Westminster City Council (202205529)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202205529

Westminster City Council

23 December 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 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 reports of outstanding hot water pressure issues, radiator and balcony repairs, and the compensation it offered him for this.

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord of a flat. The resident has health issues including a lung condition and surgery for cancer, but the landlord reported having no vulnerabilities recorded for him. He also had a representative coordinate his communication with the landlord. For clarity, in this report they will be jointly referred to as ‘the resident’.
  2. The resident first reported low hot water pressure in the property to the landlord on 11 June 2021 and a repair order was raised. On 18 June 2021, an operative attended his property and advised him that the taps were not the source of the low pressure, but that a water booster pump would help to increase the water pressure. The resident said that he was left under the impression that the landlord would install this, but it later maintained that it did not install water pumps. It also recorded that the operative should have advised him about this on 12 July 2021, but that its contractors needed to stop advising residents in a way that gave them “false hope” that it would install these.
  3. Also on 12 July 2021, the resident reported an issue with his balcony to the landlord, with the previous occupant’s wooden decking affecting the drainage and causing water and dirt to build up. He therefore requested that the decking be removed by it, and that the original condition of the flooring beneath this be restored, for which it raised a repair for its contractors to remedy from 12 August 2021.
  4. The landlord’s records then showed that it re-inspected the resident’s property’s water pressure on 1 September 2021, for which it found that no work was required for this by it as, although his building would benefit from a hot water booster pump, it did not install these in its properties. Although it additionally noted that its contractors’ suggestions of pumps to its residents were encouraging them to believe that it would install these, whereas it was the building’s freeholder’s responsibility to do so to improve the water pressure and location.
  5. On 26 December 2021, the resident discovered a leaking radiator in the property that was damaging this and his furniture, which he reported to the landlord that repaired this on 27 December 2021. Although he noted that he had called its emergency out of hours number for this repair four times on 26 December 2021 without receiving assistance, before doing so again on 27 December 2021 until a manager returned his calls and arranged the repair that night, for which it recorded that it had twice been unable to access his property.
  6. The resident’s subsequent stage one complaint of 1 and 3 January 2022 was about the landlord’s handling of the ongoing water pressure issues, and his balcony and radiator leak repairs. The complaint also referred to his health issues, and how the low hot water pressure in the shower had hindered his recovery from these during this time, as this left him without hot water, as well as that his property and furniture had been damaged by the leak, and that he had been awaiting balcony repairs since August 2021. The resident wanted these issues addressed, and the landlord’s acknowledgement of his distress and inconvenience in the form of an apology and compensation.
  7. The landlord’s records showed that its repair to the resident’s balcony flooring was subsequently completed on 17 January 2022, when the old decking was dismantled and new ground laid that drained water away, with him understanding that no new decking would be installed. It then recorded that it installed a low access shower at the property on 19 January 2022, and that its surveyor attended on 10 February 2022 and found that the balcony works and the new shower pressure were satisfactory.
  8. The landlord’s subsequent stage one complaint response of 10 February 2022 apologised for the resident’s inconvenience and offered compensation for the delays in repairing the balcony, the late repair treated as a missed appointment for the radiator leak, and the overall distress and inconvenience caused to him. It admitted failings in its handling of the repairs to the balcony, and it confirmed that the repair was not actioned in line with its policy’s 28-day timeframe.
  9. The landlord also apologised for its handling of the repair to the resident’s radiator leak, and it stated that its surveyor had measured the property’s water pressure on 10 February 2022 as satisfactory from the resident’s new shower, as well as finding that the balcony works would ensure that water drained well. It additionally apologised that he was given an expectation by its operative that it could provide him with the booster pump that it recommended but did not install. The landlord therefore offered the resident £380 total compensation, broken down as:
    1. £20 for the missed appointment for the radiator leak.
    2. £180 for the delays in the balcony repair.
    3. £180 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay to the repairs.
  10. The resident then escalated the complaint on 4 March 2022, as he was dissatisfied with the amount of compensation offered, that the landlord had failed to address the issues regarding the hot water pressure, and that it had provided incorrect information regarding the surveyor’s appointment on 10 February 2022. He outlined that he was given the impression that it could assist him with the low pressure that was instead delayed for over a year while he underwent medical treatment.
