London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202405973)

Background

1. There was a leak into the communal area of the resident’s block of flats. The landlord found it was coming from water tanks in the loft space. The resident complained because she was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the repairs.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. A leak into a communal area.
   2. The complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of:
   1. A leak into a communal area.
   2. The complaint.

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of a leak into a communal area

4. The landlord acknowledged and apologised for its delays repairing the leak. It recognised the inconvenience this caused the resident. Its compensation was proportionate to the failings and in line with our compensation guidance.

The landlord’s complaint handling

5. The landlord accepted its complaint handling delays. It offered the resident compensation which was proportionate to its complaint handling failings and in line with our compensation guidance.

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.

What we have not considered

6. In December 2024, the resident made a new complaint about a stopcock issue in her bathroom. The new complaint will be investigated under case 202506827.

What we have considered

7. The occupancy agreement says the landlord is responsible for maintaining common entrance ways, halls and stairways. The landlord’s repairs policy says it aims to complete routine repairs in an average of 25 calendar days.
8. The landlord’s repair records do not say when the leak occurred or when it was first reported. The records show on 6 April 2023 the landlord ordered work to resolve mould in a communal hallway after a leak. It did this work on 3 May 2023, in line with the timeline in its repair policy.
9. After the resident complained about the repairs, the landlord raised a work order on 11 August 2023. It inspected the communal area on 23 August 2023.
10. In its stage 1 response the landlord said the leak was not from the brickwork pointing. It had contacted 2 roofing contractors, and it would go through a section 20 consultation when it had the responses.
11. On 2 October 2023 the landlord received a report of a leak from a water tank. The tanks are in the communal loft space and accessed through a neighbour’s property. The landlord tried to arrange access to the neighbouring property on 1 November 2023 and 13 November 2023. It was unsuccessful, the landlord asked the neighbour to contact it so it could arrange to visit.
12. On 29 November 2023 the resident said the mould in the hallway had returned and was worse. The landlord visited on 7 December 2023 and cleaned the area. The landlord responded in line with its repairs policy.
13. On 9 January 2024 the landlord contacted the neighbour and asked them when it could visit to get access to the water tank.
14. The resident asked for an update on 23 January 2024. The landlord did not reply until1 March 2024when it told the resident a surveyor had visited and it would check the water tank on 5 March 2024.
15. The landlord confirmed the water tanks needed replacing. It ordered the work and updated the resident. The landlord inspected 155 days after the leaking tank was reported, this was outside the repairs policy. The landlord had issues accessing the water tanks through the neighbour’s property which contributed to the delay.
16. In its stage 2 response the landlord apologised for the repair delays. It referred the resident to its insurance company but did not explain why. It offered £720 compensation forthe inconvenience and distress it caused the resident.
17. Between March and July 2024,the landlord tried to arrange access to do the repair on several occasions. The landlord escalated its attempts to gain access, however it failed to keep the resident updated about what action it was taking.It completed the repair on 4 July 2024.
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 consider 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 apologised for its delay repairing the leak and recognised the inconvenience this caused the resident. Although the landlord completed the repairit did not communicate consistently with the resident or explain how it was trying to access the tank. The resident told us the communal carpet was not cleaned to an acceptable standard. The landlord offered £720 compensation this is within the range in our compensation guidance for a failure that had a significant impact on the resident. For this reason, we found reasonable redress on the basis the landlord pays the compensation it offered in its complaint response.

20. The landlord has a 2-stage complaints policy. It says it will acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days and provide a response at stage 1 within 10 working days of that acknowledgement. If it needs additional time, it will tell the resident when it will respond. At stage 1 the landlord must not extend the date by more than 10 working days. At stage 2, it says it will acknowledge the escalation request within 5 working days and respond within 20 working days of the acknowledgement. These timescales and the complaint definition align with the Complaint Handling Code 2022 (the Code) which was in use at the time of this complaint.
21. On 4 August 2023 the resident complained. The landlord did not acknowledge her complaint. It sent its stage 1 response 3 working days after its policy timescales. It also said it would give the resident £50 compensation for its poor communication.
22. The Code (2022) required the landlord’s stage 1 response to say in clear, plain language the complaint definition, the landlord’s decision and its reasons. Whilst also providing details how to escalate the matter to stage 2 if the resident remained dissatisfied. The landlord’s stage 1 response did not include this information.
23. The landlord sent its stage 2 response 108 working days later than the timeframe in its complaint policy.
24. The Code (2022) required the landlord to say in its stage 2 response the complaint definition, the landlord’s decision and its reasons. It did not include this information.
25. The landlord apologised for the delay in sending its stage 2 response and increased its compensation to £270. This amount is within the range in our compensation guidance where there was failure that affected the resident but did not have a permanent impact. Therefore, we found the landlord offered reasonable redress on the basis the landlord pays the compensation it offered in its complaint response.

Learning

26. The landlord did not supply accurate information about its handling of the complaint. It should learn from this complaint to ensure it keeps clear and complete records and it can provide them when asked.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

27. The landlord’s repair records were not clear about what repairs it completed and what attempts it made to gain access to the neighbouring property. It should ensure it keeps full and accurate records to fulfil repair responsibilities and evidence it has done so

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.