Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (202201003)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202201003

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing

11 August 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 handling of remedial repairs following a leak.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55 (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. In April 2021, a leak occurred from the roof into the internal communal areas of the resident’s block. The leak was reported to the landlord on 5 May 2021.
  2. Between May and October 2021, the leak was ongoing. The resident contacted the landlord several times in this period to chase the progress of the repairs. On 27 October 2021, they raised a formal complaint to the landlord about the time it had taken to repair the leak.
  3. By 7 December 2021, the leak remained outstanding. The resident informed the landlord of this and noted that the leak was causing damage to the communal internal areas. They asked the landlord to escalate the complaint to stage two, as it had been over seven months since the repair was reported and it remained outstanding.
  4. On 3 February 2022, the landlord issued a stage two response. It confirmed that it completed work to the guttering and the roof in June 2021 and further works to the roof and down pipe, in November 2021. It said at the time of the response, that no active leaks had been reported to it.
  5. It confirmed that the investigating officer at stage one, had communicated with the resident and provided updates on the repair. It found that the investigating officer at stage one managed the complaint well however, it acknowledged that a stage one response had not been provided. It partially upheld the complaint on this basis and offered the resident £25 for its complaint handling. The resident later accepted this.
  6. After receiving the response, the resident advised that the landlord’s finding that the leak had been resolved in November 2021 was not correct, as the leak was still active as of 7 December 2021. They advised that as there had not been a period of heavy rain recently, they could not confirm that the leak had been fixed. In addition, they advised that the water damage to the communal areas remained outstanding and asked when the landlord would address this.
  7. In response, the landlord arranged an inspection for 4 February 2022. It informed the resident that no water ingress was found on the visit. It confirmed that it would do another inspection on 8 February 2022 and then instruct a contractor to quote for the internal remedial work.
  8. Between March and April 2022, the resident followed up with the landlord about the progress of the remedial repairs to the internal area.
  9. In April 2022, they referred their complaint to this Service. They explained that while the leak had been addressed, the remedial work to the damage from the leak to the communal areas remained outstanding. To resolve their complaint, the resident wanted the leak damage to be repaired by the landlord.
  10. We informed the landlord of the outstanding matters from the resident’s complaint. It confirmed that it would complete both plastering and decorative works to the areas affected by water damage.
  11. We notified the resident of the landlord’s agreement to do the works. The resident queried whether the works agreed, covered both the north and south sides of the corridor as they had both had water damage. They provided images of the areas referred to.
  12. We forwarded the query to the landlord, with the images provided and it confirmed that the works it proposed to do covered the same areas. The landlord has also advised that the ceiling works will be carried out once the current ongoing lift works have been completed.
  13. 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’.”
  14. The landlord has confirmed that it will complete the remedial works to the communal areas affected by the leak.  
  15. 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. The landlord has confirmed that it will complete the remedial work once the lift works have been completed. The above determination is dependent on the landlord completing the actions it has agreed to take in order to resolve the complaint therefore, the landlord is to:
    1. Within two weeks, write to the resident copying in this Service to inform when it anticipates the remedial work starting and how long it expects this to take to complete.
    2. Once the work has been completed, the landlord is to provide confirmation of this to this Service.