  11. The resident also explained how the surveyor was scheduled to attend on 3 February 2022, however this appointment was missed by them, and no information was provided to the resident for their subsequent attendance without notice on 10 February 2022, when they did not check the shower pressure. Although he reported that they had confirmed that the pressure from the property’s water taps did not seem to be correct.
  12. In its final stage complaint response of 23 March 2022, the landlord apologised for the overall inconvenience of the situation, and for providing inaccurate information regarding the surveyor’s visit on 10 February 2022, confirming that the water pressure had not been measured on that date. It also apologised for their missed appointment on 3 February 2022, and its lack of communication about this. Another appointment was then arranged and attended by a plumber on 21 March 2022, in which the hot water pressure was deemed to be acceptable, as the plumber found the flow rate to be “fine for where tank sits.”
  13. The landlord therefore awarded the resident an additional £145 compensation, which brought the total offered to him to £525. The additional compensation was broken down as:
    1. £20 for the missed appointment on the 3 February 2022.
    2. £50 for inaccurate details regarding the visit on the 10 February 2022.
    3. £50 for the frustration and upset caused by its previous response.
    4. £25 for the time and trouble taken to pursue this matter.
  14. The resident subsequently complained to this Service, as he was dissatisfied with the offer of compensation from the landlord not adequately representing his distress and inconvenience. He also sought a resolution to the low hot water pressure as he felt that it had a duty towards this, the findings or report of its plumber’s visit of 21 March 2022 that he disputed, and responses to his information requests to it. The resident additionally expressed concerns over its possible non-renewal of his tenancy on the expiry of his fixed term due to his complaints.
  15. The landlord then arranged another surveyor’s visit to the resident’s property on 17 November 2022, which it had previously missed on 8 November 2022, and he sought to add to his complaint to this Service. It recorded that he had reported during the latest visit that the hot water pressure issues in the shower had improved following the installation of the electric low access shower, and that he now wished for an apology from it about its incorrect information for this to resolve his complaint. The landlord confirmed that it had discussed the resident’s options to increase the pressure during the latest visit, but that he did not want a combi boiler to do so, and it could not move the water cylinder higher for this, with him being responsible for installing a water booster pump.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has told this Service how the issues surrounding the hot water pressure hindered his recovery from his recent medical treatment, and had an overall negative impact on his health, which is very concerning. While we do not doubt his comments regarding this, this Service is unable to determine liability or award damages for ill-health because we do not have the authority or expertise to do so. However, we have considered the general distress and inconvenience which the situation has caused him, as well as making a recommendation below for the landlord to provide him with its liability insurance details to enable him to seek such damages.
  2. The resident experienced another missed appointment on 8 November 2022, and he requested that this Service consider this during this investigation. He has also expressed concerns that, due to his complaints, his tenancy will not be renewed when his fixed term expires. Furthermore, he has requested a copy of the plumber’s findings or report from 21 March 2022, and he has expressed dissatisfaction with the landlord’s responses to his information requests.
  3. However, this Service cannot investigate aspects of a complaint which have not yet exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure, because it needs to be given the opportunity to formally respond to these under the procedure, and there is no evidence that the resident’s latest missed appointment or tenancy renewal concerns have done so. Therefore, these matters are outside the scope of this investigation to consider, together with his request for the plumber’s findings or report and dissatisfaction with the landlord’s response to his information requests, which instead fall properly within the Information Commissioner’s Office’s jurisdiction to consider.

Policies and procedures

  1. The landlord’s tenants handbook describes a leakage of water from plumbing or heating service as an immediate repair, which it aims to attend within 2 hours and make safe within 24 hours. A non-urgent repair is defined as more substantial, and it aims to attend and complete works to these within 28 days. The handbook also states that the landlord is responsible for repairs to the services and equipment that supply water, heating and hot water, and to the structure and exterior of buildings, as well as for keeping these in good working order.
  2. The landlord’s compensation and payment schemes outline that a missed appointment has a £10 compensation award, and time and trouble in pursuing a complaint can be from £50 to £250 per year pro rata. If there is a delay in carrying out a repair, then it can compensate this with up to £500 per year for minor repairs. If a resident experiences distress and inconvenience as a result of a failing of the landlord, then they may be eligible for compensation from £500 per year, depending on the severity, number of people affected, and if there are health and safety concerns.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of outstanding hot water pressure issues, radiator and balcony repairs, and the compensation it offered him for this

  1. On 12 June 2021, the resident first reported an issue with the low hot water pressure at his property to the landlord. After an operative visited within its tenants handbook’s 28-day non-urgent repair timescale on 18 June 2022, he reported that he was left under the impression that this was an issue that it would repair with the water booster pump to increase the pressure that the operative had recommended during their attendance. The landlord’s records also showed that, while it considered that the operative ought to have informed the resident that it did not install water pumps, its contractors had to stop indicating to residents that it would do so.
