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Sovereign Network Group (202444520)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202444520

Sovereign Network Group

23 September 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 a shower rail repair.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. The property is a one–bedroom flat.
  2. On 11 June 2024 the resident told the landlord that his corner shower rail had fallen off the wall and damaged plaster. The landlord agreed to attend to complete the repair on 24 June 2024. The landlord stated when it attended on 24 June 2024 it was ‘no access’ and a new appointment was scheduled for 27 August 2024. The landlord attended on 27 August 2024 however it was unable to complete the repair that day as it said a replacement shower rail was needed and a new appointment was scheduled. The resident complained to the landlord that same day as he was unhappy that the contractor could not complete the repair and that the next appointment was not until 7 October 2024.
  3. The landlord provided a stage 1 complaint response dated 27 August 2024. It apologised for the inconvenience and for changes to appointments. It said if it could bring the appointment for 7 October 2024 forward it would and offered £30 compensation for inconvenience. On 7 October 2024 the resident told the landlord (at 11.50 am) he could not wait any longer for the contractor and had to leave. The landlord then rescheduled the repair appointment to 25 October 2024. The repair appointments scheduled on October 25 and 28 October 2024 were also unsuccessful.
  4. On 5 November 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate his complaint as he was frustrated with the continued repair delay. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 27 November 2024. It detailed all of the repair appointments to date. It partially upheld his complaint as it acknowledged that its incorrect planning, materials not available, lack of communication and procedures not being followed contributed to the delay. It also said that ‘no access’ by the resident contributed to the delay. It said a repair appointment had been scheduled for 13 December 2024. It offered the resident £300 compensation made up of:
    1. £175 for the delayed repair.
    2. £100 for poor appointment communication.
    3. £25 for stage 1 complaint communication.
  5. On 4 February 2025 the resident asked us to investigate his complaint. He said he had had to take a lot of time off work, and the repair had still not been completed. The landlord confirmed that the repair was completed on 9 April 2025.

