Platform Housing Group Limited (202115334)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202115334

Platform Housing Group Limited

16 March 2022

 

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:
    1. The landlord’s handling of repairs to the property’s hot water system.
    2. The landlord’s complaints handling.

Background

  1. The resident occupies the property, a one-bedroom flat, under an assured tenancy agreement with the landlord.
  2. The resident reported intermittent issues with her heating and hot water between December 2020 and June 2021, including loss of hot water and low water pressure. The property was listed on the landlord’s Warm Homes Programme, awaiting replacement of the electric heating and hot water system with a gas central heating system. The resident made a formal complaint to the landlord about the length of time it had taken to resolve the hot water issue. She stated that she had had no hot water since December 2020 despite numerous appointments, noting that operatives had attended without the correct equipment, or a gas engineer had been sent to repair the electric system.
  3. The resident reported a leak from the water tank in her loft (24 June 2021), which she stated had damaged the property’s decorations and her personal belongings and affected the electrics. She was decanted to a hotel for 2 nights whilst the leak was resolved, as she reported that the water supply had been shut off and she was unable to use the toilet and washing facilities. The resident re-raised her complaint, noting her dissatisfaction that the system had not yet been replaced with gas and that previous complaints had gone unanswered. She requested compensation and for the system to be switched over to gas.
  4. The complaint was upheld at stage 1 and the landlord apologised for the time it had taken to diagnose the hot water issue. Replacement of the electric system had been delayed due to issues with the utility company installing a gas meter, which had now been resolved. The landlord would arrange for redecoration of the areas affected by the leak, and it offered the resident £300 compensation for the failure of staff to take reasonable care and loss of facilities following the leak.
  5. The parties discussed the level of compensation, and the landlord increased its offer to £500. The resident rejected this, stating she would accept a minimum of £1,613.44. The resident believed the leak was related to the ongoing issues and the landlord’s failure to repair and maintain the hot water system, which the landlord denied. The resident highlighted that following the leak, she had been inappropriately advised to use her neighbour’s toilet until the water supply was restored, contravening Covid guidelines. She also noted that the redecoration works remained outstanding.
  6. The landlord’s final response partially upheld the complaint due to the excessive time taken to resolve the loss of water pressure. The landlord increased its offer of compensation to £850, subject to the provision of evidence of loss of earnings. It would also arrange an inspection to identify any other repairs issues at the property. The resident accepted the landlord’s offer of compensation, though she was dissatisfied that she had to provide evidence of lost earnings as part of this compensation process. In bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman, she confirmed that she wanted adequate compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience she had experienced over a protracted period and the poor communication demonstrated by the landlord throughout.

Assessment and findings

Policies, procedures and the occupancy agreement

  1. Under Clause 2(4) of the resident’s Tenancy Agreement, the landlord is required to ‘keep in repair and proper working order any installation provided … for space heating, water heating and sanitation and for the supply of water, gas and electricity’. The landlord was therefore obliged to repair and maintain the resident’s electric heating system and hot water tank.
  2. Under the landlord’s Repairs and Maintenance Policy in use at the time the issues were first reported, emergency repairs, including severe water leaks and total loss of hot water between November and February, should be attended within 24 hours. Urgent repairs, including total hot water failure between March and October, should be attended within 5 working days. All other routine repairs, ‘which do not cause serious inconvenience’ should be completed within 21 working days.
  3. Where the landlord feels it may be possible to resolve a complaint within 2 working days, it may use the ‘Quick Resolution’ stage of its complaints procedure. If the complaint cannot be resolved within this time frame it must log a formal complaint, which should be acknowledged within 3 working days. The landlord aims to respond to complaints at stage 1 of its complaints process within 10 working days, and within 20 working days at the final review stage.
  4. The landlord’s Compensation Policy states that compensation may be payable for loss of some facilities, for failure of staff to take reasonable care, and for any ‘actual loss’ resulting from service failure.
  5. The landlord’s Compensation Guidance Procedure states that loss of hot water and loss of the use of a WC will be liable for compensation where the specified repairs timescale has lapsed. Compensation will be paid at a rate of £20 plus £5 for each day the facilities are unavailable. The maximum amount payable will be £100. The maximum payment for failure of staff to take reasonable care will be £250. Actual losses and compensation for other service failures will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Proof of actual loss will be required.
  6. Residents are encouraged to take out contents insurance to cover damage or loss to personal belongings and the landlord’s Compensation Guidance Procedure states that compensation will not be payable for loss or damage resulting from an ‘insurable risk.’

