The Guinness Partnership Limited (202513475)

Background

1. The resident lives in a 2-bedroom flat on the 2nd floor of a purpose-built block. She lives with her adult daughter and has no vulnerabilities. She had been reporting repairs to her balcony door for 16 years and the landlord had not provided a lasting fix.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Response to repairs to the balcony door.
   2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

3. There is maladministration in the landlord’s response to repairs to the balcony door.
4. There is no maladministration in the landlord’s complaints handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

5. The landlord delayed inspecting the issue despite the frequency of repair reports. It delayed responding to repairs to make safe as an emergency given the danger to safety.
6. The door has still not been replaced. The landlord delayed by a further 3 months in seeking a new subcontractor to replace the door. It has not communicated effectively with the resident.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

What we found and why

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.

7. The tenancy agreement says the landlord is responsible for maintaining the structure and exterior of the property, including doors. Its responsive repairs policy sets timescales. It aims to attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 5 days, routine repairs within 20 days and complex repairs within 40 days. The evidence shows that the resident had reported problems with her balcony door since 2009. Although the landlord carried out repairs within its stated timescales, each repair failed within weeks, leading to damage and safety concerns.
8. On 1 December 2024, she reported loose hinges. In the landlord’s repairs policy, a risk to safety counts as an emergency repair. The landlord booked an appointment within 24 hours, which was appropriate given the safety risk. However, a system error caused the repair to be cancelled and rebooked for 9 December 2024. It is unclear why it was not rebooked as an emergency. This was not in line with the timescales set out in its policy.
9. The resident submitted a stage 1 complaint on 2 December 2024. She said that the door had fallen off multiple times over the years, damaging the flooring and posing a safety risk due to its weight. She said the door had been boarded up, screwed shut and once removed entirely for 4 weeks. This affected her use of the door and the balcony and her right to quiet enjoyment of her home.
10. On 9 December 2024, before the rescheduled appointment, the door came off its hinges completely and bruised her daughter’s arm. She needed neighbours to help her move the door as it was so heavy. She told the landlord she wanted it to consider replacing the door.
11. On 16 December 2024, the landlord upheld the stage 1 complaint. It acknowledged that the door was heavy, requiring two operatives to refit it and that it had repeatedly failed to carry out a lasting repair. It also confirmed the door could not be locked and was insecure. The landlord decided to install standard hinges and a lockable handle. It raised a repair order the same day. Following its repairs policy, it offered compensation for the missed appointment as well as for the impact of the issue.
12. An operative attended on 19 December 2024 to ensure that the door was secure over the Christmas period while waiting for parts. The job was completed on 7 January 2025, within timescales for a routine repair.
13. On 10 March 2025 the resident reported another loose hinge. The landlord booked an appointment for 18 March 2025. Given the long history of safety concerns, it would have been appropriate to treat this as an emergency and attend within 24 hours. She escalated her complaint to stage 2 on 11 March 2025, explaining that the hinge had come away completely and the door was leaning into the room. She questioned whether the door was now beyond repair after 16 years of repeated temporary repairs.
14. In its stage 2 response on 11 April 2025, the landlord said a subcontractor had inspected the door and advised that even with stronger hinges and fixings, it could not guarantee a permanent repair. The contractor recommended replacing the door. The landlord’s repairs policy states that when a resident reports frequent repairs, the landlord should take a proactive approach and inspect the issue. The landlord accepted that it should have reviewed the repair history and sought contractor advice earlier. This would have been in line with its policy to take a proactive approach. It authorised a replacement door with a completion time of up to 3 months. Although this exceeds the 40-day target for complex repairs, the timeframe is reasonable for a specialist item.
15. The landlord says it became concerned that the contractor had not replaced the door within the agreed lead time of 3 months. The door should have been replaced in July 2025. Although the landlord stated that it had authorised a replacement, it has not provided evidence to this service that the door was on order. On 14 October 2025, it requested quotes from two other subcontractors so it could reassign the work. It is not clear why it waited 3 months after the door should have been replaced to investigate this option. The resident said she was unaware of this and was worried when the two companies attended in November and December 2025 to take measurements, despite the replacement already being overdue. Reassigning the work was the correct decision, but the landlord delayed this step unreasonably and failed to communicate the change to the resident. We cannot say if delays were caused by a replacement not being ordered.
16. The door has still not been replaced, over 6 months past the expected completion time. The landlord delayed inspecting the issue despite the frequent repair reports. This was contrary to its policy to act proactively. It also delayed attending repairs that should have been treated as an emergency due to the safety risk. The landlord delayed by a further 3 months before seeking a new subcontractor. It also failed to communicate effectively with the resident. Although the landlord offered £275 compensation, this was not sufficient given how long the issue has been ongoing and that it remains unresolved. These failures amount to maladministration.

17. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days from acknowledgement, which can be extended by 10 days for complex cases. It will respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days, which can be extended by 20 working days for complex cases.
18. The landlord responded to the complaints within its timescales. The responses were detailed and concise. There is no maladministration with the landlord’s complaint handling.

Learning

19. The landlord’s policies are clear and concise. The landlord must ensure it follows these policies.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. The landlord did not provide requested evidence of a works order for the door that was authorised in April 2025 to this service. It did not provide evidence of notes from the customer resolution case that it said was opened in April 2025. Although this was a period of change for the landlord, it should have access to this information.