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Southern Housing (202401999)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401999

Southern Housing

14 August 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. The resident’s report that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler and turned off the gas at her property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. In July 2023, the landlord erected scaffolding at the resident’s estate and started fire remediation works.
  3. On 22 September 2023, the resident contacted the landlord’s contractor and stated they had damaged the flue on her boiler.
  4. On 6 October 2023, the resident emailed the contractor and confirmed they had fixed the boiler flue, and she requested compensation directly from the contractor.
  5. On 6 December 2023, the resident’s gas was turned off, and she stated that the landlord’s contractor must have done this.
  6. The landlord’s heating contractor attended the resident’s property on 8 December 2023, following her report that she had no gas at her property. The notes from the inspection state that the heating contractor found the gas meter was turned off.
  7. On 13 December 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. She stated she had no heating, hot water or gas due to the gas being turned off at her property. The resident explained the landlord’s heating contractor checked the appliances in her property and then checked the gas meter, which was located outside at the back of the building and was cordoned off with a coded gate. She stated the heating contractor told her that the contractor working on the estate accidentally turned off the gas. In addition, the resident stated the landlord’s contractor failed to take responsibility for the previous incident when her boiler flue was damaged. She stated this was the second time the landlord’s contractor’s actions had impacted her.
  8. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 29 January 2024. It explained its contractor had been undertaking fire remediation works at the resident’s estate. The landlord stated the works were intrusive and required scaffolding. It explained it had spoken to its contractor, and they had stated that they did not cause any defects to the resident’s heating and did not cause damage to the resident’s boiler flue. In addition, the landlord explained its contractor stated it did not have any reason to switch off the resident’s gas supply. It explained it was not upholding the resident’s complaint. However, it acknowledged that its contractor could improve its administrative procedures around security in the area where the resident’s gas meter is located.
  9. On 30 January 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of its complaints process. However, she did not include any reasons for her escalation request.
  10. On 13 February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and provided additional information to support her complaint escalation request. She stated the boiler flue was secured to a structure and would not easily move, so would have been impacted due to the erection of the scaffolding. She also stated as the landlord’s contractor repaired the flue they had accepted, they were at fault. The resident also explained the gas had never been turned off before the landlord’s contractor was working on the estate.
  11. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 25 March 2024. It explained that the resident’s boiler flue was not attached to the external structure and confirmed it was fixed internally and stuck out of the façade of the building. The landlord stated when its contractor sets up scaffolding or other equipment, it ensures safety and compliance and works under strict guidelines. It explained its contractor confirmed they did not damage the resident’s boiler flue, but following the reported issue, they replaced the plume kit to the flue. The landlord stated this would not impact the operation of the resident’s boiler. It also explained its contractor did not report or supply any evidence of tampering or damage relating to the resident’s gas connection. The landlords confirmed it would not be upholding the resident’s complaint.
  12. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman. She stated her desired outcome was for the landlord to pay the resident compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused due to the landlord’s contractor’s actions, which resulted in a loss of gas, heating, and hot water.

Assessment and findings

The resident’s report that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler and turned off the gas at her property

