Swindon Borough Council (202203611)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202203611

Swindon Borough Council

31 October 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of:
1. drain repairs.
2. sewage back surges in the bathroom.
3. the electrics in the property needing repair.
The Ombudsman has also assessed the landlord’s:
1. complaint handling.
2. record keeping.

Background

The resident was a secure tenant of the landlord from October 2018 to April 2022. The property was a 1-bed bungalow. The resident was responsible for the property’s utility bills.
In January 2021 the landlord carried out work to the resident’s drains and in response to reports of a blocked toilet. In March 2021 the landlord attended to the resident’s report that her toilet was leaking. No leak was identified at the time.
In the same month, the landlord inspected the resident’s reports that electrical sockets in the property were not working. The landlord noted that the sockets were working and there was no sign of heat damage.
In April 2021 the landlord carried out works in response to further reports of blocked drains. Additional works were completed to the drains in June 2021.
The landlord’s records show that the resident raised concerns about the electrical sockets again in November 2021. Works in relation to these were completed on 20 January 2022. The works that were carried out is unclear.
The landlord’s records show that no further reports were raised by the resident or the landlord about these repairs during the remainder of the resident’s tenancy. Her tenancy ended on 3 April 2022.
On 18 November 2022, following contact from the resident, we asked the landlord to respond a complaint from the resident. We relayed the resident concerns as set out above and said that she requested a refund for the costs of:
1. replacement locks following “criminal access.”
2. her increased water bill charges due to the landlord’s handling of the drain repairs, which caused water wastage.
3. her increased electricity bill due to the landlord’s handling of her reported electrical repairs, which caused excessive use of electricity.
She also raised concerns:
1. that the landlord had used “swear words” which were directed at her.
2. that it had failed to respond to previous complaints she had made via the landlord’s online system.
On 23 November 2022 the landlord told this Service:
1. it had not received a previous complaint from the resident. The complaint references the resident had provided were not references that it would use.
2. it would respond to the resident within 10 working days at stage 1 of its complaint process.
On 9 February 2023 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It outlined the repairs that it had undertaken in relation to the resident’s complaint. It said it had:
1. carried out the repairs appropriately and within its policy timescales. Therefore, it would not refund the resident for the cost of her water and electricity bills.
2. not broken or changed the locks when it carried out the repairs to her property. Therefore, it would not refund her the cost of the replacement locks.
On 21 February 2023 the landlord told this Service that the resident had escalated her complaint. It explained that it would respond to the resident by 9 March 2023. We have not been provided with a copy of the resident’s escalation request. As such, it is unclear what she had said specifically in response to the stage 1 correspondence.
On 20 March 2023 the landlord advised this Service that its stage 2 response deadline had been extended to 3 April 2023. It said that the resident was aware of the extension and that it had been in “regular contact” with her.
On 27 March 2023 the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It again outlined what works it had undertaken. It:
1. reiterated that it had carried out the repairs within its target dates.
2. said that the resident could make an insurance claim and directed her to its website to download the claim form.
The resident referred her complaint to this Service. She remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response because she considered that it should be responsible for the increased water and electricity costs.

Assessment and findings

Scope

In communication with this Service, the resident raised concerns about the landlord’s handling of leaks between 2017 and 2021. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords at the time the events happened. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for a thorough investigation to be carried out and for informed decisions to be made. Taking this into account and the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment has focussed on the landlord’s handling of the reported drain and toilet repairs from 2021 onwards. This is where records indicate the beginning of events leading up to the resident’s complaint.
It is noted that the resident has concerns that the landlord placed utility bills in her name after she moved out of the property. She also stated that the landlord did not offer her temporary accommodation when she could not use her home for 12 weeks. The evidence available does not demonstrate that these concerns were raised as part of the resident’s formal complaint, or with the landlord. While the Ombudsman empathises with the resident’s situation, in the interest of fairness, the scope of this investigation is limited to the issues raised during the resident’s formal complaint. This is because the landlord should be given the opportunity to investigate and respond to the resident’s concerns in the first instance. Any new issues that have not been subject to a formal complaint can be addressed directly with the landlord and progressed as a new formal complaint if required.
The resident has also raised concerns that her property was damaged due to the landlord’s handling of her reported repairs. The Ombudsman empathises with the resident’s concerns. However, investigations of property damage and related compensation are more appropriately addressed by way of an insurance claim or a claim through the courts. It is noted that the landlord provided the resident details on how she could make a claim via its insurers.

