Havering Council (202118386)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202118386

Havering Council

10 June 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 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:
   1. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports regarding the condition of her new property at the start of her tenancy, and the length of time that it took her to move into the property.
   2. The landlord’s complaint handling and record keeping.

Background and summary of events

2. The resident is a tenant of the landlord of a three-bedroom house.
3. The resident was originally due to move into her new property from the landlord on 23 November 2020. As a result of there being no heating and limited water supplies there, the property was deemed to be uninhabitable by the landlord and, subsequently, the resident moved into her new property on 25 May 2021.
4. A gas safety record was previously issued for the resident’s new property on 24 July 2020, while the property was vacant, and she viewed and signed up for this on 16 November 2020. On 19 November 2020, however, she was concerned about a gas leak at the property, and so she informed the landlord of this on that date. On 20 November 2020, its records showed that another gas safety check there had detected a living room heating leak, although not a gas leak, at the property, which meant that this was not ready to let to her. The resident was advised by the landlord that the earliest date for her new property’s boiler replacement would be 16 December 2020.
5. On 27 November 2020, the resident made a stage one complaint about the delay in her moving to the new property due to the leak and boiler replacement there, the inconvenience this had caused her, and she raised some additional concerns such as the position of a radiator, decorating that needed to be done, and other remedial works.
6. On 11 December 2020, the landlord issued its stage one complaint response. It apologised for any inconvenience caused, and for the delay, but it explained that unforeseen circumstances, such as the boiler and the leak, would only have been detectable once a property was being resided in and appliances were in use. The landlord had also asked a housing officer to investigate the issue to see if there had been any other discrepancies or delays. It advised the resident that her additional concerns had been raised with the relevant department on her behalf, and that a surveyor would attend the property to investigate these. The landlord upheld her complaint in relation to inconvenience and any undue stress, but it did not find any failings by it or compensate her relating to the delays in her moving.
7. On 15 December 2020, the resident asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage two of the landlord’s complaints procedure because repair delays were still delaying her move to the new property. She additionally complained about being charged rent for both her old and new properties at the same time. The resident also said that she was still suffering from undue stress due to the unresolved issues.
8.  Initially, the landlord recorded that the start date of the resident’s tenancy of her new property had been revised to 16 December 2020, as the boiler there had been replaced and was confirmed by it as working on that date, and therefore the property was deemed to be habitable by it. However, due to the close proximity to Christmas, the start date was moved by it to 28 January 2021. Nevertheless, as the resident was unhappy with the standard of the work at the property, and because there were still some outstanding works to be completed there, the start of the tenancy was further postponed by the landlord until 25 May 2021.
9. The landlord noted that the resident was charged rent by it for both her old and new properties for the weeks commencing 15 and 22 March 2021. It determined that, for the week commencing 15 March 2021, this had been the correct decision, because the return of the keys to the old property was one week late. The landlord found that for the week commencing 21 March 2021, however, the resident had been charged rent for both properties mistakenly by it and, subsequently, the rent that she had been charged for her old property, for that week was credited back to her account by it.
10. On 8 October 2021, the landlord issued its stage two complaint response to the resident. It apologised for the extreme delay in responding to her complaint. The landlord stated that, under its complaint policy and procedure, normally only issues that had been raised within a stage one complaint would be investigated. Nevertheless, in this case, it would also respond to the issues that had been newly raised in the stage two complaint.
11. The landlord reiterated its stage complaint one response regarding the new property’s boiler. It did mention that it had attended the resident’s property for a pre-inspection for the boiler to be fitted there on 20 November 2020, and that it had subsequently booked an appointment for the earliest date, on 16 December 2020, for the boiler to be replaced. The boiler was due to be boxed–in on 30 December 2020. However, a family member of the resident had tested positive for Covid-19 and, as a result, the box–in date had to be rearranged. At this point, the tenancy of her new property was revised to begin from 28 January 2021.
12. The landlord then responded to the issues of remedial and decorative works that the resident had raised. It stated that some of these did not come under the remit of the landlord itself, and that the other works would not have been carried out while the property was vacant. It confirmed that the works that did fall within its remit had been carried out on 9 June 2021, before the resident had begun to reside in the new property.
13. The landlord stated that, on 25 November 2020, the resident had reported a water leak from the roof of her new property. Its contractors therefore attended the property for this on 29 November 2020, and the subsequent work to redecorate the property was completed on 30 November 2020. The resident had then raised an issue with the standard of the redecorating work, and this was rectified by the landlord’s contractors on 2 December 2020. The other outstanding work that remained at the property, including securing floorboards that had been pulled up to allow for re-piping for some radiators, was done on 29 January and 26 February 2021. The window frames and surrounds were repaired there on 22 February 2021, and the radiator thermostats were replaced on 4 March 2021.
14. As part of its stage two complaint response, the landlord offered the resident £50 compensation in recognition of the delay in issuing its response to her, but it declined to uphold her complaint about the delays in her moving to her new property. It instead found that some of the issues at the property could not have been foreseen, could only have been identified at the time of her viewing, or could only have become known from heavy winter rainfall such as the water leak from the roof. Although the landlord stated that it did not charge the resident rent for both her old and new properties while the necessary repairs to the latter were being done, apologising for the stress that she had felt at that time.
15. The resident then complained to this Service that the landlord had not acknowledged that it had originally asked her to pay rent for both her old and new properties that she considered that it would have charged her for had she not objected to this. She added that the level of compensation that it had offered her did reflect its ten-month late stage two complaint response, or that there were still outstanding repairs to her new property. The resident reported that these included a lack of heat from the property’s radiators that the landlord had not told or shown her how to use the new boiler for, unboxed and unsightly boiler pipework, lifted floorboards causing difficulties with laying carpet, a dropped kerb, and a replacement front door. She therefore requested a higher level of compensation and the completion of the outstanding repairs from it.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

