North Tyneside Council (201916055)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 201916055

North Tyneside Council

27 November 2020

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 complaints

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the residents’ reports about:

the increased level of rent and service charges;
repairs at the property and subsequent delays;
the landlord’s complaint handling.

Jurisdiction

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.

The resident’s complaint about the increased level of rent and service charges.

After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 39(g) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the resident’s complaint about the increased level of rent and service charge is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The Housing Ombudsman Scheme (‘the Scheme’) details the type of complaint

the Ombudsman can consider as well as how he will consider them. Paragraph

39(g) of the Scheme states that:

‘The Ombudsman will not consider complaints which in [his] opinion:

Concern the level of rent or service charge or the amount of the rent or service charge increase’

This aspect of the resident’s complaint relates to individual rent and service charges that are payable in accordance with the terms of his tenancy agreement. As detailed above, the Ombudsman will not consider complaints that concern the level of rent or service charge. This aspect of the complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

The remaining complaint is within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and has been considered below.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord at the property, a two-bedroom second floor flat. The resident has lived in the property since 22 July 2019, and is subject to the terms and conditions contained in the tenancy agreement. The landlord is a registered social landlord.

The landlord provided a copy of the standard form tenancy agreement. Section 8 of the agreement highlights the landlord’s responsibilities during the tenancy to repair and maintenance of the structure of the property including heating. Section 8.4 of the agreement outlines that the resident can make a complaint if the landlord has ‘not carried out any of its responsibilities or have taken an unreasonably long time to carry out any task’.

Section 9.2 of standard form tenancy agreement states that it is the responsibility of the resident to ‘report to us any repairs needed or damage to your home or its fixtures and fittings immediately’. Under section 9.5 of the agreement the resident must give reasonable access to the landlord or anyone the landlord authorises to ‘carry out maintenance, renewal, repairs or improvements’.

The landlord’s repairs policy highlights the process that it follows in order to complete repairs. The landlord promises to ‘provide a professional, high quality service all of the time’ and ‘we will carry out what we said we would do within the timescale provided’. The landlord has three repairs categories, emergency, urgent and routine. The policy states that it will strive ‘to complete repairs promptly, to a good standard and right first time’. The policy highlights that emergency and urgent repairs within 48 hours and all routine works are aimed to be completed within 30 working days.

The landlord’s repairs policy outlines the amount of compensation that a resident is entitled to due to delays in repairs. It states that ‘Unless there is a good reason why the work had not been completed you will receive £10 compensation. For every extra day you wait you will receive a further £2, up to a maximum of £50’.

The landlord operates a three-stage formal complaints policy, the policy aims to resolve any dissatisfaction within set time periods. If a resident makes a complaint at the first stage, the landlord would try and resolve this issue or provide an explanation and target date within 15 working days. If the resident is dissatisfied with the response, they then have 10 days to ask for the issue to be reviewed at stage two. The landlord similarly aims to provide a written response within 15 working days and the resident has 10 days to escalate the complaint. A resident can only escalate their complaint to stage three, the authority’s regulation and review committee stage, at the discretion of the landlord’s senior complaints officer.

The landlord does not have a compensation policy.

Summary of events

In this dispute there have been multiple complaints from the resident to the landlord and the Ombudsman. Due to aspects of the resident’s complaint falling outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction this complaint will focus on the repairs at the property and the subsequent delays and the landlord’s complaint handling.

The resident’s tenancy at the property started on 22 July 2019. Various repairs were raised for the property from 1 July 2019 onwards including the following:
- On 18 July 2019, for the coving and skirting boards in both bedrooms of the property to be repaired/replaced and for the bath panel to be replaced. This was marked as completed in the landlord repairs log on 5 August 2019.
- On 30 July 2019, vent in the bathroom was blocked, marked completed on 22 August 2019.
- 30 July 2019, the boxing/gladding on gas pipes around the property were in disrepair, marked as complete on 1 August 2019.
- On 18 September 2019, fit trim around all the windows in the property where this was missing, to the bath panel, to a gap in the joint near the bath panel; and to seal all boxing where required. Completed on 22 October 2019.
- On 31 October 2019, to repair the boiler in the property, which had high pressure, marked as complete on 1 November 2019.
- On 4 November 2019, inspect the air vent/brick in the bathroom, which the resident stated was covered over by plaster. This was completed on 15 November 2019.
- On 14 November 2019 plasterer to ‘fit hit and miss vent above bathroom window’. Still marked as open.
- On 14 November 2019 to review boxing around pipes, this was cancelled on 2 December 2019, and a job raised for ‘pendock boxing and to repair gap to window’. Still marked as open.

