Notting Hill Genesis (202413929)

Decision
Case ID	202413929
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Notting Hill Genesis
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	1 July 2026

Background

The resident complained to the landlord in April 2024. She said the landlord’s contractor sent 2 operatives for her gas safety check due to a ‘do not visit alone’ (DNVA) flag on her account. She said this caused her significant distress as it previously told her the contractor would remove the flag.

What the complaint is about

The landlord’s response to the resident’s:
1. Concerns about a DNVA flag on her account.
2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We found:
1. Service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about a DNVA flag on her account.
2. Reasonable redress in the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The resident’s concerns about a DNVA flag

The landlord told the resident the gas contractor would not remove the DNVA flag because of an incident in 2019. However, it did not acknowledge it told her 2 years earlier the DNVA was an error and it would be removed. It apologised for the distress it had caused; however, it did not offer any compensation to try and put things right for her.

Complaint handling

The landlord did not comply with its complaints policy and our Complaint Handling Code (the Code). It acknowledged this and offered compensation which was sufficient to put right the impact on the resident.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: the apology is provided by a manager the apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic it has due regard to our apologies guidance	No later than 29 July 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £100 to recognise the distress and incontinence caused by its response to her concerns about a DNVA flag on her account. The landlord must pay the resident directly and provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 29 July 2026

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Apology order

The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:

the apology is provided by a manager
the apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic
it has due regard to our apologies guidance

No later than

29 July 2026

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £100 to recognise the distress and incontinence caused by its response to her concerns about a DNVA flag on her account.

The landlord must pay the resident directly and provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.

No later than

29 July 2026

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
If it has not already done so, the landlord should pay the resident the £50 compensation offered to the resident at stage 2. Our finding of reasonable redress for the complaint handling failures is made on the basis it pays her this compensation.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
17 April 2024	The resident complained to the landlord.
8 May 2024	The landlord replied at stage 1 and said the contractor told them the flag remained on its system due to an incident in 2019. It said the contractor would not remove the flag due to the allegations and potential risks to staff safety.
14 May 2024	The resident escalated her complaint.
13 June 2024	The landlord replied at stage 2. It said it previously told the resident the DNVA flag was an error and gave her £250. It apologised for the impact on the resident. The landlord upheld her complaint and offered her £50 compensation for the delay in its complaint response.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident said the landlord has used a different gas contractor since her complaint and this contractor sends 1 operative. She said the DNVA flag caused her significant concern and negatively impacted her sense of safety and wellbeing. She would like the landlord to apologise and pay her compensation for distress and inconvenience caused.

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	The landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about a DNVA flag on her account
Finding	Service failure

The resident complained to the landlord and said it told her 2 years previously the DNVA flag was an error and it would be removed. She said she felt uncomfortable with 2 male operatives attending her property for her gas safety check as she lives alone.
On 23 April 2024, the landlord replied and said the gas contractor’s system had the DNVA flag for her property. It said it would investigate the issue and asked the resident to contact her housing officer to discuss the situation.
The resident replied the same day. She said the landlord compensated her 2 years previously for the DNVA flag on her account and said it was an error. She said the landlord told her the flag would be removed from the contractor’s system.
On 25 April 2024, the landlord asked the contractor about the DNVA flag and when it would be removed. The contractor replied the same day and said the flag would remain whilst the resident lived in the property. It explained this was due to the severity of the incident in 2019 with her and an engineer.
In its stage 1 response, the landlord explained the flag and said the contractor would not remove it, and it acknowledged her frustration. However, the landlord did not explain why it told her 2 years previously the DNVA flag was an error and would be removed.
The resident escalated her complaint and said the landlord made a mistake. In the landlord’s stage 2 response it acknowledged it previously told her the DNVA flag was an error. However, it said the contractor said the flag would remain on the system due to the incident in 2019.
The landlord apologised and said it would arrange for a different contractor to attend the resident’s property. It was unable to manage the DNVA due to this being on a contractor’s system so this was reasonable of the landlord.
Our role is to consider whether the landlord resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. To do this we considered our dispute resolution principles, be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
The landlord checked with its contractor the reasons why the DNVA flag remained. When the contractor said the flag would not be removed, it arranged for a different contractor to attend the resident’s gas appointments.
The landlord did not explain to the resident why it previously told the resident the DNVA flag would be removed and it was not. It apologised to her at stage 2 for this. However, she said the DNVA flag and change of responses by the landlord had a negative impact on her. The landlord did not offer any compensation to try and put things right and this caused her distress and inconvenience.
We have found service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about a DNVA flag on her account. We have ordered it to apologise and pay her £100 compensation. This is in line with our compensation guidance for a minor failure by the landlord that it did not appropriately acknowledge.

Complaint	The landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

The landlord’s complaint policy at the time of the complaint complies with the definition of a complaint in the Code (April 2024). The timescales in the landlord’s complaint procedure complied with the Code.
The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s complaint at stage 1. On 23 April 2024, around 3 working days later it sent its first reply which was not marked as stage 1. The resident replied the same day. The landlord sent a further stage 1 around 9 working later which was within its policy times. However, the 2 stage 1 responses were not in line with its policy.
In the landlord’s responses it addressed all parts of the resident’s defined complaint, clearly explained its decisions and the reasons for these. This is in line with the requirements of the Code.
The resident escalated her complaint, and the landlord acknowledged it on the same day. It replied at stage 2 within its policy time. At stage 2 it offered her £50 compensation. This was in line with its policy which says it will pay up to £100 for a low impact on a resident where service standards have not been met. As such, we find reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Learning

The landlord should learn from this complaint and ensure it provides prompt, accurate and meaningful responses to complaints and enquiries. It should ensure it acknowledges complaints and it clearly marks responses as either stage 1 or 2 replies.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s records of its communications with the resident were limited. The landlord should improve its record keeping which will enable it to monitor recurring issues and provide a more efficient service.

Communication

The landlord may wish to review our 2025 Spotlight Report on repairing trust, particularly in relation to vulnerable residents.