16. The resident’s complaint to this Service has raised her other outstanding issues with the landlord, such as her concerns about her front door and a dropped kerb, but as there is no evidence that they have exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure yet, the Ombudsman cannot currently investigate them. This is because, under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, we are unable to consider complaints that are made prior to having exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure.
17. While the resident is also dissatisfied with the period that the landlord charged her rent for both her old and new properties at the same time, under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman does not have the authority or expertise to determine liability to pay rent or to adjust rent accounts in a way that a court or tribunal might. Therefore, the scope of this investigation, with regard to its response to her reports of being charged rent for both properties by it, is limited to investigating the appropriateness of its record keeping in relation to both properties’ tenancies.

Policies and procedures

18. The landlord’s void property works and lettable standards and void specification – works and standards procedure require it to test and cap off the meter of the gas system before any work starts in its void properties, producing a valid gas safety record upon new tenancies. It is obliged to ensure that the boiler, radiators and thermostat are in good working order, and to cut back or remove any protruding gas pipes to below floor level. The landlord is required to arrange a recommission visit appointment to uncap the gas supply, and explain and demonstrate the operation of all appliances and controls if requested by it, once the new resident has signed the tenancy agreement and notified it that they are moving in. It is also obliged re-fix or replace any damaged or loose floorboards, as necessary, repair window frame defects and check that roof coverings are watertight.
19. The landlord’s repairs policy states that routine repairs unlikely to cause any serious discomfort, inconvenience or nuisance to the resident or third parties if not given an immediate or urgent response, including boxing in pipework and repairing or replacing floorboards, will be completed by the landlord within 28 working days. The policy also states that its timeframes for repairing or making safe heating or hot water not working between 31 October and 3 May is one working day, and to repair or make safe leaking roofs is seven working days.
20. In its goodwill gesture/discretionary payment policy, the landlord states that goodwill payments are made for any time, trouble, distress or inconvenience suffered by the resident, and that any payments over £30 must be fully assessed. Compensation award ranges and assessments are based on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s guidance on good practice: remedies, which recommends remedy payments for distress, time and trouble of often between £100 and £300. 
21. The landlord’s complaint policy and procedure states that its stage one complaint responses should be sent within ten working days. Stage two complaint responses should be issued within 25 working days. The landlord is permitted to extend these timescales in complex cases, where necessary, but if so it must inform the resident at the first possible opportunity of the reason why and when they should receive a response, which needs to be authorised by its chief executive at stage two.
22. The Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code states that a landlord must issue its stage two complaint response within 20 working days of an escalation request. Where this is not possible, it must issue the resident with an explanation as to why its response will take longer and provide the date by which the response will be received. The response must not exceed a further ten working days without good reason.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports regarding the condition of her new property at the start of her tenancy, and the length of time that it took her to move into the property

