Hyde Housing Association Limited (202200830)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202200830

Hyde Housing Association Limited

31 May 2023

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:
   1. leaks and floods in the resident’s property, including repairs; and
   2. the complaint and offer of compensation.

Background

2. The resident has an assured tenancy of a ground floor flat. The resident moved into the property on 3 March 2014. The resident states that she has had ongoing leaks since moving into the property in 2014, which resulted in the living room ceiling collapsing on a number of occasions.
3. The ceiling first collapsed due to escaping water on 10 March 2018. This was after the resident reported water leaking on 7 March 2018.
4. Following the second collapse on 31 December 2019, the resident was left with work outstanding. The work to the ceiling did not start until 9 June 2020, and she was left without a living room light until 31 July 2020. There was also work outstanding to the bathroom ceiling and skirting boards. The repairs were fully completed on 13 August 2020.
5. The resident logged a formal complaint on 5 October 2020. The complaint listed the events the resident had experienced since moving into the property in 2014. The resident said that:
   1. The landlord failed to address the issues or consider the concerns for her health and safety.
   2. There was a lack of urgency by the landlord to fix the issues, leaving her with no living room light, and the ceiling not repaired.
   3. The landlord had not apologised for its errors.
6. The landlord responded on 25 November 2020. It advised the resident that the leaks were caused by events outside of its control. It said the leaks were due to faulty water meters, external drain issues, and defects with the building. It did agree that the issues had caused disruption and offered £300 compensation. The landlord also offered a paint pack as a good will gesture.
7. The resident remained unhappy and on 10 December 2020, asked for the complaint to be escalated. The resident said:
   1. It was not good enough just to apologise.
   2. At no point did the landlord suggest moving her whilst the issues were addressed.
   3. She was not happy with the level of compensation offered.
   4. The flat was left cold and damp with water dripping through light bulbs and electrical sockets.
8. The landlord did not acknowledge the request to escalate the complaint until 9 April 2021, and did not provide its stage two response until 19 July 2021. The landlord acknowledged that it could have provided more detail in its stage one response. It said that it could also have completed the repairs more quickly and offered £450 compensation. It confirmed the sources of the leaks as being:
   1. A building defect regarding the rainwater pipes concealed within the ceiling voids.
   2. Thames water meters situated above the resident’s property that were leaking.
9. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and escalated the complaint to this Service. The resident advised that during the complaint process, the ceiling collapsed for a third time. This has left her feeling scared to be in the property and not wanting to decorate for fear of further leaks.
10. The outcome the resident is looking for is, a fair compensation to recognise what she has been through. To be heard and treated fairly, and for the landlord to recognise the severity of the issues she has experienced.

Assessment and findings

The scope of the investigation

11. This investigation will focus on the events leading up to the first time the ceiling collapsed in 2018, to the point it exhausted the landlord’s complaint process.

The landlord’s handling of reports of leaks and floods

The landlord’s duties

12. The tenancy agreement is a legally binding document that both the resident and the landlord are bound by. The landlord has been unable to provide a copy of the resident’s tenancy agreement. Section 11(1)(a) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that the landlord is responsible to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property as well as the drains, gutters and external pipes.
13. Where a repair is reported, the law states that a landlord must inspect to determine if it is responsible to repair. Where the landlord is responsible, it must conduct a repair within a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time will depend on all the facts, including the type of repair. In most cases, landlords have repairs policies which set out when repairs ought to be completed. In this case, the repairs policy has not been provided.

Did the landlord comply with its obligations?

