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Tower Hamlets Council (202003166)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202003166

Tower Hamlets Council

23 November 2021


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 resident complains about:
  • the landlord’s failure to switch on the heating in line with its contractual obligations in 2019.
  • the heating and hot water issues experienced in 2020 which led to unnecessary charges
  1. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Jurisdiction

  1. 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.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 39(d) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which states ‘The Ombudsman will not consider complaints, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion were brought to the Ombudsman’s attention normally more than 12 months after they exhausted the member’s complaints procedure, the following aspect of the complaint is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction:
  3. The resident’s complaint about the landlord’s failure to switch on the heating as per its contractual obligations in September 2015.
  4. The resident has provided the Ombudsman with email correspondence from 8 September 2015 in which he had raised concerns that the heating was not switched on as of 8 September 
  5. Whilst we have not seen any further documentation from 2015, due to the time that has elapsed, the Service would not be able to consider events that took place at that time.

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord. The property is a two-bedroom flat.
  2. Tower Hamlets Homes Responsive Repairs Policy for General Build, Gas, Mechanical & Electrical and Specialist Repairs states:

a)      5.1.3 The type of repairs that Tower Hamlets Homes will carry out for tenants include repairs to heating and hot water.

 

b)      6.1 When a repair is reported, we will tell our residents when they should expect the repair to be completed according to our priority system

 

c)      6.2 General repairs are split into two main categories, depending upon the urgency of the work. Each category has a target time limit to complete the job: Emergency 24 hours (2 hour response to make safe and prevent danger if required, with additional works completed within 24 hours) and normal priority / routine (20 working days).

 

d)      6.3 Emergency repairs

 

  1. 6.3.1 Repairs which are treated as an emergency are generally those that have serious effects on people or damage to the home. They include complete loss of heating in winter (the defined winter period), where no alternative heating is available (NB: emergency action may be provision of temporary heating) and loss of hot water.