The resident informed the landlord on 6 August 2019, that he no longer had a phone number and that it should only contact him via letter and email.

On 4 September 2019, the resident contacted the landlord to find out when the repairs to the air vent and bathroom panel would be complete. The resident stated that he informed the landlord when he moved in about the issue and it hadn’t been fixed yet.

The landlord acknowledged that on 24 and 25 October 2019, the complainant submitted a list and photos of repairs that he thought needed to be performed at the property including repairs to the heating. The landlord confirmed that the requested repairs were sent to the relevant service area and the complainant was informed via email.

On 3 December 2019, the resident made a stage one complaint to the landlord. The resident raised several issues to the landlord with a large number being considered outside the scope of this investigation. The resident highlighted the following complaints:
- The resident no longer wanted his phone number on record and that any and all contact needed to be made via email and letter. He said his information was not updated as requested.
- The resident requested a number of repairs to be done for over four months before he moved into the property on 22 July 2019. The resident stated that the landlord claimed there were no repairs that needed and that the flat passed its inspection.
- The resident stated that work needed doing before he moved in June 2019 with his furniture and carpets, as once these items were moved in it would make the jobs impossible to carry out.
- On 24 October 2019 the resident requested a timeframe for when the repairs would be done. The landlord did not respond and instead referred the resident to the complaint response he received on 14 October 2019, which he had referred to the housing ombudsman.
- Between 24 October to 28 November 2019 the resident contacted the customer liaison team, asking when he could expect the repairs to be completed, advising of the cold temperatures he endured throughout November 2019.
- On 2 December 2019 the resident received a visit from an operative, without notification, to repair the boxing in around pipes as he had been asking for since June 2019. As he was not made aware of this repair, he was unable to prepare by moving the furniture. The resident was told that, as his furniture and carpet was in the room, the landlord would be unable to fit the boxing around pipes. This was despite the resident previously requesting the repair before he laid carpet, decorated or moved furniture.

On 23 December 2019 the landlord issued the resident with a stage one response to his complaint dated 3 December 2019. The landlord systematically addressed each complaint from the resident and provided a response. Below are some of the issue relevant to the scope in this case:

Repairs issues at the property – the landlord highlighted that the resident agreed with the move in standard when signing the tenancy agreement. The landlord stated that the resident requested repairs once he moved in and the majority of that work had been completed and the remainder would be completed in due course.
In relation to the temperature at the property the landlord would get the relevant department to explore.
The landlord apologised that the resident was not contacted via email or letter about the boxing in around pipes repair booked on 2 December 2019. It confirmed that the repairs department had been asked to update the records to ensure that it had the most up to date contact details for the resident.
Compensation to the resident – the landlord was unable to establish fault by the Authority and no compensation was awarded.

With the landlord’s stage one response it provided a list of repairs that had been performed at the property between July to December 2019. The repairs list is as described in paragraph 8 of this report.

On 28 December 2019, the resident responded to the landlord’s stage one response and asked for the matter to be advanced to stage two of the landlord’s complaints procedure. The resident provided 140 pages of information about 33 different issues at the property including the repairs to the property and the behavior of the landlord. A large amount of the information is not within the scope of this investigation however the following was applicable:

The resident stated that a large number of the repairs reported were discovered after he moved into the property and was decorating.
The landlord failed to give a timeline for the repairs to be completed.
The landlord stated that repairs had been completed when they had not been.
The temperature at the property was at an unacceptable level over the winter due to the landlord failure to repair.
The landlord failed to remove his phone number from its database.

On 9 January 2020, the resident contacted the landlord and complained about the property allegedly being between two and ten degrees and wanted to know when it would fix the problem.

On 22 January 2020, the landlord sent the resident its stage two response. The landlord stated that it did not accept that the resident received a substandard level of service, maintaining that all interactions between him and the landlord were recorded on the system and dealt with in a timely manner. In regard to the heating the landlord expressed that it was committed to providing a suitable home for its tenants and ensured that they were fit for human habitation. It assured the resident that it made every effort to carry out repairs within the prescribed timeframes. The landlord addressed repairs not being completed in a timely manner and stated that the boxing in around pipes had been completed and the air vent was fitted 10 January 2020. It was aware that the plaster patch around the air vent was outstanding and this would be booked in as soon as possible.

