Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) (202422923)

REPORT

COMPLAINTS 202422923 and 202342159

Notting Hill Genesis (NHG)

13 February 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
1. Repairs including works to remedy damp and mould, snagging issues in the bathroom, the installation of a double radiator in the bedroom, pipes under the kitchen sink and several lights in the property not working.
2. The replacement of damaged and missing items.
3. The associated complaints.

Background

The resident holds an assured tenancy with the landlord. The resident is a wheelchair user and suffers from chronic pain. The landlord is aware of this.
In 2019, the resident instructed a solicitor as she wished to bring a legal disrepair claim in relation to damp and mould in her property. The landlord agreed to carry out repairs, however its contractors advised that the resident would need to move out for the duration of the works.
In 2020, a family member of the resident’s contacted the landlord to inform it that any temporary property it offered her would need to be assessed by both her occupational therapist and by social services.
The landlord’s internal correspondence shows that the resident contacted it on 30 October 2022 to inform it that she had found a property to decant to (temporarily move to). The correspondence shows that on 1 November 2022, the landlord arranged an inspection of the resident’s main property to establish the scope of the works needed, so that it could confirm to the resident how long the works would take. On 1 December 2022, the landlord’s surveyor and contractors inspected the property.
On 14 December 2022, the resident informed the landlord she had found suitable alternative temporary accommodation. She told the landlord she had moved out and that the repairs needed to her property could start.
On 28 February 2023, the resident contacted her MP. She said that the landlord had made her 2 offers of temporary alternative accommodation for her to decant to. However, both were unsuitable for her needs, and she had found alternative accommodation, herself. She said that despite carrying out multiple surveys of the property, the landlord had not given her a timeframe in which it would start or complete the repairs. She had to incur the cost of removal of her belongings, the cost of bills for both her property and her decant, and the cost of getting keys cut so that the landlord’s contractors could access her property.
The resident complained to the landlord on 8 March 2023. She said she had asked it several times for a timeframe as to when it would carry out the repairs but had not had a response.
The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints procedure on 11 April 2023. She said that the backdoor of her property had been left open. The decant accommodation she was staying at was only available until June 2023, and the landlord had still not told her when the repairs were due to start and finish.
Correspondence between the landlord and its contractor indicates that the repair work started on 11 April 2023. The contractor said that the start of the works was delayed as it needed to carry out a further assessment of the extent of the damp and mould at the property once the resident had moved out and her belongings had been cleared. It said that the landlord had also instructed it to carry out works to the bathroom which it needed to measure up and quote for. Once it had carried out these further surveys of the property, it needed a lead-in time of 4 weeks before it could start the repairs.
At the start of June 2023, the resident moved back into the property. On 6 June 2023, she reported the following issues to the landlord:
1. The contractors had painted over her expensive wallpaper rather than replacing it. They had painted skirting boards white which were previously stained. They had not replaced her shower.
2. The blinds in the kitchen and the blind over the bedroom door had been damaged with paint.
3. The landlord had not replaced damaged floorboards in the hallway which it had said it would. It had also said it would install a larger radiator in her bedroom but had not done so.
4. Parts of the floor in the property were covered with paint and needed to be cleaned. The contractors had removed cupboards in her bedroom, and everything was covered in dust.
5. The contractors had not repaired the pipes under the kitchen sink. They had not replaced the circuit boards. The electrics needed changing, and several sockets needed to be replaced.
On 10 June 2023, the resident raised the fitting of a double radiator in her bedroom again. She told the landlord she had to use an additional heater due to her health issues and she could no longer afford the cost of this.
The resident contacted the landlord on 25 July 2023. She said the landlord had not fitted the new blind for the bedroom and the ceiling light in the hallway had been damaged. On 31 July 2023, the resident asked the landlord when it would reimburse her for the electricity used by its contractors during the repairs and a home loss payment it had said it would pay her.
On 31 July 2023, the landlord contacted the resident. It said it had raised the replacement of the bedroom door blind and the damaged hallway light. It said it would process the reimbursement of the electricity used and the home loss payment that day.
The resident told the landlord on 1 September 2023, that its contractors had arrived on the morning of 15 August 2023 for an appointment that was scheduled for the afternoon. She said she had tried to contact the contractors to reschedule the appointment but had not had a response from them.
On 4 September 2023, the landlord advised the resident that it would attend on 14 September 2023, to install a double radiator in her bedroom, and to finish off snagging repairs in the bathroom.
