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Orbit Group Limited (202409476)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202409476

Orbit Group Limited

22 August 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 handling of the resident’s request for repairs and improvements to be made to the communal washing area.

Background

  1. The resident occupies a one bedroom flat under an assured tenancy with the landlord.
  2. In June 2024, the resident contacted us about the communal washing area; he said the landlord had persistently failed to carry out repairs and improvements to it since 2017. He said that he had organised a petition signed by other residents which was submitted to the landlord in 2023, and that he had also contacted his MP about the matter. He wanted the works to be carried out and for the landlord to apologise to all the residents that were affected.
  3. On 2 December 2024 we asked the landlord to respond to the resident’s complaint. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 9 December 2024. It stated that upon reviewing its records, the last time the resident had made contact about the communal washing area was in September 2023. As its complaints handling process only allowed it to investigate one year before it received a complaint, the complaint fell outside the timeframe it could investigate. It therefore concluded that it could not uphold the resident’s complaint. It did however clarify that it planned to carry out an inspection and it would inform the resident of findings and any works required.
  4. The landlord subsequently provided a stage 2 response on 13 December 2024 repeating what it said in the stage 1 response.
  5. The landlord carried out an inspection of the communal washing area and the report dated 18 December 2024 identified several actions that were needed. It noted that more washing lines were needed as there were not enough, gravel down ‘the sides’ was needed to make the area safer, and the fence needed to repaired. The report stated that these works would be completed via the ‘out of scheme improvements’. The landlord’s contractor confirmed the following day that they attended the site to provide a quote for installing four washing line posts so that the residents would have more space to hang their washing. A repair was also raised for the fence.
  6. During January 2025 the resident confirmed to us that he was unhappy with the landlord’s final response and wanted us to investigate his complaint. He disagreed that the landlord did not have a budget for improvement works, reiterated that he had been raising the issue with the landlord over many years, and was dissatisfied with the landlord’s complaint handling.
  7. On 28 February 2025, the landlord confirmed in its internal repair notes that works to the drying area would be completed the following week. During March 2025, the landlord wrote to the resident to confirm all works were complete.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident says he has been reporting the issues with the communal washing area since 2017 and we have seen evidence that he has raised formal complaints about the matter from at least May 2020. While this is noted, the investigation has focussed on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s more recent reports from 2023 onwards. This is because residents are expected to raise complaints with their landlords and if necessary with the Ombudsman, in a timely manner. This is so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues while they are still ‘live’, and while the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events that occurred.

Assessment

  1. The landlord’s repair policy states that repairs to boundary fences and clothes lines in shared areas are the responsibility of the landlord. Routine repairs are considered those that do not cause serious inconvenience. The landlord aims to complete such repairs within 28 calendar days.
  2. On 20 July 2023 the landlord wrote to the resident about the communal washing area. It said that it had discussed the resident’s concerns “a while back” and had looked into whether it could install new washing lines and extra paving slabs. However, these works were regarded to be improvements so had been added to the estate improvements list. Due to higher priority improvements and limited budget, the improvement works were likely to be scheduled for the following financial year.
  3. On 21 July 2023, the resident asked the landlord to review his complaint. He said he had been told that weeding around the washing area would be done the previous year but the weeds were now over a metre high, and it was not reasonable to expect residents to use the washing area in its current state. No evidence has been provided to show that the landlord responded to the resident at this time.
  4. On 13 September 2023, the resident submitted a petition to the landlord about the condition of the washing area. He asked the landlord to confirm when the requested repairs and improvements would be carried out. He chased an update and on 18 October 2023 the landlord confirmed that it had previously contacted the resident to explain that there was no estate improvement budget to complete improvements that year and it would be requested in the following year’s plan.
  5. Therefore, the evidence confirms that the resident raised concerns about the condition of the washing area on several occasions in 2023 and in response the landlord confirmed that improvement works had been scheduled for the 2024/25 financial year. It is reasonable to conclude that the works the landlord agreed to carry out were regarded as improvements rather than repairs, as it was not simply a case of repairing the facilities that were already in the washing area, or replacing them like for like. Therefore, the landlord’s decision to place the works on the following year’s improvement plan was reasonable in the circumstances. However, the available evidence indicates that there were shortcomings in the landlord’s communication as the resident had to chase the landlord for responses.
  6. On 26 March and 3 June 2024, the resident asked the landlord for an update on when the improvement works to the washing area were going to be carried out. No evidence has been provided to confirm that the landlord responded to the resident’s enquiries at the time. Given that the landlord committed to undertaking the improvement works in 2024/25, it would have been appropriate for it to have updated the resident on when the works were due to take place.
  7. Following contact from us, the landlord logged a complaint from the resident in December 2024 and arranged an inspection of the washing area. This identified that there were not enough washing lines so more needed to be installed, and gravel needed to be laid down the sides of the washing area to make it safer. These works were eventually carried out in early March 2025 and it is unclear why there was a period of over two months between the works being identified and them being completed.
  8. While the works were completed within the 2024/25 financial year as the landlord had committed to doing, the resident had to again chase the landlord for updates. The available evidence also suggests that the landlord had not planned in the works, and was only prompted to progress matters after receiving the resident’s complaint from us. Therefore, there were further failings in the landlord’s communication with the resident and in it ensuring a proactive approach to managing the works.
  9. In addition, it was inappropriate for the landlord to decline to consider the complaint on the basis that it was out of time. There is evidence to show that the resident pursued the matter during 2024 and therefore within 12 months of the landlord receiving the complaint from the resident. Furthermore, as the landlord had committed to carrying out the improvement works in 2024/25, it was reasonable for the resident to pursue the matter again as a complaint as he had not been updated on when the works would be completed. Consequently, the landlord missed the opportunity to identify the shortcomings in its communication with the resident and in its handling of the request for the works to the washing area, and to put this right.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for repairs and improvements to be made to the communal washing area.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to, within 4 weeks of the date of this determination:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.

b.     Pay the resident £200 compensation for its handling of the resident’s request for works to be carried out to the communal washing area.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should review its estate inspection and communal repair processes to ensure repairs and improvements are properly logged, monitored and completed within agreed timescales.