Repairs

Drains

The landlord’s records show that there were approximately 3 reports relating to drain issues in 2021. An order was raised:
1. on 12 January 2021. Work was completed the following day.
2. on 23 April 2021. Work was completed on 26 April 2021.
3. on 18 June 2021. Work was completed on 21 June 2021.
We do not have a copy of the landlord’s repairs policy. Therefore, it is unclear whether the landlord has set timescales, and if so whether it responded in accordance with these. However, the evidence shows that the landlord carried out works to the drains between 1 and 4 days of the reported repair on each occasion. In the absence of evidence suggesting that there was an emergency or urgent need for the works, this was reasonable. There is also no evidence to suggest that the resident raised concerns about the landlord’s handling of the repairs at the time or that the issues persisted.

Sewage back surges

The landlord’s records show that the resident reported that her toilet was blocked on 12 January 2021 and work to unblock it was completed the following day. On 24 March 2021 the resident reported that her toilet was leaking. The landlord attended the same day and reported that it could not find a leak.
The evidence demonstrates that no further reports were made about the matter. There is no evidence to suggest that the resident or the landlord raised concerns about the outcome of these repairs during those periods of time.
The resident raised concerns that there were “sewage back surges” in her bathroom. We do not doubt the resident’s account. However, the evidence available does not demonstrate that such concerns were raised with the landlord at the time and that it failed to respond. The landlord cannot be expected to respond if it has not been put on notice of a repair at the time that the issue is live. We have therefore found no maladministration by the landlord in respect of this complaint.

Electrics

The landlord’s records show that the resident reported concerns about her electric sockets approximately 3 times in 2021. There are no other reports of any other electric related repairs during this period. The landlord attended:
1. on 23 February 2021. This was within 2 days of her report. It noted that it found no “issues” with the sockets.
2. on 31 March 2021. This was on the same day that the resident reported the repair. It noted that all sockets were “working fine.”
3. on 20 January 2022. This was approximately 2 months after the resident’s reported the repair in November 2021. The landlord’s records show that “work was completed.” However, its records do not show a clear outcome of the visit. Therefore, what work was undertaken is unclear.
The landlord reasonably and appropriately investigated the resident’s concerns about her electric sockets in February and March 2021 in a timely manner.
The landlord stated in its stage 1 complaint response that it carried out work to the resident’s November 2021 reported socket repair in January 2022. The resident has not disputed this. However, its records do not clearly show what steps it had taken to resolve the matter. Given that the records show that it had taken it approximately 2 months to complete, this is unreasonable. Our May 2023 Knowledge and Information Management Spotlight states that if information is not created correctly, it has less integrity and cannot be relied on. This can be either a complete absence of information, or inaccurate and partial information.
Therefore, while we do not doubt the landlord’s comment, its records do not reasonably reflect its account. This is a record keeping issue. We would reasonably expect the landlord to have a meaningful record of the steps it had taken to complete the work, even more so as it took approximately 2 months to complete.

Conclusion

Overall, the available evidence demonstrates that the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported repairs was appropriate. Its records show that it carried out the majority of the repairs within reasonable timescales. The available evidence does not show that either the resident or the landlord raised concerns about the repairs during or after they were completed.
In her complaint, the resident stated that her electric and water utility bills increased due to the landlord’s handling of her reported repairs. She requested that the landlord reimburse her for the increased charges. The evidence available demonstrates that the landlord carried out works to the drains and toilet leaks within reasonable time periods. Therefore, there is no evidence to suggest that the landlord is responsible for the resident’s increased water bill charges.
It is noted that there was a delay in completing works to the resident’s reported repairs to her electric sockets in November 2021. It took approximately 2 months to complete the resident’s reported repair. However, there is no evidence to fairly conclude that there was an issue that resulted in an increase to the resident’s electricity bill. Therefore, the landlord’s response that it would not refund the resident’s increased costs of her utility bills was reasonable. We have however found service failure given the delay in repairing the socket in response to the November 2021 report. We have also ordered some compensation in respect of the inconvenience caused by the delay in carrying out the repair.