  1. The landlord’s compensation policy states it may consider paying compensation when its service failure, or that of a contractor working on its behalf, has directly caused damage to the resident’s belongings.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy explains that the landlord is responsible for repairing central-heating systems, gas, and water pipes. In addition, the policy states that the landlord will respond to an emergency repair within 6 hours. It also explains a heating loss between the end of October to the end of April would be considered as an emergency repair. The landlord’s repairs policy does not include a timescale for routine repairs. However, it is good practice that a routine repair should be attended to within 28 days.
  3. On 22 September 2023, the resident contacted the landlord’s contractor directly, who had been carrying out works at the resident’s estate and stated they damaged the flue on the boiler. From the information provided, there is no evidence that the landlord was aware of the damaged boiler flue at this point. Therefore, it would not have had the opportunity to investigate the resident’s concern about the damaged boiler flue. Shortly after the landlord’s heating contractor resolved the issue with the resident’s heating. Also, the landlord’s contractor working on the estate fitted a plume kit to the flue in October 2023. This was a reasonable response at the time to resolve the heating issue.
  4. On 17 October 2023, the landlord contacted the resident and explained it had looked into all the information provided by its contractor and confirmed its contractor stated no works were carried out around the resident’s property, and it erected the scaffolding several months ago. Therefore, the contractor stated they were not responsible for damaging the resident’s boiler flue. The landlord also explained that its contractor tried to inspect the boiler when she reported she had no hot water. However, there was a delay in the resident providing access. The landlord took appropriate steps by discussing the resident’s damaged boiler flue with its contractor to determine if they were responsible for the damage. From the information the landlord was provided, there was no evidence to show that the landlord’s contractor damaged the resident’s boiler flue, so it was reasonable for the landlord to reach this conclusion based on the information it had been provided.
  5. The landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about the damaged boiler flue and the gas at her property being turned off in its stage 1 and 2 complaint responses. In response to the resident’s concerns that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler, the landlord explained it had spoken to its contractor, and they stated they had not caused damage to the resident’s boiler flue. It also confirmed that the flue was not attached to the external structure of the building and explained it was fixed internally and stuck out of the façade of the building.
  6. In addition, the landlord stated when its contractor set up the scaffolding, it was set up under strict guidelines. The landlord took appropriate steps to investigate the resident’s concerns about her damaged boiler flue. We acknowledge it would have been a frustrating experience for the resident. However, based on the information provided and in the absence of supporting evidence, we cannot reasonably conclude that the landlord’s contractor damaged the resident’s boiler flue. Therefore, the landlord’s response was reasonable in relation to the concerns raised about the damaged boiler flue.
  7. In response to the resident’s reports that the landlord’s contractor turned off the gas at her property. The landlord explained it had spoken to its contractor, and they stated they did not turn off the resident’s gas supply. Also, the landlord stated it could not see that its contractor had been negligent or reckless regarding the resident’s gas supply. In addition, it also acknowledged that it was aware the resident did not report the issue with no gas supply until the following day after the incident happened. However, it explained the resident could have reported the issue on the out of hours/emergency phone line, which was reasonable.
  8. The landlord took appropriate steps by speaking to its contractor about the resident’s gas supply being turned off. However, it did not consider all the information available to conclude what was likely to have happened based on the evidence and circumstances. The resident’s gas meter was located in a restricted area behind a coded gate and the landlord’s contractor confirmed this in an email to the landlord. They also confirmed that only the contractor’s operatives had access to this area and the resident’s gas meter. Therefore, considering this, it’s more likely than not that the gas was turned off accidentally by the landlord’s contractor or the contractor may have left the gate open or unlocked meaning someone else could switch off the gas. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to consider this information when it reached its decision. Therefore, there has been a service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s report that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler and turned off the gas at her property.
  9. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the error. The amount of compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (published on our website), which sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation. The remedies guidance suggests awards of £50 to £100, where there was a minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided, and it did not appropriately acknowledge this and/or fully put it right.

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. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy references the same timescales as the Code.
  2. The resident submitted her complaint to the landlord on 13 December 2023. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 29 January 2024. The response was around 21 working days late and not compliant with the timescales referenced within the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. It took the landlord around 39 working days to provide its stage 2 complaint response. On 30 January 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her 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 25 March 2024. The response was late and not compliant with the timescales referenced in the landlord’s complaints policy or the Code.
  4. The landlord failed to acknowledge or apologise for its complaint handling delays. Therefore, given the delay in the landlord providing both its stage 1 and 2 complaint responses, there has been a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £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 service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler and turned off the gas at her property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £100 compensation for its handling of her report that the landlord’s contractor damaged the flue on her boiler and turned off the gas at her property.
    2. Pay the resident £100 compensation for its complaint handling errors.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.