Sanctuary Housing Association (202105534)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202105534

Sanctuary Housing Association

5 October 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 handling of the resident’s request for repairs to the windows.

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The resident appointed a representative to liaise with the landlord on her behalf during this complaint investigation. For ease of reference, both the resident and her representative will be referred to as ‘the resident’ throughout this report.
3. The resident first reported the window repairs in 2019, stating that they had become ‘rotten’. The landlord subsequently completed three surveys on the windows, between 2019 and 2021. As a result of the inspections, the landlord agreed to replace three windows in the property in May 2021. However, as of August 2022, the repairs have yet to be completed.
4. The resident’s complaint was about the windows in the property, which she stated had become rotted and ‘unsafe’ for five years. The resident stated that on ‘numerous’ occasions surveyors have confirmed the windows to be ‘dangerous and at risk of falling out their frames’. The resident also stated that the windows were draughty and leaking, which, as a result, was costing her increased energy bills. The resident requested for all windows in the property to be replaced, as the windows had not been replaced in over sixteen years, and she was concerned that if only certain windows were replaced, they would not match.
5. The landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint stated that two surveyors’ reports had identified that the living room and kitchen windows were to be replaced, but it was awaiting a quotation from the contractors. In regard to the other windows at the property, it stated that although the windows were ‘aged’, they were deemed to be in ‘fair’ condition. It apologised for the delays experienced by the resident, but noted this was as a result of staff absence, unclear records, poor communication and covid-19 restrictions. It offered the resident compensation of £520 which the resident accepted in January 2022; this was comprised of:
   1. £25 for unclear records;
   2. £50 for poor communication;
   3. £25 for repeated inspections;
   4. £220 for delays – £10 per month for 22 months;
   5. £150 for time, trouble and inconvenience; and
   6. £50 for late response of stage one.
6. The resident referred this matter to this Service on 16 November 2021. The resident stated she remained unhappy with the landlord’s response as she felt that her concerns regarding the safety of the bedroom window had been ignored throughout the complaint process, the draughty windows were leading to extra costs being spent on heating, and she felt the landlord had ‘ignored’ the surveyors’ reports. As a resolution the resident is seeking for all windows in the property to be replaced. However, if not possible, the resident is prepared to agree to the replacement of the two windows in the living room, the window in the kitchen, and the bedroom window. The resident accepted the £220 compensation offered to her for the delays in replacing the windows.
7. The landlord informed this Service on 17 August 2022 that it had yet to complete the window repairs as it had scheduled for all windows in the property to be replaced. An appointment for 19 August 2022 had been scheduled to measure the windows. It estimated the work to replace all windows in the property to be completed within six weeks of the appointment.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation.

8. The resident stated that the window replacement has been outstanding for five years. The Ombudsman appreciates that this is a longstanding issue; however, it is outside of the Ombudsman’s remit to consider events dating back to 2017. The Ombudsman asks that residents raise formal complaints with their landlords within 6 months of an issue or concern occurring.

Policies and procedures.

9. The landlord’s repairs handbook states that appointed repairs, which are defined as repairs which are not emergencies, will be completed within 28 working days.

Assessment

10. Upon receiving reports of ‘unsafe’ and draughty windows, the landlord should survey the windows, and request recommendations about the safety and condition of the windows. Once it receives the findings, the landlord is expected to act on any recommendations and keep the resident informed of the findings and any subsequent work to be completed. It is also important to establish that landlords are entitled to rely upon the advice of its surveyors, as they are experts in the area being investigated; and unless provided evidence contrary to its report, landlords would have no reason to dispute their advice.
11. In this case, the resident believed the bedroom window to be ‘unsafe’, as she alleged that she had been informed by previous surveyors’ that it could ‘fall out its frame’ at any point. As per the landlord’s obligations, surveyors’ reports were completed on the property to assess the safety of the window and did not identify any concerns regarding the safety and found the window to be in ‘fair’ condition and ultimately structurally safe. Therefore, the landlord relied upon the report and ultimately took no further action in regard to the bedroom window. The landlord did inform the resident of the surveyors’ findings, as a means to reassure the resident that there was no risk of the window ‘falling out its frame’. Ultimately, the landlord was not provided any expert opinion which concluded there were any safety concerns. For example, if a resident has a concern about the safety of their property, they can ask the local environmental health department to investigate (and which can in turn make orders for repairs to the landlord).
12. Furthermore, the resident remained concerned about the draughtiness from the bedroom window, and stated this had caused increased energy usage. The landlord acted in compliance with its obligation by completing a survey on the windows. Upon receiving the report, it stated ‘draught stripping was present.’
13. It is recognised that the resident requested to see the surveyors’ reports and findings herself, despite being assured by the landlord that it had not ‘ignored’ any advice. Whilst this Service appreciates that the landlord may not provide residents with copies of surveyors’ reports due to ‘business practices’, it may have been helpful to provide the resident with an overview of the report, to assure her that the concerns had been thoroughly investigated and appropriate actions taken.
14. The landlord’s repairs policy states that repairs should be completed within 28 days. However, the replacement of three windows has still not been completed by the landlord. The resident accepted £220 compensation in recognition of the delays to the installation of the new windows up until November 2021 when the final response was sent.
15. The Housing Ombudsman can assess the landlord’s actions in meeting any offers made in a final response to resolve a complaint. The final response stated it would replace the windows recommended by the surveyor, however it failed to meet this offer in a reasonable time. Given the continued delay, further compensation is now required to acknowledged the continued inconvenience of the delayed repair.
16. Furthermore, the resident requested that all windows in the property be replaced to new UPVC windows. The landlord has now informed this Service that all windows in the property will be replaced within six weeks of its visit on 19 August 2022. Therefore, this action will now meet the resident’s request. However, if the resident remains dissatisfied about any further delays, she would need to open a new complaint for the landlord to investigate.

Determination

17. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the complaint about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for the windows in the property to be replaced.

Order

1. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident, within 4 weeks, an additional £200, consisting of:
   1. £100 for the 10 month delay (November 2021 to September 2022) using the landlord’s calculation.
   2. £100 to acknowledge the inconvenience of not learning from the complaint and continuing to delay the repair.
2. The landlord is ordered to completed the replacement windows, as offered in August 2022, within 4 weeks. If the replacement cannot be completed the landlord must explain why in writing to the Ombudsman and the resident and consider further redress if the delay is not reasonable.