Royal Borough Of Greenwich (202221543)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221543

Royal Borough Of Greenwich

22 September 2023

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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s bathroom, including reports of damp and mould, and repairs to the bath panel, the seal round the wash basin, and the extractor fan.

Background

The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord.
On 31 August 2022, the resident complained to the landlord. She said that:
1. There was mould in the bathroom. The landlord had identified asbestos round the extractor fan flue, but it had not told her when it would repair the extractor fan.
2. The bath panel and the seal round the wash basin were both rotting and neither had been repaired.
3. The plug in the bath, let water out. This meant she had to keep refilling the bath which cost her money.
The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 21 September 2022. It apologised for the delay in providing a response and said that:
1. The resident had reported a fault with the extractor fan in the bathroom on 23 November 2021. An electrician attended on 25 November 2021, and reported that the flue to the extractor fan had become disconnected and that this flue may contain asbestos. In June 2022, the landlord confirmed that there was asbestos round the flue pipe. The landlord said it would consult with its asbestos contractor as to the course of action needed and would update the resident once this had been decided. It said it had not provided the resident with an adequate service and had failed to progress the repair.
2. An order was raised to replace the rotting bath panel on 28 June 2022. The work was delayed due to staff shortages. This repair was scheduled for 6 October 2022.
3. The resident reported that the seal round the basin needed replacing on 21 July 2022. Again, this work had been delayed due to staff shortages. This repair had now been scheduled for 30 September 2022.
4. It could not find any record of the faulty bath plug having been reported. It said it had scheduled this repair for 30 September 2022.
5. The resident’s bathroom was due for renewal. However, there had been contractual issues with the bathroom renewal programme. The resident’s bathroom was on the second programme of bathroom renewal works and would take place once the first programme had been completed.
6. It offered the resident £150 compensation.
On 21 September 2022, the resident contacted the landlord to say she had reported the faulty bath plug on the same date she had raised the issue of the seal around the wash basin. She asked that the £150 be paid into her rent account.
The resident contacted the landlord on 28 September 2022, to ask when the asbestos would be removed. She said that the £150 compensation had not yet been paid into her rent account.
On 19 October 2022, the landlord contacted the resident to say that contractors would attend the next day to encapsulate the asbestos. The landlord’s records show that the resident cancelled this appointment as she had not been given sufficient notice.
The resident contacted the landlord on 3 November 2022. She said that an electrician had come to replace the extractor fan, however as the asbestos had not been removed, they were not willing to repair the fan.
On 10 November 2022, the landlord responded to the resident. It said that the asbestos was not due to be removed but encapsulated. It said as she had raised concerns, the electrician had not repaired the extractor fan. The resident responded the same day to dispute that she had refused the repairs. She said that the landlord had told her that the asbestos needed to be made safe before the electrician could repair the fan.
The resident escalated her complaint on 10 November 2022. She said her home still had asbestos and the black mould in the bathroom put her health and the health of her family at risk.
On 12 December 2022, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It apologised for the delay in providing a response and said that:
1. It did not know that the asbestos contractor had not carried out the work to encapsulate the asbestos on 20 October 2022, as planned.
2. It had since contacted the resident to carry out the work but had not heard back from her. Its asbestos supervisor was on leave but would arrange the works when they returned.
3. There was no risk to the resident’s or her family’s health as the asbestos had not been damaged or drilled into.
4. It upheld the resident’s complaint due to the continued delays and inconvenience she had suffered.
The resident complained to the Ombudsman on 20 December 2022. She said that the landlord had still not encapsulated the asbestos or repaired the extractor fan. On 29 December 2022, she told this service that the landlord had not added the £150 to her rent account.
On 4 January 2023, the landlord told the resident that the £150 it had offered in compensation had been missed. It said payment would be made into her rent account the same day.
Work to encapsulate the asbestos was completed on 23 January 2023. There were a number of cancelled and missed appointments before the extractor fan was repaired. The resident cancelled an appointment on 22 February 2023, due to catching Covid-19 and the electrician was unable to attend the rearranged appointment on 9 March 2023, due to heavy snow. The extractor fan was repaired on 28 March 2023.
The resident has told this service that although the extractor fan has made a difference, there is still an issue with mould in the bathroom. The resident said that she has asked the landlord to install a window in the bathroom as there isn’t one currently.

Assessment

Scope of investigation

The resident has mentioned in her complaint that her health and that of her family was put at risk by the landlord’s handling of the repairs. This service does not doubt the resident’s comments about her health and it is accepted that damp and mould can have a negative impact on health. However, it is beyond the Ombudsman’s remit to consider whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and the resident’s and her family’s health. However, this service can consider any distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her health and that of her family.
As the resident’s request for a window to be installed in the bathroom has not been escalated via the landlord’s complaint procedure, it has not been considered in this assessment. This is because the Ombudsman is not able to consider complaints that are made prior to having exhausted a landlord’s complaint procedure. This is so that landlords have the opportunity to respond to complaints and resolve issues before the Ombudsman becomes formally involved. If the resident wishes to pursue her request for a window in the bathroom, she can complain to the landlord.

Policies and procedures

Under the resident’s tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for repairing the structure and the exterior of the building including external pipes. It is also responsible for keeping in repair and proper working order the bathroom fittings.
The landlord’s repairs guide states that non-emergency repairs will be dealt within 20 working days. The guide states that the landlord will give residents at least 24 hours’ notice when arranging appointments to carry out non-emergency repair work.

