Notting Hill Genesis (202341809)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202341809

Notting Hill Genesis (NHG)

28 May 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:
    1. Response to the resident’s compensation claim.
    2. Complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. Prior to the period of the complaint, the resident resided in a studio flat. The landlord managed the resident’s property; however, it was not the owner of the building.
  2. On 6 September 2022, there was a leak in the roof which caused water damage to several flats. The resident’s flat and personal belongings were damaged by the leak.
  3. The resident made a formal complaint to the landlord on 27 September 2022 in relation to the outstanding repairs and damage caused to her personal belongings. Prior to a formal response, the landlord explained that they were not responsible for causing the leak and that responsibility lay with the local authority. However, it made an offer of £300 compensation as a goodwill gesture to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. The resident was subsequently moved to a new property on 2 January 2023.
  4. Following the resident’s dissatisfaction with its compensation offer the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 2 October 2023, which included the following:
    1. It apologised for the delay to its stage 1 response and offered £100 for the inconvenience caused.
    2. It reiterated that it was not responsible for the roof of the property as this was the responsibility of the local authority.
    3. It also reiterated that it was not responsible for the damage caused to personal belongings.
    4. It noted that as part of her claim, it had purchased a bed for her at a cost of £864.49.
    5. It reiterated its earlier offer of £300 and offered a further £70 as a goodwill gesture to replace some of the damaged items and inconvenience and distress caused.
  5. The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s delayed responses and level of compensation offered. She requested escalation of her complaint on 6 November 2023 and the landlord acknowledged this on 9 November 2023.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 6 December 2023, which included the following:
    1. It apologised for inconvenience and dissatisfaction with its management of the repairs to the roof and the wait while the subsequent damage was rectified.
    2. It noted that the resident had requested compensation of £1,976 to replace damaged items.
    3. It reiterated its position that it was not responsible for damage to any personal possessions, and that any claims should be made through the resident’s content insurance.
    4. It recognised the difficulties and distress experienced by the resident and reiterated its goodwill offer of £370, along with the £100 for delays to its stage 1 response and £864.49 towards her bed.
    5. It offered a further £50 for the delay to its stage 2 response.
  7. The resident was not satisfied with the landlord’s response. She referred the complaint to the Ombudsman. She explained that the issues still in dispute were the level of compensation offered as it was not sufficient to cover the damaged caused to her personal belongings.

 

 

 

Assessment and findings

Compensation claim

  1. The tenancy agreement states that residents must arrange content insurance for their personal belongings. It also states that the landlord will keep the property insured but this will not provide residents with cover for their personal belongings. The landlord will not accept any liability for content which the resident should have their own insurance for.
  2. The landlord also operates a compensation and goodwill gestures policy, which provides a guide to awarding compensation.
  3. It is not disputed that the resident requested repairs to her property on 27 September 2022 and that she was ultimately rehoused on 2 January 2023.
  4. Throughout its complaint responses, the landlord explained that the local authority was responsible for the leak which caused the damaged. We have not been provided with any evidence to dispute this position. It was therefore reasonable that the landlord provided its position in a timely manner and also that it did not offer any specific compensation for service failure.
  5. Nevertheless, it was appropriate that the landlord recognised that the issues had had an impact on the resident. As per its compensation policy, it offered £300 goodwill compensation in recognition of the distress and inconvenience the resident had experienced. This approach was in line with its policy and an appropriate use of its discretion to maintain the landlord/tenant relationship.
  6. As part of her complaint, the requested compensation for damage to her personal belongings. The resident wanted compensation for her bed, orthopaedic mattress, bedding, 4 pillows, duvet, clothes, and laminated wood. She calculated this to come to £1,976.
  7. The landlord explained that residents ought to have content insurance for their personal belongings and any damage should have been recoverable through this. This was in line with the provisions of the tenancy agreement, and it was reasonable for the landlord to note this in its responses. It would have been helpful, however, for it to have signposted the resident to the local authority’s building insurer should she wish to have pursued a claim against it.
  8. Despite it not having an obligation to offer compensation for the resident’s personal items, the landlord took the resident’s concerns seriously, and it recognised the impact the loss of her orthopaedic bed had on her. It appropriately used its discretion to offer to replace it at a cost of £864.49. It was also appropriate that it made a further goodwill offer of £70 towards her bedding.
  9. In the escalated complaint, the resident said she could not get insurance due to previous flooding in the flat. In January 2024, after the complaints procedure was exhausted, the resident contacted the local authority to submit a claim to their insurance team. It would have been helpful had the landlord helped coordinate this claim on the resident’s behalf. However, we note that the landlord otherwise remained in communication with the resident throughout this period, which was reasonable in the circumstances.
  10. In summary, the landlord appropriately applied its compensation policy to offer discretionary compensation to reflect the impact the issues had caused the resident. While it was not responsible for replacing the resident’s damaged items, it also appropriately offered to replace the resident’s bed at its own cost to minimise any ongoing inconvenience. While there were some delays to its formal complaint responses, discussed below, its overall communication was reasonable. Therefore, a finding of no maladministration has been made.

Complaints handling

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy states that the landlord operates a 2-stage process. At stage 1, it will respond within 10 working days and at stage 2, within 20 working days. At any stage, if it needs further time, it will agree it with the resident.
  2. These timeframes match this Service’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The Code also states that complaints and escalations should be acknowledged within 5 working days.
  3. Following the resident’s initial complaint on 27 September 2022, the landlord provided an informal response on 14 October 2022. This response was not a formal complaint response and was not in line with either the landlord’s policy or the Code.
  4. The landlord failed to provide a formal stage 1 response for a significant period. The response was sent on 2 October 2023, over a year after the complaint was originally made. While we note that the landlord stayed in contact with the resident during this time to discuss compensation, purchase of replacement items and rehousing, this timeframe was unreasonable and would have caused distress and inconvenience for the resident. The landlord subsequently acknowledged this delay and offered compensation of £100 to reflect the impact this caused.
  5. The resident verbally requested escalation of her complaint on 6 November 2023. The landlord acknowledged this on 9 November 2023, which was reasonable and in line with the Code. It issued the stage 2 response on 6 December 2023. In its response, it offered a further £50 compensation for the delay to its stage 2 response. However, this response was issued within the timeframes of its policy.
  6. In summary, the landlord failed to follow its policy by issuing an initial informal response. There was then a significant delay to its stage 1 response. However, the landlord recognised the impact this had caused and its total offer of £150 was in line with this Service’s remedies guidance for instances where a landlord’s failing has adversely affected a resident. A finding of reasonable redress has therefore been made in the circumstances.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s compensation claim.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about the handling of the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord pays £520 compensation (if not paid already) directly to the resident offered during its complaints process.