The Riverside Group Limited (202304865)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202304865

The Riverside Group Limited

23 May 2024

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

The complaint is about:
1. The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of heating and hot water issues at his property.
2. The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
3. The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damage to his possessions from damp and mould.
4. The landlord’s complaints handling has also been investigated.

Background

The resident is an assured shorthold tenant of the landlord under a tenancy commencing 11 January 2021. The property is a one bedroom, one person, retirement living flat.
Although this investigation has focussed on the six month period prior to the resident raising a complaint with the landlord on 28 February 2023, it is noted by way of context that the resident experienced problems with his heating and hot water shortly after the start of his tenancy. The resident reported these to the landlord on 5 occasions during the period 21 January 2021 to 23 March 2021. Following attendance and investigation, the landlord fitted a new hot water cylinder on 1 April 2021. According to the landlord’s repair log, extracts of which have been provided to this Service, no further issues with the heating and hot water were reported by the resident until 21 September 2022.
Similarly, by way of context, it is noted that the resident reported suspected damp and mould in the kitchen and bedroom on 10 January 2022. In response, the landlord installed an extractor fan in the kitchen. It is not clear what steps, if any, were taken by the landlord at this time in respect of the suspected damp and mould in the bedroom.
On 21 September 2022, the resident reported that there was no hot water in his property. This was resolved by the landlord attending on 27 September 2022 and resetting the thermostat.
On 27 October 2022, the landlord’s repair log records that all the radiators were off. The landlord attended but recorded it had no access to the property. It is not clear from the landlord’s records how a repair was effected at this point, if it was.
On 30 November 2022, the repair log notes that the electric heating was not working and that the resident reported that not a lot of hot water was coming out of the hot water tank. The log also records suspected damp in the bedroom. The landlord attended on 1 December 2022 and found that the living room heater worked as it should but two heaters needed replacing. The landlord sought and obtained confirmation from its heating engineers that the correct size of hot water cylinder had been fitted and that it was working, in response to the resident’s concerns that it was too small.
In response to the report of damp and mould in the bedroom, the landlord attended on 6 December 2022 and arranged for an extractor fan to be fitted to the bathroom which was subsequently installed. A further report of suspected damp and mould was made by the resident on 6 January 2023. The landlord attended the property on 12 January 2023. The outcome as recorded in the repair log was to note that the heaters were in the process of replacement.
For reasons which are not clear, there was delay in fitting the two replacement heaters during which the resident raised a further report that his electric radiators were not working. The replacement heaters were fitted (to hall and bedroom) on 6 February 2023.
After the replacement storage heaters were fitted, the resident continued to experience problems with the heaters not working during February 2023 and raised repair requests. The landlord attended on 10 February 2023 and noted that the new heaters in the hall and bedroom were blowing cold when the display setting showed the heating was on and that this required further investigation. It is not clear however what follow on works were arranged at this visit. The landlord attended on 22 February 2023 when it recorded there was no heating at the property. The landlord concluded at that visit that the problem was that no power was going to the heaters during the off peak period and that this was down to the resident’s energy supplier. The resident was advised to contact his supplier.
The resident raised a complaint with the landlord on 28 February 2023 with the assistance of Citizens Advice. Among other things, the resident complained that:
1. He had not had heating in the property for more than 12 months and that the hall storage heater had not worked for up to three years. Engineers had attended numerous times but had never been able to fix the heating.
2. The landlord had provided fan heaters which were insufficient to heat the property and caused the resident increased electricity costs.
3. The landlord had finally acknowledged that the heaters could not be repaired and had replaced them with new Dimplex units. However, these had never worked. The landlord’s engineers had admitted that they were unfamiliar with these units and the resident requested that the landlord instruct a specialist engineer to resolve the matter.
4. The lack of heating had caused mould growth. The landlord had identified on previous inspections that two bedroom windows needed replacing but no action had been taken and this further contributed to mould which had damaged the resident’s clothing and mental health as attested by his doctor.
5. The resident had delayed two operations because he would not be able to recuperate in a property without suitable heating.
6. The resident requested that the landlord:
  1. arrange for a Dimplex engineer to visit and fix the heating;
  2. reimburse the additional electricity costs incurred by use of fan heaters;
  3. replace the bedroom windows; and