Assessment and findings

  1. The shower rail repair was a routine repair and according to the landlord’s repairs policy, it should have completed the repair within 38 days. In this case however the repair (reported on 11 June 2024) was not completed until 9 April 2025,10 months later. The landlord did not dispute that the repair was delayed which was appropriate given the significant delay in resolving the issue.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states it will let residents know “as soon as possible if there are any changes, including any changes to an agreed appointment.” In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord acknowledged its poor communication and failure to follow procedures that contributed to the delay. This was appropriate. A review of the landlord’s repair logs shows examples of ineffective repair appointments and communication failings by the landlord, including:
    1. 25 October 2024– The landlord did not attend as materials were not available to complete the repair. While this was unforeseeable the landlord failed to tell the resident, in line with its procedure, that it would not be attending that day. This communication failure caused the resident unnecessary inconvenience.
    2. 28 October 2024 –The landlord had to prioritise an emergency repair and again could not attend to complete the repair. This was a reasonable action in line with procedure however it again failed to communicate with the resident in line with its repairs procedure and resident experienced further inconvenience and frustration.
  3. It is also acknowledged that completion of the repair was delayed by unforeseen issues. On 27 August 2024 the workman (who attended on behalf of the landlord) told the resident he was not equipped to complete the repair, and a different tradesperson was needed. The landlord acknowledged that this was incorrect. While it would not be fair or realistic to expect landlords to be able to prevent mistakes when they do occur it is important that landlords are transparent and take appropriate steps to put things right. The landlord was open and transparent by acknowledging the error and took appropriate action by speaking to relevant staff.
  4. The landlord’s repair policy states residents must allow access for maintenance and repair appointments. It also provides morning, afternoon or all-day repair appointments slots that are agreed in advance with residents. In its stage 2 complaint response however, the landlord said the resident contributed to the delays by not providing access for repair appointments. The landlord stated the repair appointment on 24 June 2024 was ‘no access.’  However, its repair log does not provide any record of this appointment, and it has not been possible to comment on the circumstances of this ‘no access’ appointment.
  5. The landlord recorded the next ‘no access’ appointment on 7 October 2024. On this occasion the resident waited for the landlord to attend but at 11.50 am told the landlord he could not wait any longer. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 2 response that the resident had requested the earliest appointment possible that day. The landlord also stated the repair had been scheduled as an all-day slot. It is unclear why a morning appointment slot had not been scheduled by the landlord and more effective appointment planning by the landlord may have avoided this further inconvenience. Given the circumstances it is not appropriate to consider this appointment ‘no access.’
  6. The resident had also requested that the landlord bring appointments forward. The landlord’s repairs policy states it can bring appointments forward in “very exceptional circumstances. This could include occasions when something has caused the original repair reported to deteriorate further and is having an impact on your health, safety, security, or the condition of the property.” The resident’s repair was not ‘exceptional’, and the landlord was therefore not obliged to bring the resident’s appointment forward. However, in its stage 1 and stage 2 complaint responses the landlord demonstrated efforts to explore the possibility to bring repair appointments forward which showed attempts to resolve the repair in a more timely manner.
  7. The landlord identified learning in its stage 1 response advising it had raised the failures with relevant staff to inform a review of policies and procedures. This will help prevent future occurrences. In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord increased the compensation it offered the resident to £300, made up of £175 for delay, £100 for poor communication and £25 for stage 1 complaint communication. One of the landlord’s customer commitments is it aims to complete the repair “at the appointed time and on the first visit.” The landlord’s increased compensation at stage 2 reflected the additional failures that had occurred and its failure to complete the repair in line with its customer commitments.
  8. However, following the stage 2 response the resident experienced further delays and repeat appointments, including:
    1. 13 December 2024– The landlord’s repair log does not have a record of this appointment.
    2. 29 January 2025- The supplier did not have available parts. The appointment was rescheduled to 5 February 2025.
    3. 2 February 2025 – The landlord advised the resident materials would not be available for a further 10 days and the 5 February 2025 appointment had to be rescheduled. In agreement with the resident the appointment was rescheduled to 11 March 2025. Records show materials were not in stock for 11 March appointment, however.
    4. 9 April 2025– the landlords repair log confirms the repair was completed.
  9. The landlord’s repair obligations are set out in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Landlords are required to complete repairs within a “reasonable” timescale and to a standard that keeps the property fit for occupation. There is no statutory definition of a reasonable timescale, but relevant factors include the extent of the repair, availability of parts, and the effect on the resident. In this case resolution of the repair was affected by parts not available on 3 occasions which was outside the landlord’s control. Nevertheless, the resident experienced further repeated inconvenience and delays which was unreasonable.
  10. The resident confirmed that he had to go to considerable time and trouble to be available for the repeat appointments. He stated he had to change working hours on a number of occasions to ensure he did not lose earnings. The resident understandably advised the repeated attendances caused considerable inconvenience.
  11. In its stage 2 response, the landlord appropriately acknowledged and apologised for its delayed repairs response, and poor communication. It also offered £175 compensation for delay and £100 for poor communication. These were appropriate steps by the landlord to show a commitment to ‘putting things right’ as per our dispute resolution principles. It also acknowledged a communication failing related to the stage 1 complaint for which it offered £25 compensation. These steps were reasonable and however they did not take account of the further 4-month delay and inconvenience following its stage 2 complaint response.
  12. It is the Ombudsman’s view therefore that although the landlord has made efforts to offer redress to the resident, its offer was not proportionate to the additional delay in completing the repair following the stage 2 complaint response. Further compensation is therefore warranted to reflect this. A finding of maladministration has therefore been made. The landlord is ordered to apologise to and pay the resident £400 compensation. This replaces the landlords previous offer of £300. This provides appropriate redress to the resident for prolonged delay and associated inconvenience. This is also in line with our remedy’s guidance where the landlord’s failing has adversely affected the resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in handling of the shower rail repair.

Orders and recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the Ombudsman orders the landlord to provide evidence that it has:
    1. Provided a written apology to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Paid compensation of £400.
      1. This replaces the landlord’s previous offer of £300. The ordered amount (less any amount already paid by the landlord as part of its previous offer) must be paid within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.