Royal Borough Of Greenwich (202317870)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317870

Royal Borough Of Greenwich

5 June 2025

 

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 handling of:
    1. Reports of no heating and hot water at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The resident and her family have health issues which the landlord is aware of.
  2. The resident is being represented by her son on this complaint. For ease of reference, the resident and her son will both be referred to as “the resident” in this report.
  3. On 15 December 2022, the resident contacted the landlord and reported no heating and hot water at the property and also stated the boiler was showing an error message.
  4. On 16 December 2022, the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property, re-pressurised the system, and left the boiler in working order.
  5. On 22 December 2022, the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property and identified that the water supply was airlocked. It carried out repairs and reported that the boiler was left in working order.
  6. On 23 December 2022, the landlord was informed about the issue with the water supply to the property. However, the landlord confirmed the water company was investigating the issue.
  7. On 10 February 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. He explained that they have had no heating or hot water for 2 months and only had cold running water at a very low pressure from the kitchen sink tap. The resident stated he had a skin condition which required his skin to be cleaned regularly. He also stated it was unclear what action the landlord was taking to resolve the issue and explained he had contacted the water company on several occasions.
  8. The landlord’s records show the hot water and heating issues were resolved on 24 March 2023.
  9. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 13 September 2023. It apologised for the issues the resident experienced with heating and hot water at the property. The landlord stated that the water company was aware of the ongoing issues with the water supply and was investigating the issue. However, it explained there was confusion over who was responsible for removing asbestos. The landlord stated once this had been removed, the water company found the correct location of the leak, and it was able to resolve the leak. It stated there was nothing to suggest the resident did not have mains water to the kitchen tap and explained if there was no mains water, it would have triggered more action to be taken, like a provision of supply for the duration of works. In addition, it stated loss of use of the bathroom would have resulted in the resident being provided with temporary accommodation. However, based on the information provided by the gas engineers and plumbers who visited the resident’s home, it stated this was not the case. The landlord offered the resident £400 compensation, which included £100 for complaint handling delays and £300 for the distress and inconvenience caused and poor communication related to water and heating issues.
  10. On 15 October 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. The resident stated the landlord’s complaint response did not consider the impact on the household and explained the compensation amount offered was not sufficient.
  11. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 13 November 2023. It acknowledged while the resident did not have an adequate supply of hot water; there was still water supply within the property, therefore it does not believe it violated the Water Law Act. The landlord also stated it is usual practice for the landlord to ask for receipts of the items purchased in order for it to take this into consideration when deciding an appropriate compensation amount. The landlord stated if the resident still had copies of these receipts, to send it a copy. In addition, it increased its compensation offer to £500.
  12. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated he wanted increased compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has mentioned as part of the complaint that the issues with the hot water and heating impacted him and his family’s health, as some of the family members had medical conditions such as a skin condition which required the regular use of water and hot water. We acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for the family. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s role to determine whether there is a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and any specific impact on the resident and his family’s health. It would be more appropriately suited for a court or liability insurer to investigate this as a personal injury claim. Courts can award damages in a different way to the Ombudsman and review medical evidence. This service can consider the distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about him and his family’s health.
  2. This report will consider whether the landlord sufficiently responded to the resident’s concerns about the issues with the hot water and heating issues. Complaints about the provision of water are investigated by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). This is in line with paragraph 42.J.of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (available on our website) which states that the Ombudsman may not investigate a complaint that, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator, or complaint-handling body. Therefore, the Ombudsman will not respond to the resident’s concerns about the water company’s handling of repairs to the water supply.

Policies and Procedures

  1. The landlord’s tenant handbook explains that the landlord is responsible for repairing the structure and exterior of the building, including drains, gutters, and external pipes. In addition, it states the landlord is responsible for repairing and keeping in working order installations of heating and hot water.
  2. The tenant handbook states it will respond to total loss of electric power or water supply within 1 working day.

