The Riverside Group Limited (202446966)

Background

1. The resident is a leaseholder and lives in a flat with a balcony. She complained to the landlord in January 2025 as she was unhappy that scaffolding was put up in front of her balcony without her knowledge. She said it affected her privacy and she was unhappy with the landlord’s communication.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. Scaffolding concerns.
   2. Associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was reasonable redress which satisfactorily resolved the complaint about the landlord’s response to the resident’s scaffolding concerns.
4. There was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint.

Reasons

5. The leaseholder is responsible for all general repairs and maintenance of the property. The resident’s lease says the landlord is responsible for the property’s external condition and repairs to the structure, including the roof and balconies. It says leaseholders share the cost of communal repairs through their service charge. It also says the landlord does not need to obtain consent for works it is required to carry out and may erect scaffolding where necessary to meet those obligations. The lease says the landlord will make good any damage caused by scaffolding. The landlord’s repairs policy states residents must allow access for repairs.
6. The resident said the loss of privacy and security concerns from the scaffolding caused her anxiety and affected her mental health. We are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, effects on health and wellbeing. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation, and compensation, are not part of the complaints process, and are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim. We can consider the landlord’s handling of the  scaffolding issues, and its response to the resident’s concerns about this.
7. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord apologised for failing to inform the resident that scaffolding would be erected. It acknowledged its communication failure and offered the resident £50 compensation for this service failure. It appropriately identified learning to help prevent similar issues in future. The landlord also explained that, as the roof works were still ongoing, the scaffolding could not yet be removed.
8. The scaffolding remained in place for 8 months and was not removed until August 2025. While the repairs handbook does not set out timescales for major works such as roof renovations, landlords are still expected to complete repairs within a reasonable period and to have good reason for any delay. The landlord said the roof leak recurred and that works to the solar panels were also needed. Roof repairs can be complex and can require multiple visits. As such, prolonged works are not always avoidable.
9. Following the removal of the scaffolding, the landlord reviewed its position. This demonstrated a willingness to put matters right. It acknowledged that the resident’s use and enjoyment of the balcony had been disrupted, causing inconvenience and distress, and offered her £400 compensation in recognition of this. It also arranged for the balcony to be cleaned in September 2025 and said it reimbursed the resident £200 for further balcony jet washing. This was in line with its obligations under the lease.
10. In addition, the landlord addressed the resident’s understandable concerns about the service charge costs resulting from the prolonged use of scaffolding. It confirmed that the maximum amount leaseholders would be required to pay was £250. These were positive steps to put things right.
11. The total £450 compensation the landlord offered was within the higher range of its compensation policy and reflected the prolonged distress and inconvenience caused. The amount was proportionate and consistent with our compensation guidance for failures that had an adverse effect on the resident.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint

12. Our statutory Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’) sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord’s published complaints policy complies with the terms of the Code in respect of timescales. It says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will then respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
13. The landlord offered the resident £50 compensation for its stage 2 complaint response delay of 21 working days. This was proportionate to acknowledge the time and trouble the resident spent chasing complaint responses.
14. However, the resident said the landlord did not address all aspects of her complaint. She had asked it to provide a timeline for the repairs. The landlord missed an opportunity in its stage 2 response to address this and clarify whether a timeline could be provided, or to commit to giving proactive updates as part of its stage 2 obligations. Doing so would have prevented the resident from having to repeatedly chase for updates.
15. The landlord also missed an opportunity to acknowledge and respond to the resident’s concerns about the impact on her mental health she said was caused by a loss of privacy. It did not provide details of its public liability insurance so the resident could consider a claim for any impact on her health. This would have been a further appropriate step to demonstrate regard for the resident’s concerns.
16. The £50 offered by the landlord was not proportionate to reflect the complaint handling failings identified. It is therefore ordered to pay the resident a further £50 compensation. The total £100 compensation is in line with our compensation guidance for complaint handling failings that adversely affected 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.

Recommendations

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