23. The resident was initially due to move into her new property on 23 November 2020. Due to the property being deemed uninhabitable by the landlord as a result of a lack of heating and water there, however, she was not able to move in on that date. While it demonstrated that it had complied with its void property works and lettable standards and void specification – works and standards procedure’s requirements for it to produce a valid gas safety record for the property on 24 July 2020 after testing and capping off the meter of the gas system there, it did not follow its subsequent obligations for this.
24. This is because the landlord failed to produce such a record after the resident signed up for her new tenancy on 16 November 2020, as required by its void property works and lettable standards and void specification – works and standards procedure. It also did not ensure that her new property’s boiler, radiators and thermostat were in good working order, cut back or remove protruding gas pipes to below floor level there, explain and demonstrate the operation of all appliances and controls, or replace damaged or loose floorboards by the date that the tenancy was originally due to start on 23 November 2020.
25. This was contrary to the landlord’s obligations to do so, which was shown by the fact that it only completed the boiler repair at the resident’s new property on 16 December 2020, scheduled works to box this in on 30 December 2020 before these had to be rearranged, and secured the floorboards there on 29 January and 26 February 2021. It additionally only repaired the property’s window frames and surrounds on 22 February 2021, replaced the radiator thermostats on 4 March 2021, completed other remedial and decorative works on 9 June 2021, and there is no evidence that it explained and demonstrated the operation of the new boiler to her.
26. Moreover, the landlord did not repair the property’s boiler within its repairs policy’s one-working day timescale for heating or hot water not working between 31 October and 3 May, and it failed to carry out the other routine repairs there within the policy’s 28-working-day timescale for it to do so. . Although the resident’s report of a leak from the roof of her new property on 25 November 2020 was repaired on 29 November 2020,  within the policy’s timeframe of seven working days. However, it is of concern that the landlord’s void property works and lettable standards and void specification – works and standards procedure’s requirement for it to check that the roof coverings were watertight did not prevent the leak two days after her tenancy was originally due to start.
27. The resident’s new property was nevertheless deemed to be habitable for her by the landlord on 16 December 2020 after the boiler repair had taken place, but it agreed with her about her moving into the new property so close to Christmas, and so it initially offered her a new move–in date of 28 January 2021. As she was dissatisfied with the standard of its works there and did not want to move in until all of the outstanding repairs had been completed even though she was advised that the property was now habitable, it again changed the move–in date to 25 May 2021. The landlord, therefore, sought to achieve an outcome in agreement with the resident by rearranging a convenient date for her to move into her new property, which was reasonable.
28. It is also noted that the resident was able to remain at her old property from the date that she was originally due to move into her new property on 23 November 2020 until she moved there on 25 May 2021, which meant that any distress and experience that she experienced from this delay was not added to by a lack of suitable alternative accommodation. However, she still incurred an over six-month delay in moving after the landlord failed to carry out the repairs at her new property required by its void property works and lettable standards and void specification – works and standards procedure. It also declined to exercise the discretion available to it under its goodwill gesture/discretionary payment policy to recognise this by compensating the resident.
29. The landlord’s above actions were therefore inappropriate, and so it has been ordered below to compensate the resident in line with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s guidance on good practice: remedies’ recommendations to recognise any distress and inconvenience that she experienced as a result of its failings in respect of her new property. It has additionally been ordered below to contact her to arrange for it to inspect the lack of heat from the property’s radiators that she reported, including by demonstrating the operation of the new boiler to her, if it has not done so already. The landlord has also been recommended below to review its processes for monitoring, and its staff’s training needs, in relation to the completion of void works at its empty properties to ensure that these are carried out in accordance with its policies and procedures.