Complaint handling

It is unclear when the resident initially made a complaint to the landlord. However, on 18 November 2022 we asked the landlord to respond to the resident’s complaint and provided it with her complaint reference numbers. The landlord has explained that the reference numbers were not ones that it used. This is evident from the information we have been provided with. Therefore, while we do not doubt that the resident had raised a complaint, we do not have evidence to corroborate this. Therefore, we cannot fairly state that the landlord did not reasonably respond to the resident’s complaint at that time.
On the same day the landlord confirmed that it would respond to the resident’s complaint within 10 working days. This was in accordance with its complaint policy. However, it failed to do so. It is unclear what transpired over the following months. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord contacted the resident to discuss her complaint and/or agreed to extend its response deadline. Therefore, that it did not issue its stage 1 response until 9 February 2023, is a failing and a significant deviation from its own policy timescales. This would have caused the resident distress and inconvenience as she had to wait approximately 3 months for the landlord’s complaint response.
In its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord outlined what steps it had taken to investigate damage caused by “water in [the resident’s] bathroom” in December 2021. While it is unclear, the landlord’s comment does not suggest that it was in response to the resident’s 18 November 2022 complaint. It is noted that this may have been in response to further correspondence with the resident that has not been provided. However, that is unclear.
In her complaint the resident asked that the landlord to refund her for the cost for replacing locks due to “unlawful access.” In its response, the landlord stated that it would not issue her a refund as it had not broken or changed the locks when it carried out the repairs. The resident’s specific concerns about these matters are unclear, and have not been investigated by this Service. However, from a complaint handling perspective, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have clarified and recorded her concerns. This would have ensured that its response was accurate and appropriate. It is unclear whether it did so.
The resident also raised concerns about staff conduct and her previous online complaints. However, the landlord failed to acknowledge or address them in its response. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states that landlords must address all points raised in the complaint. In this case the landlord failed to do so. This meant that the resident’s concerns went unanswered. This was unreasonable and a further failing.
The landlord told us that the resident escalated her complaint on 21 February 2023 and that it had agreed to extend its complaint response deadline to 3 April 2023. It also said that it had been in regular contact with the resident. However, when we asked the landlord to provide evidence of any correspondence relating to its complaint handling, including the escalated complaint, it stated that none were held on its system. The reason that it does not hold these records is unclear. Nonetheless, that it does not is concerning and another record keeping failing.
In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord outlined what steps it had taken in response to the resident’s reported shower repair in 2021. As previously stated, we do not have a record of the resident’s escalated complaint. Therefore, we have been unable to fully assess whether the landlord’s response was appropriate.
Overall, the landlord failed to:
1. issue its complaint responses within its own policy timescales.
2. acknowledge and address the resident’s specific concerns.
3. demonstrate that it clarified the resident’s specific concerns with her to ensure its responses adequately addressed her complaint.
4. provide the resident’s escalated complaint and other complaint correspondence to demonstrate that it reasonably responded to her stage 2 complaint.

Therefore, there was maladministration by the landlord’s complaint handling.

On 8 February 2024 the Ombudsman issued the statutory Complaint Handling Code. This Code sets out the requirements landlord must meet when handling complaints in both policy and practice. The statutory Code applies from 1 April 2024. The Ombudsman has a duty to monitor compliance with the Code. We will assess landlords using our Compliance Framework and take action where there is evidence that the requirements set out in the Code are not being met. In this investigation, we found failures in complaint handling. We therefore order the landlord to consider the failings highlighted in this investigation when reviewing its policies and practices against the statutory Code examined under the duty to monitor remit.

Record keeping

There have been several instances in this case where the landlord has not provided contemporaneous records to demonstrate that it had taken reasonable steps to resolve the resident’s concerns and complaints.
For example, the landlord told this Service that it did not have records of its complaint handling correspondence between it and the resident. This is concerning. Therefore, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s record keeping.
The landlord should ensure that it maintains a clear and accurate audit trail of all actions taken in any case. Not only do such records assist the landlord in reviewing its own service provision, but they are also imperative in the event of an independent investigation conducted by organisations such as the Ombudsman.
We encourage landlords to self-assess against the Ombudsman’s Spotlight reports following publication. In May 2023 we published our Spotlight on knowledge and information management. The evidence gathered during this investigation shows the landlord’s practice was not in line with that recommended in the Spotlight report. We encourage the landlord to consider the findings and recommendations of our Spotlight report unless the landlord can provide evidence it has self-assessed already.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported repairs.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord’s complaint handling.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord’s record keeping.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord should:
1. apologise to the resident for the failings highlighted by this investigation
2. pay the resident £350 compensation. Comprised of:
  1. £50 for its delay in completing the resident’s reported repairs about her sockets in November 2021.
  2. £300 for the time, distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling.