Salix Homes Limited (202204293)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202204293

Salix Homes Limited

20 June 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of issues with a communal heating system.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy agreement with the landlord. The property is a flat within a block of flats with a communal heating system serving all the properties.
  2. The landlord employed an external contractor to replace the communal heating system at the resident’s property. The contractor was responsible for any maintenance and repairs to the system.
  3. The resident first reported an issue with the heating system in November 2021. The contractor was able to resolve the issue remotely and on the same day.
  4. The landlord’s repair log shows the resident reported an issue with the system a total of six times between November 2021 and October 2022. The landlord’s records also refer to another occasion in January 2022, which does not appear on the repairs log. According to notes recorded at the time, each reported issue was remotely resolved by the contractor on the same day. The issues ranged from the resident experiencing varying temperatures in their property to having no heating/hot water at all.
  5. Following regular faults with the system, the resident made a complaint to the landlord in February 2022. The complaint points are summarised as:
    1. It can take “2-3 hours” for hot water to be available.
    2. The heating system regularly “disconnects” and, due to there being no visual display or control panel, the resident does not know there is an error until their electricity credit has gone.
    3. The process to report issues with the system requires contacting the landlord which then contacts the contractor to arrange a repair. This resulted in the resident having no heating overnight on one occasion, due to the working hours of the contactor.
    4. The contactor advised the resident that the heating system must remain on 24 hours a day, which was not financially viable.
    5. The landlord had not taken any action as the issue remained unresolved, despite multiple repairs being carried out.

To resolve the issue, the resident requested better representation from the landlord when dealing with the contractor. They also asked for a visible control panel on the heating system.

  1. The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint in February 2022. It acknowledged there had been issues with the heating system but said these had been resolved by the contractor. The landlord’s response also explained the following:
    1. The system control panel was no longer visible as a visible display in another property had resulted in regular “user errors”. Having a heating system without a visible display would help reduce those errors and the need for repair.
    2. It would arrange for the contractor to contact the resident to explain how the different “operating modes” function.
    3. It would also request the contractor to monitor the heating system closely to help identify faults.
  2. The heating system failed again in February 2022, which the landlord acknowledged had cost the resident “a fortune”. The resident did not know the system had failed until their pre-pay money had run out. The landlord stated this was “not acceptable”.
  3. Following the system failure in February 2022, the resident requested that the landlord review their complaint. They said that the persistent system failures were costing money and asked for the system to be upgraded, as the situation was no longer sustainable.
  4. The landlord’s stage two response addressed the resident’s concerns. It stated that:
    1. It was aware the system can switch itself ‘on’, which could cause issues if the resident was on holiday, using up their remaining allowance for electricity.
    2. The new system was designed to restrict access to the control panel, but the landlord acknowledged this was an issue for the resident and therefore they should have access.
    3. It would arrange for someone to attend the property to make the necessary amendments to the system, so the resident can view the control panel, within the “next few weeks”.
    4. The new heating system was designed to remain ‘on’, and the landlord would not be changing the system.
  5. The resident requested an update from the landlord in March 2022, as they had not received any information about the agreed adjustment to the heating system since the stage two response.
  6. The resident contacted this Service in July 2022. They explained that they remained unhappy with the landlord’s response, specifically:
    1. It had not agreed to change the heating system.
    2. The heating system was costing a lot of money, even if it is not being used.
    3. The system did not allow the resident to control it or have a ‘reset’ option.
  7. The landlord confirmed to this Service that the adjustment to allow the resident to view the control panel was completed on 3 November 2022.

Assessment and findings

  1. The landlord and contractor share a service level agreement, which sets out the agreed timescales for associated repairs. The agreement shows that the contractor aims to repair issues of no heat/hot water within a four-hour response time. For any heating repairs that require replacement parts to be ordered, the contractor aims to attend within seven days.
  2. While the landlord was not directly responsible for the maintenance or repair of the heating system, it had a responsibility to act on the resident’s behalf when reporting or chasing outstanding repairs. The repair log shows the contractor was able to resolve each of the resident’s reported issues on the same day, meeting the agreed timescales. However, the repair log also shows that the heating system had continued to ‘fail’ since November 2021.
  3. The continued reports made by the resident should have been enough to demonstrate repairs had only been temporary and the landlord should have sought a permanent solution. The landlord and contractor should have worked together to identify and resolve the issue, particularly given the landlord had acknowledged the financial impact the issue was having on the resident as “not acceptable”.
  4. This Service is not satisfied the landlord took appropriate action to address the ongoing issues with the heating system. The Ombudsman understands it is the role of the contractor to maintain and repair the system. However, the landlord must ensure its relationship with the contractor is effective and does not negatively impact the resident.
  5. The landlord’s stage two complaint response agreed that an adjustment would be made to the heating system to allow the resident to see the control panel. It stated this would be carried out within a “few weeks”, however it was not completed until eight months after the response. This was not an acceptable timescale. This Service would expect the landlord to communicate with the resident if it had been experiencing delays with the contractor. However, this Service has not seen any evidence to suggest the resident had been informed of any delays or reasons for the adjustment having not been completed.
  6. Given the failings identified by this Service, the landlord must take action to put things right for the resident. The landlord failed to address and permanently resolve the repeating heating system issues, which had a financial impact on the resident. It caused continued inconvenience to the resident in reporting the issues and failed to comply with the agreed timescales for the adjustment, as set out in its stage two complaint response. The landlord should apologise to the resident for these failings.
  7. The Ombudsman’s approach to compensation is set out in our Remedies Guidance, published on our website. The Remedies Guidance suggests that awards of £100 to £600 may be appropriate for cases where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident which has not been acknowledged by the landlord. To address the failures associated with repairing the heating system, the landlord must pay the resident £350 compensation. The landlord must pay an additional £150 for the substantial delay in adjusting the heating system’s control panel. This Service has found those amounts to be fair and appropriate for this case.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this Service has found maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s reports of issues with a communal heating system.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord is to apologise to the resident for any distress and inconvenience caused by its failure to find a lasting solution to the heating system issues and delays in repairing the heating system.
  2. The landlord should pay the resident compensation of £500, made up of:
    1. £350 for failures associated with repairing the heating system and the continued impact that had on the resident.
    2. £150 for the substantial delay carrying out adjustments to the heating system.
  3. The landlord should confirm compliance with the above orders within four weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended the landlord reviews its relationship with the contractor involved in this case, to ensure it remains efficient on all levels – from the process of reporting repairs to identifying and resolving systemic issues.
  2. The landlord must take appropriate action to have the heating system issues investigated and a permanent solution found as soon as possible.