The Guinness Partnership Limited (202405588)

Background

1. The resident complained that storage heaters and lights were left on for long periods in the communal areas, which wasted electricity and increased the electricity element of his service charge. He said the landlord did not sufficiently address his concerns during its complaints process, so he escalated the issue to the Ombudsman.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about how the landlord handled the resident’s concerns about the communal heating and lighting.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the communal heating and lighting.

Reasons

4. The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

How the landlord handled the resident’s concerns about the communal heating and lighting

5. After receiving high estimated service charges, the resident said the landlord should take steps to reduce electricity wastage in the communal areas. He asked it to lower the storage heater temperatures and fit the lights with trip switches, so they only come on when needed and not during daylight hours. As part of his concerns, the resident recognised that the increased cost of electricity likely contributed to the high estimated annual service charge for electricity, but that the landlord had a commitment to reduce electricity wastage.
6. From the evidence reviewed, the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns in a timely manner and engaged with the issues he raised. For the communal lighting, it explained that installing sensors would be an upgrade and would need to be considered as part of its planned-maintenance budget. It acted reasonably by contacting its planned-maintenance team to check if funding was available and explaining to the resident that the upgrade would not be a cheap or quick solution.
7. We note that the communal lighting has timers and after the resident’s formal complaint, an electrician attended and adjusted them to match summertime hours. The landlord also recognised that it did not have a process in place to adjust timers seasonally and that residents had to report a repair for this to be done. It therefore acted reasonably by upholding this part of the complaint and adding reminders for 1 March and 1 September each year so the independent living advisor (ILA) could arrange for the timers to be adjusted.
8. For the communal heaters, the landlord asked the ILA to inspect all units to make sure they were set at a reasonable temperature and that the locks on the controls worked. It considered the time of year when the resident asked for the heaters to be turned off, as doing so would make the block too cold. It had, however, confirmed that the temperatures had been reduced, which was reasonable as the temperature had slightly increased. The landlord also acted reasonably by explaining that it needed to consider the needs of all residents in the block, including vulnerable residents.
9. From everything we have seen, we have found no maladministration by the landlord. We consider it to have taken reasonable steps to investigate the resident’s concerns, sought information from the relevant teams and arranged practical measures to reduce unnecessary electricity use. It has also demonstrated how it has reacted to the resident’s feedback by implementing a new reminder process. Its actions showed a proportionate response to the concerns raised, balanced with the need to consider all residents in the block.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.