14. The resident reported that her living room wall and ceiling were wet on 7 March 2018. She stated that the ceiling collapsed on 10 March 2018. The resident said that the landlord was due to attend on 11 March 2018 to make safe.
15. The resident advised that the appointment on 11 March 2018, and a further one for 12 March 2018, were missed by the landlord. The resident called the landlord on the 12 March 2018, and an appointment made for 13 March 2018, this was 3 days after the ceiling had collapsed. There are no records provided of what was done to resolve the initial leak, what investigation the landlord did, or the work carried out to the ceiling. This Service considers this to be a serious service failure.
16. On 17 March 2018, the resident reported that the first bedroom ceiling was wet. On 18 March 2018, she further reported that the bedroom ceiling was dripping. Again, there is no evidence to confirm what action the landlord took to resolve the issue, if it investigated the root cause of the leaks, or how it communicated with the resident to reassure her that the issues were resolved, this is not acceptable and is a failure on the landlord’s part.
17. On 22 October 2019, the resident reported that the living room wall was damp. On 24 October 2019, the landlord contacted the resident to advise that a contractor would attend on 28 October 2019. This Service cannot determine what actions were taken, what the contractor determined or the proposed plans to resolve the ongoing issues, as the landlord has not provided this information to the Ombudsman.
18. On 5 December 2019, the resident called the landlord to advise that there was damp and mould in the living room. This Service would have expected the landlord to have inspected the property to determine the cause. There is no evidence that the landlord did so. The resident states the landlord informed her that the damp and mould was due to heating. The landlord has not provided any evidence to explain the basis for its conclusions or how it was proposing to rectify the problem.
19. The resident has advised that she reported to the landlord that she thought the ceiling was going to collapse, she was unable to provide the date, and there are no records provided by the landlord to confirm this. The landlord did send a contractor out (again no date known) to assess the situation. The contractor assured the tenant that everything was fine.
20. Whilst the ceiling was repaired, it is not clear when, due to the landlord’s lack of records. Nevertheless, on 31 December 2019, the ceiling in the living room collapsed for a second time. As per the terms of the tenancy and the landlord’s obligations, this Service would have expected the landlord to respond in a reasonable time and make safe. We would also expect the landlord to have a plan in order to identify the causes of the leaks and the ceiling collapsing. There is no evidence to show what the landlord did.
21. The work to the ceiling did not begin until 9 June 2020, 6 months after the ceiling collapsed. There are no records to show what the landlord did between the date the ceiling collapsed, and when it began the work. There are no records of how it engaged with the resident, or any references to how it reassured her that she was safe. The resident said that she was unable to enjoy her home and did not feel safe living there.
22. The living room light was damaged during the leaks. The resident reports that there was water dripping through the light bulbs and electrical sockets. It took the landlord 7 months from the ceiling collapsing on 31 December 2019, to re-connect the living room light, leaving the resident with no light in the meantime.
23. The works were completed on 13 August 2020.
24. In summary, the resident has reported leaking in the property, as well as damp and mould. There is no evidence that the landlord took reasonable action within a reasonable time to identify the root causes and offer a full, effective, and lasting repair. This is likely to have caused severe upset and disruption to the resident. Moreso, given the ceiling has collapsed.
25. Importantly, the resident has stated that she does not feel safe in her home, she is reluctant to decorate for fear of ongoing leaks, and the fear the ceiling will collapse again. The landlord is obligated to make good any repairs once on notice of the issue. It is expected to investigate the root causes and put a plan together on how to resolve them. This Service would have expected the landlord to have engaged with specialists to repair the faults, and to provide evidence that it did so, and to do so in a reasonable time as explained above. From the evidence submitted, this Service is unable to determine that. The evidence suggests that the resident was left to live in unsuitable conditions. This is not acceptable and is a service failure by the landlord.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint and offer of compensation.

