Lambeth Council (202341119)
REPORT
COMPLAINT 202341119
Lambeth Council
9 September 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 a balcony leak.
- The Ombudsman has also addressed the landlord’s complaint handling.
Background
- The resident and his wife have held a joint, secure tenancy of a 1-bedroom, 1st floor flat since 2017. The resident is registered blind and does not speak English. The landlord advised the Ombudsman it did not have any disabilities listed for the resident.
- In the resident’s complaint dated 17 November 2022, he reported the following:
- He raised a repair with the landlord on 17 August 2021 as when it rained the upstairs balcony leaked into his property. The landlord visited a few weeks later.
- When he contacted the landlord in December 2021, it said scaffolding was needed so it would start the repair after Christmas.
- The resident called to chase the repair on 23 June 2022. The landlord said it had marked it as complete. The landlord raised a new repair.
- The landlord visited to take photographs of the balcony on 5 July 2022 and said it would make contact once it had decided how to progress. The resident was told the balcony needed to be resurfaced.
- As the landlord had not contacted him, the resident raised a complaint to the landlord in November 2022. He reported seeing cracks in the walls and that the wooden door frame was rotting. The resident said he had to put down plastic when it rained to stop his belongings and flooring being further damaged.
- The landlord’s stage 1 response on 30 January 2023 partially upheld the resident’s complaint and said it had completed the repair by clearing a blockage in the outlet on 19 January 2023. The resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint as the landlord had not resolved the issue.
- The landlord issued its final resolution letter on 13 March 2023. In it the landlord said it had booked in work for a permanent solution. This was to check whether the upstairs balcony was properly sealed, the target date for the landlord to complete this was 29 March 2023. The resident raised a case with the landlord’s dispute arbitration service on 20 October 2023. The Ombudsman understands the issue remains outstanding.
- The resident remains dissatisfied and would like the Ombudsman to investigate. As a resolution the resident would like the landlord to resurface the balcony and widen the drain. The resident would also like compensation.
Assessment and findings
- When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. These are high level good practice guidance developed from the Ombudsman’s experience of resolving disputes, for use by everyone involved in the complaints process. There are only 3 principles driving effective dispute resolution:
- Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes.
- Put things right.
- Learn from outcomes.
- The Ombudsman must first consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
Scope of the investigation
- In the landlord’s complaint responses, it did not dispute the date the resident stated he first reported the repair, or the other information given. The landlord provided the Ombudsman with repair records from January 2023, we have not seen evidence prior to this date. In its stage 1 response the landlord mentioned 2 repair jobs which the Ombudsman has not seen the details of. However, the resident mentions these in his complaint, reinforcing its accuracy. The Ombudsman will rely on the resident’s complaint information in particular the date of 17 August 2021 as the date the repair was 1st reported.
The landlord’s handling of a balcony leak
- Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and installations of the property in good repair.
- The landlord’s repairs policy categorises repairs according to their priority and gives the following response time: these are 24 hours, 2 working days, 5 working days, 30 working days, and either 90 days, or as part of a programme of works.
- The landlord did not have any disabilities listed for the resident. However, the resident is registered blind. To enable efficient communications with the resident, the landlord should also have the fact he does not speak English noted on his contact management record. Updating these will form a recommendation of this report.
- In accordance with the landlord’s repairs policy the landlord should have resolved this complex issue in 90 days, by 15 November 2021. The landlord did not meet this deadline as the Ombudsman understands, at the date of this report, the repair remains outstanding.
- When the resident chased the landlord in December 2021, it told him the repair would start after Christmas. This did not happen and 6 months later the landlord told the resident it had marked the repair as complete. Following the landlord’s visit, it said it would be in touch. The resident then waited for contact from the landlord for over 4 months before raising his complaint.
- There are large gaps in the repairs timeline. The resident allowed the landlord time to resolve the issue, however it did not use this to progress the repair. Without the resident chasing the repair, the landlord would have believed it had resolved it as it marked it as complete. The landlord did not progress or have ownership of this issue. This was likely to be frustrating for the resident and to make him question his confidence in the landlord’s repairing ability.
- The landlord’s contractor cleared a blockage in the outlet of the upstairs balcony on 19 January 2023. The resident disputed there had been a blockage. Following this visit the contractor recommended that the landlord should check the balcony was properly sealed. Two months later, the landlord referred to this in its final resolution response on 13 March 2023 when it raised a job for a permanent solution. The target date for the landlord to complete this was 29 March 2023. The landlord has not provided the Ombudsman with evidence of the outcome of this. The resident said the contractor attended and would send a quote to the landlord.
- The landlord provided the Ombudsman with its records of when a contractor attended on 15 February 2024. The outcome was that both balconies need new asphalt and a larger outlet. This was over a year after a contractor recommended the landlord looked at this and a year and a half after the resident had been advised the balcony needed new asphalt. It is frustrating to see the landlord had not progressed this and left the resident to live with the leak for longer than necessary.
