Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Limited (202201992)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202201992

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Limited

30 September 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 the landlord’s response to reports of repairs to the resident’s heating system and her subsequent request for compensation.

Background

2. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
3. The landlord has stated that the resident initially raised reports regarding a lack of hot water and heating in August 2021. Although the landlord responded by booking a repair appointment, the resident subsequently cancelled this appointment. The resident did not re-raise another repair report concerning the heating system until March 2022. The landlord attended, identifying and repairing a leak to her radiator. The next day the resident complained that her boiler had low water pressure. The landlord attended the property, completing some repairs to the system. The landlord later sent a surveyor to inspect the resident’s heating system in April 2022, who concluded that a new heating system and radiators were required.
4. In April 2022, the resident raised a complaint, as she felt that the landlord should have identified the radiator leak sooner. She stated that this failure had caused damage to her flooring. The resident asked for the landlord to cover the cost of new laminate, which she said would be around £1,200. In response, the landlord stated that it had attended each of the resident’s repair reports promptly, and had endeavoured to identify and fix her repair issues. It did not find any service failure and so did not accept any liability to contribute towards her new flooring.
5. The resident escalated her complaint as she did not accept the landlord’s response. She stated that the radiator should have been bled by the landlord when it completed her yearly boiler service. She informed the landlord that this would have allowed its operatives to discover the leak sooner, which would have prevented the full extent of damage to her floor.
6. In its final response, the landlord explained to the resident that bleeding the radiators was not part of the annual boiler service. It stated that on its last service of her boiler in August 2021, it had not found any leaks and the resident had not expressed any concerns. The landlord reiterated that it had attended within appropriate timescales, concluding that there had not been a service failure in its response to her repair reports. It did however offer the resident £75 as a goodwill gesture, to go towards the cost of a new floor.
7. In her complaint to this Service, the resident has stated that she remains dissatisfied with how the landlord handled her heating system repairs. She sought to recover the cost of her replacement laminate flooring.

Assessment

8. The resident’s occupancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for all fittings and fixtures it has provided for the supply of gas and electricity, including boilers and central heating systems. Additionally, its repairs policy states that it will attend reports of heating or hot water failure within 24 hours.
9. In this case, on each occasion the resident reported issues concerning her heating system the landlord attended within the timeframes set out above. For example, when the resident initially reported a lack of hot water and heating on 18 August 2021, the landlord booked an appointment the same day. Whilst this was subsequently cancelled by the resident, the landlord had adhered to its obligations by booking the appointment within the stipulated timeframe of 24 hours, as per its repairs policy. Moreover, when the resident re-raised the issue on 4 March 2022, the landlord attempted to attend the same day, but could not gain access. Once the resident re-raised the same issues on 5 March 2022, the landlord again attended within 24-hours, undertaking repairs to the system. Finally, after the resident raised concerns of low pressure within her heating system on 6 March 2022, the landlord once again attended to the repairs report within 24–hours. The landlord handled the resident’s repair reports appropriately, as it attended within its published timescales, and endeavoured to identify and remedy the issues.
10. After responding to emergency repair reports regarding the heating system on several occasions, the landlord decided to assess if a more long-term solution was needed. It arranged for a surveyor to assess the system, who attended the property on 4 April 2022. From that assessment, the landlord decided to bring forward planned works to replace the system and radiators. The resident has stated this is evidence that the heating system was defective. This is not necessarily the case, as the landlord could be seen to be behaving proactively, in replacing the boiler before another problem occurs. The landlord acted appropriately by endeavouring to find a lasting solution to the resident’s heating issues. In her complaint to this Service, the resident has requested an update as to when her system will be replaced. It would be helpful for the landlord to keep the resident updated on these planned works, to manage her expectations.
11. In her complaint, the resident suggested that the landlord should have identified the leak at an earlier date. However, the resident’s occupancy agreement states that any repairs that are the landlord’s responsibility must be reported to it as soon as reasonably possible. The landlord needed to be made aware of any issues to be able to investigate them. Although the resident initially reported issues with the heating system in August 2021, as she cancelled the repair appointment the landlord did not have the opportunity to investigate until she re-raised the same issue in March 2022. Once raised, the landlord acted appropriately, by attending to the repairs within its 24-hour timescales and endeavouring to find a long-lasting solution to the problem.
12. The resident said to the landlord that it was its responsibility to air or bleed the radiators as part of its annual service to her heating system. She was concerned that its failure to do so meant that the radiator leak continued undetected. In response, the landlord explained that bleeding the radiators was not part of its annual service, and that even if it had been, it would not have prevented the leak. It explained that it serviced the resident’s boiler in August 2021, and did not find any evidence of leaks. It also noted that no concerns were raised about the heating system during this service, and that a leak could have occurred anytime between the servicing and her reports in March 2022. It is not possible for this Service to determine when the first leak occurred, and there is no evidence that indicates that the landlord should have been aware of the leak before it was reported. Once aware of the leak, the landlord acted appropriately, therefore it is reasonable for the landlord to conclude that there had been no service failure in how it had responded to the resident’s repair reports.
13. According to the resident’s occupancy agreement it is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain and repair the floors of the property, but not the floor coverings. Additionally, the occupancy agreement states that tenants are responsible for repairing and maintaining all improvements and fixtures that they install at the property. The records show that the resident informed the landlord she had installed the laminate. As the resident was responsible for any flooring that she installed, the landlord would only be expected to provide compensation in cases where failings in its action or inaction had caused the damage. Therefore, the landlord’s decision not to provide compensation was reasonable. As there was no service failure, there were no grounds on which to base an offer of compensation.

Determination (decision)

14. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of the complaint.