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Platform Housing Group Limited (202410647)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202410647

Platform Housing Group Limited

31 March 2025

 

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about:
    1. The level of a financial offer the landlord made to the resident.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint comes to us, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within our jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident was a leaseholder of a property where the landlord held the freehold. In November 2022 he wrote to the landlord reporting concerns about actions taken by his neighbours that he said affected his property. He did not receive a response and instructed his solicitors to write to the landlord in February 2023 and April 2023. Again, he did not receive a response.
  2. In August 2023, the resident, who had by then arranged to sell his property for £110,000, was informed that the sale had fallen through. The estate agent said that this was because the buyer’s mortgage company withdrew its offer. This was because, the agent said, the concerns the resident had raised with the landlord in November 2022 were still not resolved.
  3. The resident sold his property for £105,000 in January 2024.
  4. The resident complained to the landlord on 7 February 2024. He explained that he had had to sell his house for £5,000 less as a result of the missed sale in August 2023. He said he had incurred solicitor’s costs and other associated costs because of the failed sale. He said he intended to take the landlord to court.
  5. The landlord responded at stage 1 of its complaints process on 29 February 2024. It “upheld” the resident’s complaint about the failure to respond to his and his solicitor’s correspondence. It apologised and offered him £250 for the failure of staff to “take reasonable care” and £250 for the distress and inconvenience this caused. It asked for evidence to prove why the sale fell through and the financial impact this had on him.
  6. The resident responded on 12 March 2024, providing evidence to support his claims. On 10 May 2024 the landlord provided its stage 2 response. It said its legal team had reviewed his evidence and offered £2,500 in full and final settlement of all proposed claims relating to the loss on the house sale. It offered a further £100 for further delays in complaint handling.
  7. The resident brought his complaint to us in June 2024 for an independent investigation. He said he wanted approximately £12,000 for his financial losses. He also wanted compensation for emotional distress.

Reasons

The level of the landlord’s financial offer

  1. Paragraph 42.f. of the Scheme states that we may not investigate complaints which, in our opinion, “concern matters where we consider it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts.”
  2. This issue falls properly within the jurisdiction of the courts, which would be able, if they considered it right to do so, to order the landlord to pay the sums the resident considers are owed to him. We cannot do so.
  3. The resident says his evidence proves the landlord is to blame for his financial loss. He says it has “taken responsibility “but will not pay what it owes.
  4. It is not clear to us that the landlord has accepted liability for the loss of the sale. Rather, it has made a full and final settlement offer. It is more appropriate that the decision as to liability should be addressed through the court process where the parties to any dispute can call witnesses and expert evidence. We cannot provide expert opinion in this way.
  5. We accept that it has taken the Ombudsman some time to reach this conclusion and we apologise for any inconvenience this delay has caused.

 

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