- The landlord has not provided any temporary measure to help the resident manage the issue. The resident has tried to manage it by putting plastic down. The resident has no control about when it was likely to rain, this could be in the middle of the night or when they were out. The resident states they have become obsessed with checking the weather forecast to ensure they put the plastic down before it rains. The Ombudsman acknowledges the impact this has had on the resident and that they have lived with this for over 3 years. The resident has mentioned his concerns about the stability of the property due to the cracks in the walls. A respective order will be made to provide assurance to the resident on the safety of their home.
- The landlord did not adhere to its repairs policy, it did not provide the resident with updates, or progress the repair. The landlord left the resident to manage the problem. Despite reminders from the resident the landlord did not resolve the leak. In accordance with the Scheme, the Ombudsman finds there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the balcony leak.
The landlord’s complaint handling
- The landlord’s complaint policy (dated 2016) states it will provide a stage 1 response 20 working days after it receives a complaint. If the resident wishes to escalate their complaint it will produce its final resolution response in 20 working days.
- The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) says that landlords should address all points raised in the complaint.
- The landlord was late when it issued both complaint responses. The stage 1 response took 49 working days to be issued and the final resolution was 24 working days. The Ombudsman has not seen any evidence the landlord kept the resident informed throughout these delays. This would be likely to amplify the resident’s frustration and make him think the landlord was not taking his complaint seriously.
- The resident clearly stated to the landlord in his initial complaint and the escalation request that he had suffered damaged belongings and flooring. The landlord did not address this in its complaint responses. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to provide details of its insurance company. This will form an order of this report.
- The landlord said in its stage 1 response that the “job was finally carried out…on 19/23”. The resident in his escalation request stated the landlord had not resolved the repair. It would have been a better service if the landlord had contacted the resident to see if it had. In addition, the Ombudsman believes 19/23 referred to 19/1/23, however this does not make sense and the landlord should ensure it checks its complaint responses.
- In its final resolution response, the landlord said the target date for it to complete the repair was 2 weeks later. The resident advised the Ombudsman that the landlord visited, but it did not carry out any work. The complaint process did not result in the repairs being progressed. Any proposed remedy offered by the landlord did not resolve the issue. The resident remained in the same position as if he had not made the complaint. This was likely to have been very frustrating for the resident. The Ombudsman has seen the resident had been trying to seek alternative ways to seek a resolution with the landlord. He approached the landlord’s dispute arbitration service which, again, did not seem to progress this issue either. This situation is likely to have meant the resident suffered a loss of confidence in the landlord.
- The landlord did not apply the dispute resolution principles in its complaint handling. Despite apologising for the service it provided, the landlord did not illustrate how it would ensure this situation would not happen again. Aside promising it would resolve the repair, it did not attempt to put things right for the resident. As such the Ombudsman cannot assess it treated the resident fairly through its complaints process.
- In accordance with the Scheme the Ombudsman finds there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.
Determination
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a balcony leak.
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.
Orders and recommendations
Orders
- The landlord is to issue a written apology for the failings identified in this report.
- The landlord is to ensure the repairs are carried out. To clarify, in accordance with a referenced contractor’s report this is to asphalt the balcony and to make a bigger outlet for the rainwater to drain from. If the landlord believes these are not necessary, it is to inform both the resident and Ombudsman of the reasons why and what the alternative proposal is.
- The landlord is to survey the property to understand any impact from the lasting leak. The landlord is to inform both the resident and the Ombudsman with the survey findings. If there is remedial work to be completed the landlord is to provide both parties with a timetable of when this will be completed.
- The landlord is to pay the resident compensation totalling £1,911.48. This comprises of:
- £1,686.48 to reflect the impact on the resident’s use and enjoyment of his property for the 146 weeks from 15 November 2021 to present. The Ombudsman has used the principle of the landlord’s compensation policy to arrive at this figure. The affected living room is 25% of the property. This issue did not render the whole room unusable however it affected the use and enjoyment of it. The Ombudsman has allowed 1/3 of the living room in the calculation for the affected period.
- £150 for the resident’s time and trouble in chasing updates. The Ombudsman has used the landlord’s compensation policy to arrive at this award.
- £75 for the landlord’s complaint handling.
- The landlord is to provide the resident with the details of its insurance company. The resident will decide whether he wishes to make a claim for any damaged belongings.
- The landlord is to confirm compliance to the Ombudsman with the order to complete the repair in 10 weeks of the date of this report. The landlord is to confirm compliance with all other orders in 4 weeks of the date of this report.
Recommendation
- The landlord should consider updating the resident and his wife’s contact management details and disabilities to ensure it has accurate records.