Home Group Limited (202214508)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202214508

Home Group Limited

11 April 2024

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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to a garden fence.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant. The property is a 3 bedroom house. The tenancy began in 2007. The resident is elderly and has vulnerabilities relating to her physical and mental health that the landlord is aware of. At various points in the timeline her grandson has helped with her complaint. For readability, this report refers to the resident throughout.
Shortly after the start of the tenancy, the resident’s late husband erected fencing in the rear garden. The resident states that she sought and was granted permission by telephone. The landlord had no record of a request for alteration being made at the time.
In November 2021, some fence panels in the rear garden collapsed during a storm. A repair was logged on 13 January 2022. The landlord attended and made safe the existing fencing on 19 January 2022.
The resident reported that some of the fencing remained loose on 30 March 2022. The landlord attended and repaired the side gate and a fence post on 27 June 2022. An inspection was raised for the remaining 7 panels on 7 July 2022.
On 12 July 2022, the landlord inspected the rear garden fence and determined that as the resident had erected the fence, she was responsible for its maintenance.
The resident complained to the landlord on 15 July 2022. She said:
1. The operative who inspected the fence on 12 July 2022 had a poor attitude.
2. She disagreed with the landlord’s decision not to replace/repair the fence.
3. She wanted the landlord to make the existing fence safe.
The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 18 July 2022. It said:
1. It had discussed the complaint with the resident on 15 July 2022.
2. The resident reported the fence had blown down on 12 January 2022. It had attended on 19 January 2022 to make the area safe.
3. After its inspection 12 July 2022, it determined the fence had been installed by the resident and therefore she was responsible for any repairs to the fence.
4. It spoke to the operative who attended the property and fed back comments regarding the concerns raised about their attitude. It felt this was out of character and asked them to show more empathy in future.
The resident sought advice from the Ombudsman on 5 October 2022. She disagreed with the landlord’s decision and was concerned about the safety of the existing fence. We wrote to the landlord on 12 October 2022 and asked it to issue a stage 2 response.
The landlord acknowledged the request for a stage 2 response on 13 October 2022. It conducted an internal investigation into the complaint. Its records show it was unable to find any requests for permission, or letters granting permission to erect the fence. It determined that its policy set out that the alterations made by the resident became her responsibility to maintain.
The landlord called the resident on 18 October 2022 to discuss the complaint. Call notes said that the resident was told the decision would not change at stage 2. The resident complained on 19 October 2022 that during the above call she was told that in the event she passed away, her family would need to pay for a new fence. She was upset at the comments.
The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 19 October 2022. It said:
1. There were no records showing permission had been requested to erect the fence. Its tenancy conditions say that any alterations to the property need to be approved by the landlord before works take place.
2. The alterations made to the property were the resident’s responsibility to maintain. It would not repair or replace the fence as it was determined to be the resident’s responsibility.
3. It apologised for the delay in issuing the response and recognised that the information may have been disappointing for the resident.
The landlord tried unsuccessfully to call the resident on 24 October 2022 to discuss the allegations made about its comments on 18 October 2022.
The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s final response. She asked the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint on 18 April 2023. She felt the landlord had treated her unfairly and was insensitive in its correspondence with her. She believed that the landlord had not made her aware of any responsibility for ongoing maintenance. She also believed that her husband had sought permission by telephone and was granted verbal permission to erect the fencing. She was unhappy that she had not been issued any permission letters or clear instruction at the time.
The landlord’s records show that a further inspection of the fencing took place on 17 May 2023. The landlord noted that the fencing should be replaced. However, the decision was made that it would not complete this repair as the fencing remained the resident’s responsibility.

Assessment and findings

Policy and Procedures

The landlord’s property alterations process says that residents can make alterations to the property provided that:
1. The tenancy agreement allows them to.
2. The title deeds for the property allow the improvement.
3. The necessary planning permissions/other approvals are provided.
4. The work is carried out to a good standard.
5. They have the landlord’s written permission.
Once permission is granted, residents are responsible for maintaining certain home improvements they have made. In some cases, the landlord will be responsible for maintaining the improvement. It will not maintain any items that are in excess of the original repair obligations at the property. It may charge for work it carries out to resident’s alterations.
The landlord’s rented home handbook states that it is responsible for repairing all fences between gardens in the landlord’s ownership.

Handling of repairs to a garden fence

The landlord’s policy is clear that once alterations have been made by residents, any maintenance thereof becomes the resident’s responsibility. In this case, it is not disputed that the resident erected the existing fencing.
When the resident initially reported the damaged fencing on 13 January 2022 the landlord conducted repairs to make it safe on 19 January 2022. This was around 4 working days later. The repair was complete within the 7 days the landlord set out for urgent repairs. It was reasonable to carry our urgent repairs to make the fencing safe in January 2022.
Once the landlord inspected the fencing in July 2022 it determined that it was not responsible for the maintenance of the fencing. It was clear with the resident about its position. Its decision was reasonable and in line with its policy and standard practice in the social housing sector.
Although disputed by the resident, there are no records available to Ombudsman that show the resident requested permission to erect the fencing. It is not unreasonable for a landlord to no longer have records of all phone calls as far back as 2007. Without further evidence from either party, we will be unable to assess the landlord in this regard. However, once the landlord identified that the resident had erected the fence herself, it set out her obligations regarding its repair and maintenance. This was reasonable.
During the complaint journey the resident reported that she felt the landlord treated her unfairly. She said comments made to her by the landlord about the responsibility to repair the fencing on her death were upsetting. It is not disputed that these comments could be upsetting to the resident and could be considered insensitive in the circumstances. However, there were no recordings or detailed notes of this conversation taking place.
The landlord’s records do not show that it addressed these concerns with the resident. They show that a question was asked of the officer involved, but no response was recorded. Additionally, it was unsuccessful in its attempts to call the resident on 24 October 2022. It should have made further efforts to speak to the resident and investigate this further. It could have sent a letter stating that the case was closed until the resident responded.
The landlord should have systems in place to maintain accurate records of conversation it has with residents. Good record keeping is essential to evidence the action the landlord has taken which then aids in its service delivery, enabling it to respond professionally when something goes wrong. In this case it would have ensured that there were clear records of its conversation and whether it had been fair or empathetic to the resident.
Overall, the Ombudsman finds service failure by the landlord in its handling of repairs to a garden fence. It was clear with the resident throughout what its responsibilities were. It has no obligation to repair or maintain the fencing in this case. However, the resident and the landlord’s operatives have noted that parts of the fencing are in a state of disrepair and may be hazardous to the elderly resident. The landlord should consider an offer to replace the fence as a rechargeable repair. This would ensure future maintenance of the fencing can be conducted in line with the policy set out in its rented home handbook. The landlord should also pay the resident £100 compensation. This is for the distress and inconvenience caused in its failure to address the reports about its conduct during calls and visits to the resident.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of repairs to a garden fence.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
1. Write an apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report. Provide a copy of this letter to the Ombudsman.
2. Pay the resident £100 compensation for distress and inconvenience.
3. Provide evidence of compliance to the Ombudsman.

Recommendations

The landlord should consider an offer to replace the fence as a rechargeable repair. This would ensure future maintenance of the fencing can be conducted in line with the policy set out in its rented home handbook.