  4. visit the property and see the damage to his possessions as a result of damp and mould.
On 1 March 2023, the landlord called the resident to discuss the complaint and issued its Stage 1 response the same day:
1. It stated that there had been multiple jobs raised regarding the heating and on each job the operatives had advised the heating was working and had left on each occasion with the heating and hot water working. The response described the visits to the property since 1 December 2022 and the outcomes.
2. It reiterated the outcome of the landlord’s visit on 22 February 2023, namely, that the problem lay with the resident’s energy supplier and the landlord would not be issuing compensation.
3. It stated that the windows were checked and did not need to be replaced.
4. With regard to damp and mould, the landlord’s inspector had attended in January 2023 regarding mould in the property. No issues were found other than the issue with no heating being on in the property. The landlord’s inspector had explained that heating needed to be on to stop the mould growing and that the property should be ventilated by opening windows.
On 13 March 2023, the resident escalated the complaint. The resident noted that the landlord’s Stage 1 response was not up to date. It blamed his energy supplier when it had since been acknowledged that there was no fault attributable to the supplier and Dimplex had attended the property and identified that there were faults with both heaters, including the wrong parts being fitted. As they did not have the correct parts, the resident was in limbo. The resident also stated that the landlord had visited his property twice about mould and he had been advised that he would have to remove wardrobes. The resident explained that he was unable to remove them himself and considered the landlord needed to remove the wardrobes when addressing the mould.
The landlord acknowledged the request for escalation by letter on 14 March 2023 and spoke to the resident on the telephone that day regarding his complaint.
Following escalation of the complaint, the landlord followed up the outstanding issues as follows:
1. It booked a damp and mould survey for 22 March 2023 which found that the issue was condensation and a mould wash was required to bedroom windows and wardrobes. This was completed by the landlord on 4 April 2023.
2. It followed up the outstanding repairs to the Dimplex heaters. The Dimplex contractors attended on 22 March 2023 and repaired the hallway heater but not the bedroom heater as they stated this was not part of the job. Following further reports by the resident of loss of heating and hot water between 31 March 2023 and 4 April 2023, a fault was traced to a loose electrical connection affecting all three heaters which the landlord’s electrician repaired on 3 and 4 April 2023. The resident confirmed to the landlord on 5 April 2023 that this had been fixed.
3. The landlord provided forms to the resident on 5 April 2023 for him to request compensation.
The landlord provided its Stage 2 response on 21 April 2023. It explained the steps that it had taken to resolve the problems with the resident’s heating and to carry out a mould wash. It recorded that the resident was satisfied with the result of the mould wash but that he had advised on 21 April 2023 that the living room heater was not working again and he was having issues with his hot water. The landlord had arranged for a plumber to attend on 24 April 2023 and would close the complaint when these issues were fixed.
On 24 April 2023, the landlord carried out repairs to the hot water cylinder but the resident continued to experience problems which he reported on 3 and 16 May 2023. The landlord arranged to replace the living room heater and the hot water tank. The new hot water tank was replaced on 8 June 2023, and the new living room storage heater was installed on 21 June 2023.
On 18 July 2023, the landlord provided the resident with a further Stage 2 response letter which appears to be an updated version of that sent on 21 April 2023. This additionally recorded that the water tank and all storage heaters had been replaced. It offered £200 as a gesture of goodwill, being £150 for the time taken to repair the storage heaters in his property and £50 compensation for the time taken to replace the water tank. It noted that the resident had had several issues with the three heaters in his property but had always had some form of heating. It stated that it would close the complaint as all repairs had been completed but that the resident could come back to it at any point to accept or reject the offer and it would consider the claim for loss of clothing when the resident returned the compensation forms.
Following the closure of the complaint, on 11 August 2023, the resident sent the landlord videos of the clothing which had been damaged by mould. The landlord advised that the videos were insufficient evidence as it could not see damage to clothing and receipts for the items were required.
On 7 September 2023, the resident contacted this Service with his complaint. In communications with this Service, the resident has explained that he did not accept the offer from the landlord of £200 as he felt it did not compensate him for the stress caused to him since he moved into the property in January 2021. He was still having problems with hot water but had given up as it was too much pressure on his mental health. The mould had also returned. The resident did not feel he had been supported in any way. He had explained to the landlord that he was not able to complete forms or attach documents as he did not know how to and became agitated and stressed and so he left it.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of heating and hot water issues

