The Riverside Group Limited (202106360)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202106360

The Riverside Group Limited

30 March 2022


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this. 

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about service charge increases.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, we have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident has a shared ownership lease with the landlord.
  2. On 14 August 2020, the landlord notified the resident of planned repair works, which included window replacement, and issued a section 20 notice. On 28 December 2020, the landlord sent a further letter informing the resident that her service charge would increase by £54.76 each month, to replenish the sinking fund, in order to complete the works.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 7 February 2021, as she thought the landlord’s poor management of the sinking fund had led to the significant increase in the service charges. She queried liability for the service charge increase, as she believed the landlord had neglected the window maintenance over a period of many years, and mis-manged the sinking fund, causing the works to be urgent. 
  4. The landlord sent its final response on 20 April 2021. It said it had received a quote for the window replacement in 2018, and postponed the works to replenish the sinking fund. Later in 2020, it concluded it had to increase the service charge to fund the works.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints that “concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure”.
  2. Although parts of the resident’s complaint are regarding the maintenance of the windows and other landlord management issues, her primary concern is the increase in the service charges, which she complained was necessitated by the aforementioned issues.
  1. Regardless of the reasons for the dispute, complaints that relate to the level, reasonableness, or liability to pay rent or service charges are within the jurisdiction of the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), who are the specific organisation to consider the resident’s grounds for dispute, arbitrate, and make binding findings. Because of that, the Tribunal is the more effective avenue to seek a remedy.