The landlord’s complaint handling and record keeping

30. The complaint policy and procedure states that the landlord must issue a stage one complaint response within ten working days. The resident raised her stage one complaint on 27 November 2020, and the landlord issued its stage one complaint response on 11 December 2020, ten working days after receipt of complaint.
31. The complaint policy and procedure also states that the landlord must issue its stage two complaint response within 25 working days of escalation, unless its chief executive has authorised a necessary extension for a complex cases, for which it must inform the resident at the first possible opportunity of the reason why and when they should receive a response. The resident escalated her complaint to stage two on 15 December 2020, and the landlord issued its stage two response on 8 October 2021, which was almost eight-and-a-half months later than the policy and procedure’s 25-working-day timescale for it to do so.
32. In light of there being no evidence, however, to justify the delay as a necessary extension for a complex case authorised by the chief executive, it was unreasonable for the landlord to delay its stage two complaint response by almost eight-and-a-half months. It also failed to comply with its complaint policy and procedure’s requirement for it to inform the resident at the first possible opportunity of the reason for the delay and when she should receive a stage two complaint response from it, which was inappropriate.
33. It is recognised that the landlord did attempt redress by offering the resident £50 compensation in its stage two complaint response, in recognition of the delay. However, this was not proportionate to fully reflect the considerable delay in the response, her repeatedly having to chase it, or it failing to keep her updated. This was also less than the amounts recommended by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s guidance on good practice: remedies, which the landlord’s goodwill gesture/discretionary payment policy obliged its compensation awards to follow.
34. Moreover, the landlord’s complaint policy and procedure’s 25–working–day timescale for stage two complaint responses is not in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code. This specifies that a stage two complaint response must be issued with 20 working days of escalation or, in the event of a reasonable delay, the resident must be informed of the delay and given a date for the expected response, within a further ten working days unless there is a good reason.
35. With regard to the resident’s dissatisfaction that the landlord charged her rent for both her old and new properties, its stage two complaint response stated that it did not do so. However, its records noted that it had mistakenly her charged rent for both properties for the week commencing 21 March 2021, for which it subsequently credited her account with the rent that she had been incorrectly charged for her old property. It is therefore of concern that the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response said that this had not occurred, as raised by the resident, and that the mistake could have taken place in the first place, considering the fact that she raised the issue of the delay in her moving into her new property that it had been actively investigating since 19 November 2020. This was a failing in its record keeping, which should have alerted it that she ought not to have been charged rent for both properties by it when her tenancy of her new property had been postponed with its agreement.
36. The landlord has therefore been ordered below to put right its poor complaint handling and record keeping in the resident’s case by paying her further compensation in recognition of these failings, in line with the amounts recommended by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s guidance on good practice: remedies. It has also been recommended below to review its complaint policy and procedure to ensure that this aligns with the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code, and its record keeping processes in relation to rent to seek to avoid double-charging its residents for their rent when moving between its properties again in the future. The landlord has additionally been recommended below to review its staff’s training needs with regard to their application of its complaint policy and procedure and goodwill gesture/discretionary payment policy, to ensure that these are followed in every case.

Determination (decision)

37. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its handling of the resident’s reports regarding the condition of her new property at the start of her tenancy, and the length of time that it took her to move into the property.
38. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its complaint handling and record keeping.

Orders and recommendations

39. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident compensation totalling £300 within four weeks, which is broken down into the £50 that it previously awarded her if she has not received this already, plus a further £100 for its poor complaint handling and record keeping, and another £150 in recognition of any distress and inconvenience that she experienced from the condition of and the length of time that it took her to move into her new property.
    2. Contact the resident within four weeks to arrange for it to inspect the lack of heat from the resident’s property’s radiators that she reported, including by demonstrating the operation of the new boiler, if it has not already done so.
40. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Review its processes for monitoring, and its staff’s training needs, in relation to the completion of void works at its empty properties to ensure that these are carried out in accordance with its policies and procedures.
    2. Review its complaint policy and procedure to ensure that this aligns with the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code at https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/landlords-info/complaint-handling-code/.
    3. Review its record keeping processes in relation to rent to seek to avoid double-charging its residents for their rent when moving between its properties again in the future.
    4. Review its staff’s training needs with regard to their application of its complaint policy and procedure and goodwill gesture/discretionary payment policy, to ensure that these are followed in every case.
41. The landlord shall contact this Service within four weeks, to confirm that it has complied with the above orders and whether it will follow the above recommendations.