The landlord’s responsive repairs policy aims to deliver an effective repairs service which has the objective of completing repairs at the first visit.
The landlord’s obligations, as set out in the policy, include to keep in repair and working order the installations for room heating, water heating and sanitation. This reflects the contractual obligations contained in the tenancy agreement with the resident.
Emergency repairs, being those which have an immediate health and safety risk to residents, their home or neighbours, require completing (or a temporary repair carried out to make the situation safe) within 12 hours of being reported. Examples given of emergency repairs include complete loss of heating, electricity, hot water or water supply. Urgent repairs should be carried out within 5 days and routine repairs within 28 days save for extreme circumstances.
The extract of the landlord’s repair records provided to this Service do not include details of how it categorised each repair request made by the resident. However, the landlord’s policy would suggest that where the resident reported a loss of hot water or heating to his home, this should have been categorised as an emergency repair. From the records provided, such repairs were not always achieved within 12 hours set out in the policy timescales: on 21 September 2022 the resident’s report of no hot water was attended on 27 September 2022; his report on 13 January 2023 that his radiators were not working was attended on 19 January 2023; his report of 17 April 2023 that he had cold water coming from the taps was attended on 20 April 2023. It is not clear why these repairs were not attended within policy timescales but the failure of the landlord to do so was a service failure and would have caused stress and inconvenience to the resident.
Overall, the landlord was reasonably diligent in arranging for its contractors to attend in response to the resident’s requests, as and when they were raised. Unfortunately for the resident, the landlord’s various repairs proved to be temporary, requiring repeated call out requests by the resident and attendances at his property. The resident has advised this Service that he has counted 23 repairs. Although more than one attempt may be required to resolve repair issues, the number of times it was necessary for the landlord to repair the resident’s heating and hot water suggests that either the landlord’s contractor failed to establish the root cause of the matter or did not carry out the necessary actions to effect the repair.
Where a problem keeps being reported by a resident, the Ombudsman would expect the landlord to carry out a more detailed technical inspection to identify the underlying issue and enable it to carry out a lasting repair.
In the period up to its repair visit on 1 December 2022, the landlord acted reasonably in effecting repairs and in then deciding to replace the heaters to the bedroom and the hall when faults in them were identified. It also acted reasonably in obtaining confirmation from its heating engineers that the correct size of water cylinder had been fitted and that it was working, to allay the resident’s concerns that the tank was too small.
However, when it became clear in February 2023 that the problems were persisting, it would have been reasonable at that stage for the landlord to obtain the opinion of an independent heating engineer as to the cause of the problem and how to resolve it.
The landlord did not do so. This was a failing which caused detriment to the resident who experienced a further 4 months of intermittent loss of heating and hot water while the landlord attempted to resolve the problem. The course taken by the landlord meant that the resident was first directed to resolve the problem with his energy supplier when this was not the cause of the issues; the landlord subsequently identified faults in the new heaters, one of which was repaired on 22 March 2023 although this did not resolve the problem with the resident’s heating and resulted in delay while parts were sourced; it carried out repairs to the electrical connections to the heaters on 3 and 4 April 2023 which appear to have resolved the problem with the hall and bedroom heaters but the resident continued to experience lack of heating from the living room heater and hot water supply. The landlord ultimately replaced both the living room heater and hot water tank in the resident’s property.
Despite the repairs and replacements carried out during the period under review, the resident has since informed this Service that he still has problems with hot water. In light of this, an order has been made in this report for an appropriately qualified independent heating engineer’s report to be obtained to seek to identify the cause of the continuing problem with the resident’s hot water and a resolution.
The landlord’s approaching this case clearly did not achieve the landlord’s policy objective of delivering an effective repairs service and completing repairs at the first visit.
The resident suffered detriment in that he experienced intermittent lack of hot water and/or heating during the period under review (and which it seems is continuing as far as hot water is concerned). It is not clear from the landlord’s records exactly how long the resident was left without heating and/or hot water on each occasion, although it is noted that the resident reported having no heating at all for a period of two weeks in an email to the landlord of 10 March 2023. The lack of heating contributed to the mould in the resident’s bedroom, as recognised by the landlord (which is dealt with below). The resident also had to accommodate the inconvenience of numerous attendances by the landlord’s contractors at his home and the expense of extra electricity costs for fan heaters to supply heating. The resident has stated that he delayed two operations because he felt he would not be able to recuperate in a property without suitable heating or hot water and that the problems he has experienced have affected his mental health.
In the light of this, it was reasonable for the landlord to offer compensation to the resident as part of the Stage 2 resolution of the complaint. However, the goodwill offer of £200 is not sufficient to compensate the resident for the detriment suffered as set out above. Under the circumstances, an award of £600 would be reasonable.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould

The landlord’s damp and mould policy requires the landlord, among other things, to undertake effective investigations and implement all reasonable repair solutions and improvements to eliminate damp, including managing and controlling condensation.
The resident’s obligations under the tenancy agreement include the obligation to clean mould caused by condensation. The landlord has discretion to assist its residents who may need support to meet the conditions of their tenancy.
The resident made two reports of suspected damp and mould in his bedroom on 30 November 2022 and 6 January 2023.The landlord attended these repairs within its policy timescales and fitted an extractor fan in the bathroom on 7 January 2023.
The landlord’s records also show that when it attended the resident’s property on 10 January 2023 to provide maintenance to the windows in the bedroom, it gave the resident appropriate advice to reduce condensation by keeping the room ventilated and to open the windows in the morning. The landlord acknowledged at this time that the condensation was being caused by no heating in the bedroom and that the heaters were in the process of replacement.
Under the tenancy agreement, it is the resident’s obligation to clean condensation mould. However, in circumstances where the landlord has acknowledged that a heating repair for which it is responsible is causing the mould, it would be reasonable to expect the landlord to take steps to remove it.
It would therefore have been reasonable for the landlord to arrange a mould wash at the time of its visits in January 2023 but it did not do so. Further, as the lack of heating in the bedroom persisted, the resident continued to suffer mould caused by it. It was not until 22 March 2023, following a further report by the resident, that the landlord attended the property to conduct a damp and mould survey and agreed to carry out a mould wash. This was completed on 4 April 2023 to bedroom windows and wardrobes as part of the Stage 2 resolution of the complaint.
The failure of the landlord to take steps to address the problem of mould in the resident’s bedroom for the period from 12 January 2023 to 4 April 2023 was a failing which caused detriment to the resident. He suffered the inconvenience of mould, smell in his bedroom and belongings, and damage to his personal possessions.
As part of the Stage 2 resolution of the complaint, the landlord acted reasonably in completing a mould wash on 4 April 2023 to bedroom windows and wardrobes in order to remove the mould, and in providing the resident with forms to request compensation in respect of his damaged items. It would also have been appropriate for the landlord to offer redress in the form of compensation for the period during which the resident suffered from mould in his bedroom. Financial redress for this aspect has been included in the award of compensation in paragraph 33 above.
It is noted that while the resident expressed himself satisfied with the result of the mould wash at the time of the Stage 2 resolution of his complaint, he has since informed this Service that the mould has returned. According to the resident, and as stated in the escalation of the complaint, he was informed by the landlord that the wardrobes should be taken out of the bedroom or the mould would never go, although this is not recorded in the extract of the landlord’s records provided to this Service.
In light of the resident’s report of the mould returning, an order has been made in this report for the landlord’s surveyor to revisit the property and seek to identify the cause of the recurrence. If, in the opinion of the landlord’s surveyor, the wardrobes are contributing to the mould, it would be reasonable to expect the landlord to consider whether it could assist the resident in providing a solution, having regard to the difficulties which the resident has expressed in dealing with the matter himself. This would be consistent with the landlord’s responsibilities under its damp and mould policy to manage the control of condensation dampness and/or within its discretion to assist residents who may need support to meet the conditions of their tenancy. This report makes a recommendation in this regard.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damage to his possessions from damp and mould