On 30 January 2020, the resident wrote to the landlord and requested that his complaint be taken to stage three of its complaints procedure. The resident claimed that the landlord had not performed the repairs at the property as it had stated.

On 7 February 2020, the landlord’s heating team attended the resident’s property to assess the issue with the heating. It was advised that the heating team explained the controls to the resident and the temperature at the property increased. The heating team identified a radiator in the sitting room was not working and would need to be replaced.

The resident wrote to the landlord on the 19 February 2020, and asked when the landlord was going to fix the faulty radiator at the property. The resident highlighted that there were still repairs outstanding and wanted to know when they would be complete.

On 28 February 2020, the landlord wrote to the resident and stated that his complaint would not be progressed to stage three of the landlord complaints procedure. The landlord gave the following reasons:

When dealing with the resident’s complaint the landlord complaints officers had always act with compassion, neutrality and impartiality.
The resident’s telephone number was removed from the landlord’s contacts database
The temperature in the apartment was due to ‘user error’ and there was only one of the radiators in the flat that was not working.
The repairs that the resident had asked for in the property had been passed to the housing, property and constriction team and it would carry out the repair or determine if it was the residents responsibility.
The landlord also stated that the resident may benefit from an advocate when engaging with the complaints process in the future.

The resident contacted the landlord on 30 May 2020, and stated that the following repairs had still not been completed at the property:

boxing in around pipes as they are exposed in the loungeroom;
dangerous fireplace gaps;
plaster in bathroom;
insulation in vents that make property unreasonably cold during winter;
bedroom window that needed to be adjusted;
bedroom trickle vent replaced as one fitted lets in cold air;
kitchen bench that is swelling up;
kitchen sink that is still regurgitating wastewater back up through the sink.

The landlord visited the property on 29 July 2020 and the following repairs were identified and scheduled to be complete at the latest by 13 August 2020.

increase the falls on the waste pipe under the kitchen sink;
fit new 400mm hinges to kitchen window;
renew worktop over sink unit;
check and test operation of heating system and thermostat;
check radiator in living room (top heats but not bottom);
renew right side facing sash hinge to living room window;
raise hearth with ply base;
replace toilet seat;
remove radiator and skim behind, plaster, replace radiator;
provide boxing behind w/c to box in pipework;
renew boxing around pipes in bedroom 2;
renew window to bedroom 2;
fit blanks to air brick vents in bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 – on hold until the completion of an environmental survey is performed.

There was no information provided to the exact date in which these repairs were completed. The Ombudsman spoke with the resident in November 2020 and he informed the Service that the only outstanding issue at the property was the plastering around the air vent that was letting in cold air.

Assessment and Findings

Repairs at the property and subsequent delays

On 22 July 2019, the landlord’s ‘moving in standard’ was completed by both parties. Although the document did not mention any repairs needed, it is accepted that there were a number of repairs that the resident asked for and were subsequently performed by the landlord as highlighted in paragraph 8 above. The repairs that were done within this period were all completed within 24 hours for the emergency repairs or 30 days for the routine repairs, this is in line with the landlord repairs policy. This does not include the repairs to the vent or boxing around pipes reported on 4 November 2019, the evidence shows that they were not completed until 10 January 2020 with the plaster patch around the vent still not complete. This establishes a 37-day delay from when the repair should have been completed at the property. The landlord had an obligation under its repairs policy to complete routine repairs within 30 days but failed in its responsibility causing evident distress and inconvenience to the resident.

In the resident’s stage one complaint to the landlord the resident highlighted that there was an issue with the heating at the property. The repair logs show that the landlord completed works on the boiler at the property on the 1 November 2019. On the 28 December 2019 the resident informed the landlord that that the property was at an unacceptable temperature due to the landlord’s failure to repair one of the radiators. The landlord’s heating team attended the property on 7 February 2020 and explained the controls to the resident but also confirmed a radiator in the loungeroom needed to be replaced. Regardless of the cause of the low temperature problem the landlord had an obligation to attend the property to investigate the issue. There was a 40-day delay in the landlord attending the property which is not in line with the landlord repairs policy.

