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Places for People Group Limited (202417838)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202417838

Places for People Group Limited

9 May 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:
    1. Repairs to a wet room at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The resident is disabled and requires a level access wet room.
  2. The resident is being represented by her daughter-in-law in this complaint. For ease of reference, the resident and her daughter-in-law will both be referred to as “the resident” in this report.
  3. The resident started reporting issues with the wet room flooding shortly after she moved into the property in June 2023.
  4. On 18 October 2023, the landlord raised a work order for the wet room to be inspected and repaired.
  5. On 30 January 2024, the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord via her MP. She explained her and her family had been trying to get the landlord to address the ongoing issue with the wet room, which she said was not fit for purpose. The resident explained anytime the shower was on, the water leaked out from the wet room into the hallway. In addition, she stated she could not take a shower due to the issue with the leaking wet room.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 12 February 2024. It acknowledged that the resident had been experiencing issues since she moved into her property with her wet room not draining properly. The landlord apologised and offered the resident £500 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in repairing the wet room. It also confirmed that the repair works to the wet room would take place between 26 February and 28 February 2024.
  7. On 23 February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. She explained the landlord’s contractor had cancelled the repair job for the wet room, which was due to take place at the end of February 2024. The resident stated the repairs remaining outstanding meant she still could not shower, which was impacting her mental and physical health.
  8. On 21 May 2024, the landlord emailed the resident and confirmed that its new contractor had contacted her to arrange a date for the repairs to the wet room. In addition, the landlord offered the resident an increased compensation offer of £1,670 due to the further delays she had experienced. It explained it calculated the offer amount based on 374 days of disruption to the wet room facilities minus the 90-day timescale the works should have been resolved in and multiplied this by £5 per day. This totalled £1,420 and then the landlord offered a further £250 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.
  9. On 23 May 2024, the landlord’s contractor contacted the resident and provided a start date of 15 July 2024 for repairs to the wet room.
  10. On 24 May 2024, the landlord contacted the resident and increased its offer of compensation to £1,750 to take into consideration the delayed start date for the repairs to the wet room.
  11. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 7 June 2024. It explained it had agreed to remove, refit, and level the wet room floor. It also stated it would replace the sink and install additional tiles on the uncovered areas of the walls. The landlord confirmed the repairs to the wet room would start on 15 July 2024. In addition, the landlord explained it had agreed to a compensation payment of £1,750 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in carrying out the works to the wet room.
  12. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman. She stated her desired outcome was to receive additional compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in repairing the wet room.
  13. The works to the wet room were completed in September 2024.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has mentioned as part of her complaint that the landlord’s delay in carrying out the repairs to the wet room impacted her mental and physical health. We acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for the resident. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s role to determine whether there is a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and any specific impact on the resident’s health. It would be more appropriately suited for a court or liability insurer to investigate this as a personal injury claim. Courts can award damages in a different way to the Ombudsman and review medical evidence. This service can consider distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her health.

Policies and procedures

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy explains that the landlord is responsible for repairing a damaged bath or shower unit and overflows. It also states that the landlord is responsible for carrying out repairs when there is a total loss of bathing facilities.
  2. In addition, the landlord’s repairs policy includes the following response timescales for the following repair categories:
    1. Emergency repairs – the landlord will respond and carry out the repair within 24 hours.
    2. Appointable (routine repairs) – the landlord will respond and carry out the repair within 28 days.
    3. Planned repairs – the landlord will respond and carry out the repair within 90 days.

