The Guinness Partnership Limited (202515797)

Decision
Case ID	202515797
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	The Guinness Partnership Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	26 January 2026

Background

The resident lives in a 1-bedroom, ground floor flat and has lived there since 2003. The resident lives in her home with her children and there are vulnerabilities in the household. The resident complained to the landlord about the replacement of her kitchen and bathroom and the repair reported for her balcony door.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repair reports for the:
1. Kitchen and bathroom replacement
2. Balcony door
The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

Our decision (determination)

We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the repair reports for the kitchen and bathroom replacement.
We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the repair reports for the balcony door.
We have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord told the resident conflicting information on more than one occasion relating to the kitchen and bathroom replacement. It committed to a further survey, but the resident has told this Service this has not happened, and the issues are ongoing.
The landlord did take action following the resident’s repair report to the balcony door. But it left the door locked, with no handle and did not resolve the repair for over 4 months.This was not in line with its own policies and procedures.
The landlord’s complaint handling was not in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. It did provide comprehensive complaint responses to the resident. But it did not acknowledge the delays to the resident, and this was a failure in the service provided.

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.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 23 February 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident: £150 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s delays to repairs of the balcony door. £300 as offered in its stage 2 complaint response if it has not already done so. This must be paid directly to the resident. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 23 February 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must carry out an inspection of the resident’s home to assess its current condition. It must produce an action plan with timescales of any work identified from the inspection. The landlord must provide a copy of the inspection report and action to the resident. The landlord must provide evidence to this Service that this has been provided to the resident by the due date	No later than 23 February 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The landlord should review its processes for recording vulnerabilities of its residents and their households.
The landlord should ensure its complaint handling staff understand the requirements of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
6 March 2025	The resident complained to the landlord and the landlord acknowledged this the next day. The resident said: she had made several complaints over a year ago about the issues she had been told her kitchen and bathroom would be fixed in late 2024 the landlord had locked the balcony door, and it was still locked with no handle her family had vulnerabilities she had been in her flat for over 20 years, and the kitchen and bathroom had never been renovated
20 March 2025	The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said: it apologised for the delay in arranging the follow on works for the balcony door due to poor communication after an inspection, it offered to replace the kitchen worktops and cabinet doors which the resident did not accept its Assets Team had advised the kitchen and bathroom were not on the list for renewal it had referred the issues to its Complex Works Team for review it offered £300 compensation for communication failure, time, trouble and inconvenience
21 March 2025	The resident told the landlord she wanted to escalate the complaint and did not accept the compensation offer. On 28 March 2025 the landlord acknowledged this.
25 April 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It said: it agreed with the decision to uphold the complaint there had been an unreasonable delay and communication failure in replacing the door handle its records showed the landlord did advise the resident she was on the programme for kitchen and bathroom renewal, but this was incorrect it would arrange a survey of the resident’s home and advise next steps it had been referred to the Complex Works Team to establish the condition of the resident’s home it re-offered the compensation offered at stage 1
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident came to this Service because the issues were not resolved.

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.

Complaint	The repair reports for the kitchen and bathroom
Finding	Maladministration