Repairs to the resident’s heating system

  1. The issue outstanding between the parties is the level of compensation offered by the landlord in recognition of its failings. The resident does not feel that the landlord’s offer adequately reflects the time she spent pursuing the complaint, the distress and inconvenience caused, and the costs she has incurred. She believes the offer should include compensation for damage to her personal belongings as a result of the leak and that the landlord should provide a rent rebate.
  2. The Ombudsman agrees with the landlord that there was an unreasonable delay in identifying and resolving the hot water issue. The landlord’s repairs records show 10 jobs logged in relation to the hot water system between December 2020 and June 2021. The landlord’s records indicate that it attended each report within a reasonable time, and so it was not required to compensate the resident for loss of facilities, however, the issue with low pressure persisted for 7 months and the landlord should have sought a permanent solution. The landlord’s records confirm that there were ‘multiple gas jobs logged when there is no gas in the property’ and there is no evidence that operatives’ recommendations to renew joints and replace the cylinder were followed up within a reasonable time.
  3. As part of the resident’s complaint, she raised concerns that her heating system had not yet been replaced, despite the landlord having replaced her neighbours’ systems. The landlord explained that this was due to difficulties in arranging for a meter to be installed. Once it became aware of the issue, the landlord took appropriate steps to assist by contacting the utility company and authorising the transfer of the account into the resident’s name so she could make the necessary arrangements.
  4. The landlord has accurately advised that it cannot compensate the resident for damage to her personal belongings, as it does not accept liability for the leak. It has also explained that it will not provide a rent rebate, as rent is payable in line with the terms of the resident’s Tenancy Agreement.
  5. The Ombudsman does not have the technical expertise to assess whether the ongoing issues with water pressure and lack of hot water were linked to the leaking tank. The evidence shows that the landlord consulted its repairs team to determine whether there was a connection, and it was entitled to rely on the professional advice that the issues were unconnected. As an unexpected leak is likely to be an ‘insurable event’, as described in the landlord’s compensation guidance, its position as set out in the complaint response was reasonable.
  6. The landlord was not required to provide a rent rebate, or to otherwise compensate the resident for loss of the use of her property. The resident was temporarily decanted for 2 nights following the leak, as she reported that the water supply had been cut off, although the landlord later confirmed that only the supply to the bathroom had been isolated. Although it was undoubtedly very unpleasant for the resident to be without a flushing toilet in the period prior to the decant, the landlord took action within a reasonable time to mitigate the inconvenience caused to her by arranging for hotel accommodation.
  7. The landlord has apologised for the excessive number of appointments and for sending incorrect operatives to deal with the hot water issue on more than one occasion. It has offered £250 in recognition of the delay in resolving the issue. The landlord’s approach to calculating this element of the compensation is appropriate and the amount reflects the failure of staff to accurately log the job and progress a permanent repair.
  8. The landlord has offered £200 compensation for distress caused by its failings, including the inappropriate advice given about using a neighbour’s facilities. It has also offered £350 to cover loss of earnings if the resident provides evidence, which is reasonable and in line with its compensation procedures. Though the resident has stated that it was not reasonable that the landlord required her to evidence the loss of earnings, it is noted that, in her contact with this Service, she has confirmed that she was able to provide this evidence to the landlord. It is not known however, whether the landlord has now followed through with its agreement and paid the full amount of compensation to the resident.
  9. Overall, the total offer of £800 compensation for this aspect of the complaint was appropriate and proportionate to the failings identified by the landlord. The £500 offered in recognition of the delay and inconvenience is in line with the Ombudsman’s Remedies guidance, which states that awards between £250 and £700 will be made where considerable service failure has been identified but there was no permanent impact on the resident. The landlord has also exercised its discretion to compensate the resident for loss of earnings.

Complaints handling

  1. There was an unreasonable delay in the landlord logging and acknowledging the resident’s formal complaint, which was first made by telephone on 16 June 2021. In the circumstances it would have been unreasonable for the landlord to attempt to resolve the complaint at its ‘Quick Resolution’ stage, as the issues had been ongoing for 6 months. The formal complaint was not logged until 24 June 2021, a delay of 7 working days. There was also a delay of 5 working days in providing the stage 2 response, although the landlord did keep the resident updated. The landlord has acknowledged service failure in its complaints handling and offered £50 compensation, which is proportionate to the delay and the impact this had on the resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55(b) of the Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress that satisfactorily resolves the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the property’s hot water system.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 55(b) of the Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress that satisfactorily resolves the aspect of the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s complaints handling.

Recommendation

  1. If has not done so already, the landlord to pay the resident the £850 compensation offered at the completion of the complaints process.