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Hyde Housing Association Limited (202308650)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202308650

Hyde Housing Association Limited

22 November 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns with the boiler and its subsequent offer of compensation.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, a housing association. The resident’s tenancy started in June 2021. The property is a 3-bedroom house. The resident said her niece lives at the property with her who has vulnerabilities. The landlord holds no vulnerabilities recorded on its information systems.
  2. The landlord’s contractor attended the property on 16 December 2022 following the resident’s reports there was no heating and hot water. It tested both heating and hot water and found it was working. The resident made further reports of defective heating, and contractors attended the property to address this on 28 December 2022, 25 January 2023, and 3 February 2023.
  3. On 26 February 2023 the resident reported to the landlord that she did not have heating and hot water. On the same day, the landlord’s records note there was no answer at the door of the property, so it was unable to gain access. It then attended twice the following day.
  4. The resident complained to the landlord’s contractor by email on 3 March 2023. She told them she had reported a breakdown of her heating system in 2022 and in 2023. She said when the first contractor attended they told her the boiler was old and would keep breaking down unless it was replaced. She said the boiler was completely faulty and from 23 February 2023 she had no heating and no hot water. She was using fan heaters that were expensive to run and was told a surveyor would attend on 13 March 2023. She also said her infant niece had an underlying medical condition and the property was cold.
  5. The landlord’s contractors provided the resident with a response to her complaint on 7 March 2023. They apologised for the inconvenience and the service the resident experienced. They said the contractor that attended on 27 February 2023 replaced the motor, tested, and left the heating system working. It attended again on the same day and identified further parts were required. It then fitted the parts on 2 March 2023, but as it did not resolve the issue the landlord instructed them to arrange for a boiler survey for 13 March 2023. They said the repairs were completed within the timescales and the contractors who attended the property followed the correct procedures.
  6. The resident disputed the landlord’s contractor’s response on 8 March 2023. On 9 March 2023 the landlord’s contractor told the resident that it was going by what was recorded on its systems. They said on a few occasions different issues with parts are not always visible at the time of the repair. They would take the resident’s feedback to the contractor’s manager to address the individual should have waited longer to check if all was working before leaving.
  7. The resident emailed the landlord and its contractor on 13 March 2023. She told it she received a call on the same day saying the surveyor could not attend the property. She was dissatisfied as she was having to travel every morning to a friend’s house to have a shower. The resident emailed the landlord and its contractor again on 30 March 2023 confirming the boiler was replaced on 23 March 2023 but the area around the boiler was left incomplete. Initially a contractor was to attend on 28 March 2023, but she said they did not attend, and no one notified her. When she called the contractor, she said no explanation was given but was given a new date of attendance of 3 April 2023.
  8. The resident emailed the landlord and its contractor on 13 April 2023 regarding an appointment of 12 April 2023. She said on 12 April 2023 she called the contractors at 12pm and was told they would attend. She called again at 2.30pm and was told the contractor would not be able to attend. She was dissatisfied she was not notified and told it she does not get paid for taking time off work.
  9. On 26 May 2023 the landlord provided its final response on the matter to the resident. It was sorry to hear the resident was without heating and hot water for over 3 weeks in March. It said even though the resident was unhappy with the £250 compensation it offered on 18 May 2023, it would not change its decision. It said it had followed its compensation policy for consistency.
  10. The resident first contacted this Service on 9 June 2023. She told us she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and the level of compensation offered. She wanted us to investigate her concerns.

