Tower Hamlets Homes (202122790)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202122790

Tower Hamlets Homes

3 August 2022

 

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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of loss of heating in the lounge of his property.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a one bedroom flat in a block which has a communal boiler. The resident has a young child.
  2. On 5 November 2021 the resident reported a loss of heating in his flat. The landlord’s contractor attended the same day. The contractor established there was no heating in the lounge and told the resident that another appointment would be made to resolve this.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 21 November 2021, as, after two weeks, nobody had contacted him and when he contacted the landlord on 19 November 2021 he was told a new emergency appointment had been booked as there were no follow-on notes from the previous visit. This appointment was then cancelled without informing the resident. When he called he was told it should not have been booked as there would be a follow-on appointment booked once the management approval had been given for a replacement part. He explained that he had a one-year old child who was suffering due to lack of heating in the lounge.
  4. On 3 December 2021, in its stage one complaint response the landlord apologised that its employee had not identified that a follow-on appointment was needed rather than a new appointment and said that staff training had been arranged as a result of the complaint. It said that management approval had been given for the part but that it was now awaiting delivery of the part, then it would book the repair. It agreed to discuss compensation once the heating had been restored. On 6 December 2021 the resident escalated his complaint as he had not been advised of a date for the repair. He said that the landlord’s policy said that loss of heating should be resolved in one day and that he felt the lack of heating was affecting his child’s health.
  5. On 9 December 2021 the landlord confirmed that the repair was scheduled for 20 December 2021. On 20 December 2021 the resident emailed the landlord as the contractor had been unable to carry out the repair as he did not have the required part. In its stage two response on 12 January 2022, the landlord apologised that the repair had not been completed and said that the delay was because it would need to shut down the communal boiler to carry out the repair and that “Communal boilers are not generally shut down at this time of year (winter months) to repair one radiator due to the level of work and inconvenience to residents of the block that this will involve. It will also mean notifying all the other residents of the block by a leaflet drop at least 48 hours before the work is due to be completed.” It apologised that the resident had not been advised of this. It said its officers had been reminded of the importance of keeping resident’s updated and that it would contact the resident when the repair could be carried out.
  6. The resident contacted this Service on 13 January 2022 as he was unhappy that the repair had still not been completed, he had to use fan heaters over winter which had increased his electricity bill (for which he wanted compensation) and he believed his child’s health had been affected by the delay in completing the repair. The landlord’s records show that the landlord attempted to complete the repair in February 2022 but could not gain access to the property. The repair was completed on 8 March 2022 and the landlord had offered the resident £80 compensation.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident has said that he believes that the delay in completing the repairs to restore heating in the lounge of his property has impacted his child’s health. This Service cannot draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This would be more usually dealt with as a personal injury claim through the courts. This is in accordance with paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which 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. The landlord’s repair policy splits repairs into two categories either routine repairs which should be completed within 20 working days or emergency repairs which have a target time limit of a “2 hour response to make safe and prevent danger if required, with additional works completed within 24 hours.” It also states “Our commitment to our residents is that for this category of repair they will not have to wait more than two hours for an operative to come to their home and make it safe. Making safe is not intended to be a full repair and in many cases, it is necessary to return at a later date to complete the repair.”
  3. The repairs policy categorises both “Complete loss of heating in winter (the defined winter period), where no alternative heating is available” and “Loss of water or space heating” as emergency repairs and adds that emergency action may be provision of temporary heating.
  4. When the resident reported that he had no heating on 5 November 2021, the landlord acted appropriately and in line with its repairs policy by sending out a contractor the same day and ensuring that the cause of the fault was identified and that the radiator that was identified as faulty was made safe. As parts had to be ordered and the repair was not something that could be completed that day, the contractor acted in line with the landlord’s policy by advising the resident that they would return at a later date to complete the repair.
  5. Once it was established that a return visit was needed to complete the repair, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to have provided the resident with an estimated timeframe for the repair to be completed and to have kept the resident updated of any changes. However, its failure to do so resulted in the resident calling the landlord again on 19 November 2021, as he had heard nothing for two weeks. At this point it would have been appropriate for the landlord to have provided the resident with an update and estimated completion date. The landlord failed to do so and then raised another emergency appointment which it then cancelled without telling the resident. This was a failure of the landlord’s repair service.
  6. Once the resident raised his complaint about the repair delays on 21 November 2021, it would have been reasonable and in line with its complaints policy, for the landlord to have contacted him within two days to discuss the complaint. However, as the landlord failed to do so, or to provide any other update on the repair, this resulted in the resident having to email the landlord again on 28 November 2021. Following receipt of his email the landlord acted appropriately by calling the resident on 29 November 2021 and contacting the contractor to chase up the repair.