The resident complained to the landlord on 27 November 2023. The contractor had told her they had only been instructed to replace the bedroom blind and the ceiling light. They did not replace the radiator or complete the snagging in the bathroom. She said curtain rails in the 2 bedrooms, the blind over the front door, and the brackets for the bathroom blind were all missing. On 4 December 2023, the resident told the contractor she was unable to sleep due to not having a curtain rail in her bedroom as she was kept awake by the streetlighting.
On 8 December 2023, the landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response. It said it would carry out the snagging repairs in the bathroom, and would replace the radiator, curtain rails, and blinds on 4 January 2024.
On 13 December 2023, the resident informed the contractor that additional items were missing or damaged. She said that the kitchen blind, a garden chair, and a set of towels, needed replacing. She said the ceiling light switch in the bedroom was not working. The contractor contacted the resident on 3 January 2024 to cancel an appointment due to staff sickness. On 12 January 2024, it rebooked the appointment for 18-19 January 2024.
On 12 February 2024, the resident complained to the Ombudsman. She said that a contractor had attended on 17 January 2024, but said they were not there to replace any of the missing items. They said they would arrange for the ceiling light switch to be repaired on 22 January 2024, but no-one attended.
The resident submitted a further complaint to the landlord on 12 March 2024. She said it had not replaced any of the missing items she had reported to it thus far. She said that 2 buckets and a plastic container were missing from the garden. On 26 March 2024, the landlord said it needed more time to investigate her complaint and said it would respond by 3 April 2024.
The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 15 April 2024. It said it had ordered replacements for the blinds and blind rails and would make an appointment to fit these. It would not replace the towels as the resident had reported these missing several months after the works were completed.
On 11 June 2024, the resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints procedure. She said that no-one had taken measurements for the missing blinds and curtain rails. She said neither the landlord nor its contractors had made her aware of time constraints for reporting missing items. The landlord had not responded in relation to the broken chair, or the garden buckets.
The landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response on 23 August 2024 in relation to the missing items. It apologised for the delays in issuing both its stage 1 and stage 2 complaint responses. It acknowledged that it had not taken measurements for, nor ordered the blinds or the curtain rails. It said it did not accept any liability for the resident’s missing towels, garden buckets or broken garden chair. However, it acknowledged it had not responded to the issue of the missing garden items in its stage 1 complaint response. It offered the resident £280 compensation broken down as follows: £100 for not having ordered the blinds, £30 for not responding in relation to the missing garden items and £150 for the delays in it issuing its complaint responses.
The resident complained to the landlord on 11 September 2024. She said that the bathroom snagging repairs had not been carried out, the floorboards in the hallway had not been replaced, and the pipes under the sink had not been repaired. She asked when the landlord would measure and fit the curtain rails and blinds.
On 19 September 2024, the landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response to the resident’s complaint about the outstanding repairs. It said:
1. It acknowledged that it still needed to replace the sealant in the bathroom and clean the bathroom floor. It also accepted that it had not installed a larger radiator in the resident’s bedroom. It would contact the resident to let her know when it would remedy these issues. It said it would repair the ceiling light within 48 hours.
2. It would replace the missing curtain rails and blinds.
3. Its post-inspection reports had not mentioned that any of the floorboards needed replacing, therefore it would not undertake this work. It said however, that if the resident could provide evidence that its surveyor had agreed to replace these, it would follow-up on this issue.
4. The resident had told the landlord that she had not received its previous compensation offer of £280. It would raise this payment as soon as possible.
5. It acknowledged it had not issued its stage 2 complaint response within its published timescales for doing so. It offered the resident a further £650 compensation for this, broken down as £500 for its delayed stage 2 complaint response and £150 for the distress and inconvenience caused by this delay.
On 27 September 2024, the resident confirmed to the landlord that the ceiling light in her bedroom had been repaired.
The resident contacted the landlord on 3 October 2024. She said its contractor was proposing to replace her blinds and curtain rails with ones that did not match the style of her original ones. She needed heavy duty curtain rails and a scalloped edge blind in white for the kitchen, a scalloped edge blind in grey for the bathroom and a straight edge blind for the window in the hallway.
On 11 October 2024, the resident confirmed to the Ombudsman that all the lights in her property had been repaired.
On 14 January 2025, the resident told the Ombudsman that the landlord had not repaired the pipework under the kitchen sink. The landlord had told her there may not be space for a double radiator under her bedroom window, but it could install a double radiator elsewhere in the room. The resident agreed to this; however, she had heard nothing further. She said the landlord had informed her it had ordered the curtain rails and the blinds, but it had not provided a date when it would fit these.
On 31 January 2025, the Ombudsman asked the landlord to provide confirmation of the issues the resident’s MP had raised with it. We also asked the landlord to provide copies of its response to the resident’s stage 1 complaint of 8 March 2023 and stage 2 complaint of 11 April 2023. The landlord did not respond to this request.