The landlord has supplied this Service with its Third Party Property Damage framework (“the TPPD framework”) which applies to damage to property, including tenants’ property under £2,000 value. This requires the landlord to be provided with details of the items, original receipts and replacement estimates and the items for inspection to provide evidence of damage.
On 5 April 2023, the landlord provided forms for the resident to complete for a claim for his damaged items under the TPPD framework. There was delay in the resident returning the forms and it is understood from the resident that he was unable to find them. On 11 August 2023, he sent the landlord videos of the clothing which had been damaged by mould. The landlord advised that the videos were insufficient evidence as it could not see damage to clothing and receipts for the items were required.
The TPPD framework is clear that photos of items are not sufficient and it is presumed that this also includes video evidence. Receipts are also required in support of claims under the framework. The landlord therefore acted in line with its framework in rejecting the resident’s videos as evidence of his loss and requesting receipts.
However, given the difficulties which the resident has expressed in completing forms and the stress this puts him under, it is recommended that the landlord consider whether it can provide assistance to the resident in completing the forms and/or conduct a physical inspection of the damaged items in situ.

The landlord’s handling of the complaints process.

The landlord has a two stage complaints process. At Stage 1, the landlord is required to provide a resolution plan to the resident within 5 working days. If there are no further actions required, the customer should be advised that the complaint will be closed. The resident has 30 working days to escalate the complaint to Stage 2 if they are not happy with the landlord’s resolution. At Stage 2, the landlord should review the complaint and communicate the decision to the customer within 10 working days of the escalation request.
At Stage 1, the landlord incorrectly summarised in its response that there had been multiple jobs raised regarding the heating and that on each job the operatives had advised the heating was working and had left on each occasion with the heating and hot water working.
This part of the landlord’s response misdescribed and understated the position which was likely to have caused distress to the resident. In fact (and as the Stage 1 went on to say), two of the resident’s heaters had needed to be replaced, as determined at the landlord’s visit on 1 December 2022. Also, on 22 February 2023, the landlord had advised the resident that no power was going to the off peak function of the heaters and that he needed to address this with his energy supplier, indicating an ongoing issue with the resident’s heating.
With regard to the resident’s complaint of mould in the property, the response referred to the inspection which had taken place in January 2023 and stated that no issues had been found “other than it being down to no heating being on in the property”. It advised that the resident keep on the heating and ventilate the property. The implication of the response was that the resident was somehow responsible for not heating the property when it was clear from the resident’s complaint that he was very concerned at the lack of heating in the property, which he complained the landlord had been unable to fix, and the mould caused by this.
There was no recognition by the landlord that the resident had been inconvenienced by the repeated repair requests he had been required to make and the distress caused to him by the situation, as described in his complaint.
The Stage 1 response did not directly address the resident’s request to be reimbursed for the cost of running fan heaters or his suggestion that a specialist engineer attend the property.
At Stage 2, the landlord acted appropriately in focussing on resolving the resident’s heating, hot water and mould problems in his property; it followed up repair issues when necessary; and continued to manage the repair when it became apparent that the heating in the living room and the hot water issues had not been fixed. It also acted appropriately in offering redress to the resident although for the reasons stated above, the goodwill gesture of £200 did not adequately reflect the extent of the detriment caused to him by the lack of heating, hot water and the mould. It is noted that the amount offered reflected a low impact on the resident under the landlord’s redress guidelines when the circumstances fell more appropriately into the higher range.
The landlord provided two Stage 2 responses, on 21 April 2023 and an updated version on 18 July 2023, when its complaints policy provides for only one. It is appreciated that the intention of the second Stage 2 response was to reflect the ongoing need for repair after 21 April 2023 and the resolution of it. However, the landlord could have monitored the resolution of the resident’s complaint after 21 April 2023 without issuing a second Stage 2 response. In accordance with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, the remedy to a complaint should be followed through to completion in any event. The issue of two Stage 2 responses was likely to cause confusion as to the complaint stage reached and the date of completion of the landlord’s internal complaints process.
There was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaint in the above respects. Under the circumstances, an award of compensation of £100 would be appropriate.
It is noted that neither Stage 1 nor Stage 2 response stated clearly the decision which was made on the complaint – i.e. stating whether it was upheld or not, in whole or part. This is a helpful practice which provides clarity for residents and is in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of heating and hot water issues.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in respect of the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damage to his possessions from damp and mould.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Write to the resident to apologise for the failings identified in this report.
2. Pay £700 compensation to the resident made up of:
  1. £600 for the distress, inconvenience and time and trouble caused to him by its failings in its response to the resident’s reports of lack of heating, hot water and damp and mould at the property.
  2. £100 for the failings identified in its complaint handling.

The above sums are inclusive of the £200 awarded through the landlord’s complaints process if this has not already been paid.

Instruct an appropriately qualified independent heating engineer to carry out an inspection of the resident’s property to seek to identify the cause of the continuing problems with the hot water supply and a resolution to the same.
Instruct its damp and mould surveyor to carry out an inspection of the resident’s property to seek to identify the cause of the recurrent mould in the resident’s bedroom and a resolution to the same.
The landlord should provide the resident with the outcome of the two inspections including likely timescales for any works identified.
The landlord should contact this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this determination to evidence its compliance with the above orders.

Recommendations

If, in the opinion of the landlord’s surveyor, the wardrobes in the resident’s bedroom are contributing to damp and mould, it is recommended that the landlord consider providing a solution to manage the control of condensation dampness from this source.
It is recommended that the landlord consider providing assistance to the resident in completing the TPPD forms to claim for damaged items and/or whether it can conduct a physical inspection of the resident’s damaged items in situ.
The landlord should reply to this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this determination to advise of its intentions in regard to the above recommendations.