Assessment and findings

  1. This Service was provided with limited information about this complaint from the landlord. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its dispute resolution principles, which are:
    1. Be fair, treat people fairly and follow fair processes.
    2. Put things right.
    3. Learn from outcomes.
  2. Where the landlord has made an offer of compensation, this Service will apply the above principles when considering whether the landlord has taken enough action to put things right and learn from outcomes.
  3. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places statutory obligations on the landlord. The landlord is to keep in repair and working order, the installations in the property that supply heating and hot water. Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the landlord is to assess hazards, which includes personal hygiene and sanitation. Excess cold is also a potential hazard under HHSRS. Therefore, the landlord is required to consider whether defective boilers in its properties amount to a hazard and require remedying.
  4. From 16 December 2022 and 3 March 2023, there were 4 separate attendances by the landlord’s contractor to remedy heating and hot water issues. In this period, from the information provided there was 1 appointment with no access on 22 December 2022. In the resident’s complaint of 3 March 2023, she said that when the first contractor attended, they said due to the boiler’s age it would keep breaking down. However, this feedback was not listed on the landlord’s records from the initial visits. This Service notes the landlord found other faults in its attendances prior to the resident’s complaint and we have received contrasting information.
  5. The resident said in her complaint she experienced heating issues and no hot water which continued from 23 February 2023. This is despite the landlord’s records noting repairs were carried out on 27 February 2023 and further parts fitted on 2 March 2023. However, on 7 March 2023 there was evidence the landlord had instructed for a surveyor to inspect the boiler and booked an appointment for 13 March 2023. As above, this Service has received limited information and therefore the landlord’s decision making around this was unclear.
  6. Previously, on 7 March 2023 the contractor on behalf of the landlord acknowledged the resident had experienced inconvenience, but it said its contractors had followed procedures. The landlord’s responsive repairs operational procedures set out that ‘anytime repairs’ would be completed within 20 working days. The landlord appropriately followed its anytime repairs procedure by arranging an appointment for 13 March 2023 and installing the new boiler within 20 working days on 23 March 2023.
  7. The resident said that there were rearrangements of appointments within this period which affected her. The appointment of 13 March 2023 was rescheduled by the landlord for the following day, which was prompt, but the resident received short notice of the change in appointments.
  8. Additionally, although the landlord replaced the boiler on the 23 March 2023, it had not fully completed works on this date, as evidenced by the resident’s email of 30 March 2023. Initially, an appointment was scheduled for 28 March 2023, but this was rearranged for 3 April 2023. The resident was dissatisfied that she was not told of this re-arrangement prior to 28 March 2023. She expended time waiting on 28 March 2023 for a contractor to attend and was inconvenienced. This evidences the landlord’s communication was poor regarding repairs to the boiler. It would have been reasonable to let the resident know why its contractor could not attend on that date.
  9. Similarly, the resident was waiting for a contractor to attend on 12 April 2023, she spent time and trouble contacting the landlord to ensure the work was being carried out on this date. Her appointment was between 8am and 2pm, she called around 12pm and was reassured that a contractor would attend. At 2.30pm the contractor had not arrived, and the resident called them and was told they would not attend. This demonstrates the landlord’s communication was poor and it did not manage her expectations at the outset.
  10. The landlord offered £250 in compensation to put things right. It had also identified learning where it previously stated it would provide the resident’s feedback about leaving too quickly to the individual contractor who attended on 27 February 2023.
  11. Under this Service’s remedies guidance, consideration is given for distress and inconvenience caused to a resident by a particular service failure, considering the severity of the situation and the length of time involved as well as other relevant factors, such as vulnerabilities.
  12. The landlord’s responsive repairs operational procedures also state it carries out inspections within 5 working days after it completes anytime repairs. The landlord told this Service the repairs were quality checked on 13 April 2023. This was 14 working days since it installed the new boiler. This was inappropriate action by the landlord as this delay was not in line with its own policy.
  13. It is clear the resident experienced inconvenience, and expended time and trouble from 16 December 2022. This Service cannot conclude how the £250 offered by the landlord was proportioned. The resident said she was using fan heaters that was increasing her costs which there is no evidence that the landlord addressed. There is also no evidence it had taken into consideration that she resorted to travelling to a friend’s house for showers due to having no hot water in the property from 23 February 2023, which was inconvenient for her. It has also not provided any evidence it carried out a risk assessment due to how cold the property was, despite being put on notice on 3 March 2023 that her niece who was at the property had vulnerabilities. This was all unreasonable action and inaction by the landlord.
  14. There were 7 separate attendances to the property by the landlord for associated repairs from 16 December 2022. This was until it inspected on 14 April 2023 for it to approve a boiler replacement (the eighth visit). Had the landlord communicated with its contractors clearly and recorded information on its system, it should have known that the initial contractor’s opinion was that a boiler replacement might be due. The number of appointments for recurrences of the issue, demonstrates the landlord was not appropriately following its objective to right first-time repairs as stated within its responsive repairs operational procedures.
  15. The landlord’s contractors are extensions of the landlord and as such there should be a system in place for the landlord to request that the contractors maintain accurate records of repair reports, logs, responses, inspections, and investigations. The landlord should also ensure that it keeps records of communication with its contractors in relation to any repair. Good record keeping is vital to evidence the action a landlord or its contractors have taken and failure to keep adequate records indicates that the landlord’s processes are not operating effectively.
  16. Therefore, it is the Ombudsman’s opinion the landlord has not done enough to put things right. The landlord’s compensation policy allows separate compensation payments for delays, distress and inconvenience, and time and trouble. For the circumstances in this case an award of £400 is proportionate to the detriment caused to the resident. This is taken from the landlord’s compensation policy, where the resident is to receive the maximum award of £50 for the time she expended chasing the landlord. She is also to receive £250 for the distress and inconvenience experienced in the circumstances. For the delay in post inspection of the boiler as identified above, as well as overall delay in authorising a boiler replacement, an award of £100 is considered.
  17. Overall, the landlord could have prevented further detriment to the resident sooner than it did. While it attempted to put things right by replacing the boiler on 23 March 2023, this was 97 calendar days after its first visit and had taken 8 attendances. The landlord had not acknowledged all its failures or reiterated any learning from outcomes in its final response. Combined with its provision of poor-quality records, this Service finds maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the boiler and subsequent offer of compensation. Orders have been made that take into consideration the detriment caused.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns with the boiler and its subsequent offer of compensation.

Orders and recommendation

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay directly to the resident’s bank account £400 for the distress, inconvenience, delays, and time expended in the circumstances of this case. If any of the £250 it offered on 18 May 2023 had been paid, it can be deducted from this total. For the avoidance of doubt, this would mean an additional £150 is due to be paid to the resident.
    3. If it has not done so already, is to contact the resident and update its information systems to accurately reflect members of the household and any vulnerabilities.
  2. The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service.

Recommendation

  1. If it has not done so already, the landlord is also recommended to review the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management (KIM), published in May 2023.