Assessment

Scope of investigation

As noted above, in 2019, the resident’s solicitor started a legal claim for disrepair in relation to damp and mould in her property. There is no indication that the resident made a formal complaint about this at that time however (the Ombudsman would usually expect such issues to be brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within 12 months of the matters arising). The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and whilst the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. As the substantive issues become historic it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such as the Ombudsman, to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address those issues. Therefore, although the historic events give context to the more recent issues, this investigation focuses on the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaints of 8 March 2023 onwards.
The resident raised concerns to her MP on 28 February 2023, about the landlord’s handling of her decant and her request for reimbursement for her removal costs. As noted above, the Ombudsman has asked the landlord to confirm what issues the MP raised with it on the resident’s behalf. As the landlord has not provided this information, we cannot say with certainty that the MP made it aware of these issues. Furthermore, as the landlord’s handling of the resident’s decant and her request for reimbursement for her removal costs were not escalated via the landlord’s complaint procedure, these issues have not been considered in this assessment. This is because the Ombudsman is not able to consider complaints that are made prior to having exhausted a landlord’s complaint procedure. This is so that landlords have the opportunity to respond to complaints and resolve issues before the Ombudsman becomes formally involved. If the resident wishes to pursue these matters further, she can complain to the landlord. She may be able to refer her complaint to the Ombudsman if she remains dissatisfied once it has exhausted the landlord’s complaints process.
On 6 June 2023, the resident reported to the landlord that its contractors had painted over wallpaper and skirting boards and had not replaced the shower and cupboards. As these issues were not escalated via the landlord’s complaints procedure, they have not been considered in this assessment. As above, the resident has the option to raise a formal complaint to the landlord about these matters and may be able to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman if she remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to her concerns.

Policies and procedures

Under the resident’s tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of the property in good repair.
The landlord’s repairs policy states it will complete routine repairs within 20 working days.
The landlord’s complaint process has 2 stages. At stage 1 it will provide a response within 10 working days. At stage 2 it will provide a response within 20 working days. Its complaints policy states that if it needs more time to respond at stage 1, it will inform the resident and provide a response within a further 20 working days. If it needs more time to respond at stage 2, it will provide a response within a further 30 working days.
The Ombudsman’s complaint handling code (The Code), published on our website, sets out our expectations for landlords’ complaint handling. The Code in operation at the time of the resident’s complaints, states that landlords’ complaint responses must confirm the following in writing: the complaint stage, the complaint definition, the decision on the complaint, the reasons for any decisions made, the details of any remedy offered to put things right, and details of any outstanding actions.

