Stonewater Limited (202233117)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202233117

Stonewater Limited

31 July 2024


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 repairs in the property.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as a secure tenant since March 2012. The property is a 2-bedroom flat.
  2. Records provided by the landlord show it dealt with reported faults with the windows and the balcony door in January, February and March 2023. On 14 April 2023, the resident reported further faults with the windows. She also said her heating was not working and the flat was “freezing”. She said the conditions were affecting her wellbeing and she wanted to be decanted while the flat was made habitable.
  3. The landlord discussed the repairs with the resident on 17 April 2023. As well as the heating and windows, the resident told the landlord about repairs that were needed to the bath and toilet. The landlord agreed to carry out the repairs and decant the resident. The decant was arranged to start on 18 April 2023.
  4. On 24 April 2023, the resident told the landlord about further repairs. The landlord said it would carry out a property inspection on 11 May 2023 to identify what work was needed.
  5. The Ombudsman contacted the landlord on the resident’s behalf on 5 May 2023, as she said she had not received a response to her complaint. In its complaint response on 12 June 2023, the landlord said it had arranged an inspection before the Ombudsman had contacted it, but it had been slow to act before the inspection. It apologised for this and said it had new processes in place to ensure quicker inspections. It also apologised for the delay in responding to the complaint. It set out what work it would do and offered £150 for the delay in arranging the inspection, £250 for inconvenience caused, and £150 for the delay in responding to the complaint.
  6. The resident returned to her home on 28 June 2023 after the landlord said most of the repairs had been completed.
  7. On 17 August 2023, the resident escalated her complaint. She said she had no heating, her home was cold because of faults with the windows and door, and her carpets needed replacing because of damp caused by leaks from the windows. She said work on the kitchen and bathroom had not been completed properly and during the decant she had no Wi-Fi, which meant she had to defer her university course. She said the decant turned her life upside down and affected her mental health. She wanted additional compensation for the effect this had on her and her children.
  8. The Ombudsman contacted the landlord on 22 December 2023, as the resident said she had not received a stage 2 response. In its final response on 3 January 2024, the landlord said it had carried out repairs to the central heating in a timely manner. It said it had completed other work, including to the windows, bathroom, and kitchen. On damp damage, it said it would arrange an inspection to assess this and any other outstanding repairs. It apologised that it had not escalated the complaint and offered a further £500 for inconvenience, and time and trouble caused because of this.
  9. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman. She said she was unhappy with the landlord’s response and her house was in a worse condition than before the work and she had no heating. She said she was in debt with university fees because of the landlord and wanted it to pay off the debts, fix the property to a decent standard, and pay compensation for the stress caused.
  10. The landlord told the Ombudsman in June 2024 that the resident had not given it access to carry out the inspection it had offered in its final response.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident said she wanted the landlord to compensate her for debts she had incurred because she had deferred her university course due to not having access to Wi-Fi during the decant and the effect the decant had on her mental health. The resident also said the delays in carrying out the repairs had affected her health.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42.f of the Scheme, the Ombudsman cannot consider these parts of the complaint. This is because the Scheme says that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, other tribunal or procedure. While the Ombudsman is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to establish legal liability and whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action led to the resident incurring debt or had a detrimental impact on her health. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider the personal debt and personal injury aspects of the resident’s complaint.
  3. However, the Ombudsman can assess whether the landlord followed proper procedures and behaved reasonably when dealing with the repairs, reports of damage and the decant.

