Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) (202216683)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202216683

Notting Hill Genesis

23 June 2023

 

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 request for cleaning and resurfacing of the front garden communal area.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a flat in a converted house, the resident has a downstairs neighbour.
  2. In August 2022 the resident complained about the condition of the communal front garden. The resident stated that cats had been using the area to defecate, which the resident believed was related to the gravel used for the surfacing. The resident asked the landlord to clean the communal front garden and change the surface to resolve the issue.
  3. The landlord explained that there was little it could do to prevent cats from entering the property and defecating, and that changing the garden surface would be an improvement, rather than a repair, and not something it would undertake. The landlord explained that cleaning the communal garden was not a service it provided, and, as per the tenancy agreement it would be the residents’ responsibility.
  4. The resident referred his complaint to this Service on 31 October 2022. He said his complaint remains unresolved. He wanted the landlord to commit to cleaning the communal garden.
  5. In November 2022 the landlord contacted the resident to inform him that the garden was being considered for inclusion in cyclical garden maintenance. .

Assessment and findings

  1. The tenancy agreement states that it is the residents’ responsibility to keep any communal areas shared with other resident’s clean, tidy, and free from obstruction. Therefore, the communal garden is the responsibility of the residents, not the landlord. Accordingly, the landlord acted reasonably in responding to this matter.
  2. In his escalation complaint the resident said that his neighbour’s circumstances meant they could not take care of the garden. That would be an issue between the neighbour and the landlord, and not one which could be considered in this investigation. The resident’s tenancy agreement makes clear that he also has a responsibility for the communal garden.
  3. There are no clear steps the landlord could take to keep cats out of the garden. It was therefore reasonable for it to tell the resident that it would be unable to stop cats defecating on the communal garden.
  4. Landlords are not generally obliged to undertake improvements to properties (as opposed to repairs, which a landlord is obliged to do) so the landlord had no obligation to change the garden in the manner the resident sought.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of the complaint.