The landlord’s handling of repairs

The resident informed the landlord on 14 December 2023, that she had moved out of the property. The landlord’s internal correspondence shows that it asked its surveyor to undertake a further damp survey once the property was empty and cleared of the resident‘s belongings. The landlord asked the contractor to complete a further inspection as works were needed to the bathroom. The landlord’s surveyor carried out a further inspection on 12 January 2023. These further inspections were reasonable, however, there is no evidence that the landlord kept the resident informed that further inspections were needed prior to the work starting. The lack of information and updates provided to the resident was a failing which will have likely caused her considerable time, trouble, and inconvenience, particularly as she needed to schedule surgery and had contacted the landlord numerous times asking for updates.
The landlord’s internal correspondence also shows the contractors needed a 4-week lead-in time prior to the work starting. Again, this was reasonable. Before undertaking major work to remedy damp and mould, contractors may need time to ensure that they have the right tradespeople and materials needed to carryout the work. However, the Ombudsman has not seen evidence that the landlord told the resident what the reasons were for the delay in the work starting. When a resident is decanted, it is important for landlords to provide them with regular updates as to the likely start and finish date of the works, and the reasons for any delays which may occur.
The landlord’s post-inspection reports of 26 June 2023 and 21 July 2023 identified that sealant was needed in the bathroom and the bathroom floor needed cleaning. The landlord’s repairs policy, set out above, states that it will complete routine repairs within 20 working days. In its stage 1 complaint response of 8 December 2023, the landlord did not offer any explanation as to why the snagging repairs to the bathroom had not been carried out. In its stage 2 complaint response of 19 September 2024, the landlord accepted that it had still not applied the sealant or cleaned the bathroom floor. This was over a year outside of its timescales for completing routine repairs and is an unacceptable delay. The landlord is ordered to inspect the bathroom and to remedy these issues if it identifies that these are still outstanding.
It was reasonable that in its stage 2 complaint response of 19 September 2024, the landlord said it would not agree to replace any floorboards in the resident’s property as its post-inspections had not identified these as an issue. It acted reasonably in agreeing to reconsider this issue if the resident could provide evidence that its surveyor had agreed to replace floorboards. If the resident has any other evidence to show the floorboards are damaged, such as photographs, she can send this to the landlord, and it should consider this and respond accordingly.
The resident reported to the landlord on 6 June 2023, that it had not installed a double radiator in her bedroom as agreed. The landlord’s post inspection reports confirmed that the bedroom radiator should be replaced with a larger double radiator. In its stage 2 complaint response of 19 September 2024, the landlord said it would ensure that the correct radiator was installed in line with its post-inspection reports. As noted above, on 14 January 2025, the resident told the Ombudsman that the double radiator has still not been fitted.
The fact that the landlord has not installed a double radiator over a year and a half after the resident first reported the issue is a significant failing, particularly as she had told it that her bedroom was cold, and this affected her health. As noted above, the landlord has told the resident there is insufficient space for it to fit a double radiator under the window but has said it could fit one elsewhere in her bedroom. This is reasonable. The landlord is ordered to fit a double radiator in the resident’s bedroom.
The resident reported that the pipes under the kitchen sink needed replacing on 6 June 2023. It is accepted that the resident did not raise the issue again prior to 11 September 2024. However, the Ombudsman has not been provided with evidence to show that the landlord inspected the issue following the resident’s report. The landlord’s post-inspection reports of 26 June 2023 and 21 July 2023 do not make any mention of the pipes under the kitchen sink, indicating that this issue did not form part of these inspections. In its stage 2 complaint response of 19 September 2024, the landlord failed to specifically address the issue of the pipes under the kitchen sink. This was a failing. The landlord is ordered to inspect the kitchen sink and carry out any repairs it identifies.
On 7 June 2023, the resident reported that the ceiling light in the front room was not working. On 25 July 2023, the resident reported that the ceiling light in her hallway had been damaged. In her complaint of 27 November 2023, she said the damaged ceiling light had not yet been replaced. On 13 December 2023 the resident reported that the light switch in her bedroom was not working. On 27 September 2024, the resident confirmed to the landlord that the light in her bedroom had been repaired. The landlord should have repaired the lights in the resident’s property within its timescales for completing routine repairs. The fact that it did not do so was a failing which will have likely caused the resident considerable time, trouble and inconvenience.
The landlord has not offered the resident any financial redress for its errors in its handling of the repairs to her property. The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, published on our website, sets out our approach to compensation. The remedies guidance states that where maladministration has been identified which adversely affected the resident, £100-£600 compensation should be considered. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £250 compensation for these errors.

