London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202310865)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202310865

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

22 January 2025


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of works to repair and replace the resident’s front door and kitchen.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The resident was a tenant of the landlord of a house from 2013 until a new landlord bought the property in 2024. The landlord had no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
  2. The resident reported the landlord told her in 2021 it would replace her kitchen after a cupboard under the kitchen sink was damaged by a leak. However, it did not begin surveying the kitchen to replace this despite replacing 3 of her neighbours’ kitchens. The resident then told the landlord in May 2022 her front door was damaged and needed to be repaired or replaced after someone tried to kick this in. It nevertheless failed to complete repairs to the door despite her giving it a crime reference number and it raising works for this in May, July, and August 2022.
  3. The resident made a stage 1 complaint to the landlord in August 2022 about her outstanding front door and kitchen repair and replacement works. She complained about being overlooked for a kitchen replacement for a year despite her neighbours’ kitchens being replaced. The resident also complained about the landlord only offering her minor works for her damaged front door frame and lock in July 2022. She explained the proposed works and its offer to re-attend the door in December 2022 were unacceptable and might affect her home insurance. The landlord’s stage 1 response in September 2022 apologised for its repair and complaint handling delays, missed appointments, lack of communication, and the resident’s time and effort. It agreed to bring forward the repairs, update her on their timescales, and then compensate her.
  4. However, the resident previously made a final stage complaint to the landlord in August 2022 because of its delays and outstanding repairs. Its subsequent final stage response in January 2023 apologised for this and explained it missed appointments to repair her front door because of poor internal communication about who should attend this. The landlord made the door safe in November 2022, surveyed this in January 2023, and agreed to replace the door from February 2023. It also agreed to replace the resident’s kitchen in the next financial year, contact her when it could do so, and survey her damaged kitchen cupboard in January 2023 to replace this in the meantime. The landlord gave her £400 compensation for its above failures and a point of contact for the works.
  5. The landlord then replaced the resident’s kitchen cupboard in February 2023, her front door and frame in April 2023, and the kitchen in November 2023 after she chased it. She complained to the Ombudsman about the delays in repairing and replacing these items, and the impact on her of buying packing boxes for the works and taking time off work for missed appointments. The resident explained her complaint would be satisfactorily resolved if the landlord fully apologised for this and paid £579.84 further compensation for her costs from the above issues. We therefore contacted both parties in January 2025 to propose resolving the complaint with the above apology and compensation, which they agreed to, and it subsequently offered her these.
  6. Paragraph 53.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:
    1. “The Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that: the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.”
  7. I am therefore satisfied that, following the intervention of the Ombudsman, the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendation

  1. It is recommended that the landlord give the resident the £579.84 compensation and apology it offered her within 4 weeks of the date of this decision.