The landlord’s handling of repairs in the property

  1. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985), the landlord is responsible for keeping in repair the structure of the property and the installations for space and water heating. This means the landlord has a general obligation to repair and maintain the property and the central heating. The landlord accepted that it was responsible for the repairs.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will carry out repairs as quickly as possible, based on an appointment system. Repairs will be prioritised depending upon the seriousness of the defect, the impact it will have on the household, and the potential damage to the property. Repairs are categorised as ‘high priority’ or ‘by appointment’. By appointment repairs are those that do not pose an immediate risk to health or safety.
  3. The repairs policy sets out timescales for the delivery of repairs. High priority repairs, including a failure of central heating, will be attended within 24 hours, while non-emergency repairs, including repairs to windows, will be carried out within a maximum period of 28 days. It says major repairs will be done within a maximum of 42 days.
  4. The repairs policy also says the landlord will require access to inspect a repair. Under the tenancy agreement, the resident must allow reasonable access, provided the landlord has written to the resident more than 24 hours before.
  5. Records provided by the landlord show it raised a job to carry out repairs to the windows and balcony door on 9 January 2023, and an appointment took place on 2 February 2023. A follow up job was raised on 8 February 2023, with an appointment arranged for 13 March 2023. However, this did not take place, as there was no access. This appointment was rearranged for 14 April 2023. The contractor who attended on 14 April 2023 attempted a further repair, and then told the landlord the windows and door needed replacing. The Ombudsman has found the landlord acted in a responsive way and in line with its repairs policy to reports of faults with the windows and door.
  6. The Ombudsman has found that it was reasonable for the landlord to attempt to repair the windows and door in the first instance. However, when it became apparent a repair would not resolve the problem following the appointment on 14 April 2023, it was reasonable for the landlord to agree to carry out more significant work and replace the windows and door. Records show the windows and door were replaced in July 2023. In doing this, the landlord acted in a timely manner and met its repairs obligations to the resident.
  7. On the 14 April 2023, the resident told the landlord that her central heating was not working. The landlord raised an emergency repair the same day to investigate the reported fault with the heating. This found the boiler was in a safe working order, but several thermostatic radiator valves were faulty. Records show these were repaired during the visit. The Ombudsman has found that this was a reasonable response at that time and the landlord met its repairs obligations to the resident.
  8. The landlord discussed repairs needed at the property with the resident on 17 April 2023. She told the landlord that as well as problems with the windows, door and heating, there was also a leak from the bath. At the resident’s request, the landlord agreed to decant the resident while repairs were carried out. The landlord arranged a prompt decant, which took place on 18 April 2023.
  9. On the 24 April 2023, the resident asked the landlord what it was going to do about other repairs in the flat. She said there were faults with the key safe and front door chain, the bathroom, and the kitchen. In response on 25 April 2023, the landlord told the resident that it would carry out an inspection on 11 May 2023. The Ombudsman has found that it was reasonable for the landlord to arrange an inspection to identify what works were required during the decant. However, it would have been better to have arranged an inspection before the resident was decanted, so there were clear expectations on what work would be done during the decant and the time this would take. In mitigation, the resident asked to be decanted quickly because of the conditions in her property and it may not have been practical to carry out an inspection before the decant. The inspection did not take place until 11 May 2023, which was 2 weeks after the decant. However, the landlord’s records on 25 April 2023 say the resident was not able to commit to an earlier date for the inspection.
  10. The inspection on 11 May 2023, identified work was required to replace the windows, balcony door, bath, toilet, bathroom flooring and skirting, key safe and door chain, and supply a shower screen. It also said it would check to see whether the kitchen could be included in the 2023/24 programme of work.
  11. In its first complaint response on 16 June 2023, the landlord confirmed it would carry out the work recommended by the inspection. It said its surveyor had been in touch with the resident several times to keep her informed about what works were being done. However, it acknowledged that before the inspection it had been slow to act and offered compensation totalling £550, which included £400 for delays and inconvenience related to the handling of repairs. It also said it wanted to build trust with the resident so she knew she would be supported with repairs. The Ombudsman has found that this was a reasonable response at this time. This is because the landlord said it would improve the way it worked with the resident and offered compensation for the delay in arranging the inspection, inconvenience caused, and the delay in responding to the complaint. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the compensation offered was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance as it recognised the failures that adversely affected the resident and compensated the resident for the initial delay in progressing the repairs (between decant and arranging inspection). Because of this, the Ombudsman has found there was reasonable redress at this time by the landlord.