Repairs to a wet room at the resident’s property

  1. In June 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and reported an issue with the wet room in her property leaking into the hallway. Following the resident’s report, there was a delay in the landlord taking any action. The landlord’s records show that it raised a work order for the wet room to be repaired on 18 October 2023 and booked an appointment for 4 December 2023. However, the landlord’s repair notes state the appointment was cancelled due to further works being required to the wet room. The delay in the landlord arranging the necessary repairs to the wet room was unreasonable. The Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to prioritise the repair due to the resident’s vulnerabilities.
  2. Due to the wet room works remaining outstanding, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. The landlord apologised in its stage 1 complaint response issued in February 2024 for its delays in repairing the wet room. It also offered the resident £500 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the repair delays. It’s a positive step that the landlord acknowledged the delay and offered the resident compensation. However, the amount of compensation offered was not sufficient to recognise the impact the delay would have had on the resident, particularly as she was vulnerable.
  3. The landlord also confirmed in its stage 1 response that repair works to the wet room would be carried out between 26 February and 28 February 2024. However, shortly before the agreed date, the contractor cancelled the repair job. The Ombudsman recognises the contractor cancelling the repair appointment would have been outside the landlord’s control. Following the cancellation, the landlord found a different contractor to carry out the repairs to the wet room. This was a reasonable step taken by the landlord, but there was a delay in the landlord contacting the new contractor. The landlord failed to contact the new contractor until April 2024, which was unreasonable.
  4. Following the landlord contacting the new contractor, there was a delay in the contractor carrying out an inspection of the wet room to provide a quote for the works. The landlord’s contractor eventually carried out an inspection in May 2024. Shortly after, it provided a quote to the landlord for the works and confirmed the required works to the wet room, which included removing, refitting, and levelling the wet room floor. Also, replacing the sink and installing additional tiles to uncovered areas on the walls. The delay in the inspection being carried out was unreasonable, and the Ombudsman recognises it must have been very difficult for the resident not being able to use the wet room for such a long period of time.
  5. The Ombudsman is aware that the landlord’s contractor did ask it to consider if the resident could be decanted (temporarily moved). However, due to the resident’s medical circumstances, this was not possible. It is positive that the landlord considered this as an option, and it was beyond its control that it could not decant the resident due to her circumstances.
  6. In May 2024, the resident emailed the landlord and explained the contractor had told her that the repairs to the wet room were not likely to start until June or July 2025. The resident also explained that the compensation amount it previously offered was not sufficient. The resident explained usually for the loss of amenities it would be between £3 and £5 per day, and if a resident has disabilities or vulnerabilities whereby the situation would affect their mental health, it would be between £5 and £10 a day.
  7. Shortly after, the landlord contacted the resident on 21 May 2024 and offered the resident an increased compensation offer. It offered the resident £1,670 and explained it had calculated the offer amount based on 374 days of disruption to the wet room facilities minus the 90-day timescale the works should have been resolved in and multiplied this by £5 per day. This totalled £1,420 and then the landlord offered a further £250 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. The landlord acted appropriately by reviewing its compensation offer and increasing this to recognise the further delay in repairing the wet room and the distress and inconvenience it would have caused.
  8. The amount of compensation offered by the landlord was in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £1000 or more where there have been serious failings by the landlord, which had a significant long-term impact on the resident.
  9. On 23 May 2025, the landlord contacted the resident and confirmed a start date of 15 July 2025 for the wet room repair works. In addition, the next day, the resident contacted the landlord and asked if it would recalculate its offer to consider the new start date for the works. The landlord responded appropriately and increased its compensation offer to £1,750 to recognise the delayed start date. The landlord reconfirmed its compensation offer of £1,750 in its stage 2 complaint response sent to the resident on 7 June 2024.
  10. The works to the wet room started on the booked appointment date of 15 July 2024 and the resident stated she was told that the works would take no longer than a week. However, there was a delay in the works being completed and part of the delay was due to the concrete floor base not being dry enough. The works were eventually completed around 13 September 2024.
  11. The Ombudsman recognises the landlord apologised and offered the resident £1,750 compensation. However, the landlord calculated its compensation offer based on the works being finished during July 2024. Considering it took longer than planned for the landlord to complete all the required works to the bedroom, it would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident further compensation for the additional period. Therefore, there has been maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to a wet room at the resident’s property.
  12. The landlord should calculate the compensation for the additional period the works remained uncompleted at £5 per day, as this is how it calculated its previous compensation offer. The amount of compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above.

The associated complaint

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales referenced in the Code.
  2. The resident submitted her complaint to the landlord on 30 January 2024. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 12 February 2024. The response was on time and compliant with the 10-working day timescale referenced in the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. On 23 February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. The resident also chased the landlord for its response. It took the landlord around 71 working days to provide its stage 2 complaint response, which it sent to the resident on 7 June 2024. The response was considerably late and not compliant with the timescales referenced within the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy. In addition, the late stage 2 complaint response would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as she was delayed in progressing her complaint to the Ombudsman because she needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service and the repairs to the wet room were still outstanding whilst the resident was waiting for the landlord to provide its stage 2 complaint response.
  4. The landlord failed to acknowledge and apologise for its complaint handling delay. Therefore, given the delay in the landlord providing its stage 2 complaint response, there has been maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. The amount of compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs to a wet room at the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling errors.
    2. Calculate a new offer of compensation to take into consideration the additional delay in the agreed repairs not being completed between July and September 2024. The landlord should pay this amount to the resident and provide her with a breakdown showing how it has been calculated. The landlord should forward a copy of the breakdown to the Ombudsman.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report, providing evidence to the Ombudsman that it has done so by the same date.