Orbit Housing Association Limited (202102294)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202102294

Orbit Housing Association Limited

16 July 2021


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 reports of no heating or hot water.

Background and summary of events

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
  2. On 18 November 2020 the resident reported to the landlord that she had no heating or hot water. Contractors attended on 19 November and found they needed to replace a part in the boiler. The landlord’s records show they did not leave temporary heaters as the resident said she would stay with relatives. The landlord arranged a follow up appointment for 3 December, but advised her on the day that it would be delayed until 7 December. On 7 December contractors noted “customer husband has completely messed around with wiring centre and it is in need of a complete rewire”.
  3. The resident raised a complaint to her MP on 7 December 2020. She complained about the length of time it had taken the landlord to restore her heating and hot water. It is unclear when the MP referred this complaint to the landlord.
  4. On 30 December 2020 the landlord responded to the MP’s complaint. It explained that it had postponed the appointment until 7 December as it was awaiting parts. It apologised for the inconvenience. It explained that on 7 December contractors found that the resident’s husband had tampered with the electrics of the boiler. It said this had caused further damage, and delayed the restoration of the heating and hot water. It acknowledged that it had delayed responding to the resident’s report from 23 November (the records show she reported it on 18 November).
  5. The landlord’s internal records from early January 2021 show that it considered whether the tenancy agreement had been breached by the damage to the boiler, but it was very mindful of the circumstances of the resident’s family.
  6. The landlord arranged for its contractor to attend on 8 January 2021. It cancelled the appointment on the day as the contractor was sick. The landlord’s records show it tried to contact the resident on 8, 12, 15 January to rebook an appointment. It scheduled the next appointment for 1 February. Contractors attended on 1 and 2 February to restore the heating and hot water.
  7. On 19 February 2021 the MP forwarded the landlord an email from the resident. The resident explained that she was dissatisfied the landlord had blamed her husband for the delay, and that the contractors had not taken responsibility. She said that she refused to “pay rent for an empty property for 5 weeks and reap compensation for [her] water & electricity bill”.
  8. The landlord issued its stage two complaint response on 2 March 2021. It said that the appointment for 3 December 2020 should not have been delayed. It reiterated that on 7 December 2020 its contractors discovered that the boiler had been tampered with. It explained why it cancelled the appointment on 8 January 2021, and that it attempted to contact her on 8, 12, and 15 January to rebook. It offered her £542 compensation. This comprised of:
    1. £217.50 for no hot water from 3 December 2020 until 2 February 2021
    2. £217.50 for no heating from 3 December 2020 until 2 February 2021
    3. £10 for the postponed appointment on 3 December 2020
    4. £70 for the delay in fitting the missing part
    5. £27 for time taken to restore the heating and hot water.
  9. The landlord concluded by explaining how the resident could escalate her complaint if she remained dissatisfied.

Assessment and findings

  1. The landlord’s repair policy states that where repairs are required due to damage caused by a resident it will consider recharging them for the repair costs. It will attend to emergency repairs (intended to sustain the immediate health, safety, or security of the resident) within 24 hours. It will attend to routine repairs (non- emergencies) within 28 days. Its compensation policy sets out that it will pay £3.75 per day when a resident is without heating, or hot water (from 1 November to 30 April). It will pay £10 per missed repair appointment, and up to £70 as a goodwill gesture for failure of service resulting from a delay.
  2. The resident indicated in her complaint to the MP on 19 February 2021 that she was dissatisfied with paying rent whilst she was not in the property. The landlord did not respond to this aspect. Although it should have responded, there were no apparent grounds on which it could reasonably be expected to refund any rent. In line with their tenancy agreement, any resident is responsible for paying their rent on time. This would be applicable regardless of whether they chose to temporarily stay with a relative.
  3. In the landlord’s stage two complaint response it offered the resident £542 compensation for not having heating or hot water for a period, for a missed appointment, and delays in completing the repair. During its repairs it took into account the resident’s circumstances when assessing the damage to the boiler.
  4. Ultimately, the evidence shows the landlord took reasonable actions. It immediately responded to the report on 18 November 2020 in line with its emergency repair timeframe. It offered temporary heaters, and continued to take steps to investigate and resolve the issue. In its stage two complaint response it offered a reasonable level of compensation proportionate to the specific and unusual circumstances of the repairs.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in respect of the complaint.

Reasons

  1. The landlord took reasonable steps in response to the resident’s report that she had no heating or hot water.