acknowledge the complaint at stage 1, did not demonstrate that its stage 2 acknowledgement was issued on time, and took 44 working days to provide its stage 2 response without explanation or revised timescales. It also did not offer compensation or show evidence of learning from the delays and service failures.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

What we did not investigate and why

7. The Ombudsman previously determined a case, under reference 202206204, in May 2023 regarding roof repairs. In accordance with the Scheme, we may not consider matters that have already been decided. This investigation has therefore focused on the complaint the resident made in February 2024, which concerned roof and kitchen repairs.
8. A landlord must have the opportunity to resolve a complaint through all stages of its internal complaints procedure before the Ombudsman can assess the reasonableness of its response. The resident made a separate complaint to the landlord about fencing repairs in November 2024. Given that this issue has not featured in this complaint it has therefore not been considered as part of this investigation.

What we found

9. It is not disputed that the landlord was responsible for repairing the roof leak and addressing the kitchen repair needs reported by the resident.
10. Under its repairs policy, the landlord states that repair appointments should be completed within 28 days. Planned repairs that require a pre‑inspection for measuring or preparation will also be inspected within 28 days, and the resident will be advised at that inspection when the works will be carried out.
11. On 18 May 2023, this Service recommended that the landlord respond to the resident’s ongoing leak reports within four weeks and arrange the necessary inspections and works. On 16 June 2023, the landlord told this Service that it had spoken with the resident that day and had arranged inspections on 29 and 30 June 2023.
12. This Service has seen that the landlord’s 2024–2026 kitchen renewal programme formed part of its asset management strategy and included resident consultation. This programme was separate from the roof leak and the outstanding kitchen repairs which is consistent with the resident’s report that a landlord operative attended in October 2023 to measure the kitchen for a planned upgrade.
13. It was necessary for the landlord to repair the roof leak before progressing the planned kitchen improvement works or completing the kitchen repairs, as the leak posed a risk of damaging any new installation. This Service has seen no evidence that the landlord took meaningful action to repair the roof leak between its inspection in June 2023 and February 2024. The delay allowed the leak to continue, extending the impact on the kitchen and potentially delaying the resident’s access to the planned improvement works.
14. Within her complaint, the resident stated that the kitchen was in disrepair. The landlord arranged inspection visits for March 2024. However, these were inspections only, and it is not clear that the landlord identified or confirmed the repair needs following them. This left the resident feeling uncertain about the landlord’s progress and its plans to complete the repairs.
15. From May 2023 to June 2024, the landlord relied on multiple inspections conducted by different teams. However, this Service has not seen a record of the inspection outcomes that set out a clear plan of action with scheduled timeframes for the associated repairs. These visits were not well coordinated, resulting in avoidable delay and uncertainty. During this period, the resident contacted the landlord on several occasions to request updates and prompt progress. These contacts show that she was actively seeking action from the landlord at a time when its communication was inconsistent and substantial periods passed without it providing updates. This resulted in the resident experiencing avoidable time and trouble.
16. In its stage 2 response, the landlord said it would progress the outstanding kitchen repairs once it had completed further inspections. Although the resident told this Service that the landlord fixed the roof leak in June 2024, it did not complete the kitchen repairs. An internal works order dated 15 July 2024 stated that a new kitchen was due to be installed in September 2024 and that the existing works order should be held to allow this installation to proceed. This Service has seen no record that the landlord communicated this to the resident or provided a clear update on the actions it was taking, leaving the resident uncertain about the overall progress. This indicates that the landlord did not have clarity as to its fulfilment of its repair commitment.  This Service did not see any evidence that the landlord reassessed whether the kitchen was continuing to deteriorate while the resident was waiting for the replacement to be installed.
17. Taken together, these issues show that the landlord did not act in line with its repairing obligations. It did not maintain oversight of the repair process and so did not progress the works to repair the roof leak and the kitchen within the required timeframe, despite the resident’s repeated requests and the earlier recommendation from this Service.
18. The lack of timely action and clear information caused the resident inconvenience and undermined her confidence in the landlord’s ability to manage the repairs effectively. As a result of these shortcomings, the roof leak and kitchen repairs remained unresolved for longer than necessary, causing the resident avoidable worry and distress. The landlord did not offer compensation for this in its final response or evidence any learning to prevent similar failings.
19. Taking the above into consideration, the Ombudsman makes a finding of Maladministration. To reflect the distress and inconvenience caused, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay £200 to the resident. This is in line with our remedies guidance where here was a failure which adversely affected the resident.

20. The landlord’s complaint policy sets out a 2‑stage process.
21. This Service has not seen evidence that the landlord acknowledged the complaint at stage 1. The resident emailed the landlord on 9 May 2024 in response to what appears to have been the landlord’s stage 2 acknowledgement, but the date it issued a stage 2 acknowledgement is not known to this Service. There is no record to show that the stage 2 acknowledgement was provided within the required timeframe.
22. The landlord took 44 working days to issue its stage 2 response, exceeding the timescale set out in both its complaints policy and the Code, and it did not provide the resident with any explanation for this delay or agree a revised timescale. This resulted in the resident waiting longer than necessary and having to spend avoidable time and effort seeking updates.
23. The landlord’s compensation policy allows for financial redress where service failures have adversely affected a resident. Despite the delays and shortcomings, no compensation was offered to the resident. In addition, the landlord did not acknowledge or demonstrate any learning or service improvement arising from the complaint.
24. Cumulatively, these failings amount to service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. The landlord is ordered to pay £100 to the resident, in line with this Service’s Remedies Guidance where there was minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided and it did not appropriately acknowledge these and fully put them right.

Learning

25. In this case, the landlord did not manage the complaint in line with the timescales set out in its complaint policy or the Complaint Handling Code.
26. The landlord should ensure that all elements of a complaint are answered and that responses provide sufficient context to resident’s manage expectations.
27. The landlord should apply its compensation policy when delays, missed timescales, or poor communication affect a resident.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

28. The landlord should ensure that information is shared effectively across services so that repairs linked to wider programmes, such as kitchen renewal, are managed consistently. This includes keeping residents updated when timeframes change and the purpose of survey visits.
29. The landlord should keep clear and comprehensive records of all inspection findings and resulting actions to ensure effective follow‑up and coordinated repairs.