Leeds City Council (202007388)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202007388

Leeds City Council

9 November 2021

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 response to the resident’s request for repairs at the property.

Background and summary of events

2. The resident lives in a three-bedroom flat in a low-rise building, which includes an attic bedroom. She has a secure tenancy with the landlord since 2014. She has no vulnerabilities recorded.

The tenancy agreement

3. The tenancy agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of both the resident and the landlord. Section 10.13 says the landlord is responsible for the structure of the dwelling. The landlord is also responsible for ‘making good’ internal decorations damaged during a repair. 

The repairs policy

4. The landlord’s Repairs and Maintenance Handbook confirms that landlord is responsible for the structure of the building, including the roof, walls and chimney. Roof leaks are shown as ‘priority’ repairs which must be carried out within seven working days. General/other repairs will be done in 20 working days.  ‘Batched’ repairs which may require a pre inspection including loose plaster, are completed within 60 days. ‘Improvements’, which includes internal door replacement, and major replastering are delivered through planned programmes set out in the landlord’s annual investment plan. 

 

The complaints policy

5. The landlord’s Compliments and Complaints Policy says that complaints at both stage one and two of the internal process will be responded to in 15 working days.

Summary of events

6. In 2018, the landlord’s log shows repair jobs raised in relation to a leak from the roof coming into bedrooms and passageway, a surveyor’s inspection and joinery to the bedroom window, all were cancelled due to no access. A further job was cancelled on 11 June 2019 as no access, but subsequently took place on 18 June 2019.
7. Accordingly, a job was raised to repair a Velux window on 26 June 2019, and for joinery to door and architrave on 2 July 2019. A job to repair damp and painting to the chimney breast was also raised but cancelled and raised again due to no access on 17 July 2019. Two further jobs were raised for plastering and internal doors in late 2019. 
8. On 13 March 2020, the resident raised a complaint and stated that she had previously raised repairs and a surveyor visited the property in July 2019. Operatives had visited but there was confusion over what work would be done. Measurements were taken for windows, but workmen never returned. Work was done in the attic, but the job was not finished. The resident still had a leak into the bedroom. She kept being told that someone would get back to her, but it never happened.
9. On the same day, jobs were raised to hack off and re-plaster walls or ceiling, repair UPVC window furniture, repair a flat roof and lead flashing, and to ease sash windows and casement.
10. An inspection took place on 18 March 2020 and lists jobs to be raised as follows: 

1. Ground Floor entrance. Joint door entrance needs new weather bar. Door to flat needs architrave fixing.
2. Lounge. Walls and ceiling need plastering, and coving removed.
3. Main bedroom. Floor near chimney breast needs repair. Damp maybe roof leak. Ceiling crack above window.
4. Back bedroom. New door required.
5. Toilet. New door required.
6. Attic. New door and casing required. Plaster repairs after new door casing fitted. Velux needs repair or replacing due to leaks.
7. Roof. Damp in first floor bedroom and attic, possible roof leaks. Mainly to rear but reports damp patches to front attic bedroom.

11. On 19 March 2020 a job was raised to repair the leak into the bedroom from the attic window and chimney.
12. On 20 March 2020 the job previously raised to hack off and re-plaster, repair UPVC windows, repair the roof and sash windows was cancelled due to no access. 
13. In late March 2020, after the national lockdown was announced, the landlord issued a message to its staff concerning the impact of the Covid pandemic on repairs. It said that repairs which were not essential were unlikely to be completed by the target date. The only repairs which would be done were those which were likely to impact the health or safety of tenants or other householders.
14. On 7 April 2020, the landlord issued its stage one complaint response. It confirmed that the terms of the complaint were that a surveyor had visited and raised repairs, a contractor visited but did not carry out all the repairs. The landlord said there were live orders on the system to resolve the issues and apologised that these had not been expediated correctly.
15. The landlord said that due to the Covid pandemic it was only able to carry out urgent/essential repairs. When the restrictions were lifted the landlord would contact the resident to arrange to attend the property. A voicemail had been left for the resident explaining that the landlord and contractors would attend and discuss the repairs when this was possible. Further complaint appeal rights were given.
16. The job to hack off and re-plaster walls and ceilings which was logged on 13 March 2020 was marked as ‘practically complete’, on 11 June 2020.
17. On 3 July 2020, the job to repair the leak into bedroom from the attic window and chimney was cancelled due to no access.
18. In August 2020, jobs were raised to renew weather boards to a door at the property but cancelled due to no access.
19. On 28 August 2020, a further stage one complaint response refers to the complaint dated 13 March 2020. It said that the resident was unhappy as she had been waiting for a Velux window to be replaced and there were other repairs outstanding. The landlord responded that following a phone conversation, there would be a visit to the property on 2 August 2020 to view all outstanding issues and raise the correct repairs, given the date of the letter this would appear to be an error, and related to 2 September 2020. Further appeal rights were given.
20. On or around 6 October 2020, the landlord’s notes indicate that there was a visit to the property.  Contractors were issued work (including door repairs/architrave/plastering – possible roof leak) as the landlord had issues obtaining its own staff. The contractor reported issues gaining access when the landlord visited the site.
21. On 21 October 2020, the landlord wrote to the resident’s local councillor and advised that contact had been made with the resident and that following an inspection, repairs had been raised. The landlord said the resident had been very happy and told the landlord that all her issues had been taken care of since raising the enquiry.
22. On 8 January 2021 the landlord raised a repair job as there were large holes in walls in the kitchen and both bedrooms, this is shown as completed on the same day.
23. The landlord was notified by this Service on 27 January 2021 that the resident was complaining about how the landlord had handled her request for repairs including:

