Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV) (202307844)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202307844

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV)

19 December 2024

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
   1. Reports that the drain servicing the ground floor toilet was blocked.
   2. Associated formal complaint.

Background

2. The resident has been an assured tenant of the property, a 3-bedroom house, since 2015. The landlord is a housing association.
3. On 24 May 2022 the resident reported that both her toilets were blocked. The landlord raised this as an emergency repair and a contractor attended the same day. They said that only the ground floor toilet was blocked but a drainage contractor was needed to clear the blockage.
4. A further visit took place on 25 May 2022 when the contractor cleaned through the blockage, inspected the pipe, found roots inside, and tried to remove them. However, they were unable to do so and said a CCTV survey was required. This was then attempted in July 2022 and a follow-on inspection was scheduled for August/September 2022.
5. In the resident’s complaint of 23 November 2022 she said she had been told the toilet would be repaired on 19 September 2022 and then again on 26 September 2022, but no one had attended either appointment. She said she had not been able to use the downstairs toilet since May 2022 and had taken time off work for the appointments that were missed.
6. In the landlord’s stage 1 response of 24 January 2023, it acknowledged that there had been a delay and explained that this was due to the need to obtain a revised quote for the works. A works order had now been raised with a target date of 7 February 2023. It upheld the complaint and offered £170 compensation (£60 for time and trouble, £60 for service failures, £30 for poor complaint handling and £20 for missed appointments).
7. The resident escalated the complaint on 11 April 2023, saying that the pipe was still not repaired, she could not use the toilet and, despite contacting the landlord, she had not been given a date for the repairs. In the landlord’s stage 2 response of 2 May 2023, it said its contractors would contact the resident to arrange an appointment. It acknowledged that the time taken to resolve the drainage issue had been excessive and there had been several failings. In recognition of this, it offered additional compensation of £200 for time and trouble and £130 for service failures.
8. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 29 June 2023. She was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response as the works were still outstanding and she had been given contradictory information about when they would be completed.
9. The landlord has said the repair works were completed and the toilet left in working order on 29 June 2023, but the resident disputed this during a call with the Ombudsman on 3 January 2024. She said there were outstanding works and the toilet was still unusable.
10. On 11 March 2024, the landlord told this Service it had further reviewed the complaint and would be offering the resident an additional £500 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the repair delays.

Assessment and findings

The resident’s reports that the drain servicing the ground floor toilet was blocked

11. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. This includes the drains and external pipes. The same obligations around drains and external pipes are included in the landlord’s repairs policy.
12. The repairs policy says that, in an emergency, a contractor will visit to ensure the property is safe within 24 hours of a report. If a repair is not an emergency, i.e. a routine repair, then the landlord will look to complete it within 20 working days. However, if more time is needed then it will keep the resident updated on the status of the repair.
13. The landlord clearly accepted its repairing obligations promptly and initially responded in line with its emergency repair timescales on 24 May 2022. However, it did not then raise a works order for the recommended CCTV survey until 5 July 2022 and this was not attended until around 20 July 2022. On that occasion they were still unable to fully survey the drain as the manhole was too deep and a further visit was required.
14. The landlord has not provided an explanation for why it took nearly 2 months for the survey to be carried out. In the absence of any such explanation, the Ombudsman can only conclude that the delay was both unreasonable and avoidable. This delay left the resident without a fully functioning downstairs toilet for an extended period, which was understandably distressing and frustrating for her.
15. The resident contacted the landlord on 19 August 2022 and reported that there had been a missed appointment for the further survey of the drain on 17 August 2022. Following this, she chased the landlord for updates several times before she raised her complaint on 23 November 2022. It was not reasonable for the resident to have needed to chase the landlord and raise a complaint before it gave her an update about the inspection/repairs. Its failure to keep the resident adequately informed caused her unnecessary time, trouble and inconvenience.
16. In its stage 1 response the landlord said the initial quoted works were submitted in August 2022. However, a revised quote for the same works had been needed and this was not submitted until 9 January 2023. It did not explain why a revised quote was needed or why the second quote was not submitted until 4 months later, but it confirmed a works order had been raised and a target date had been set for the 7 February 2023. The landlord’s complaint response did not provide an adequate explanation as to why there had been such a delay nor why it had failed to keep the resident updated on progress.
17. Following the resident’s escalation request, the landlord did take the opportunity of its stage 2 response to explain that this 4-month delay was due to the length of time it took for the findings and recommended remedial works to be provided to the landlord by the surveyors. The Ombudsman appreciates that the landlord would have had little control over the contractors providing the required information. However, the contractors were acting as the landlord’s agents and, as such, any delays caused are ultimately the landlord’s responsibility. Therefore, it should have been more proactive in chasing the contractors for the information to avoid unnecessary delays.
18. In this instance, the evidence shows the landlord only chased the contractors after being contacted by the resident for updates. This caused unnecessary delays which in turn left the resident without a fully functioning downstairs toilet for an extended period. Additionally, this also caused her time and trouble as she had to chase the landlord for updates.
19. In neither complaint response has the landlord explained why the resident was told that works would be carried out in September 2022. Based on the evidence seen, the landlord could not arrange for works to be carried out until January 2023 when it received the quote from the contractor. Additionally, while the landlord has not disputed that there were missed appointments, its repair records do not make any mention of them or what works were meant to be carried out. These missed appointments caused the resident additional inconvenience as she took time off work to be at home to provide entry as well as time and trouble when she contacted the landlord about the missed appointments.
20. The records show that root clearance works were ultimately carried out on 10 February 2023, 9 months after the initial report. The contractors were unable to remove all the roots and found that the integrity of the drain was at risk. As such, they recommended that the drain be excavated and replaced. However, the Ombudsman has not seen evidence of any further works carried out until 29 June 2023, 4 months after that appointment. This was another significant delay which amounts to maladministration and the resident continued to be left without a fully functioning downstairs toilet.
21. The landlord’s stage 2 response attributed this additional 4-month delay, between February and June 2023, to the length of time it took for further works to be reported back to it. The records show the landlord only chased the contractors for their quote on 14 March 2023, around a month after the previous visit. The contractors responded on 13 April 2023 and the landlord approved the works on 17 April 2023, giving a target date of 10 July 2023.
22. The Ombudsman appreciates that the works could not be approved until the contractors provided the relevant information. However, given the already significant delays in the repairs being carried out, it was not reasonable for the landlord to only chase the contractors once in the 2 months it took for them to provide the report. This failure to proactively chase the contractors also indicates that the landlord had not learnt from its previous mistakes.
23. In its complaint responses, the landlord acknowledged that there had been excessive delays in resolving the drainage issue and offered compensation (totalling £470). It then reviewed the case again in March 2024 and offered a further £500 compensation. Given that the landlord has accepted failings and offered redress, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether that offer was sufficient to put things right and resolve the complaint satisfactorily. In considering this, this Service takes into account our Dispute Resolution Principles, the landlord’s compensation policy and our own remedies guidance.
24. In cases like this, £970 compensation would be in line with the Ombudsman’s published remedies guidance as the landlord’s failings had an adverse affect on the resident but no permanent impact. While the total amount offered by the landlord is in line with that, the majority of that was only offered after the Ombudsman had confirmed it would be investigating. This indicates that the landlord did not take the opportunity of the complaint process to properly investigate the circumstances of the complaint and make a suitable offer of redress as soon as it could. Therefore, a finding of reasonable redress would not be appropriate.
25. Overall, the landlord’s failings, as set out above, caused delays in the required repair works being carried out and left the resident without a fully functioning downstairs toilet for a over a year. These failings amount to maladministration and can be summarised as failing to adhere to its repairs policy and adequately communicate with the resident. In view of this, the landlord is ordered to apologise to the resident and pay her £970 compensation, if it has not done so already.
26. The Ombudsman has also noted that it is disputed whether or not the repair works have taken place. As a result, the landlord is ordered to arrange for a surveyor to visit the property to determine what repairs, if any, are outstanding and confirm its plan of action in that regard.

Complaint handling

27. The landlord’s complaints policy says it will acknowledge stage 1 complaints within 5 working days and issue its response within 10 working days of the acknowledgement. If more time is needed it will agree a new deadline with the resident, not exceeding a further 10 working days.
28. The resident raised her complaint on 23 November 2022 and the landlord acknowledged it on 29 November 2022, within its target timescale. The landlord then contacted the resident on 9 and 23 December 2022 and 13 January 2023 to say there would be a delay in it responding to her complaint and providing a new deadline. It then issued the stage 1 response on 24 January 2023, 2 months after the complaint was raised.
29. It was appropriate for the landlord to keep the resident informed of the delays and provide a new deadline. However, it failed to adhere to its complaints policy and the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code by extending the deadline 3 times, which amounts to service failure.
30. In the stage 1 response the landlord acknowledged there had been poor complaint handling and awarded £30 compensation. However, the Ombudsman does not consider that this offer provided appropriate compensation for the identified failings. This is particularly the case given that the substantive issues remained outstanding and delays in the complaints process may have exacerbated those ongoing failings. As a result, the landlord is ordered to pay an increased level of compensation of £75. This sum is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for failings where the landlord has made some attempt to put things right, but the offer was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation.

Determination

31. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was:
    1. Maladministration by the landlord in relation to its handling of reports that the drain servicing the ground floor toilet was blocked.
    2. Service failure by the landlord in relation to its handling of the associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

32. Within 5 weeks of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. Apologise to the resident for its failures. This written apology must be from a member of the landlord’s management team and should follow the Ombudsman’s apologies guidance on our website.
    2. Directly pay the resident a total of £1,045 compensation as follows:
       1. £950 compensation for its poor handling of the repairs.
       2. £20 for missed appointments.
       3. £75 compensation for its poor handling of the complaint.
    3. Send an appropriate surveyor to inspect the drain servicing the ground floor toilet and ensure it is in full working order. If there are any outstanding works, it must write to the resident and this Service with:
       1. The details of what works are outstanding.
       2. A deadline by which any outstanding works will be completed.
33. The landlord must provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the above Orders within the timescales set out above.