  12. The Ombudsman has noted that the landlord’s records on 27 June 2023, say that most of the work had been completed by the 23 June 2023. It said there were outstanding works to the shower, door chain, and silicone sealant around new skirtings and floor covering. It said this work should be completed by 28 June 2023, with the resident able to move back to her home then.
  13. On 17 August 2023, the resident escalated her complaint as she was not happy with the work that had been done. She wanted the landlord to carry out checks on the work and said her carpets had been damaged by leaks from the windows. She wanted additional compensation for disruption, stress, and inconvenience caused during the period she had been decanted, including from not having access to Wi-Fi. She said the experience had a detrimental effect on her mental wellbeing and her children’s lives.
  14. The Ombudsman has noted that the original request for a decant was made by the resident and she was decanted with her children into a hotel. On the day of the decant, the resident raised concerns about living expenses, and in response the landlord agreed to increase the daily amount it paid. The Ombudsman has seen no evidence that the resident raised concerns about Wi-Fi during the decant period. The Ombudsman has found that the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about expenses during the decant but did not have an opportunity to resolve concerns about Wi-Fi, as they were not raised until after the decant period ended. Because of this, the Ombudsman has found there was no failure by the landlord on this aspect of the complaint. 
  15. On 2 November 2023, the resident reported a fault with the boiler. In its final response, the landlord acknowledged a fault had been raised on that date and said it raised an order to carry out a repair the same day. However, it said this was cancelled by the contractor as it was unable to contact the resident to confirm the appointment. It said it finally attended on 1 December 2023 and left the heating and hot water in full working order. It said it had responded in a timely manner when access was provided.
  16. The Ombudsman has noted that a month went by between the report and the repair. The Ombudsman accepts there were issues with access, which partly explains the delay. However, the Ombudsman has not seen evidence that the landlord made attempts to contact the resident about the repair, which the Ombudsman would expect.
  17. On 14 December 2023, a contractor contacted the resident about faults she had reported with the new kitchen. It said it would like to attend on 19 December 2022 and asked the resident to confirm the appointment. The Ombudsman has noted that on 15 December 2023, the resident told the contractor she was waiting to be instructed by her legal team before making any further appointments.
  18. The Ombudsman contacted the landlord on 22 December 2023, as the resident had not received a response to her request to escalate the complaint. In its final response on 3 January 2024, the landlord said it would arrange an inspection to assess damage and identify any remaining issues. It acknowledged failings in how it had dealt with the repairs and apologised that the complaint had not been escalated, which meant there was a delay in arranging a further inspection.
  19. The Ombudsman has found that there were failures in the way the landlord responded to the request to escalate the complaint, which led to a 4-month delay in offering a further inspection. This was an unacceptable delay and caused further inconvenience and upset to the resident. However, the Ombudsman has also noted that the landlord attempted to arrange appointments to resolve some of the problems the resident had reported but at least one of these appointments was refused. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the landlord is best placed to resolve any outstanding repair issues, and we would encourage the resident to allow the inspection to go ahead.
  20. In its final response the landlord offered additional compensation of £500, which included £350 for the delayed inspection. This brought the total compensation offered to £1,050. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the additional compensation offered was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance and was reasonable considering the length of the delay in arranging the inspection and the outstanding issues reported by the resident when she escalated the complaint. Because of this, the Ombudsman has found there was reasonable redress by the landlord, as its offer of additional compensation recognised the further inconvenience, time and trouble caused by the delay in arranging the inspection.
  21. In her complaints, the resident referred to her vulnerabilities and the effect the repairs and decant had on her. She told the Ombudsman that her wellbeing was affected by different people coming to her property to assess work and carry out repairs. The landlord’s vulnerable persons policy says it will embed consideration of vulnerable customers’ needs into the delivery of its services. It says it recognises that those with a vulnerability may have specific communication needs.
  22. The Ombudsman has noted that the landlord appeared to have had a lead surveyor working on the case, but it is unclear if the resident was given a named contact. In circumstances where a resident has known vulnerabilities and has expressed concerns about the effect various people coming into her property was having on her, it would be good practice to have a named contact and to give the resident clear communication about appointments. It is recommended that the landlord reviews this case to identify whether there are improvements it can make to its practice in relation to communication and appointments with vulnerable residents.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress by the landlord in respect of its handling of repairs in the property.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord reviews this case to identify whether there are improvements it can make to its practice in relation to communication and appointments with vulnerable residents.
  2. If it has not already been paid to the resident, it is recommended that the landlord reoffers the £1,050 compensation offered at stage 1 and 2 of the complaints process.
  3. It is recommended that the landlord works with the resident to build trust by reoffering the inspection it offered in its final response on 3 January 2024.