On 23 May 2024, before the resident started the landlord’s complaints procedure, the landlord’s records show an outgoing telephone call was made to the resident confirming the kitchen and bathroom replacement “I have made clear to the resident that it is really hard to tell a specific timeframe, as phase 1 needs to be completed. However, she has definitely been approved for kitchen and bathroom replacement.”
On 6 March 2025 the resident made her stage 1 complaint. She told the landlord that she had made many complaints about her kitchen and bathroom. She said the landlord told her it would be fixed in the middle of 2024 and nothing had been done.
On 20 March 2025, in its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord said that an inspection had been carried out on 7 March 2024 to review the condition of the bathroom. It said it had offered to replace the kitchen worktops and cabinet doors, but the resident did not accept the offer as she was worried the repairs would affect the replacement of the entire kitchen.
It also told the resident that her kitchen and bathroom were not currently on the list for renewal. Because of this the landlord had referred the works to its Complex Works Team for review. It also advised the resident of the standard procedure relating to repairs until the kitchen and bathroom are due for renewal and this was appropriate in the circumstances.
The landlord referred to the resident being told by a contractor that the kitchen was due to be replaced and stated this was a communication failure.
It offered £300 in compensation which was:
1. £50 for the communication failure
2. £250 for the time, trouble and inconvenience
On 21 March 2025 the resident escalated her complaint stating she had “waited all this time and then to say she was lying was making her sink more into depression.”
On 25 April 2025, in its stage 2 complaint response the landlord said the resident was advised incorrectly, and the surveyor, who was no longer employed by the landlord, should have determined if there was a decent homes failure rather than based on age and condition alone.
In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord also said it wanted to work with resident on a resolution and would arrange for a survey of the resident’s home and advise the resident what would happen next. It againsaid the matter had been referred to the Complex Works Team to establish the condition of the resident’s home and they would be in touch with the resident, and it re-offered the compensation offered at stage 1.
In January 2026, the resident told this Service she had not had any contact from the landlord, and the issues are ongoing.
There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the repair reports for the kitchen and bathroom because:
1. the landlord gave the resident conflicting information on more than once occasion about replacing the kitchen and the bathroom
2. it missed the opportunity in its complaint responses to expand on its procedures to reassure the resident that accepting new cupboard doors and worktops would not impact the resident getting a kitchen replacement
3. the landlord did not manage the expectations of the resident, and this may have damaged the landlord/tenant relationship
4. the resident told this Service the issues are outstanding and have been ongoing since 2024
The £300 compensation is appropriate in the circumstances, but we have made an order to the landlord to apologise to the resident and carry out a further inspection.

Complaint	The repair reports for the balcony door
Finding	Maladministration

On 25 November 2024 the landlord attended the resident’s home after she complaint the balcony door would not close or lock. It removed the handle and left the door in a locked position.
On 20 March 2025 in its stage 1 complaint response the landlord reported that the follow up work to replace the handle was not actioned, but it had raised it with the Repairs Team Leader.
On 1 April 2025, the landlord’s records show it carried out a temporary fix so the resident could open and close the balcony door. The records also show a handle was required to be ordered. This was after a prolonged period of time from the initial repair to the balcony door and was not in line with its own policies and procedures.
The resident told this Service that the door handle has now been replaced but it is a different colour to the original and it has been fitted upside down.
There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the repair reports for the balcony door because:
1. The landlord left the balcony door without a door handle and in a locked state for 89 days and this was not in line with its own policies and procedures
2. The resident lost the use of her balcony for over 4 months
We have made an order to pay further compensation for the distress and inconvenience for the delays in repairs to the balcony door.

Complaint	The handling of the associated complaint
Finding	Service failure

On 6 March 2025 the resident told the landlord via an online form she wished to make a complaint. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on the following day stating it aimed to respond by the 20 March 2025.
On 20 March 2025 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response.
On 21 March 2025 the resident told the landlord she remained unhappy and wanted to escalate the complaint. On 28 March 2025 the landlord acknowledged this and said it aimed to respond by 24 April 2025. This was 6 working days after the escalation request and was not in line with its own policies and procedures.
On 25 April 2025 the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. This was a day later than it told the resident. The landlord did not acknowledge the delay.

While the delays were minimal and unlikely to have caused significant detriment to the resident, this was a failure in service because it did not follow its own policies and procedures and commitments it made to the resident. An order has been made for the landlord to apologise to the resident.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

Following a request from this Service, the landlord told us it had no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident. The landlord’s records show the resident told it about vulnerabilities in the household as early as 2022.
A landlord should have systems in place to maintain accurate records of its residents and their households. The landlord should review the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on repairs and maintenance – repairing trust, and the Ombudsman’s call for landlords to see the person behind the repair. We have made a recommendation relating to this.

Communication

Whilst there is evidence of communication between the landlord and resident, there were inconsistent messages which may have impacted the resident. The landlord should assure itself that its process for communicating information to resident is robust and accurate.