London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202346774)

Decision
Case ID	202346774
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London & Quadrant Housing Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	17 February 2026

Background

1. The resident reported a crack in her hallway ceiling. The landlord inspected and agreed to complete a patch repair. The resident was unhappy with the outcome because she considered the repair unsightly and wanted the landlord to skim the entire ceiling. She was disappointed with the landlord’s decision to limit the work to a patch repair.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Response to the resident’s request regarding a ceiling repair.
   2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. No maladministration in the landlord’s response to the request for a ceiling repair.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

Ceiling repair

4. The landlord took a reasonable approach to the resident’s request. Its policy confirmed that it had no obligation to complete decorative works. Further, the landlord considered the request, reviewed the quality of the repair, and offered the resident a decoration voucher as a goodwill gesture.

Complaint handling

5. The landlord failed to acknowledge the slight delay to its stage 2 response. Further its complaint responses did not explain why it had reached its conclusions or what evidence or policy it had relied on to support its findings.

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.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failure identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 17 March 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident: £75 for the time and trouble caused by the landlord’s complaint handling. This must be paid directly to the resident and the landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 17 March 2026

 

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
If it has not already done so, the landlord should provide the decoration voucher as offered within its complaint responses as a goodwill gesture.

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
17 October 2023	The resident raised a stage 1 complaint. She said the landlord had agreed to complete a patch repair to her ceiling, however a patch repair would create a different decorative finish as the ceiling was artex. She said the contractor had agreed with her that the ceiling required a full plaster skim instead.
19 October 2023	The landlord said it could not authorise a full reskim of the ceiling. It offered a £50 decoration voucher.
31 January 2024	The resident escalated her complaint. She said the ceiling had been patch repaired and that, despite the contractor’s efforts, the differing finishes made the ceiling look unsightly. She asked the landlord to reconsider its decision.
12 March 2024	The landlord provided its stage 2 response. It was satisfied with the quality of the repair, which it said met its repair standard.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response and asked us to investigate. She said the landlord’s decision was unreasonable, she had spent significant time contacting the landlord and had found the process stressful. She wanted the landlord to complete a full skim of the ceiling to achieve a consistent finish.

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.

Complaint	Ceiling repair
Finding	No maladministration

6. The landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of the property in repair, including defects that affect the building’s condition or the proper working order of essential services. The landlord’s repairs policy says it is responsible for cracked ceilings of 5 mm or more, or ceilings that are severely crumbling, and considers these as routine repairs. The resident reported a ceiling repair on 4 September 2023, and the landlord completed the repair on 31 October 2023 in line with its repair obligations.
7. The resident said she was dissatisfied that the landlord had only patch repaired the ceiling and the contractor who completed the repair apologised for the decorative finish and said it needed to be skimmed. The landlord’s repairs and compensation policy states that it will only redecorate where it has an obligation to do so, or in exceptional circumstances. It also states that it will make good any affected surfaces so they are ready for the resident to decorate. While the resident’s disappointment is noted, the landlord was entitled to rely on its policy when deciding not to complete a full reskim.
8. On 31 January 2024 the landlord confirmed that it had reviewed photos of the repair and was satisfied that the work had been completed to a good standard. It asked the resident to send photos of the area she remained dissatisfied with. After reviewing the photos, the landlord again confirmed that it was satisfied with the quality of the repair. While the outcome was disappointing for the resident, it was reasonable for the landlord to review the evidence and confirm its position. Further, it offered a decoration voucher as a gesture of goodwill.
9. It is understandable that the resident felt disappointed by the landlord’s decision. However, the landlord was entitled to refuse the request under its repairs policy. A landlord may reasonably decide that a patch repair is sufficient where the structural issue has been addressed and no further damage has occurred. The landlord provided its decision and offered a £50 decoration voucher. While the resident disagrees with the outcome, the landlord acted within its policy and repair obligations, we have therefore found no maladministration.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	Service failure

10. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the code) required landlords to acknowledge a complaint within 5 days and respond to stage 1 and 2 complaints within 10 and 20 working days respectively. The landlord’s complaints policy is compliant with the Code.
11. The resident raised a stage 1 complaint on 17 October 2023. The landlord phoned the resident to acknowledge it on 17 and 18 October 2023 and on 19 October 2023 the landlord provided its stage 1 response. This was within the 5-working day and 10-working day timeframe.
12. The resident escalated her complaint on 31 January 2024 and the landlord acknowledged it on the same day. The landlord provided its response on 13 March 2024. This was 10 days late and therefore not in line with its policy.
13. The landlord’s complaint responses lacked detail and did not explain why it could not  instruct a full skim of the ceiling. The Code requires landlords to provide clear findings and explain the reasons for their decisions. To meet this requirement, a landlord must show how it reached its conclusion and refer to the relevant policy where appropriate. A more detailed response referring to this policy may have helped the resident understand the landlord’s reasoning and managed her expectations.
14. The slight delay to the stage 2 complaint process, was unlikely to have any significant impact on, or detriment to, the resident. However, the landlord failed to acknowledge or apologise for the delay and did not provide an adequate complaint response at stage 1. Therefore, we have made a finding of service failure and have ordered the landlord to pay £75 compensation for the resident’s time and trouble. This is in line with our remedies guidance where the failure may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the resident but the landlord did not appropriately acknowledge it.

Learning

15. The landlord should review the Complaint Handling Code to ensure its responses provide clear explanations for decisions, including reference to relevant policies. This would help residents understand how conclusions are reached.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

16. The landlord did not correctly monitor its complaints process which indicates a record keeping failing. It did not provide its stage 2 complaint response according to its policy timescales. Further, it did not seem to be aware of the failing.

Communication

17. The landlord should ensure its communication with residents is clear and provides sufficient detail to explain decisions. In this case, clearer communication about why a full skim was not required, and how the repair met its obligations, may have helped manage the resident’s expectations and reduced the need for escalation.