London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202430309)

Decision
Case ID	202430309 and 202448811
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London & Quadrant Housing Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Leaseholder
Date	21 November 2025

Background

The resident lives in a flat with her 2 children. The landlord is the freeholder of the building. In March 2023, she reported a roof leak. In October 2023, she complained to the landlord as it had not repaired the roof.

What the complaint is about

The landlord’s handling of:
1. Roof leak repairs.
2. The resident’s complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We found:
1. Severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of roof leak repairs.
2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of roof leak repairs

The landlord did not use the Section 20 process in line with its policy to arrange repairs after the resident first reported a leak in March 2023. At the time of this report the roof repair was outstanding, and the resident says she has not been able to use the affected room since June 2024.

The landlord’s complaint handling

There were delays in the landlord’s handling of both complaints. Its compensation offer during the first complaint was fair. However, its final offer and lack of apology failed to recognise the impact of delays on the resident.

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 failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: the apology is provided by an Executive Group Director 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 22 December 2025
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £3,230 made up as follows: £780 offered in its stage 2 response of September 2024 for distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble caused by repair delays £200 offered in its stage 2 response of September 2024 for complaint handling delays £200 offered in its stage 2 response of February 2025 for distress caused by failing to recognise the impact, time, and trouble £50 offered in its stage 2 response of February 2025 for poor complaint handling £2,000 additional payment for distress, inconvenience, time and trouble it caused the resident for the length of time the issues remained unresolved This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 22 December 2025
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the extent of the damage caused to the affected internal areas of property and produces a written report with photographs The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards It must consider what internal remedial works to complete, or fund, to put right the damage once it completes the permanent roof repairs. A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue if it will complete works itself The likely timescales to commence and complete the work once roof repairs are complete Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works It must provide us and the resident with a copy of the report.	No later than 22 December 2025
3	Urgent/emergency or make safe works order The landlord must determine what urgent/emergency or make safe works it can do and complete these by the due date. This includes stopping the water from leaking into the building and homes.	No later than 22 December 2025
5	Case review order The landlord must complete a senior management review of the failures identified in this case. It must consider what learning it can take from this complaint. It must provide us with a copy of its review which is to include any actions it intends to take as a result.	No later than 14 January 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
4 October 2023	The resident complained about an ongoing roof leak causing damage to her property. She was worried about plaster falling off the wall.
5 October 2023	The landlord sent its stage 1 response. It asked its surveyor and section 20 team for updates and said it would keep the resident informed. It told her to be vigilant and only use the bedroom if she felt it was safe. If she felt it unsafe, she could contact the landlord. It said it would discuss compensation when it completed the works.
23 February 2024	The resident told the landlord she was not satisfied with its communication. She was unhappy it had not started works to repair the roof. The landlord did not escalate her complaint from this contact.
23 May 2024	The resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint after she continued to chase it for updates on roofing works.
18 September 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 response. It apologised for the ongoing delays, distress, and inconvenience. It said internal works should be managed by her either her own insurance company, or its internal insurance team. It could not provide a date for works but said this was with its roofing and section 20 teams. It offered £980 compensation.
21 October 2024	The resident made a new complaint about the incomplete roof repair. She said she had been unable to use the bedroom since June 2024.
27 January 2025	The landlord sent a new stage 1 response. It said the section 20 process was ongoing, but it had quotes from contractors. It would select one to proceed with works. It escalated her complaint to stage 2 as part of its stage 1 response.
18 February 2025	The landlord sent its final complaint response. It acknowledged further delays and poor communication since its stage 2 response of September 2024. It said its repairs service had been unacceptable. It chased works internally but did not provide any timeframe for works or the section 20 process. It offered £250 compensation.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought her complaint to us for investigation as the roof repair remained outstanding. She would like the landlord to complete the roof repairs and increase its compensation.

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	The landlord’s handling of roof leak repairs
Finding	Severe maladministration

