The Guinness Partnership Limited (202203414)

Back to Top

 

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202203414

The Guinness Partnership Limited

4 May 2023

 

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 response to reported blockages in the communal drain.

Background

  1. The property is a one-bedroom ground floor flat in a medium size block of flats (4-6 floors) and is sublet by the leaseholder.
  2. The leaseholder stated flooding of some degree has occurred two to three times a year since the flat was purchased 20 years ago.
  3. The leaseholder reported flooding in his flat to the landlord on 29 January 2022. The landlord attended and cleared the blockage with the landlord stating the drain was ‘running free’.
  4. The leaseholder states the flooding in the property was caused by blockages in the communal drain. The leaseholder previously requested that the landlord carried out pre-emptive drain clearing every three months, but some flooding was still occurring. Due to this, the leaseholder felt the pre-emptive clearing of the drain he requested had not been carried out and he submitted a complaint on 31 January 2022.
  5. The landlord provided a stage one response on 11 March 2022, which advised that the cause of the communal drain blockages was a result of a build-up caused by some residents pouring fats, oils, and other substances down their drains. The landlord advised it had sent a letter to all the residents of the block asking them not to pour oils and other substances down their drains because it caused blockages, which led to overflowing and flooding in neighbour’s properties. The landlord advised they provide a responsive repairs service and could not carry out maintenance work as a preventative measure.
  6. The leaseholder raised concerns about the age and efficiency of the communal drainage system in his complaint escalation request of 22 March 2022. In the landlord’s stage two response sent on 29 March 2022, it stated pre-emptive drain clearing could potentially stop some flooding. However, the landlord stated there was a large build-up of fats and oils immediately after the pre-emptive clearing had taken place. They therefore concluded the pre-emptive clearing was a ‘waste of time’.
  7. The leaseholder referred his complaint to the Housing Ombudsman because he remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s decision to only provide a responsive service to reported flooding and not take pre-emptive action. The resident would like the landlord to undertake pre-emptive action of regularly clearing the communal drain until a permanent solution can be found. The Ombudsman notes the leaseholder had subsequently reported flooding to the landlord on 12 October 2022.

Assessment and findings

  1. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. These are high level good practice guidance developed from the Ombudsman’s experience of resolving disputes, for use by everyone involved in the complaints process. There are only three principles driving effective dispute resolution:
    1. Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes;
    2. put things right, and;
    3. learn from outcomes.
  2. The Ombudsman must first consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse affect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse affect, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
  3. The lease agreement obliges the landlord to ‘keep in good and substantial repair and condition sewer drain pipes’ and ‘other usual services for the purpose of draining away water’.
  4. The landlord has a responsive repairs policy, which confirms it is responsible for repairs to ‘drains, gutters and external pipes’.
  5. The landlord advised the cause of the (back flow) flooding in the resident’s property was the result of fat and oil build-up in the communal drain. The landlord also advised a CCTV survey did not identify any issues with the drain and confirmed there were no underlying problems.
  6. In response to the reported blockage, the landlord provided information that stated the drain was unblocked and running free at the end of January 2022. This indicates that the landlord had carried out the appropriate actions and acted in accordance with its repair obligations. However, it is not clear if the drain was fully cleared of the blockage. In the stage two response dated 29 March 2022 the landlord stated it could see a large build-up of fats and oils immediately after pre-emptive clearing had taken place.
  7. The landlord is not obligated to undertake pre-emptive clearing of the communal drainage system. It took action to discourage misuse of the communal drainage system by issuing a letter to all residents of the block. This Service notes that drain blockages due to misuse from neighbours may be incredibly frustrating for the leaseholder, but the landlord is unable to directly control the actions of individuals. Issuing a letter and further newsletter to residents highlighting the matter was an appropriate course of action by the landlord.
  8. The leaseholder raised concerns about the age and efficiency of the communal drainage system in his complaint escalation request of 22 March 2022. The landlord had the opportunity to address these concerns by providing the leaseholder with a copy of the drainage survey it referred to in its stage two response. If the survey identified no required works, then the landlord would have demonstrated that it had satisfied its repair obligations. By not providing the leaseholder with a copy of the drainage survey, the landlord failed to be as open and transparent as it could have been. It has acted unreasonably in dealing with the matter which is a service failure.
  9. The Ombudsman requested a copy of the drainage survey on 24 November 2022 and again on 22 March 2023 with the aim of establishing whether the drain is in good repair.The landlord has not provided the survey. Therefore, this Service is unable to prove the landlord has fulfilled its obligations.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52(e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s response to reported blockages in the communal drain.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered within four weeks of the date of this determination to provide the leaseholder and this Service with a copy of the drainage survey it received.
  2. If the drainage survey identifies any issues with the drains and recommends repair works, the landlord should make arrangements to carry out these works within six weeks of this determination.