26. The landlord’s complaints policy is a two-stage process. It says that it will investigate and respond to complaints at stage one within 20 working days of the date the complaint was received. This is not compliant with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code which requires a stage 1 complaint response to be provided within 10 working days.
27. The resident logged her complaint on 4 October 2020. The resident listed all the events she had experienced since moving into the property in 2014. The resident said that she felt the landlord had failed to address the issues and concerns for her health and safety, or the fact that the ceiling collapsing could have hit members of the family present at the time.
28. The landlord contacted the resident on 4 November 2020, to advise that it needed more time to investigate, as they were waiting for the contractor to advise on the repair details. The landlord provided its stage one response on 25 November 2020. Whilst this was in line with its complaints process, it was not in line with the Complaint Handling Code.
29. The landlord acknowledged the ongoing leaks and offered £300 compensation. However, this response did not address the root causes of the leaks, or why the ceiling had collapsed twice. It also did not offer any explanation or reassurance that they were resolved, this is not acceptable and did not address the complaint entirely.
30. The resident requested her complaint to be escalated on 10 December 2020. In line with the landlord’s policy, it should have acknowledged the complaint within two working days, it did not do this. It did not acknowledge the complaint until 9 April 2021. There are no notes or records to explain why this was the case, or what contact took place between the two dates. The landlord apologised to the resident for the delays in contacting them and went through the reasons for the escalation.
31. The landlord contacted the resident on 14 May 2021. It advised it needed more time to gather all the information it needed to provide the stage two response. It advised that it was arranging for a joint visit with a surveyor and contractor, and that it hoped to reply by 11 June 2021. The landlord provided its stage two on 19 July 2021. This was not in line with its policy, and there is no evidence to suggest it notified the resident of a further need to extend the response date or why. This meant it took the landlord 7 months to respond to the complaint, against a 20-working day deadline set out in the Complaint Handling Code. This was by no means appropriate.
32. The landlord’s stage two response confirmed it could have completed repairs more quickly. It advised the leaks were from two different sources, a building defect to do with rainwater pipes concealed within the ceiling voids, and faulty water meters. It offered £450 compensation. It also advised it did not offer compensation for electricity costs incurred by the resident, for the humidifier it had provided to dry out the walls.
33. On 9 August 2021, the resident contacted the landlord to advise the ceiling had collapsed for a third time. The landlord contacted the resident on 11 August 2021, to advise that senior management and the surveying team had discussed the issues. It said that the recent events were not linked to the previous events. The landlord increased the compensation to £750 to recognise the impact of the recent incident.
34. Throughout the complaint process, the landlord has delayed providing a response. The response failed to address all the points the resident had raised. The stage two was not acknowledged for 4 months. The landlord requested an extension, but this in itself was late, and the stage two response was over a month past the date it should have responded. This is a significant failure in complaint handling. Importantly, the landlord’s handling of the last leak has not exhausted its internal complaint procedure, so the Ombudsman has no power to investigate that as part of this investigation.

Determination

35. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs of the damage to the property, following the leaks and floods.
36. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the complaint and offer of compensation.

Orders

37. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to:
    1. pay the resident compensation, for the loss of enjoyment of her home based on 12% rent refund for the period 7 March 2018 when the resident first reported the issue, to 13 August 2020 when the repairs were finally completed. The landlord must provide the resident and the Ombudsman with the figures (including rent level for the period) within 28 days of the date of this determination.
    2. pay the resident £1150 as follows:
       1. £900 to recognise the distress, and inconvenience caused by the ongoing delays to resolve the issues.
       2. £250 for the time and trouble of having to raise a complaint as well as the distress and inconvenience caused by the poor complaint handling.
38. All payments must be made to the resident within 28 days of the date of this decision.
39. The landlord must arrange for a suitably qualified surveyor to inspect the property and determine whether there is any damp and mould and whether the ceilings are now structurally sound.
    1. The landlord must contact the resident within 28 days of the date of this determination to arrange this appointment.
    2. Once the appointment is completed, the landlord must communicate the findings to this Service and the resident within 28 days of the date of the inspection.
    3. The landlord must agree to complete any recommended works in any report. It must consider decanting the resident whilst any additional works are completed.

Calculation for compensation based on rent example:

40. Work out the total rent paid by the resident between 7 March 2018 to 13 August 2020 based on the rent debits on the rent statement. Then multiply the amount by 0.12.

Example 

* Based on average social rents in London for 2021/22: Live_Table_702_Jan_23.ods

**12% of the rent – worked out as multiplying the rent by 0.12