Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Limited (202504195)

Decision
Case ID	202504195
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	29 April 2026

 

Background

1. The resident raised repairs to his communal hall way to the landlord in July 2024. He complained in November 2024 and said he was unhappy with how it responded to his repairs. The resident was decanted from his property in March 2026.

 

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. Reports of repairs.
   2. Complaint.

 

Our decision (determination)

3. We found service failure in the landlord’s:
   1. Response to the resident’s repairs.
   2. Complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

 

Summary of reasons

Response to repairs

4. The landlord delayed responding to the resident’s reports of repairs. It acknowledged these delays and offered compensation to try and put things right. However, there is no evidence it completed the front door repair after its stage 2 response.

Complaint handling

5. The landlord did not fully comply with its complaints policy or our Complaint Handling Code (the Code).

 

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.

 

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: the apology is provided by a manager the apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic it has due regard to our apologies guidance	No later than 27 May 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £325 compensation broken down as: £225 offered at stage 2 £100 for the further delay to the front door repair The landlord must pay the resident directly and provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. It may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 27 May 2026

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
12 November 2024	The resident complained to the landlord. He said it had not properly sealed a fire door in the communal hall, which posed a safety risk. He said when the landlord fitted a fire door to his property it damaged his internal decorations. He said it told him it would redecorate but it did not do so. The resident said he feels let down and has been unable to redecorate.
14 January 2025	The landlord replied at stage 1. It said it attended a fire alarm repair the previous week and found the electrical socket in the landing was working correctly. It said the block was subject to a regeneration review for communal repairs. It said it would contact the resident regarding repair appointments for the redecoration to the flat and the front door. It offered £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused to him.
5 February 2025	The resident escalated his complaint. He raised 13 questions and said there were outstanding repairs and missed appointments. He said he had asked not to have contact with a certain member of staff, but that person continued to contact him about the repairs and did not call him back when arranged.
25 February 2025	The landlord replied at stage 2 and addressed the resident’s 13 questions. It said it had tried to contact him to arrange the front door repair but did not receive a response. It said it would contact him again to arrange the appointment. The landlord said it was considering some communal repairs as part of the regeneration review on the block. It apologised for an appointment it cancelled on the same day. It said it had spoken to staff about the resident’s concerns and apologised for not calling him when arranged. The landlord apologised for its poor communication and repair delays. It increased the total offer of compensation to £225, broken down as: £75 for the delay to property front door and communal repairs £50 for poor communication £20 for a missed appointment £80 for distress and inconvenience
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident said in March 2026 the landlord decanted all residents in the block because of a leak. He said he has been told he will not be returning to live at the property. He said to resolve his complaint he wants the landlord to pay him the compensation offered at stage 2 and for it to answer all his questions.

 

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 response to repairs
Finding	Service failure

What we did not investigate

6. The resident has raised complaint issues which have occurred since the complaint exhausted the landlord’s complaint procedure. We have no power to investigate complaints which the landlord has not had the chance to put right first. There is no evidence the resident raised the complaint about the landlord decanting him from his property. Therefore, we have no power to investigate this issue.