Reports of no heating and hot water at the resident’s property

  1. On 15 December 2022, the resident contacted the landlord and reported no heating and hot water at the property and also stated the boiler was showing an error message. In response to the resident’s report, the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property on 16 December 2022 and re-pressurised the system and left the boiler in working order. However, the contractor noted the mains pressure was low. The landlord responded and resolved the heating and hot water issue promptly.
  2. Shortly after the initial repair works were completed to the boiler, the resident contacted the landlord and reported a further issue with the heating and hot water on 21 December 2022. The landlord’s contractor took appropriate steps by attending to the reported issue the following day and carried out repairs to resolve an airlock with the water supply and left the heating and hot water in working order.
  3. Although the landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s reported heating and hot water issues and carried out the necessary repairs within a reasonable timescale, the resident experienced further issues with the water supply in the property on 23 December 2022. However, the issue was related to the mains water supply which the water company was responsible for repairing and not the landlord.
  4. There was a considerable delay in the issue with the water supply being resolved and this resulted in the resident and his family having no heating and hot water during winter months. In addition, they only had access to water from the kitchen tap, which had very low pressure, and the resident stated they had to boil water in the kettle and carry it up multiple flights of stairs to the bathroom. The Ombudsman acknowledges the circumstances would have been very difficult for the resident and his family, particularly due to the health conditions within the household they needed access to a proper supply of water and hot water.
  5. We recognise that the delays in the water supply being repaired were outside of the landlord’s control as the water company was responsible for carrying out the repair. However, the Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to offer temporary heaters and access to alternative shower facilities such as at a local gym to the resident. In addition, it would have been appropriate to assess the circumstances and any vulnerabilities within the household and consider whether alternative options needed to be considered, such as decant (temporary move) to alternative accommodation. This is in line with our spotlight report on complaints about heating and hot water and energy. There is no evidence that the landlord carried out these steps or acknowledged this failing, which was unreasonable.
  6. The landlord apologised in its stage 1 complaint response for the delays and poor communication about the repairs to the water supply and offered the resident £300 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. The landlord then increased the compensation offer to £400 in its stage 2 complaint response for this issue and offered to reimburse the resident for the kettles and bottles of water he purchased if the resident provided the landlord with a copy of the receipts. It was a positive step by the landlord that it acknowledged there were some errors and offered some compensation for this. It was reasonable to ask for receipts to confirm the costs the resident had incurred and ensure he received the correct reimbursement.
  7. However, considering the landlord failed to take appropriate steps to offer temporary heaters, access to alternative shower facilities and assess the circumstances, the amount of compensation offered by the landlord was not sufficient to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. Therefore, there has been maladministration by the landlord in its handling of reports of no heating and hot water at the resident’s property. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. This amount is in addition to the £400 compensation the landlord offered in its stage 2 complaint response.
  8. The compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation, which is set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure by the landlord, which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact. In this case, there was no permanent impact as the issue with the water supply was eventually completed, although there was distress and inconvenience for the resident before the repairs were completed.

The associated complaint

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint, and a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales as referenced in the Code.
  2. The resident submitted his complaint to the landlord on 10 February 2023. There was a significant delay in the landlord providing its stage 1 complaint response, which resulted in the resident chasing the landlord for an update on the response. The landlord eventually provided its stage 1 complaint response on 13 September 2023. The response was considerably late and not compliant with the timescales referenced within the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. On 15 October 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 13 November 2023. The response was on time and compliant with the timescales referenced in the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  4. The landlord apologised for its complaint handling delay and offered the resident £100 compensation. However, considering it took the landlord around 7 months to provide its stage 1 complaint response, the compensation amount offered by the landlord was not sufficient to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay. Therefore, there has been maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident an additional £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. The amount of compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of heating and no water at the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £200 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its errors in handling reports of no heating and hot water at the resident’s property. This amount is in addition to the £400 compensation it offered for its handling reports of no heating and hot water at the resident’s property during its complaints process.
    2. Pay the resident £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling errors. This amount is in addition to the £100 the landlord offered for complaint handling delays during its complaints process.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report, providing evidence to the Ombudsman that it has done so by the same date.

Recommendations

  1. We recommended that the landlord reoffer to reimburse the resident’s purchase of kettles and bottled water if the resident provides the landlord with a copy of the receipts.