The issue with heating in the winter months should have been given higher priority and responded to sooner as excessive cold is a Category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. If the resident was reporting temperatures between ‘two and ten degrees’ the landlord is obliged to take steps to ensure that its properties are free from Category 1 hazards. This delay represents a service failure on behalf of the landlord which caused great distress and inconvenience to the resident. The resident had to contact the landlord again on the 19 February 2020 asking when the radiator would be replaced, demonstrating a further failure to respond to the reports about heating issues with appropriate priority.

The landlord failed to acknowledge any delay in the repairs process and also did not offer the resident any compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in responding to reports about the temperature in the property. The resident was further inconvenience as they then had to chase up the landlord on multiple occasions to come and fix different issues at the property. Under the landlord’s repairs policy the resident is entitled to compensation for delays in repairs unless there is a valid reason. The policy highlights that if the work had not been completed within the advised timeframes the resident is to receive £10 and an extra £2 for every extra day he waited up to a maximum of £50.

It is not appropriate for a landlord to place caps on the level of compensation payable because this does not give the landlord an opportunity to take into account the individual circumstances of the complaint. In regard to the vent and the boxing around pipes there was a 37-day delay from when the works were meant to be completed. The resident is entitled to £10 plus £2 for every day the works are not complete (37x£2) = £74 + £10 = £84. In relation to the heating at the property as it was only a partial heating loss therefore the Ombudsman will calculate at a rate of £10 for the initial delay and then £3.50 per day for 40-day delay. The resident is entitled to (£3.5 x 40) + £10 = £150.

Complaints handling

The landlord operates a three-stage complaints policy; if the resident is dissatisfied with the response at the first stage, they can request a formal review of their complaint. The documentation provided shows the initial formal complaint from the resident was made on 3 December 2019. The landlord provided a formal response on the 28 December 2019 in line with the 15 days response time required under its complaints policy. The resident was unhappy with the decision and asked for a formal review on the 28 December 2019 within the required 10 days. The landlord provided its formal stage two response on the 22 January 2020, within the 15 working days required. The resident wrote to the landlord on 30 January 2020 and requested that his complaint be taken to stage three of its complaints procedure. On 28 February 2020, the landlord wrote to the resident and stated that his complaint would not be progressed to stage three of the landlord complaints procedure. There was six-day unexplained delay in responding to the residents complaint however due to the vast amount of documentation in this matter it is accepted that there was some small delay. It should be acknowledged that the landlord has limited resources and correspondence at this level is not helpful to either party and is unlikely to lead to a successful resolution to the complaint.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure in respect of the complaint about the landlord’s response to reports about repairs at the property and subsequent delays;

In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was no maladministration in respect of the complaint about the landlord’s complaint handling.

Reasons

It is evident that the landlord had accepted the obligation to repair the damage to the heating, vent and boxing around the pipes at the property. The landlord was made aware of the issue and failed to have it properly rectified within a reasonable timeframe as per its repairs policy. The landlord’s failure to repair caused unnecessary distress and inconvenience to the resident which it failed to appropriately compensate for.

The complaints handling by the landlord was in line with its internal policies. The landlord completed stages one and two of the complaint’s procedure within the correct 15-day time frame. It is acknowledged that there was a small 6-day delay in providing its stage three response but due to the amount of documentation in this matter it is accepted.

Orders

The Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay the resident compensation of £234 in respect of the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident in relation to the complaint about repairs at the property and subsequent delays.

The landlord is asked to make this payment to the resident within 4 weeks and to update this service when payment has been made.

Within two weeks, the landlord should contact the resident to make convenient appointments for all outstanding vent repairs to be completed at the property and for all repairs to be completed within 4 weeks.

The landlord is to confirm its compliance with the above orders to this Service within the targets set out above.

Recommendations

Establish a compensation policy in order to be open and transparent in the awards that residents are entitled to when there has been a recognised service failure.
The landlord should use this complaint as a learning exercise to identify where it can improve its procedures and communication with its residents to prevent similar complaints happening in future.
The landlord should review its complaints policy – earlier this year, the Ombudsman published a Complaint Handling Code which provides a framework for high-quality complaint handling and greater consistency across landlord’s complaint procedures. This applies to all members of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. It will enable landlord’s to resolve complaints raised by their residents quickly and to use the learning from complaints to drive service improvements. It sets out good practice for the sector that will allow landlord’s to respond to complaints effectively and fairly. The Code will help residents in knowing what to expect from their landlord when they make a complaint and how to progress their complaint. Non-compliance with the Code could result in the Ombudsman issuing complaint handling failure orders. The Code can be found here: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/ComplaintHandling-Code.pdf