Manchester City Council (202120059)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202120059

Northwards Housing

7 April 2022


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 response to the request for a replacement front door.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the resident following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. In November 2022, the property was subject to an attempted burglary via the front door, which is partially glazed. During the burglary, the glazed part of in the front door was broken.
  2. The resident submitted a formal complaint to the landlord and requested that it replace the partially glazed door, with a solid door with no glazing. They explained that following the attempted burglary, they did not believe that the partially glazed door offered the same level of protection as a solid door.
  3. The landlord provided its final response to the complaint on 14 January 2022. It reviewed the concerns the resident had raised about the security of the existing door and concluded that it met a high standard of security. It confirmed that as a result, it would not renew the door with a solid front door but would renew the glazing as required.
  4. The resident referred their complaint to this Service as they remained unhappy with the outcome of the complaint. We contacted the resident for clarity on the complaint on 23 February 2022. They explained that they did not feel safe in their home following the attempted burglary and wanted the landlord to reconsider replacing the door with a solid door.
  5. We wrote to the landlord and informed it of the resident’s dissatisfaction with the outcome of the complaint and what outcome the resident wanted as a resolution. We asked the landlord if it would like to try and resolve the complaint by either offering the outcome they sought or, by offering an alternative resolution.
  6. It responded with a proposal to replace the front door with a glass reinforced polyester composite door and frame without any glazed panels. The landlord provided a stock image of the door which, confirmed that the door was a solid door without any glazing, as the resident had requested.
  7. The image of the door was shared with the resident, who confirmed on 1 April 2022, that they was happy to accept the landlord’s proposal.
  8. Paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:
    1. “At any time, 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’.”
  9. I am therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this Service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendations

  1.  Within three weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is to contact the resident with an appointment date for it to attend and measure for the replacement door.
  2. Within a week of the measurement, the landlord is to provide the resident with the expected lead time for the manufacture of the door.
  3. The above determination is dependent on the landlord completing the door replacement. Therefore, the landlord is to provide confirmation to this Service once it has completed the above recommendations and the work to replace the door.