Octavia Housing (202323790)

Decision
Case ID	202323790
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Octavia Housing
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	25 March 2026

Background

The resident lives in fourth-floor flat with his wife and 2 children. He was unhappy with the landlord’s response to numerous reports of repairs over a prolonged period.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Reports of repairs.
2. Associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found that there was:
1. Maladministration regarding the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs.
2. Maladministration regarding the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

Repairs

The landlord caused unnecessary delays and inconvenience. The resident reported numerous repairs over a period of approximately 16 months, some of which the landlord failed to respond to. Despite numerous visits over this prolonged period, repairs remained unresolved.

Complaint handling

The landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s first 2 complaints, which prompted him to raise a third complaint approximately 3 months after his initial complaint. The resident then experienced delays in the landlord responding to his complaint at both stages of its process.

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 specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 22 April 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1,075, made up of: The total compensation of £700 that it previously offered for the resident’s time and trouble and for any distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of reports of repairs. A further £200 for distress caused by its handling of reports of repairs. The total compensation of £175 that it previously offered for its complaint handling failures. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 22 April 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the property for repairs and produces a written report with photographs The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards The most likely cause of repair issues A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issues The likely timescales to commence and complete the works Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works	No later than 22 April 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
23 August 2023	The resident raised a formal complaint. The key points were as follows: He had numerous callouts due to reporting problems since October 2018. There were issues with the heating, hot water, drains and smells from the shower and kitchen sink, mould and condensation, windows and intercom system. Workmanship and communication had been poor. Some repairs had caused other damage and leaks. He was concerned about the impact of these issues on the physical heath of the household in addition to the anxiety and distress already caused. He wanted the landlord to permanently resolve these issues or provide alternative accommodation.
15 September 2023	The resident raised another complaint. The key points were as follows: He had reported since May 2023 that the intercom was not working. The communal entrance door did not fully close on its own and he struggled to turn his key in the door.
13 November 2023	The resident complained again. The key points were as follows: The intercom had not worked since May 2023. There were problems with the communal entrance door lock.
1 December 2023	The landlord acknowledged the complaint. It said its surveyor would visit to complete an inspection. The resident would then receive a copy of the surveyor’s report within 5 working days, and the landlord would liaise with the resident to arrange relevant works.
3 January 2024	The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. The key points were as follows: An inspection took place on 6 December 2023. It would complete a mould wash as well as a survey to check ventilation in the property due to extensive condensation as well as mould. It had raised jobs to address the airtightness of rubber excluders, replace the kitchen flooring damaged by a contractor, and resolve issues with water escaping from the shower area. It noted no issues regarding the drains or any smells during the inspection. It had since resolved hot water and heating issues, but a contractor would check the heating’s adequacy. It had also reported a fault with the intercom system. It apologised for the level of service received. It offered the resident £200 compensation for his time and trouble pursuing the matter and for any distress and inconvenience caused.
15 January 2024	The resident asked to escalate his complaint to stage 2. The key points were as follows: He had not received a copy of the surveyor’s report and requested reports for 2 previous inspections. Only a heat loss survey had been completed since the landlord’s stage 1 response. Paint had started to peel off the walls due to mould. The intermittent hot water issue had returned, a hole from a previous repair behind the washing machine needed fixing and the communal door did not close easily. He requested that the landlord either provide a detailed plan to permanently resolve the issues reported within a reasonable timeframe or provide alternative accommodation. The problems had impacted his and his wife’s mental health. He was concerned about the impact of condensation and mould on the health of them and their children.
18 January 2024	The landlord acknowledged the resident’s escalation request.
20 February 2024	The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. The key points were as follows: It provided a copy of the damp and mould checklist completed during the inspection on 6 December 2023. A ventilation survey would take place on 23 February 2024, following which it would contact the resident to discuss any remedial works. It apologised for the delay and offered £100 for any distress or inconvenience caused. It would await recommendations from the survey before deciding whether to take any action regarding rubber excluders in the property. It had attended to begin the process of replacing the kitchen flooring. It had resolved the issue regarding water escaping from the shower area on 23 January 2024. Its contractor would investigate the intermittent hot water issue. It would attend within 15 working days to ensure it had properly installed the access panel behind the washing machine. It apologised and offered £100 for any inconvenience caused by the delay in completing a heat loss survey. It had left the resident a voice mail that day regarding arranging a visit. Its contractor reported in November 2023 that it had resolved issues with the intercom and communal door. It had received a report regarding further issues earlier in February 2024 and raised a further callout to visit the resident. It offered £50 for any inconvenience caused by this. It apologised and offered a further £250 as discretionary goodwill, plus £25 for its delayed stage 2 complaint response.
1 May 2024	The resident referred his complaint to us. He requested that the landlord completes the repairs and provides compensation.
29 October 2024	The landlord completed a post complaint review. It offered the resident further compensation of £150 for the length of time taken to respond to his complaint at stages 1 and 2.