In November 2025 the resident told us the roof repair remained outstanding. The landlord completed the Section 20 process in August 2025. At the time of this report there is an active dispute about the outcome of this process, which we cannot assess. We have recommended the resident make a new complaint about its handling of the Section 20 process after its final complaint response.
The resident reported a roof leak on 9 March 2023. The landlord said it would arrange an inspection. She reported the leak again on 23 March 2023. The landlord inspected the roof in April 2023 and began proceedings under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 on 27 June 2023. It did not explain why it took 3 months to start this process. There is no evidence it considered applying to dispense with Section 20 to carry out emergency or urgent works, or whether it could have done these works sooner.
The landlord’s Section 20 policy says residents should allow a minimum of 3 to 4 months for the process. In its stage 1 complaint response of October 2023, it said it requested an internal update, and it would inform the resident about any progress. However, she was still chasing it for information on the Section 20 process in February 2024. Its communication was poor, and it did not act with any urgency to rectify the roof leak.
After the resident’s escalation request in February 2024, the landlord asked its roofing team if it completed a Section 20 minor works request. There was no evidence it received a response. Its stage 2 complaint handler continued to chase the repair internally and showed good practice trying to move the process forward.
The resident continued to report the ongoing leak and chase the landlord for updates. It requested a roof inspection in June 2024. It spoke to its contractor who said they needed scaffolding to do the inspection. It first found it needed scaffolding in April 2023, over a year earlier. On 11 June 2024, the resident told the landlord her son had been unable to use his bedroom for over 6 months due to the condition of the room.
The landlord completed a structural report on 19 August 2024. The engineer found the roof was damaged beyond repair and needed replacing. They recommended works to the landlord. Its complaint handler tried to chase the roofing team for details so they could provide the resident with an informative complaint response.
The landlord did not provide any meaningful update on the roof repairs in its September 2024 stage 2 response because of a lack of internal information sharing. It said it needed to provide Section 20 stage 2 consultation notices. It had not completed the process to start works and it was 18 months since the resident first reported the issues.
The landlord offered the resident £780 compensation for distress, inconvenience, time, and effort getting the roof repair complaint resolved. Its compensation policy does not provide guidance on how it calculates compensation offers. However, this offer was insufficient under our remedies guidance for the level of distress and inconvenience.
The resident complained again in January 2025 as the works remained outstanding. The landlord did not provide any dates for works in its stage 1 complaint response and said the Section 20 process was ongoing. Its response highlighted the lack of internal communication and the landlord’s disorganised approach to this repair.
The landlord sent its final complaint response in February 2025. It acknowledged its unacceptable service and lack of communication during the repairs process. It said it chased the repair internally but did not provide any dates for works or any information on the Section 20 process. It apologised for delays and offered an additional £200 compensation.
The landlord’s total compensation offer was £980. At the time of its final complaint response, the issue had been unresolved for 23 months. The amount it offered was not in line with our remedies guidance to recognise the level of distress and inconvenience it caused the resident and her family, and the time and trouble she experienced chasing it for updates.
Overall, there was severe maladministration by the landlord in its handling of roof leak repairs. It failed to properly apply the Section 20 process on several occasions over 23 months of this complaint. It did not act with urgency to rectify the leak so the resident could arrange internal repairs herself, as per the lease agreement.
The landlord’s offers of redress were not sufficient to recognise the failures found in this report. Considering the significant impact on the resident and her family, we have ordered the landlord to pay £2,980 compensation. This is made up of the £980 it offered in its previous complaint responses and an additional £2,000 for distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble as the issue was not resolved at the time of our investigation.
We have ordered the landlord to inspect the internal damage to the property and explain the works it will complete to put things right. We have also ordered it to consider if it can complete a temporary roof repair to stop the leak.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

The landlord has a 2-stage complaints policy. It says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, respond at stage 1 within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20 working days. It says it can extend its response time at both stages if needed.
The landlord took 76 working days to send its stage 2 response in September 2024. During this time, the complaint handler tried to get the information they needed for the response. However, the landlord should have kept the resident updated about the delays. It offered £200 compensation for the delays. This was fair and in line with our remedies guidance for a failure which adversely affected the resident.
The resident made a new complaint to the landlord on 8 October 2024. It did not respond until 27 January 2025, 76 working days later. It did not apologise or offer any compensation for the delay. This was unreasonable because it failed to recognise her time and trouble chasing it for updates.
Following the resident’s escalation request, the landlord sent its stage 2 response within policy timescales. It offered £50 compensation for poor complaint handling. This offer was not in line with its earlier offer for the same delay during the first complaints process.
As such, we find service failure and have ordered the landlord to pay compensation for the additional delays in its complaint handling.

Learning

The landlord’s complaint handlers showed commitment to customer service in trying to communicate with other teams to progress the repairs. However, there was no evidence how it intends to improve its repairs service or communication from its roofing or Section 20 teams.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s complaint handlers could not access crucial paperwork relating to the Section 20 process. The landlord should ensure internal communication and information sharing is sufficient to manage information for these types of requests.

Communication

The landlord’s internal and external communication was poor throughout this complaint. Its complaint handling team tried to communicate internally but received insufficient responses. It failed to keep the resident updated despite knowing the impact the issues were having on her and her family.