  2. The landlord therefore ought to have clearly communicated to the resident at the time of its attendance for the low hot water pressure at his property that this was his responsibility, after seeking appropriate permission from it to install the water booster pump there. This is because this would be classed as an improvement to the property that he could choose to make rather than a repair that it was obliged to carry out.
  3. The landlord should additionally have clearly informed the resident of this subsequently, after it had identified that he had thought that this was its responsibility, but there is no evidence to suggest that it did so. It also missed its surveyor’s appointment to inspect the low hot water pressure on 3 February 2022 before attending again on 10 February 2022.
  4. This led to the resident waiting until the landlord’s response to his stage one complaint of 10 February 2022 confirmed that it recommended but did not install water booster pumps, for which it apologised that its operative had given him an expectation that it could provide one. The lack of communication about this from it to him in the meantime nevertheless would have caused a further delay in him trying to resolve the low hot water pressure at his property, resulting in increased distress and inconvenience to him.
  5. It was therefore appropriate that the resident’s stage one complaint regarding the delay in the landlord fixing the low hot water pressure in the property apologised for its miscommunication about this. However, its stage one response also incorrectly stated that the water pressure had been measured on 10 February 2022 by a surveyor and found to be satisfactory, which was inappropriate. The landlord additionally failed in its stage one response to offer the resident any other form of redress for its poor communication about his water pressure issues, which is another failing on its part.
  6. Following the stage one complaint response, the landlord organised for a plumber to measure the hot water pressure at the resident’s property on 21 March 2022. This was an appropriate response by it to investigate his concerns about this as, per the tenant handbook, it has a responsibility to maintain the services and equipment that supply water, heating and hot water to the property in good working order.
  7. While the resident disputed the landlord’s subsequent description of the plumber’s findings in its final stage complaint response as being that the water pressure was acceptable, its records showed that their inspection had found the hot water flow rate to be “fine for where tank sits”. It was therefore reasonable for it to rely on the conclusions of its appropriately qualified staff and contractors in the absence of any other expert evidence to the contrary, and so at this stage it appropriately investigated and responded to his concerns about this.
  8. In the final stage complaint response, the landlord additionally acted fairly in acknowledging that it had missed its surveyor’s appointment of 3 February 2022, and provided incorrect information to the resident surrounding the surveyor’s visit of 10 February 2022, apologising to him for the upset caused. It also offered him a further £125 compensation to redress the missed appointment, inaccurate details, his time and trouble incurred in pursuing the complaint, and the frustration and upset that this had caused him due to its incorrect comments. This level of compensation was in line with the range of awards recommended by the landlord’s compensation and payment schemes for such distress and inconvenience, as well as by this Service’s remedies guidance for failures that had adversely affected the resident.
  9. Moreover, on 17 November 2022 the landlord’s surveyor re-inspected the resident’s property’s low hot water pressure, and explored solutions to his water pressure issues. They suggested the installation of a combi boiler, which he declined, as well as confirming that it could not move the water cylinder higher for this, and that he would be responsible for installing a water booster pump. This was appropriate, but the landlord should nevertheless have explored these solutions with the resident at an earlier date instead, when the water pressure issues were first raised by him from 11 June 2021 onwards.
  10. Instead, the resident was left with the expectation that the landlord would install the pump from its operative’s attendance of 18 June 2021 to its stage one complaint response of 10 February 2022, with limited communication about this in the meantime. The landlord should have apologised for this sooner, as it was expected to regularly communicate with him clearly, which it failed to do to fully redress this.
  11. It has therefore been recommended below that the landlord write to the resident to apologise to him for its lack of communication and incorrect information in response to his reports of the low hot water pressure issues at his property, and for its delay in addressing this. It has also been recommended below to review its staff’s training needs to ensure that it communicates clearly with its residents at the earliest opportunity regarding their and its respective repair responsibilities, and any further action that it will or will not take for these. This is in response to their reports of non-standard faults such as low hot water pressure, particularly those affecting vulnerable residents.
