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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202335498)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202335498

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

25 June 2025

 

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 reports of:
    1. Issues with the hot water system at the property.
    2. Subsidence and cracks inside and outside the property.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord with a ground floor maisonette with a private garden.
  2. The resident moved into the property on 27 November 2023 and the following day reported that there was no constant supply of hot water at the property. She complained on 11 January 2024. She said a plumber attended and told her that, due to the size and system of her water tank, there would be delay in hot water being available once used. She said her disabled son needed access to regular baths to calm him.
  3. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 January 2024. It agreed to inspect the property to determine if it should complete a heating system upgrade. It said a contractor would arrange an appointment with the resident.  The landlord replaced the hot water cylinder at the property on 22 March.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint on 3 May 2024. When the landlord did not reply she raised her concerns to the Ombudsman. We asked the landlord to respond. The resident clarified her complaint to the landlord on 27 June. This included ground works outside the property, ongoing issues with hot water and subsidence affecting the property.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 3 July 2024. It agreed to inspect and resolve the subsidence at the property. It said that as the hot water system was working as intended it would not undertake further work on it unless recommended by an occupational therapy assessment. It offered £120 compensation for distress and inconvenience. It is unclear what issue this related to. It also offered £40 compensation for its delayed complaint response. This was £160 total.
  6. The resident told the Ombudsman she was worried about subsidence as more cracks were appearing. She wanted the landlord to complete all repairs, address safety concerns and provide a constant flow of hot water.

Assessment and findings

Issues with the hot water system at the property

  1. The resident raised the issue of a lack of consistent hot water the day after she moved into the property in November 2023. She clarified in her complaint on 11 January 2024 that she needed sufficient hot water throughout the day to calm down her disabled son. She said she could use a “boost button,” but this took 45 minutes to produce hot water and only 10 minutes of hot water supply.
  2. The evidence confirms the landlord was completing repairs to the water tank between November 2023 and the resident’s initial complaint. Its stage 1 response demonstrated it was taking the matter seriously. It arranged a repair with a specialist contractor to determine if a system upgrade was required.
  3. The landlord’s repairs policy confirms it is responsible for full hot and cold water supply. In accordance with this, it replaced the hot water cylinder at the property on 22 March 2024. Evidence shows the hot water system was functioning, and there was hot water available. The landlord also confirmed this in its stage 2 response of 3 July.
  4. In her complaint escalation of 3 May 2024, the resident said she did not have a consistent hot water supply despite the landlord replacing the cylinder. The landlord appropriately confirmed in its stage 2 response that the system was working as intended and was not in need of repair. So therefore, the resident was asking for an improvement to the system, which it was not obliged to offer. This is reflected in the landlord’s repairs policy.
  5. The landlord advised the resident in its stage 2 response that the resident could complete an occupational therapist assessment. It said this was to determine if it could complete any recommended change to the hot water system as a “major adaptation.” This was an appropriate step and considerate of the resident’s son’s health. It provided support to her on how to do this.
  6. In summary the landlord’s actions in response to the resident’s reports and requests regarding the hot water system were in line with its obligations. Its explanation about how she could request a new heating system was also appropriate.

Subsidence and cracks inside and outside the property

  1. In her escalation raised by the Ombudsman the resident said her property was subsiding and the outside needed major groundworks. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response reassured the resident that it was handling the subsidence issues at the property. It confirmed it would inspect the issue and would create an action plan to resolve it. It offered compensation of £120 for any distress and inconvenience caused, in accordance with its compensation policy. The resident has not disputed the stage 2 response. Rather, her concerns are about what the landlord did afterwards.
  2. It is unclear when the landlord inspected the property. However, on 19 August 2024, its insurer confirmed it was further monitoring the situation. The insurer also said it was inspecting trees that they believed to be the root cause of the subsidence issue. This was in line with a site inspection report completed by the landlord and insurer a year earlier, which suggested superstructure repairs and redecoration to resolve the issue. It expected the work to be finalised by October 2024.
  3. However, there is no evidence of the landlord keeping the resident up to date on works to resolve the root cause of the issue following its stage 2 response. This was not in line with its commitment to monitor the issue through an action plan and a failure to manage the resident’s expectations. It is unclear what steps it is taking to address the issue. The resident told the Ombudsman in January 2025 the landlord had not updated her on work to repair the subsidence.
  4. The Ombudsman told the landlord on 25 June 2024 in the complaint escalation the resident was concerned about groundworks outside her property as she said the pavement “collapsed.” The landlord also clarified this was part of her complaint in a call with her on 27 June. However, it did not respond to this issue in its complaint response, leaving the issue unresolved. It is unclear if this has since been resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with the hot water system at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of subsidence and cracks inside and outside the property.

Orders

  1. In light of the failings found in this report, the landlord must pay the resident £320 within 4 weeks of this report. This comprises:
    1. £200 for its lack of communication about the subsidence repairs and groundworks.
    2. £120 it offered to the resident for her distress and inconvenience on 3 July 2024, if it has not already paid this.
  2. Within 8 weeks, the landlord must update the resident and the Ombudsman on its proposals for completing repairs to the root cause of the subsidence and the pavement issue. It must make clear if it is progressing and, if so, the timescales it expects to complete such work.
  3. Evidence of compliance with these orders must be provided by their respective deadlines.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord offered compensation of £40 for its complaint handling delays. If it has not already done so, the landlord should also pay this amount to the resident.