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	Landlord’s handling of reports of repairs
Finding	Maladministration

What we have not investigated

We would expect a resident to raise a formal complaint with the landlord within 12 months of an issue arising. Based on this, we have started our investigation at the earliest event that we are able to evidence in the 12 months prior to the resident’s complaint. This was when the resident complained about a bad smell in the property on 24 October 2022. This investigation considers how the landlord approached matters starting from this point and subsequently up to its stage 2 response on 20 February 2024.
The resident has explained that the condition of the property impacted the physical and mental health of him and his family. Personal injury claims are more appropriate for a court because they can obtain independent medical evidence. The landlord provided the resident with its insurance details to make such a claim. The resident also has the choice to seek legal advice if he wishes.

What we have investigated

The resident handbook says the landlord aims to attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 5 working days and routine repairs within 15 working days.

Drains and smells

Between 24 October 2022 and 30 August 2023, the landlord raised 12 jobs relating to a bad smell from the drains and the drains either being blocked or slow to clear. The resident’s third report of a bad smell prompted the landlord to arrange for a contractor to check the drains with CCTV.
Of the jobs raised, the landlord completed 9 within its timeframe for urgent repairs and 2 within its timeframe for routine repairs. Although the landlord failed to respond to 1 report from the resident, there is no evidence that he pursued this until more than 2 months later, which indicates that he was not unduly affected by this. The landlord then arranged to have the drains cleared to resolve the issue. However, it is unclear why it took the landlord so long to resolve these issues.

Heating and hot water

On 24 January 2023, the landlord raised a job due to the resident having no working hot water supply to his bathroom sink and bath. It then attended on 25 January 2023, which was within its timeframe for emergency repairs.
The landlord raised a further job on 27 January 2023 due to an issue with the boiler, which it attended within its timeframe for urgent repairs.
There is no evidence that the resident reported any further issues prior to the landlord raising jobs on 13, 14 and 17 July 2023 due to the resident having an intermittent hot water supply in the property and the heating not working properly. However, there is no evidence that the landlord took any action, despite the resident reporting further issues on 23 August 2023 and 15 January 2024. This was not appropriate and highlights a lack of an effective system to track and monitor repairs. This also showed a lack of empathy for the resident’s situation.

Damp and mould

The landlord completed a damp and mould inspection on 15 March 2023. Following this, it raised a job to repair the kitchen and bathroom fans on 21 March 2023, which it completed 2 working days outside its timeframe for routine repairs. It is also unclear why it took until 26 June 2023 to complete the mould wash, which was 69 working days after the inspection.
On 23 August 2023, the resident complained about mould and condensation in the property, but the landlord did not respond. This was not appropriate, as the landlord needs to ensure it raises repair requests at the earliest opportunity to ensure that it then completes repairs within its published timescales.
A damp and mould inspection on 6 December 2023 identified extensive condensation and mould in the resident’s home. This prompted the landlord to raise a job on 19 December 2023 for a contractor to undertake a ventilation survey. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response said the resident would receive a copy of the damp and mould report within 5 working days of the visit. However, its failure to provide a copy prompted the resident to request this as well as reports for 2 previous inspections when he escalated his complaint to stage 2. Although the landlord did then provide the resident with a copy of the damp and mould report, it did not respond to his request for 2 other reports, which likely caused him inconvenience.
It took the resident’s stage 2 escalation request to prompt the landlord to contact its contractor on 17 January 2024 and 19 February 2024 about the ventilation survey. This indicates a lack of an effective system to track and monitor repairs. In response, the contractor said the survey would take place on 23 February 2024, which was 30 working days outside the landlord’s timeframe for routine repairs.

