Together Housing Association Limited (202407451)

Background

1. A fire occurred at the resident’s property in November 2023. The resident is dissatisfied with how the landlord managed the incident, stating that it caused damage to her belongings. She also reported poor communication and alleged that staff treated her inappropriately. The resident moved into alternative accommodation in March 2024.

What the complaint is about

2. The landlord’s handling of:
   1. A fire at the resident’s property.
   2. The resident’s associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. No maladministration for the landlord’s handling of a fire at the resident’s property.
   2. Service failure for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

4. The landlord responded promptly to the fire. While we acknowledge the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident, there is no evidence that the landlord caused any additional damage to her belongings or communicated with her in an inappropriate manner.
5. There was a delay in the landlord issuing its stage 1 response. It failed to acknowledge this and therefore did not put things right.

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.

6. A fire occurred at the resident’s property on 20 November 2023. The landlord attended the property within an hour to liaise with the resident, police and fire brigade. The fire brigade told the landlord the property was unsafe. The landlord returned the following day to assess the damaged caused to the property. It found the roof needed fully replacing, the upstairs ceilings had collapsed and the downstairs ceilings also needed replacing.
7. This investigation will consider the issues raised by the resident in her complaint dated 7 February 2024. The resident has raised other issues with us, such as the landlord’s handling of alternative accommodation. As this is a separate issue to the complaint raised with the landlord, this is not something we can investigate, as the landlord needs to be provided with the opportunity to investigate and respond to this aspect of the complaint before we can consider it.
8. The fire brigade placed a temporary cover over the roof on the day of the fire. The landlord acted quickly in getting a quote for scaffolding and a roof canopy, which it received on 23 November 2023. It accepted the quote within 2 weeks, this is reasonable considering the high cost and that it needed to liaise with its insurance.
9. The landlord’s repair records show it placed a temporary sheet over the roof on24 November 2023 whilst it waited for the scaffolding and canopy to be installed. On 29 November 2023 the landlord’s records state that it attempted to cover the roof but unfortunately the weather prevented it from doing so. It was reasonable for the landlord to prioritise the safety of its staff.
10. The landlord’s repair records do not clearly show how long the property remained exposed to the weather. In its complaint responses, the landlord stated that the property was uncovered for one week, followed by a temporary cover for 3 weeks until the roof canopy was installed. The resident has disputed this account. However, the landlord’s records do not enable us to verify either position, indicating a failure in record keeping.
11. The landlord did arrange for the resident to remove some belongings from the property on 4 and 19 December 2023. In February 2024 it arranged a third appointment, however, due to the kitchen ceiling collapsing it was deemed unsafe for the resident to enter the property. Although we understand that these appointments were time limited, the resident did have the opportunity to remove belongings from the property soon after the fire.
12. The resident complained that her belongings were damaged from the rain due to the landlord not covering the roof. The landlord and the fire brigade both produced fire reports on the day of the fire. Both reports state that the property was flooded with water from firefighting actions. The fire brigades report states that there was severe damage to the upstairs bedrooms, hallway and stairs. It also said the kitchen was slightly affected by water damage.
13. The extinguishing of the fire would have caused significant damage to the resident’s belongings. It is not disputed that the weather would have worsened the situation, however, it was reasonable for the landlord to rely on the reports it and the fire service compiled at the time and state that it believed the cause of the damage to the resident’s belongings was due to the fire and the water from the firefighting actions.
14. Residents are generally expected to have home contents insurance to protect their belongings against risks such as fire damage. The resident explained that she did not have contents insurance at the relevant time. Where a resident considers that damage has occurred due to landlord negligence, the landlord may refer the matter to its public liability insurers. We have therefore recommended that the landlord provide the resident with the relevant insurer details, as it would be for the insurers to assess whether a claim can be made.
15. We recognise the distress and inconvenience the resident experienced as a result of losing her belongings in the fire. The resident told us these events affected her health and wellbeing. It would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We have not investigated this further.
16. In her complaint the resident also raised concerns about the landlord’s staff behaviour towards her after it held a meeting with her about the cause of the fire. The landlord demonstrated that it investigated the resident’s concerns and found no failures. It said the fire brigade’s report stated the fire was caused by a cannabis farm in the loft of the property. Although it sympathised with the resident when she told it her son was responsible, it was correct in stating that her tenancy agreement states she was responsible for anyone living with her.
17. In its complaint responses the landlord apologised that it made the resident feel accused, angry and distressed. However, it confirmed that an illegal activity had taken place which was in breach of her tenancy agreement. It was reasonable for the landlord to hold a meeting with the resident to discuss the illegal activities, and for it to issue the resident a final warning notice, open an anti-social behaviour case and produce an acceptable behaviour contract.
18. In summary following a fire on 20 November 2023, the landlord responded promptly by attending the property, assessing damage, and arranging a cover for the roof. Although there is some dispute about how long the property remained exposed to the weather, while the resident’s belongings were damaged, reports attributed this mainly to the fire and firefighting efforts. We have not been provided with any evidence to demonstrate the landlord contributed to further damage. We have therefore made a finding of no maladministration.

19. The landlord operates a 2 stage complaint process. It aims to acknowledge complaints at both stages within 5 working days. A formal response should then be issued within 10 working days for stage 1 complaints and within 20 working days for stage 2 complaints. This is in line with our Complaints Handling Code (the Code).
20. The resident made a complaint on 7February 2024. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 14 February 2023, which was within its agreed timescales.
21. The landlord issues its stage 1 response on 13 March 2024, 20 working days later, which was outside its agreed timescales. There was no evidence it contacted the resident to discuss the delay. The landlord failed to effectively communicate with the resident and manage her expectations.
22. We were not provided with evidence of when the resident escalated her complaint. This was a record keeping failure. The landlord acknowledged the escalation on 8 April 2024. It issued its stage 2 response on 4 May 2024, which was within it agreed timescales.
23. In summary the landlord did not acknowledge the delay in it issuing its stage 1 response and therefore failed to put things right. We have made a finding of service failure and have ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

24. Landlords are expected to maintain clear and accurate records of all contacts and repairs to provide a reliable audit trail and to ensure that any issues can be identified and addressed promptly.

Communication

25. The landlord should clearly explain any delays in its complaint responses, including the reasons for the delay and the expected timescales for resolution.