Moat Homes Limited (202413752)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202413752

Moat Homes Limited

23 September 2025

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 response to the resident’s request for the landlord to reimburse loss of earnings for appointments relating to surveys and repairs within the property.

Background

2. The resident’s made this complaint to the landlord and us as a group complaint. The group includes 4 households who are all leaseholders of the landlord within the same block of flats built in 2020.
3. Prior to raising a formal complaint, the residents had reported many defects within their properties since first moving into them in 2020. The landlord and the developer had attended many times in the years leading up to the complaint to undertake repairs in both the resident’s properties and in the communal areas.
4. The residents raised a formal complaint on 15 February 2024. In that complaint they raised the following issues:
   1. There were many ongoing defects in the properties, and the residents raised issues with the length of time taken for the landlord to undertake the repairs.
   2. The resident’s proposed a meeting with the landlord to discuss the concerns.
   3. The complaint detailed the ongoing impact on the residents and the effect on the saleability of the homes.
   4. The residents asked for the landlord to reimburse the residents for their lost salaries due to time taken off work for survey and repair appointments.
5. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 1 March 2024. It detailed the actions it had already undertaken and those it had agreed to undertake to address the defects in the property. In relation to the request for compensation to cover loss of earnings, it said the following:
   1. It had taken on board the resident’s request for compensation for future visits given the amount of annual leave residents had taken to date for repair appointments.
   2. It was not something that its compensation policy covered, but the landlord confirmed it would consider each case on a property by property basis.
   3. It would also give consideration to any excess electricity usage where relevant.
6. The residents requested to escalate the complaint to stage 2 of the complaints process on 4 March 2024. The residents said they could provide proof of loss of earnings and wished to challenge the landlord’s decision.
7. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 11 April 2024. It made the following key points:
   1. It was unable to reimburse residents for loss of earnings but would, as a good will gesture, offer a payment of £50 per appointment for any future days that a resident would need to take out of work.
   2. Where possible it would request its contractor to complete decorative works on a Saturday.
   3. Once it had finished all works, it would discuss compensation individually with all residents in the block. This would be based on the extent of work completed and the overall distress and inconvenience caused.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation.

8. We understand the residents in this case have all had separate complaints with the landlord in relation to the individual defects and works needed within their property. Within those complaints the residents have received compensation for the overall distress and inconvenience caused, including goodwill gestures to cover the inconvenience caused due to loss of earnings. The residents have not brought these complaints to the Ombudsman to investigate. Because each resident has received different levels of compensation based on their personal circumstances, this complaint will only consider whether the landlord’s offer of £50 per future appointment was reasonable. We will not consider the individual impact or number of appointments each resident has had due to the landlord addressing this in separate complaints. The residents have the choice to bring those complaints to this Service should they wish to do so.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s request for the landlord to reimburse loss of earnings for appointments relating to surveys and repairs within the property.

9. The landlord does not dispute that the resident’s in the block had, due to a history of defects, made themselves available for appointments for repairs and surveys throughout the duration of them living in the properties.
10. In the formal complaint, the residents raised that the tenancy agreement said the landlord should complete repairs during reasonable hours and argued that they considered completing repairs during the day when they were working unreasonable. While we can understand the frustrations of the residents, the landlord and its contractors are entitled to work the hours which it considers appropriate and reasonable taking into consideration the needs of both the resident’s and the contractors.
11. As part of the complaint, the residents asked that where repair appointments meant they had to take annual leave, the landlord should compensate the loss of earnings incurred. The landlord appropriately responded and explained that it was unable to reimburse residents for loss of earnings, in line with its compensation policy. It explained it would review compensation on a property-by–property basis once it had completed the repairs. In responding, the landlord followed its policy. It was appropriate of the landlord to explain that it would offer compensation depending on each resident’s individual circumstances and the repairs completed.
12. This response was also in line with our Guidance on Remedies, which sets out that we would not propose a remedy of compensation to reimburse a resident for time off work. While such works inevitably cause some inconvenience to a resident, the lease agreement requires a resident to give access for the landlord to carry out repairs as needed. It would therefore not be fair or reasonable for the landlord to pay a resident for reimbursement for loss of earnings.
13. In the stage 2 response the landlord said it would offer a goodwill payment of £50 for any future days the residents would need to take out of work for appointments. In making this offer, the landlord recognised the ongoing inconvenience caused to the residents. The offer went outside of the landlord’s compensation policy and in making such an offer it highlighted its commitment to put things right for the residents and restore the landlord/resident relationship.
14. Furthermore, it said that it had requested its contractor to, where possible, attend on a Saturday to complete any decorating works. This response was reasonable and highlights that the landlord had recognised the ongoing impact on the residents.
15. It also helpfully reiterated that it would offer each resident individual compensation based on the works completed and overall distress and inconvenience caused.
16. Taking account of the above, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for the landlord to reimburse loss of earnings for appointments relating to surveys and repairs within the property.

Determination

17. Under paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for the landlord to reimburse loss of earnings for appointments relating to surveys and repairs within the property.