London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202336647)

Background

1. In September 2023, the resident reported a bathroom leak to the landlord. They complained about the landlord’s handling of the leak.

What the complaint is about

2. The landlord’s handling of:
   1. A bathroom leak.
   2. The complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s:
   1. Handling of a bathroom leak.
   2. Complaint handling.

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of a bathroom leak

4. The landlord acknowledged the inconvenience its handling of the repairs caused the resident. It apologised and offered compensation. The compensation was proportionate to the failings we identified in our investigation and was satisfactory to resolve the complaint.

The landlord’s complaint handling

5. The landlord identified it did not acknowledge the resident’s stage 1 complaint and took too long to provide a response at stage 1 and stage 2. It offered the resident compensation which satisfactorily resolved the failings in its complaint handling.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

6. In September 2023 the resident reported a bathroom leak. The landlord has not sent us full repair or customer contact records.
7. Following the report, the landlord attended on 14 September 2023 and confirmed the leak in the bathroom and the water had damaged the kitchen ceiling below the bathroom.
8. On 23 October 2023 the landlord ordered a repair. It said it visited and made the kitchen ceiling safe.
9. The resident called the landlord on 25 October 2023 and said the leak had worsened. The landlord escalated the repair to an emergency and said it would attend on 26 October 2023. The landlord told the resident it needed to remove tiles to find the leak.
10. In its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord acknowledged its delays repairing the leak. It said it would do the repair on 12 December 2023. The landlord offered £180 compensation, which it said would be offset against any arrears.
11. The landlord visited 3 time between 12 October and 12 December 2023. The resident confirmed the landlord fixed the leak on 18 December 2023.
12. The landlord’s repairs policy says it aims to complete routine day to day repairs within 25 calendar days and attend an emergency repair within 24 hours. It’s unclear what date in September 2023 the resident initially reported the leak, but the landlord first attended on 14 September 2023 and repaired it on 18 December 2023. It inspected the leak within 24 hours when it was raised it to an emergency repair. However, it took 95 calendar days from the first visit to repairing the leak. It did not comply with its own repair policy.
13. The resident also asked the landlord to escalate her complaint because she felt it did not cover the cost of damage to the decorating and tiles.
14. The landlord’s repair policy says it expects residents to have adequate contents insurance for their furniture, decoration and personal possessions to insure them against accidental water damage.
15. The landlord responded and increased its compensation offer to £260, it said it would pay the compensation to the resident’s rent account. It signposted the resident to its insurance team if she did not have contents insurance.
16. In its stage 2 response the landlord recognised the resident wanted compensation for her losses rather than an offset against her arrears. It offered her £350, which included an additional £50 for its complaints handling, £50 for her time and effort and a £250 goodwill gesture. It said it would pay this by cheque.
17. The landlord completed the repair on 18 December 2023, around 3 months after the resident first reported the issue. The landlord arranged around 6 contractor visits between the initial report and the final repair. Although the occupancy agreement classifies a leaking pipe as an emergency repair, the landlord did not escalate it until late October 2023.
18. Where the landlord admitted failings, we consider whether the redress it offered put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. We take into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with our dispute resolution principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
19. The landlord acknowledged its delays repairing the leak and offered the resident compensation to recognise the inconvenience, distress, time and trouble it caused her. The £350 compensation it offered was in line with our remedies guidance for failings which adversely affected the resident but did not have a permanent impact. Therefore, the landlord offered the resident reasonable redress for its handling of the bathroom leak.

20. The landlord has a 2 stage complaints policy. It says it will acknowledge a stage 1 complaint within 5 working days and provide a response within 10 working days of that acknowledgement. If it needs additional time, it must agree the extension with the resident. At stage 2, it says it will respond within 20 working days. These timescales align with the Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
21. The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s stage 1 complaint. It sent its stage 1 response 41 working days after the resident complained.
22. The landlord addressed the complaint issues and confirmed it had escalated the repair to an emergency. It offered the resident compensation, which included £60 for its complaint handling delays.
23. The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s escalation request when she first asked it to escalate her complaint. However, it did increase its compensation offer. It did this outside of its complaint process, between its stage 1 and stage 2 response. Whilst it is positive the landlord increased its compensation offer, we expect landlords to handle complaints in line with the Code.
24. The landlord acknowledged the escalation request 49 working days after the resident first asked it to escalate her complaint. It sent its stage 2 response 29 working days after the timeframe in its complaints policy.
25. The landlord acknowledged its delays sending its stage 2 response. It offered the resident an additional £50 for its complaint handling failures. In total it offered £110. This falls within the range in our remedies guidance where there was a failure that had an adverse effect on the resident. Therefore, we found the landlord offered reasonable redress for its complaint handling failures.

Learning

26. The landlord sent a carpenter to repair the leak. It should learn from this complaint and      ensure it sends the correct person to avoid multiple visits and delays.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

27. The landlord did not send us complete repair or customer contact records. The landlord should ensure it maintains complete and accurate records.

Communication

28. The landlord should learn from this complaint and consider how it communicates with residents about repairs. It should ensure it provides prompt, correct and meaningful updates.