1. The living room walls had cracks in them.
2. Water leaked through the bedroom wall.
3. Water was leaking through the roof.
4. The windows in the roof were rotten.
5. To resolve the complaint, the resident wanted all outstanding repairs to be completed.

24. On 7 February 2021, the landlord issued a stage two complaint response to the resident. It said that the complaint issue was that the stage one response did not fully address the complaint, as the resident still had outstanding repairs at the property. The landlord confirmed that the outstanding repairs had been prioritised and contractors would contact her that week to book the work. Further appeal rights to this Service were given.

Since Internal Complaints Process completed

25. The landlord’s notes indicate that an operative would attend the property on 5 March 2021 and confirmed a start date for repairs as 11 March 2021 as the resident was away before this. It was expected that the work would take more than a week to complete and that an inspection would be done to ensure all tasks had been completed to the resident’s satisfaction.
26. In early April 2021, the landlord’s notes indicate a third visit to the property to discuss the works approved by the area technical officer. The contractor was unable to start due to another resident having dug trenches in the garden so scaffolding could not be erected. This was followed by a fourth visit to discuss filling in the trenches so the contractors could complete works to property. The roofing contractors finished their work and further access issues were reported.
27. On 23 April 2021, a repair was raised and completed to renew the stench pipe and check chimneys at the property.
28. This was followed on 4 May 2021 by a job to fix a window in the main bedroom, loose floorboards near the chimney breast, and plaster newly fitted Velux window in the resident’s daughter’s room. The landlord reported that the resident was verbally abusive, and contractors removed themselves from the site. The landlord said it would allocate the job to another contractor after ensuring the resident’s behaviour would not be repeated.
29. On 22 July 2021, the resident provided updates on the repairs as follows:

1. Living room walls cracked, started but not finished.
2. Water through bedroom wall, repair to wall completed but not made good.
3. Leak through roof – completed.
4. Windows in roof – window replaced but no plastering had been done.

30. An email from contractors to the landlord on 24 August 2021 reported that the resident was verbally aggressive towards an operative. The resident refused the work and left abusive messages on the contractor’s answerphone. The contractors said they would complete the flooring job but would not then be returning to the property. They had also done work in March and had experienced similar problems with the resident.

