London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202120419)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202120419

London & Quadrant Housing Trust

16 January 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 response to reports of contractors entering the resident’s premises without permission.

Background

  1. The resident is a licensee of the landlord, who is the licensor. The property is a flat comprised of individual private rooms and a communal kitchen and bathroom.
  2. On 13 October 2021, the resident complained to the landlord that on coming home from work, they had found several contractors in their private room. The resident said they were alarmed, as the landlord had not informed them that they would be accessing their home. The resident stated that although this was the first time anyone had accessed their room without prior warning, this issue had occurred before in the communal areas of the property.
  3. The landlord responded on 15 November 2021. It explained that there had been a miscommunication with its contractors, as they had been given a master key, on the understanding that they would just be entering the communal areas of the property. It acknowledged that the contractors should not have entered the resident’s room, and reassured the resident that it had now spoken to its contractors and that it would not happen again. After its stage one complaint response, it also offered the resident £50 compensation for the distress caused. The resident escalated their complaint on 18 November 2021 as they felt that the landlord had not issued a full apology for its mistake. The resident said they wanted to be given prior notice of contractors entering any area of the property, and also wanted to know what the landlord intended to do to prevent a similar event from happening again.
  4. The landlord responded on 9 April 2022. It apologised for the contractors entering the resident’s room without permission. It explained that there had never been any previous incidents of contractors entering private rooms and stated that it would not happen again. It offered a further £50 compensation to the resident, for its delay in responding, bringing the total compensation offered to £100.
  5. After completing the landlord’s complaint procedure, the resident continued to report contractors gaining access without notice to the communal areas. The landlord responded on 27 May 2022, stating that contractors may enter communal areas, but may not enter resident’s individual rooms without permission.
  6. The resident has brought their complaint to this Service because they remain unhappy that the landlord allowed contractors to have a master key without their knowledge or permission. The resident said they do not feel that the landlord has taken appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence. As an outcome the resident said they would like those responsible to face disciplinary action and for the landlord to explain what measures it has put in place to ensure their safety. 

Assessment

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has stated that they would like the individual staff members responsible for contractors accessing their room to face disciplinary action. In accordance with paragraph 42(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this Service will not consider complaints which concern terms of employment or other personnel issues. Accordingly, the Ombudsman does not comment on how a landlord should deal with individual staff members in terms of any disciplinary proceedings. Individuals represent the landlord as a whole, as such their failings are treated as failings of the landlord. The Ombudsman’s determination and associated orders or recommendations will therefore be made to the landlord.

The landlord’s response to reports of contractors entering the resident’s room without permission.

  1. According to the resident’s licence agreement, the landlord’s staff and contractors can enter the resident’s room in order to provide them with services, maintenance and any help. However, it states that staff will respect the resident’s privacy providing it does not conflict with the needs of other residents. The licence also states that the resident must allow the employees access on behalf of the licensor (the landlord) at reasonable times and subject to reasonable notice to inspect the condition of the premises to carry out health and safety checks or to carry out repairs. Immediate access may be required in an emergency.
  2. The landlord acted appropriately in its complaint response, by acknowledging that it should not have entered the resident’s room without reasonable notice. It apologised for the incident and explained why the error had occurred. To reassure the resident, it later explained the procedure for checking out master keys. It stated that master keys are recorded when they are checked in and out, and will only be checked out between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Those able to check out the keys are employees of the landlord. The landlord also acted reasonably in offering the resident a total of £100 compensation for the distress caused and for the delay in its stage two response. However, this is not considered to offer the resident sufficient redress of the failing identified and as such the landlord has been ordered to pay the resident a further £50, bringing to total compensation payable to £150.
  3. In its response, the landlord differentiates between the permission necessary to enter the communal area as opposed to individual rooms. It states that contractors only need to give prior notice to enter the resident’s rooms. As the communal rooms in this case are made up of an enclosed flat, which includes a communal bathroom, it is understandable that the resident may not feel comfortable with strangers entering the premises unannounced.
  4. Within the resident’s licence agreement, it states that the resident must allow access to the premises when given reasonable notice. The use of the word premises would indicate that this refers to the full extent of the property. Additionally, there is nothing in the licence agreement that grants the landlord unrestricted access to the premises without reasonable notice. Consequently, the landlord should inform the resident of when it is intending to access the communal areas of their property, and give the resident reasonable notice, as per its own licence agreement. It is a failing that it has neglected to do so on several occasions.
  5. The landlord’s error caused distress to the resident, resulting in them losing faith with the landlord’s ability to respect their privacy within their home. While the landlord has acknowledged some failings and made attempts to put things right, it has failed to fully address the detriment to the resident and needs to take steps to prevent future occurrences.

Determination (Decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its response to reports of contractors entering the resident’s premises without permission.

Orders

  1. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident a total of £150 compensation, which is inclusive of the £100 already offered by the landlord and if this has not already been paid.
    2. Implement a new procedure of giving reasonable notice to the resident, and those she shares the premises with, when its employees or contractors need to enter either the communal areas or residents’ rooms within the premises.
    3. Confirm to this service that it has complied with the above orders.