  7. In its stage one response on 3 December 2021 the landlord acted appropriately by apologising that its service had been below what was expected. Its explanation that the required parts had been approved but it was now awaiting the delivery before it could complete the repair, was reasonable as it is not uncommon for a contractor to have to order specific parts, which can in turn lead to delays in repairs being completed. It is also reasonable to request management approval for some parts as both the contractor and the landlord have to work within a budget and have a responsibility to provide value for money. However, in those circumstances it would be appropriate for the landlord to keep the resident updated. The landlord acted reasonably by agreeing to discuss compensation for its failures once the repair had been completed, as that was in line with its compensation policy which states “Compensation cannot be paid until the problem has been resolved.”
  8.  Once the repair had been arranged for the 20 December 2021, particularly as this repair was the subject of a complaint, it would have been appropriate for the landlord and contractor to have ensured that the parts were ready so that the repair could be completed on that day, and updated the resident if they were not. However, as the required parts were not available on that day and the repair was not completed, and the resident did not find that out until the contractor arrived on the 20 December, there was further service failure by the landlord.
  9. Once the resident informed the landlord that the repair had not been completed, it acted appropriately by contacting the contractor on 21 December 2021 to request that it contact the resident to explain what had happened and when the repair would be completed. However, it is not clear whether the contractor did contact the resident in December 2021, as no record of any contact has been provided. However, the landlord’s stage two complaint response on 12 January 2021, confirms that the contractor contacted the resident on 6 January 2022 to explain that it would not be completing the repair during the winter months as it would require the communal boiler to be switched off. It is not clear the exact date that the contractor or landlord became aware of the need to switch off the communal boiler but the landlord acted appropriately by acknowledging that it should have advised the resident of this sooner and apologising that it had not.
  10. Ultimately there was further service failure as neither the landlord nor its contractor had informed the resident of the need to switch off the communal boiler during winter.
  11. The landlord’s decision that it would not turn off the communal boiler during the winter months to complete the repair to the resident’s radiator was reasonable as it would have caused disruption for all of the other residents of the block and resulted in a loss of heating for all of them whilst the repair was being completed. However, it is not clear whether the landlord provided an alternative form of heating to the resident throughout the period that he had no heating in his lounge. The landlord’s repair policy states that it may provide temporary heating for cases where there is “Complete loss of heating in winter” or “Loss of water or space heating”. It does not specify whether the loss of space heating has to be full or partial. However, internal emails from January 2022 show the landlord saying that, as the loss of heating was only in one room it did not have to provide portable heaters.
  12. Although the landlord’s repairs policy did not specify whether loss of space heating had to be full or partial for it to consider providing temporary heating, this Service believes that, as the resident had a one year old child at the time, and was living in a one bedroomed flat where, if the lounge had no heating the only alternative would be for the parent and child to spend all day in either the kitchen or bedroom, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have considered providing temporary heating from 5 November 2022, when the contractor established that the heating loss could not be resolved that day.
  13. The resident has reported to this Service that his electric bills increased due to having to use portable fan heaters during the period that he had no heating in the lounge. As it is generally accepted that when residents have to use portable fan heaters whilst awaiting central heating repairs that it can result in an increase in electricity bills ( and some landlords compensation policies include payments starting at around £2 per day per heater to compensate for this increase)this Service believes that it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have compensated the resident for the increased electric costs incurred, whilst he was awaiting the repair to his radiator. This is also in line with the landlord’s redress and compensation policy which states that wherever possible, it should put the complainant in their original position, had the service failure not occurred, and that it can award compensation for quantifiable loss.
  14. The repair was eventually completed on 8 March 2022, but the landlord attempted to complete the repair in February 2022 (we have not been provided with the date) but recorded not there was no access to the property. This Service believes that it would be fair for the landlord to award compensation for the resident’s increased electricity charges, from 5 November 2021 to February 2022. The landlord should use either the resident’s actual electricity bills to calculate the increased electricity amounts in comparison to the same time period the previous year, or, if all the supporting evidence is not available, the landlord should provide an estimate based on a reasonable daily figure (such as the £2 per heater per day previously referred to).
  15. The landlord has already offered the resident compensation of £80. This Service does not consider that amount to be fair or proportionate for its service failures or their impact on the resident. This Service’s remedies guidance suggests amounts of £50-£250 for cases where the impact experienced by the complainant could include distress and inconvenience, time and trouble, disappointment, loss of confidence, and delays in getting matters resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s report of loss of heating in the lounge of his property.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to increase its compensation amount from £80 to £240 for its service failure in responding to the resident’s report of loss of heating in the lounge of his property.
  2. The landlord is ordered to contact the resident to agree an amount of compensation that recognises the increase in the resident’s electricity charges during the period that he was using fan heaters, whilst awaiting repair of the radiator in his lounge.
  3. Within four weeks of the date of this letter the landlord should confirm to this Service that it has paid both compensation amounts to the resident.