Platform Housing Group Limited (202316221)

Decision
Case ID	202316221
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Platform Housing Group Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Date	24 December 2025

Background

1. On 16 May 2023, the landlord and the resident agreed to a settlement of £2,250 for repairs and for the landlord to complete works within 90 days. However, the works were delayed and caused damage to the resident’s property. The landlord was also unable to complete a post inspection. The resident subsequently raised a formal complaint.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the:
   1. Reports of repairs and related damage.
   2. Associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of repairs and related damage.
4. We have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
5. We have made recommendations for further action.

Summary of reasons

6. The landlord made reasonable attempts to complete the repairs and overcome access issues.
7. The landlord appropriately responded to the resident’s complaint in line with its complaint handling policy. 

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration, or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

 

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
The landlord should contact the resident to arrange a post inspection.

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
16 May 2023	As part of a disrepair claim, the landlord and the resident agreed to a full and final settlement of £2,250 for distress and inconvenience caused by repair issues and for the landlord to complete the works listed in the survey report’s schedule within 90 days, subject to the resident providing access.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident was not satisfied with the works carried out and the subsequent damage caused by the landlord’s contractors to his property and contacted the Ombudsman. He explained there was an ongoing complaint and disrepair claim.
28 September 2023	The Ombudsman instructed the landlord to issue a stage 1 response by 19 October 2023.
19 October 2023	The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It did not uphold the complaint. It stated that delays occurred because it could not gain access to the property. It advised that the resident needed to allow access for contractors and service teams to complete the repairs.
16 November 2023	The resident requested an escalation of his complaint. He also noted that the contractor had now signed off the works. However, they did not address damage to his furniture and living room.
3 January 2024	The landlord’s stage 2 response explained that repair works took place in August and September 2023. Although the resident complained about paint splashes on his floor and belongings, photographs showed only minor marks and evidence that protective sheets had been used. The surveyor noted that some snagging was outstanding but overall quality was satisfactory. Contractors returned on 26 October 2023 to complete the snagging and clean the paint and plaster marks. The landlord did not uphold the complaint but apologised for the inconvenience and confirmed the case had been reviewed under its final review process.
29 July 2024	The landlord competed the remaining repair works.

 

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the reports of repairs and related damage
Finding	No maladministration

What we have not looked at

8. We cannot investigate issues that are subject to legal proceedings or where Part 32 offers have been accepted. This includes matters relating to the original leak that caused the disrepair, for which the landlord and resident agreed a settlement. Furthermore, this was the subject of a separate complaint with the landlord. While the issues from this previous complaint have been referred to for context, they are outside the scope of this investigation.

The landlord’s handling of the reports of repair and damaged incurred

9. On 16 May 2023, the landlord and the resident agreed to a settlement for repairs, with the landlord to complete the works listed in the survey report’s schedule within 90 days, subject to the resident providing access. This means it should have aimed to complete all works by 14 August 2023. We have seen evidence of works carried out on 28 June 2023 and 12 July 2023. These works were therefore appropriately completed in line with its obligations.
10. The landlord’s formal complaint response states that further repair works were carried out between August and October 2023. It is evident that some of these works were snagging works following the initial works and it was therefore reasonable that these took additional time as they were initially not foreseeable. On 26 October 2023, the landlord completed several snagging items and undertook remedial works for damaged items. This was appropriate, as the landlord completed the repairs and addressed the reported damage.
11. We have seen evidence that some works were delayed due to no access to the property and difficulties in coordinating repairs due to a lack of response. When access issues were reported, the landlord contacted the resident on 8 June 2023 and asked him to contact its contractor. It noted, however, that the resident had used an incorrect email address. The landlord also sent a letter on 29 September 2023 explaining access issues and the resident’s obligations under the tenancy agreement to allow access. The landlord further sought assistance from the resident’s solicitor to gain access to the property. In its stage 1 response, the landlord explained that contractors required access to complete the repairs and that the disrepair claim did not take precedence over the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement. This was appropriate and demonstrated that the landlord was committed to completing the repairs within the agreed timeframe and resolving the access issues.
12. The repairs caused damage to the resident’s furniture and flooring, and the resident was unhappy that the post‑inspection was not completed. In its stage 2 response, the landlord explained that, based on photographs and the surveyor’s statements, the overall quality of the works carried out was satisfactory. Although the complaint was not upheld, the landlord apologised for the inconvenience and confirmed that it had reviewed the matter to ensure customer perspective and recommend improvements. The contractors attended on 26 October 2023 to undertake some of the outstanding work, including snagging items and cleaning paint and plaster splashes. The outstanding repairs were eventually completed on 29 July 2024. We have seen evidence of further access issues preventing a post‑inspection.
13. In summary, we have seen that the landlord made reasonable attempts to complete repairs and remedial work, and that delays occurred due to ongoing access issues. The landlord demonstrated a commitment to resolving the issues by contacting the resident and his solicitor to address the access problems. We have therefore not found any failings in the landlord’s handling of the repairs or the damage incurred. However, given the concerns regarding the post‑inspection, we recommend that the landlord contacts the resident to carry out a post‑inspection to ascertain whether any issues remain outstanding.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	No maladministration

14. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 19 October 2023, in accordance with our instruction.
15. The resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint on 16 November 2023, and the landlord responded on 3 January 2024. On 22 December 2023, 20 working days after acknowledging the complaint, the landlord provided the resident with an update stating that it needed more time to complete a thorough review. It confirmed that a response would be issued within 10 working days, by 15 January 2024. This was in accordance with its complaints policy.
16. As the landlord’s responses to the resident’s complaint were in accordance with its complaints policy, we have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Learning

17. It was reassuring to see the landlord work with the resident and their solicitor to ensure access for repair appointments after the contractor reported difficulties gaining entry.

 Knowledge information management (record keeping)

18. The landlord displayed good record keeping practice which allowed us to establish what went wrong and the measures required to put things right.