Handling of repairs

The landlord’s repairs policy, set out above, states that non-emergency repairs will be dealt within 20 working days. The landlord acted appropriately by acknowledging that there were delays in progressing the repairs needed to the resident’s basin and bath panel. In its stage one response to the resident, it explained that this was due to staff shortages. However, this service has not seen evidence that the resident was informed prior to her complaint that there would be delays in carrying out the repairs. The landlord acted unreasonably in not doing so, as the resident was left waiting for repairs without knowing the reason for the delays.
The landlord said it had no record of the resident reporting the bath plug letting out water. The resident raised the issue as part of her complaint submitted on 31 August 2022, but this service has not seen evidence that she reported this issue prior to this date. The landlord acted reasonably in raising a repair to replace the bath plug as soon as it was made aware of this issue.
The landlord acted reasonably in informing the resident that it had put her bathroom forward for replacement under its programme of cyclical works. Whilst there is no obligation for the landlord to repair or replace parts of the property that are not in disrepair, social landlords have cyclical maintenance programmes which can include preventative work, repairs, renewal, or replacement works. This ensures value for money and helps to maintain properties to a good standard with reasonably modern facilities. It is recommended that the landlord update the resident as to when the replacement of her bathroom is scheduled to be carried out. The landlord would not be expected to replace the bathroom outside of its planned works programme unless the bathroom was deemed to be beyond economic repair.
The landlord first identified that there may be asbestos surrounding the flue pipe on 25 November 2021. The landlord acted appropriately by responding to the resident’s concerns in relation to the asbestos in her property and confirming that she had not been at risk of being exposed to asbestos. It commissioned an asbestos report which did not contain recommendations for any asbestos to be removed and the landlord was entitled to rely on this report. The Ombudsman has seen a copy of this report and we are satisfied that the landlord has acted in line with the report. The Ombudsman has seen no evidence from an appropriately qualified expert which contradicts this report.
However, the asbestos needed to be encapsulated and this was not done until 23 January 2023, over a year after the asbestos had been identified. This delay of over a year was unacceptable as it meant that the bathroom extractor fan could not be repaired. The resident has told this service that the extractor fan was the only source of ventilation as there was no window in the bathroom. The lack of ventilation meant the recurring problem of damp and mould continued despite the landlord carrying out several mould washes. This will have caused the resident concern as well as time, trouble, and inconvenience.
There were at least two occasions where the resident cancelled appointments (due to not having been given enough notice by the landlord and due to contracting Covid-19), leading to an electrician being sent out to repair the fan, prior to the asbestos being encapsulated. The landlord said that the resident had not provided access when in fact she had informed it in advance that the booked appointments could not go ahead. This could suggest poor record-keeping on the part of the landlord. This will have caused the resident frustration as well as further time, trouble, and inconvenience. The landlord should consider reviewing its record-keeping systems, to ensure that contractors are informed as soon as an appointment is cancelled.
The compensation of £150 offered by the landlord in its stage 1 complaint response of 21 September 2022, was not paid into the resident’s rent account until 4 January 2023, a delay of over three months. This will have caused the resident time, trouble, and inconvenience as she had to chase the landlord to find out why this payment had not been made.
The resident has told this service that now that the extractor fan is working, things have improved slightly, however there is still a problem with damp and mould in the bathroom. It is recommended that the landlord monitor the resident’s bathroom to satisfy itself that the measures it has taken to address the damp and mould have been effective and to carry out further works if necessary.
It is appropriate that the landlord has acknowledged and apologised for the delays in completing the repairs to the resident’s bathroom. It has offered the resident £150 compensation for these delays. However, this offer is not proportionate to the failings identified by this investigation and does not fully reflect the impact the extractor fan not working for over a year and the resulting damp and mould, will have had on the resident.
The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (published on our website) sets out our approach to compensation. The remedies guidance states that compensation of £100-£600 is appropriate where maladministration has been identified which has adversely affected a resident. In the opinion of this service therefore, the landlord should offer the resident additional compensation of £200 in view of this.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in the way it handled the repairs to the resident’s bathroom.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £200 for its failures in the handling of the repairs within four weeks of the date of this report, ensuring that this service is provided with evidence of compliance by the same date. This amount is in addition to the £150 compensation already offered to the resident through its complaints handling process.
In line with our service’s established approach, the compensation awarded by the Ombudsman should not be credited to the resident’s rent account and should instead be paid to her directly.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the landlord:
1. Monitors the damp and mould in the resident’s bathroom to ensure that the measures it has taken to remedy this issue have been effective. If further repairs are needed it is recommended that the landlord carry these out to prevent the mould from reoccurring, in line with the timescales in its repairs policy.
2. Provides an update to the resident as to when her bathroom is due for renewal.
3. Reviews its record-keeping systems to ensure that when appointments are cancelled, contractors are made aware of this as soon as possible.
4. Checks its complaint policy to ensure that there is no missing wording and that it clearly states stage 2 complaints will be responded to “within 20 working days”. The landlord’s complaint policy provided to this service is missing some wording. It states, “within 20 of receipt of escalation by the complainant” instead of “within 20 working days of escalation”. It is recommended that the landlord ensures that all copies of its policy contain the correct wording.