Assessment and findings

31. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and whilst the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. As the substantive issues become historic it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such as the Ombudsman, to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address those issues.
32. This is supported by paragraph 39(e) of the Scheme, which states that the Ombudsman will not consider issues which were not raised with the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within six months of the matters arising. In view of the time periods involved in this case, considering the availability of evidence, this assessment does not consider any specific events prior to the middle of 2019. Some historic issues have been referenced for context, but the assessment is focused on the landlord’s actions in responding to the more recent events and, specifically, to the formal complaint made in March 2020.
33. The initial complaint was made on 13 March 2020 and responded to on 7 April 2021, which is slightly outside of the 15 working days’ time scale given by the landlord. However, given the proximity to the national lockdown this may be expected. 
34. The response did not explain what had happened to cause the initial delay, or detail when the repairs were raised, although it did apologise that that the repairs had not been expediated. From the evidence in the repair log, it would appear the repairs were initially reported in 2018, which suggests a significant delay. However. It is not known if these were the same repairs as the resident said were raised in July 2019, that failed again, other similar repairs, or jobs raised and never completed. They are included here for context and illustrate the access issues the landlord has recorded.
35. However, the landlord records indicate that there was ‘no access’ on occasions for it to complete the repairs. There is no further detail about this, or whether the resident was advised of the appointments in advance, if it was her denying access to the property, or some other reason.
36. The complaint response did not list the outstanding repairs to give the resident any reassurance that the landlord was going to systematically resolve all her concerns. Given the number and nature of the repairs, and that the resident would be confined to home during the lockdown, it is reasonable to suggest that this would have been a very difficult period for the resident.
37.  The Ombudsman accepts that landlords will have experienced difficulties delivering services considering the challenges posed by the Covid lockdown. However, a landlord would still be expected to maintain communication with residents to manage their expectations of the level of service which they could expect. These repairs were brought to the landlord’s attention in 2019, before the impact of the pandemic in 2020 and were yet to be fully completed by the time the complaint was duly made with this Service on 22 July 2021. During this time there was no indication of the landlord keeping the resident informed about the progress of the repairs.
38.  It is noted that the landlord attended the property within a week of the complaint being raised, on 18 March 2020, and repair jobs were raised. This was in accordance with its repairs policy, which specifies that roof leaks must be carried out within seven working days, with other repairs within 20 working days. The landlord’s response to this Service indicated that these repairs were ‘completed 18 March 2020’ but given the wider context it would appear that the jobs were raised on that date, and this assessment has been done on that understanding.
39. The national lockdown then prevented any repairs other than those likely to impact the health and safety of the resident or other householders, and understandably the resident’s repairs were put on hold.
40. However, while it was reasonable for the landlord to postpone non-emergency work, it had already delayed from summer 2019 in completing the repairs, or clearly explaining to the resident why it had not carried them out.
41. Once the landlord recommenced repairs and revisited the property in September 2020, there were some further access problems reported, but again these were not explained further. In October 2020 the landlord advised a councillor that all the repairs had been raised, and the resident was satisfied. Three months later the resident advised this service that several significant repairs were yet to be completed, including the leak into the bedroom. 
42. The stage two response in February 2021 confirmed that work was still outstanding, but the landlord had prioritised the repairs. This was five months after repairs were restarted, but there is no evidence of communication with the resident around this.
43. The stage two complaint response provided contact details for this Service and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman but left it to the resident to work out which one would be appropriate. This did not signpost and support the resident through the process as the Ombudsman would expect. Although two stage one responses were sent, the landlord explained this was because complaints were ‘picked up’ following the lockdown, which seemed reasonable. As the resident had not escalated her complaint in this time, it did not delay the process.
44. It is acknowledged that the landlord has reported that the resident has been abusive to its contractors, and that this has made it difficult for the more recent appointments to be completed. The landlord staff and contractors are entitled to carry out their duties without fear of abuse. However, the landlord has not demonstrated, in its complaint responses or other correspondence, that it has investigated these allegations. Because of this lack of action on behalf of the landlord, the Ombudsman has attached less significance to the resident’s reported behaviour, although it has not discountenanced it entirely as a contributing factor to the delays. It is noted that there were repeated access problems, for reasons which have not been explained in the documents provided to this Service, and this delayed the landlord completing the work.
45. Had an investigation been undertaken, the landlord would still have been expected to deal with the repairs and respond correctly, but it would be entitled to warn the resident about her conduct and how this would impact on any repairs being carried out. There is no evidence that this was done.
46. The overdue repairs were significant and included water leaks, which are classified as essential repairs by the landlord. This extended delay to multiple repairs before and then continuing through the lockdown period and beyond would reasonably have been distressing for the resident. By the date of the stage two response, a further inspection of the repairs was booked, however the Ombudsman has not been advised on the situation with the repairs.
47.  While it is accepted that the landlord will have experienced challenges in delivering its repairs service during the Covid pandemic, it was a failure on its part to not communicate with the resident during this period to keep her informed. The landlord therefore exhibited failures in its handling of the repair by delaying excessively and not updating the resident on progress.
48. The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, available to view at https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Remedies-Guidance.pdf  provides for compensation of between £250 and £700 to be awarded where there has been considerable service failure. This may involve “a complainant repeatedly having to chase responses and seek correction of mistakes, necessitating unreasonable level of involvement by that complainant” and “failure over a considerable period of time to act in accordance with policy – for example to address repairs”.
49.  The landlord should therefore appropriately compensate the resident in recognition of the likely distress and inconvenience caused by its lack of communication and the delay in addressing the repair. In awarding compensation, the Ombudsman must consider all the circumstances of the case. While the repair has taken an excessive length of time to address, and there was no evidence of the landlord communicating effectively with the resident during this time, the Ombudsman accepts that challenges will have been faced by the landlord in delivering non-emergency repairs during this period due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Determination (decision)

50. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Scheme there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the repair.

Reasons

51. The landlord did not effectively communicate with the resident to explain the delay in the repairs, and has not adequately progressed the repairs, or adequately explain why it was prevented from doing so.

Orders

52.  Within four weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord should:
    1. Pay the resident £400 compensation.
    2. Fully re-inspect the property to ascertain outstanding repairs and provide the resident with a letter detailing the repairs to be completed.
    3. Contact the resident to arrange repair appointments. 

Recommendations

53. It is recommended that the landlord strongly consider whether any further delays in undertaking the repairs after this report should result in the offer of further compensation to the resident.