The landlord’s handling of the replacement of damaged and missing items

On 6 June 2023 the resident reported to the landlord that blinds in the kitchen and bedroom had been damaged. In its complaint response of 23 August 2024, the landlord apologised for not having ordered the blinds. It acted reasonably in offering the resident £100 compensation for this. On 3 October 2024, the resident told the landlord that the replacement curtain rails and blinds it had proposed did not match her previous ones. Whilst it is not always possible for landlords to find an exact match for items, they should try to replace like-for-like wherever possible. On 14 January 2025, the resident told the Ombudsman that the curtain rails and blinds had not been fitted. If it has not done so already, the landlord is ordered to replace the curtain rails, and the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway blinds as per the resident’s specifications. If it is not able to source like-for-like replacements, it should reimburse the resident for the curtain rails and blinds so that she can buy these herself.
The landlord advised the resident that it did not accept liability for her missing towels or garden items. It is understandable that the resident did not initially notice that these items were missing, however as she had reported these items several months after the contractors completed the works to her property, it would be difficult for the landlord to effectively investigate and assess whether it had any liability for these items. The landlord acted reasonably however in offering the resident £30 for not initially responding to concerns about her missing garden items. As noted above, the resident has told the Ombudsman that the landlord has also reimbursed her for her towels.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints

The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 8 March 2023. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint procedure on 11 April 2023. As noted above, the Ombudsman asked the landlord to provide evidence that it responded to these complaints, but it has not done so. In the absence of this evidence, we can only conclude that the landlord did not issue formal complaint responses. This was unreasonable and may have made the resident feel that the landlord was not listening to her.
The resident raised concerns to the landlord about outstanding repair issues and damaged items between June 2023 and September 2023. In housing management, it is reasonable for a landlord to treat issues not previously raised with it, as reports or service requests, and for it to be given a chance to respond to the issues raised, prior to it treating issues as a complaint. However, the landlord told the resident on several occasions that it had received her ‘complaints’ and that these had been ‘escalated’, when it appears that in fact, it had passed these onto its disrepair team and contractors as reports. It is recommended that the landlord carry out staff training in complaint handling to ensure it makes clear to residents whether it is treating issues raised as reports, or as complaints, to avoid any future confusion.
The resident submitted a complaint about damaged and missing items on 12 March 2024. The landlord acted in line with its complaint policy in contacting the resident on 26 March 2024 to let her know it needed more time to investigate her complaint and would respond by 3 April 2024. However, it did not respond until 15 April 2024. The resident escalated the complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints procedure on 11 June 2024. However, the landlord did not respond until 23 August 2024, after the Ombudsman had asked it to do so. These delays in responding to the resident’s complaints were unreasonable and will have likely caused her time, trouble, and inconvenience, as she was waiting longer than she should have been for a response and she had to contact the Ombudsman for assistance in progressing her complaint.
The landlord has offered the resident total compensation of £800 for the failures in its complaint handling. This is higher than the amount suggested by the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, set out above, which states that where maladministration has been identified, £100-£600 compensation should be considered. Therefore, the landlord has made an appropriate offer and does not need to do anything further in relation to this aspect of the complaint.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the repairs to the resident’s property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of its replacement of damaged and missing items.
In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves its handling of the associated complaints, satisfactorily.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

The landlord is ordered to do the following within 4 weeks of the date of this report, ensuring that it provides the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance by the same date:
1. Inspect the sealant and the bathroom floor and if necessary, carry-out works to remedy these issues.
2. Install a double radiator in the resident’s bedroom.
3. Inspect the pipes under the kitchen sink and carry-out any necessary repairs to these.
4. Fit blinds in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway. If it cannot source like-for-like replacements it should offer the resident reasonable reimbursement so that she can buy her own.
5. Pay the resident £250 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by errors in its handling of the repairs to her property.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the landlord carries out staff training in relation to complaints to ensure it makes clear to residents whether it is treating issues raised as reports, or as complaints.