Vivid Housing Limited (202347588)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202347588 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
Vivid Housing Limited |
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Landlord type |
Housing Association |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
24 November 2025 and reissued on 3 March 2026 |
Background
- The elderly resident lives alone and is vulnerable due to health conditions. She reported a rodent infestation to the landlord. Its handling of the matter was the subject of her complaints. Her niece and MP represented her in communication with the landlord. We have referred to both parties as ‘the resident’ in this report.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of a rodent infestation.
- We have investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.
Our decision (determination)
- We found the landlord provided reasonable redress for its response to the resident’s reports of a rodent infestation.
- We found service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
The handling of the rodent infestation
- The landlord arranged a pest contractor to treat the property. It completed repairs based on the pest contractor’s advice and offered the resident proportionate compensation for its handling of the pest issues between October 2023 and June 2024.
The complaint handling
- The landlord did not respond to the resident’s complaint in line with its complaint policy. It did not acknowledge the detriment its poor complaint handling caused the resident or offer compensation for this to 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.
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Order |
What the landlord must do |
Due date |
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1 |
Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the complaint handling failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure the apology:
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No later than 22 December 2025 |
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2 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £100 for the detriment its complaint handling caused her. It must pay this directly to her by the due date in addition to any compensation already paid. It must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. |
No later than 22 December 2025 |
Recommendations
Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.
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Our recommendations |
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We have made our finding of reasonable redress for the landlord’s handling of a rodent infestation on the basis the landlord pays the resident the £400 compensation it offered her in its final complaint response and reimburses £180 for the pest contractor costs she incurred. It should pay this to her direct and not offset against arrears where they exist. |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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12 February 2024 |
The resident complained to the landlord about a rodent infestation in the property. She said the landlord had not resolved matters which caused her distress and anxiety. There is no evidence the landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 1 complaint. |
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26 February 2024 |
The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint. It said rodents were entering from a nearby waterway and acknowledged this affected the resident’s health and sleep. It apologised for its repairs delays, which exceeded its target for non-emergency work. To resolve the issue, it proposed replacing a drain cover, blocking an entry point, removing loft insulation, fumigating the loft, and clearing external ivy. It also said it would provide a single point of contact when handling future infestations. |
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2 May 2024 |
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 2 complaint about a rodent infestation affecting her health. She said she was frustrated with the poor communication, lack of progress, and urgency. She said it used poisoned bait without finding access points or using cameras or traps, and her neighbours also confirmed rodent activity. She asked for confirmation that the landlord would not see her illness, which stopped her from letting the contractor in, as obstructive. She asked the landlord for compensation, £180 reimbursement for her pest contractor costs, loft cleaning and insulation, and a named contact to oversee completion. |
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9 May 2024 |
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 2 complaint. |
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6 June 2024 |
The landlord sent its response to the resident’s stage 2 complaint. It summarised its handling of the rodent infestation since October 2023. It acknowledged its pest contractor had not resolved the matters and poor communication. It said it would clear, clean, disinfect, and reinsulate the loft space, set up cameras and dust traps to monitor activity. It also said it would find, and proof any access points and educate neighbours about rodent issues. It recognised the time it took to address the issues caused high impact and effort. It offered the resident £400 compensation. It agreed to reimburse her pest contractor costs if she provided a receipt. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident asked us to investigate the complaint. To put matters right she said the landlord should apologise, remove the rodents, and reimburse her pest contractor costs. |
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.
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Complaint |
The landlord’s handling of pest control concerns |
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Finding |
Reasonable redress |
What we have not considered
- The resident said the landlord’s handling of the rodent infestation 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’ve not investigated this further under any of the complaint grounds. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.
What we have considered
- The landlord’s repairs standard says residents must treat rodent issues, but it will block access points into homes. Where it is responsible it will arrange an external contractor to visit, inspect, create a plan of action, and begin treatment.
- The resident reported rodents to the landlord in October 2023. The landlord said it received no other complaints about the issue, it would not install bait boxes, but it would speak to her neighbours who were feeding birds. It would have been better if it inspected the property and local area to assess the scale of the issue and find any access points.
- On 4 December 2023, the resident arranged a private pest contractor in line with the repairs standard. Following an inspection 3 days later, an environmental health officer (EHO) told the landlord it should treat the rodents which affected neighbouring properties. The landlord did not survey the property within 5 days in line with the EHO’s advice. This caused the resident time and trouble pursuing the matter. The landlord escalated the urgency of the resident’s reports due to her vulnerability. However, it did not survey or start works until 21 December 2023 which was later than its 28-day routine repair target.
- The pest contractor recommended the landlord seal access points in December 2023, complete a drain survey in January 2024, and seal another roof access point in February 2024. The pest contractor visited the property 4 times to find these solutions. However, the landlord did not complete the recommended works before the resident raised a stage 1 complaint in February 2024. This delay caused the resident further distress and inconvenience.
- In its stage 1 response, the landlord acknowledged its delays and explained the rodents came from a nearby waterway. It said it would replace a drain cover, block entry points, fumigate, and reinsulate the loft. It was appropriate for it to explain this to manage the resident’s expectations, given the unresolved infestation. It would have been better if it said it would discuss the waterway with an EHO in line with its pest control guide.
- A drain survey in March 2024 found pipework and joint defects which the landlord agreed to repair. It also proofed loft access points in April 2024 after regaining access to the resident’s property following her ill health. The pest contractor told the landlord its delayed access may mean it would need to start treatment again. The landlord should have communicated its progress and its pest contractor’s findings to the resident.
- In its final complaint response in June 2024, the landlord acknowledged its poor communication and delays. It explained its plans to address the issues, which were the same as its stage 1 response. It offered to reimburse her £180 for the pest contractor costs and pay £400 compensation. Its compensation aligned with our remedies guidance where there were failings that caused the resident inconvenience, distress, time, and trouble getting matters resolved. Overall, the landlord provided reasonable redress for its handling of the resident’s reports of a rodent infestation between October 2023 and June 2024.
- The landlord continued to investigate and treat pest issues in the property after sending its final complaint response. It also discussed rehousing options with her. The pest contractor reported no evidence of rodents in the property in October 2024, and the landlord reinsulated the loft in November 2024. We have not ordered it to complete any further repairs but have recommended it pays the £400 compensation it offered in its final complaint response and reimburses the resident’s £180 costs.
- The resident has reported ongoing concerns about rodents to the landlord. She raised a further stage 1 complaint about its handling of the matters in December 2024 which she may escalate for investigation.
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Complaint |
The handling of the complaint |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- The landlord’s complaint policy says it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. It also says it will contact residents about stage 1 complaints within one working day and acknowledge stage 2 complaints within 5 working days.
- The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s stage 1 complaint in line with its complaint policy timescale. It also did not register the stage 2 complaint of 14 April 2024 until 2 May 2024. It was reasonable for the landlord to ask the resident’s consent for her niece to escalate her complaint on her behalf. The resident was unwell during this time which likely caused the delay. Despite this, the landlord still missed its stage 2 response target time.
- The landlord offered the resident the highest level of compensation under its policy. It would have been better if the landlord offered compensation up to the date of its final complaint response and told her it would make another offer when it resolved the infestation.
- Overall, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. It did not acknowledge or apologise for its complaint handling failings and missed the opportunity to offer compensation for this in line with its compensation policy. We have ordered the landlord to apologise and pay £100 compensation for these minor failings, in line with our remedies guidance to put things right.
Learning
Communication
- The landlord’s complaint responses were sufficiently detailed. However, it should have communicated its plans to address the rodent infestation, complete repairs, and the findings of its pest contractor more generally while handling the issues.