Leaks

Between 25 April 2023 and 19 December 2023, the landlord raised 9 jobs relating to leaks. It attended 3 of these jobs within its timeframe for emergency repairs and 1 within its timeframe for routine repairs. However, there were delays in it completing the other 6 jobs for remedial works due to leaks, which likely caused the resident inconvenience. For instance, the landlord did not complete jobs regarding plasterwork in the kitchen until 16, 22 and 4 working days outside its timeframe for routine repairs.

Intercom and communal door

From 27 July 2023, the landlord raised 3 jobs for its contractor to repair the intercom. The landlord’s records indicate that it resolved the issue on 18 September 2023, which was 22 working days outside its timeframe for routine repairs. It is unclear why it took so long to complete this repair.
On 13 November 2023 and 15 January 2023, the resident complained that the intercom had not worked since May 2023. He also said there were issues with the door closing as well as with the door’s locking mechanism. However, there is no evidence that the landlord took any action until its stage 2 response on 20 February 2024. In its response, the landlord said it had resolved the issue 3 months’ prior, but its records do not reflect this, which further highlights a lack of an effective system to track and monitor repairs.

Overall

The resident experienced numerous delays in the landlord’s handling of reports of repairs, which no doubt caused him inconvenience. This included instances whereby the landlord did not log repair issues, which prompted the resident to pursue them. There is also evidence of a lack of effective communication with the resident, which ultimately led the resident to raise a formal complaint. The landlord’s overall handling of the resident’s numerous reports of repairs over a period of approximately 16 months has led to a finding of maladministration.
The resident reported in a recent telephone call that he and his family have since moved into temporary accommodation, with works remaining outstanding and no notification of a plan moving forward.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	Maladministration

Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code), effective from 1 April 2022, sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord had a published complaints policy that complied with the terms of the Code in respect of timescales.
The resident first raised a formal complaint on 23 August 2023. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have acknowledged the complaint within 3 working days and issued a stage 1 response within a further 10 working days or let the resident know if it needed more time to investigate. Because the landlord did not respond to the resident’s formal complaint, he complained again on 15 September 2023 but, again, the landlord did not respond. This prompted the resident to raise another complaint on 13 November 2023.
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s third complaint on 1 December 2023, which was 11 working days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints policy. It then issued a stage 1 response on 3 January 2024, which was 10 working days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints policy. When responding to the resident at stage 1, the landlord failed to identify that it had not responded to 2 previous complaints.
The resident asked to escalate his complaint on 15 January 2024. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have acknowledged the escalation request within 3 working days and issued a stage 2 response within a further 10 working days or let the resident know if there was a delay. Although incorrectly dated as 2023, the landlord acknowledged the resident’s escalation request on 18 January 2024, which was within the timeframe specified in its complaints process. It said it was aiming to respond by 12 February 2024 but later extended this to 19 February 2024. The landlord then issued a stage 2 response on 20 February 2024, which was 1 working day later than expected. Although it kept the resident informed, the landlord issued its stage 2 response 13 working days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints process. However, it appropriately apologised and offered £25 compensation for this delay.
The landlord’s failures to respond to the resident prompted him to raise a total of 3 complaints, which likely caused him inconvenience.
It was not until it completed a post complaint review on 29 October 2024 that the landlord identified it had failed to respond to the resident’s initial complaint. However, it failed to identify that it had also not responded to a second complaint from the resident. The landlord offered the resident further compensation of £150 in recognition of the length of time taken to respond at stages 1 and 2 of its complaints process. The landlord’s offer, whilst welcome, was in response to our request for information and has therefore not prevented a finding of maladministration.
The landlord now has a published complaints policy that complies with the statutory Code that became effective on 1 April 2024 in respect of timescales.

Learning

Knowledge and information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s record keeping was poor in this case. The landlord must consider completing a self-assessment against our spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management, if it has not already done so.

Communication

The landlord’s communication in this case was poor. It needs to ensure that it has processes and procedures in place that enable effective and regular communication with its residents. In this case, the landlord failed to keep in regular contact with the resident to update him regarding the repairs. Good communication plays a key role in an effective repairs system, and the landlord must consider how it can improve its communication with residents.