What we did investigate

7. On 17 July 2024, the resident raised a repair for plaster work in a communal ceiling. The landlord logged an inspection on 19 July 2024, but it has not provided any evidence of the inspection. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 7 calendar days, routine repairs within 28 calendar days and programmed within 120 days.
8. On 12 November 2024, the resident complained to the landlord. He said the fire door on the landing did not fit properly and presented a safety risk. He said he felt let down by the landlord.
9. On 14 January 2025, the landlord replied at stage 1 of its complaint process. It said it repaired the fire alarm and an electrical socket. It apologised for the delays to communal repairs and said these were partly due to the block being subject to a regeneration review. It said it would contact him to arrange the other outstanding repairs. It offered £100 compensation to try and put things right for the resident. These were reasonable actions of the landlord.
10. On 28 January 2025, the resident escalated his complaint. He said there were outstanding repairs and it had missed appointments. He said he was not happy about a member of staff contacting him regarding his repairs as he’d said he did not want to deal with him.
11. On 14 February 2025, the landlord told the resident it would attend on 17 February 2025 to look at the front door repair and the seal. It has not provided any evidence of this repair and if the visit took place.
12. On 25 February 2025, the landlord replied at stage 2 of its complaints process. It said it had tried to contact the resident 1 week earlier to arrange a repair to his front door and it would continue to try and contact him to book this in. It said it had completed the plaster work on the landing but would not paint the ceiling because of the block’s regeneration plans. It said whilst the review was ongoing, it would only carry out essential communal repairs.
13. At stage 2, the landlord did not recognise it had given the resident an appointment for his front door. It said it tried to contact him and was unable to arrange the repair. This confusion would likely have caused the resident frustration, distress and inconvenience.
14. However, at stage 2 the landlord apologised for a separate missed appointment in March 2024 and for poor communication and delays to repairs. It said the member of staff the resident did not want to deal with was the most appropriate person to deal with the issues. It answered his 13 questions, and it increased its compensation offer to £225to try and put things right for him. These were reasonable actions by the landlord.
15. The landlord’s compensation policy does not give amounts or guidelines, but it says it can made discretionary payments to recognise inconvenience or loss caused by a service failure.
16. On 22 March 2025, the landlord cancelled an appointment for the resident’s fire door. It said it rearranged the appointment for 28 March 2025; however, it was a no access as the resident was not home. It has not provided us with evidence to show when this repair was completed.
17. In summary, the resident raised concerns with the landlord about communal and flat repairs. He complained about missed appointments and the landlord’s failure to carry out redecoration works to his flat. It apologised for the delays and communication failures at both stages. At stage 2 it answered all the resident’s 13 questions and increased its compensation offer.
18. Where the landlord acknowledged failings, our role is to consider whether the redress it offered put things right for the resident. Its final offer of £225 was in line with our compensation guidance for a finding of maladministration where failures have adversely affected the resident. At stage 2 the landlord said the door repair was still outstanding, but it failed to provide a date as to when it would be done. This was a communication failure as it did not set the resident’s expectations. Further, there is no evidence this repair was done before the resident was decanted around 12 months later.
19. We have found service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s repairs. We have ordered it to apologise and pay the resident a further £100 compensation. This is in line with our compensation guidance for a service failure where the landlord has made some attempts to put things right. It also recognises the additional delay in the repairs being completed.

Complaint	The landlord’s complaint handling
Finding	Service failure

20. The landlord’s complaint policy at the time of the complaint complies with the definition of a complaint in the Code (April 2024). The timescales in the landlord’s complaint procedure complied with the Code.
21. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 1 complaint around 19 working days after he raised it. Its stage 1 response was delayed by around 31 working days, but it did not acknowledge the delay in its response.
22. The landlord’s stage 2 response was sent around 13 working days after he escalated his complaint. It said it acknowledged the resident’s complaint escalation however it said it was unable to provide us with a copy of this letter.
23. In summary, the landlord delayed it stage 1 response and did not acknowledge the delay. We have found service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. We have ordered it to apologise to the resident. This is in line with our compensation guidance.

 

Learning

24. The landlord should ensure it responds to complaints and repairs within its policy.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

25. As per our spotlight report on knowledge and information management, published in May 2023, we expect landlords to keep a robust record of contacts with residents. This is because clear, accurate and easily accessible records provide an audit train and enhance landlords’ ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise.

Communication

26. We expect landlords to complete repairs within a reasonable time. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances and the nature of the repair. Where there is a delay in completing repairs, we expect landlords to be proactive in communicating the cause of delay to resident. It should also explain to the resident what it intends to do about the delays and what it can do to mitigate the impact of the delay on residents.