  12. The landlord’s compensation and payment schemes and this Service’s remedies guidance are nevertheless unable to award the resident damages for the effect on his ill-health that he reported experiencing from the lack of hot water pressure at his property until the installation of his low access shower on 19 January 2022. It has therefore also been recommended below to provide him with details to enable him to submit a liability insurance claim to it or its insurers for damages for the effect on his ill-health that he reported as a result of this.
  13. The resident reported his balcony’s wooden decking as affecting the drainage and causing water and dirt to build up from 12 July 2021, when he requested that the original balcony flooring be restored to stop the drainage issue. From 12 August 2021, it stated that this repair was raised to its contractors. The landlord’s tenant handbook states that it should have aimed to have attended and completed this non-urgent repair within 28 days, but instead this was not completed until 17 January 2022. This approximately five-month delay was a failure, which it took ownership of in its stage one complaint response and apologised for the delay, the resident’s associated inconvenience, and offered him £180 compensation for this. This was in line with its compensation and payment schemes’ and this Service’s remedies guidance’s recommended ranges of awards for repair delays and for failures that adversely affected the resident, respectively.
  14. With regard to the radiator repair reported on 26 December 2021, the landlord attended the resident’s property more than 24 hours after the he had first reported this to it on the night of 27 December 2021. The fault was identified to be an issue with the valve and this was adjusted, completing the repair on 27 December 2021. As per the tenant handbook, the landlord should have attended this within 2 hours and made this safe within 24 hours, and so its delay in arriving at the property and making this safe was a failure in its service.
  15. The landlord’s stage one complaint response therefore appropriately acknowledged this failing, apologised for the inconvenience caused as a result of this, and classed this as a missed appointment. This enabled it to offer the resident £20 compensation for this at the rate of two missed appointments under its compensation and payment schemes. This highlighted that the landlord understood the extent of its failure to both attend and then make safe the resident’s radiator leak, and that it attempted to redress its failings proportionately under the schemes.
  16. The landlord’s stage one complaint response also offered £180 compensation to the resident for the overall distress and inconvenience experienced by him from its delays in repairing the radiator leak and balcony flooring. This was within the range of compensation recommended by its compensation and payment schemes for distress and inconvenience as a result of its failings, as well as that recommended by this Service’s remedies guidance for failures that adversely affected the resident.
  17. This was reasonable, as the fact that the resident was impacted and inconvenienced was recognised by the landlord with proportionate compensation, and its subsequent completion of both repairs meant that it was not required to increase this award. Therefore, it has been recommended below to re-offer him the compensation that it previously awarded him, if he has not received this already.
  18. On a separate but related note, the landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s health issues in its complaint responses to him, despite his complaints explicitly referring to the effect of his case on his ill-health. It is also not clear from the evidence provided that it added his medical conditions or any vulnerabilities to, or flagged these on, his records. Therefore, it has been recommended below that the landlord contact the resident to confirm its records in relation to his ill-health, and determine if any of his vulnerabilities still need to be recorded by it. It has additionally been recommended below to review its staff’s training needs in relation to recording, acknowledging and considering the vulnerabilities of its residents reporting responsive repairs to it.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about its response to his reports of outstanding hot water pressure issues, radiator and balcony repairs, and the compensation it offered him for this, satisfactorily.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Re-offer the resident the £525 compensation that it previously awarded him, if he has not received this already.
    2. Write to the resident to apologise for its lack of communication and incorrect information in response to his reports of the low hot water pressure issues at his property, and for its delay in addressing this.
    3. Contact the resident to provide him with details to enable him to submit a liability insurance claim to it or its insurers for damages for the effect on his ill-health that he reported experiencing from the lack of hot water pressure at his property.
    4. Contact the resident to confirm its records in relation to his ill-health, and determine if any of his vulnerabilities still need to be recorded by it.
    5. Review its staff’s training needs to ensure that it communicates clearly with its residents at the earliest opportunity to regarding their and its respective repair responsibilities, and any further actions that it will or will not take for these, in response to their reports of non-standard faults such as low hot water pressure, particularly those affecting vulnerable residents.
    6. Review its staff’s training needs in relation to recording, acknowledging and considering the vulnerabilities of its residents reporting responsive repairs to it.