Southern Housing (202329144)

Background

1. The resident reported to the landlord that the streetlights serving the communal area around her flat were broken, she raised concerns that the estate was not safe after dark.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. Reports of defective external lighting on the estate.
   2. Complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found there was:
   1. Service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of defective external lighting on the estate.
   2. Service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

4. It took over a year for the landlord to repair the streetlights surrounding the resident’s property. The landlord did not provide adequate progress updates to the resident. Although the landlord apologised for its failings and offered compensation in its final complaint response, we do not consider the landlords offer to have been proportionate to reflect the impact of its failings on the resident.
5. There was a delay in the landlord escalating the resident’s complaint.

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.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

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.

6. Some of the evidence we have received relates to events that took place after the landlord sent its final complaint response on 8 February 2024. A key part of our role is to assess the landlord’s response to a complaint and therefore it is important that the landlord has had an opportunity to consider all the information we are investigating as part of its complaint response. In this case, we consider it is fair and reasonable to only investigate matters up to the date of the final response.
7. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of electricity in the communal areas of a building. This generally includes streetlights, exterior security lights and lighting in hallways or stairwells that serve the tenants dwelling.
8. The landlord’s repairs policy says that it will aim to complete routine repairs that it’s responsible for within 20 working days of them being reported. It says it will keep residents informed if there is any reason for delay for example, where specific parts are required.
9. On 16 January 2023 the resident told the landlord that the streetlights lining the estate were not working. The resident raised issues about security and safety of the estate.
10. The streetlights were repaired on 23 January 2024, twelve months after the landlord had been made aware of the issue. The evidence shows the delays were caused by a misunderstanding of the work required, delays in sourcing the correct lightbulbs and appointing a contractor to complete the work. This was an unreasonable delay which left the resident feeling unsafe for a significant period. The landlord acknowledged these delays in its complaint response and apologised for its failings and sub-standard service. It also offered £150 compensation.
11. The landlord said it had made changes to its internal process to prevent delays such as these in the future. It also addressed in this response how it had taken learning from this case to prevent it happening again. It explained it now knew what lightbulbs were required for this repair to be carried and had learned of the involved risks and how to minimise them and complete this type of repair safely and efficiently.
12. Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, our role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put thing right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so we consider whether the redress was in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
13. The landlord acknowledged and apologised for its failings within its complaint response. It offered £150 compensation. Although its offer went some way to put things right, it failed to reflect the full extent of the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. In particular, it did not reflect its failure to acknowledge the resident’s concerns about the safety and security of the estate whilst the streetlights were broken.
14. We have therefore made a finding of service failure and ordered the landlord to pay additional compensation of £100. This brings the total compensation to £250. The figure of £250 is within the range of sums suggested in our remedies guidance for situations where there was a failure that adversely affected the resident. It takes into account that the landlord acknowledged its failings and made some attempt to put things right, however, its offer was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation.
15. The landlord’s poor record keeping was a significant contribution to the delays in repairing the external lighting. It failed to recognise that the resident had raised separate issues, confused domestic repairs with the external lighting repair, and did not investigate the matter properly.
16. Based on the above, we have found service failure for the landlord’s response to the residents reports of defective lighting.

17. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord’s published complaints policy complies with the terms of the Code in respect of timescales.
18. The landlord operates a two-stage complaints process. The landlord states it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days, and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
19. The resident sent the landlord an email on 4 April 2023, she said she had contacted it at least twice a week and had been promised updates, which she hadn’t received. She said the lighting was still not working and asked it to investigate the matter and provide an update. The landlord failed to recognise this email as a stage 1 complaint.
20. The resident continued to contact the landlord about the repairs to the lighting, on 24 August 2023 she sent an email titled ‘complaint and compensation claim’ to the landlord. It responded on 1 September 2023 and asked her to allow 10 working days for an acknowledgement and a further 10 working days for a response.
21. The landlord sent the acknowledgement and stage 1 response on 8 September 2023, which was within its target response time of 10 working days but outside their target response time to acknowledge. The landlord had attempted to telephone the resident prior to issuing its response.
22. The resident approached us on 18 December 2023 about her complaint, she remained dissatisfied that the repair had not been completed. We wrote to the landlord on 8 January 2024 and asked them to respond. It acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 23 January 2024 by telephone and discussed her concerns.
23. On 8 February 2024 the landlord issued a stage 2 response to the resident, it had told her it aimed to respond by 6 February 2024. This was a further minor failing. However, we do not consider it had a significant impact on the resident. The landlord showed learning as its stage 2 response identified areas where they had implemented changes to their internal processes and addressed some of the resident’s complaint issues.
24. Neither complaint response acknowledged the residents concerns about the safety and security of the estate whilst the lighting was broken.
25. Based on the above, the Ombudsman finds service failure for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s associated complaint. It failed to recognise the resident’s complaint at stage 1 which prompted her to chase the landlord several times between April and August 2023. The delay in recognising the complaint meant there was an overall delay in the resident receiving her final complaint response and she experienced additional time and trouble in pursuing her complaint.
26. In line with our remedies guidance, as referenced above, we have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £100 to reflect the frustration and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling failings.

Learning

Communication

27. Our spotlight report on repairs and maintenance explains that failures can be avoided when landlords let residents know what to expect regarding repairs and provide a clear schedule for when repairs should be completed. In this case, the records do not show the landlord regularly updated the resident on the status of the streetlight repairs.