Decisions

We publish decisions as part of our commitment to being open and transparent.

Decision reports do not include residents’ names, but we name landlords. They date from December 2020, and we publish them 3 months after the final decision date.

In some cases, we will not publish a decision if it is not in the resident’s or landlord’s interest. Or if we will compromise the resident’s anonymity. You can read more in our guidance on decisions.

Date

(date from format: mm/dd/yyyy)
(date to format: mm/dd/yyyy)

Landlord Name

Landlord type

Complaint Category

Outcome

Tenure

Orders

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London Borough of Hackney (202315535)

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of: Reports of smells, steam, noise, and fluff entering from a neighbouring property. Reports of damp. The complaint. The landlord operates a 2 stage complaints procedure. It says it will respond within 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2. The landlord appropriately responded within the timeframes provided in its procedure at stage 1. There were however concerns with its handling of the resident’s complaint at stage 2. The resident escalated his complaint on 13 July 2023. The landlord however said internally that it wanted to try to deescalate and stop the resident proceeding to stage 2. This was inappropriate and not in line with the Ombudsman’s code. The landlord had a responsibility to provide the resident with the necessary response in a prompt manner. Following its attempts to deescalate, it was unable to resolve the resident’s concerns, and he asked to escalate to stage 2 again on 27 September 2023. As such its approach led to an unnecessary delay in the complaint handling process. After escalating his complaint, the landlord realised it would not provide its response by the necessary deadline. It appropriately asked the resident for an extension and provided its response on 23 October 2023. As the resident initially escalated on 13 July 2023, it is fair to consider the stage 2 escalation from this date. Based on this, there was a delay of over 3 months in the landlord providing a stage 2 response and this was inappropriate. This also means that its actions contributed to a delay in the complaint handling process of over 6 months. Based on this we find that there was maladministration. The landlord did not acknowledge the failings in its approach with its complaint handling and offered the resident no redress around the situation. Based on this and its compensation policy we order that the landlord pay the resident added compensation around its complaint handling.

London Borough of Hounslow (202315608)

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about: her disabled parking bay. the removal of CCTV on her estate. power cuts to her home. The Ombudsman has also assessed the landlord’s complaint handling.

London Borough of Islington (202426388)

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of: Her personal belongings being lost whilst being transferred into temporary accommodation. Damp and mould within the property. Drainage issues in the kitchen. A boiler repair and being without heating and hot water at the property.

London Borough of Lewisham (202415887)

The complaint is about the landlord’s: Handling of the resident’s report of a repair to her boiler and the annual gas safety check. Complaint handling.

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV) (202330415)

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of: A leak and associated work. Kitchen, bathroom, window, and door replacements. Garden maintenance. Pest control. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.