Summary of events

  1. On 2 June 1998  the Council wrote to residents to advise that the heating season was being extended across the borough. It advised that the heating period would be from 15 September to 31 May the following year.
  2. On 15 September 2019 the resident wrote to the Mayor to raise concerns with the heating system. He explained that he believed the landlord was defaulting on its contractual obligation and should be compensating the residents for its failure to provide heating. He explained that the problem resulted in increased electrical costs due to the use of electric heaters.
  3. On 17 September 2019 the resident wrote again to advise that the heating had not been turned on.
  4. On 10 January 2020 the landlord wrote to the Mayor to acknowledge that the heating was not turned on in time in accordance with the agreement by Council Members in 1998. It confirmed going forward it would be adhering with the agreement. It went on to explain that residents were not overcharged despite the boiler being turned on late as all tenants are required to pay these charges via rent and the costs are spread over 52 weeks. The landlord also explained that it would be supplying the resident with the energy bill from 2015 to 2019 as per his freedom of information request.
  5. On 25 March 2020 the resident wrote to the Mayor again raising concerns about the heating and the compensation that was due.
  6. The landlord states it received an email dated 20 October 2020 in the repairs folder awaiting action. It noted that It would be looking into any other emails sent to it reporting  no heating. A work order was raised for hot water issue.
  7. The landlord has provided work orders regarding heating and hot water in October and November 2020. The system notes indicate that the repair was ongoing for 5 weeks.
  8. The resident emailed the landlord on 21 and 26 October 2020 to advise that he had no heating. He raised concerns about another elderly resident who had no heating for weeks.
  9. The resident raised the complaint about the lack of heating on 26 October 2020 and the landlord acknowledged this on 27 October advising he would receive a response by 24 November 2020.
  10. On 24 November 2020 the landlord issued its first response in which it explained that it was aware of disruptions to the heating and hot water in October 2020. It advised that its repair systems confirmed that the issues were resolved within the correct time frames and therefore the resident was not entitled to compensation.
  11. According to internal records the complaint was partially upheld because it appeared that the company responsible for the repairs failed to update residents with the planned repairs that took place or the progress of works.
  12. Following communications from the resident about his dissatisfaction with the initial response, he requested the complaint be escalated on 4 December 2020. He wrote again to the landlord on 7 December about the problems with the level of the heating as there was insufficient hot water for more than two people to take a shower. He raised concerns that there was insufficient heating or insulation within the properties in the building and requested the landlord increase the temperature on the thermostat to allow for more heating in the properties. The resident provided a letter from another tenant raising concerns about the hot water temperatures. The complaint escalation was acknowledged by the landlord on 8 December 2020.
  13. Again, the landlord’s internal records indicate that work was being carried out on the site from November 2019.
  14. On 24 December 2020 the resident emailed the landlord to confirm that the temperature on the thermostat was raised to acceptable levels.
  15. On 22 January 2021 the landlord provided its final response to the resident. In the response the landlord noted that the resident requested compensation for the loss of heating in 2019 (15 September 2019 to 01 October 2019) and the loss of heating in 2020. The landlord advised that due to average temperatures in the summer of 2019, it had decided to turn the boiler rooms on across the borough on 1 October. As there was a delay in the provision of heating services, and this had not been communicated to residents, it agreed to compensate the resident for the loss in 2019. With regards to 2020, the landlord explained that it found no specific reports from the resident during the period of the planned works to resolve heating and hot water issues. It went on to explain that the planned works were carried out within the prescribed timescales and  no compensation would be offered for the loss of services in 2020.
  16. On the same day the resident completed the Compensation Acceptance Form. Initially the compensation was £39 however following further queries about the calculations from the resident the amount was amended to £45 as per the compensation confirmation letter of 18 February 2021.
  17. On 22 January 2021, the landlord wrote to the resident to advise that there would be disruption to the heating and hot water supply to the property due to work required in the boiler room. The work was due to commence on 26 January 2021.
  18. Following the landlord’s final response, there was extensive communication between the parties on the issues raised within the complaint.
  19. On 26 February 2021 the landlord’s contractor wrote to the resident on behalf of the landlord to acknowledge problems with the heating and that repair work was ongoing to get this rectified.
  20. On 22 March 2021 the landlord wrote to the resident to advise that there would be disruption to the heating and hot water supply due to work being carried out in the property with the requirement to shut the supply. The work was arranged to be carried out on 25 March 2021.
  21. On 26 March 2021 the resident advised the landlord that residents had been wished for the replacement of the old pump due to the repeated breakdown and that the landlord had ignored this. The resident raised concerns about his right to compensation.
  22. There was further correspondence from the resident as the compensation was outstanding. According to the landlord’s internal records there was a delay in paying the compensation but in view of the wide spread problems caused by the work commissioned by the Council, it took the decision to offer an enhanced compensation package to residents and due to the number of cases involved it had taken longer than expected to get this agreed and communicated to residents.
  23. Notes of 1 June 2021 indicate the heating and hot water system had been working recently and the landlord was due to install a larger pump to help run the system for when the heating was to be turned on in September 2021.
  24. On 3 June 2021, the landlord provided a detailed letter to cover all the resident’s queries which had been made during the complaints process, but not fully addressed by previous responses:
  25. the landlord agreed that it was the managing agents for the council and that the responsive repairs were dealt with by its designated contractor.
  26. the landlord confirmed that since the resident raised the issues about the date on which it turned on the heating in 2019, it had acted in accordance with this. It confirmed the switch-on date was to be 15 September annually, and the season would last until 31 May annually.
  27. the landlord agreed that it would adhere to its compensation guidance, which provides for compensation for loss of heating or hot water. This compensation is intended to acknowledge the inconvenience and recompense for any alternative charges incurred.
  28. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s comments about the 2021 interruptions of heating and hot water supplies and queries about why compensation was not offered for these. It explained ordinarily, when there was planned downtime to any communal system, it was reinstated the same day. If any planned or unplanned outage lasted longer than that, then compensation would be payable in accordance with it’s compensation guidance.
  29. The landlord confirmed that it had replaced a pump in the sub-plant room, as this was undersized to meet demand. It acknowledged that this decision could have been taken sooner, however until the diversion works were completed, the extent of the issue was not fully known.
  30. It accepted that residents were paying for a service and that it had a duty to maintain the systems and ensure continuity of service. It also accepted that it had a duty to pay compensation in accordance with its compensation guidance and when there was a service outage this provided a fair and consistent approach. The landlord went on to explain that whilst the resident may not agree with its compensation guidance about when compensation was payable, this was a properly approved policy.
  31. The landlord confirmed that it had reconsidered the resident’s compensation concerns for the planned and unplanned outages in 2020. It confirmed the Council had now made a decision in relation to that situation and correspondence would be sent to all affected residents to explain the position and proposed remedy. The landlord has not provided us with a copy of this correspondence.

Assessment and findings

  1. I note that the resident has provided evidence to show that other residents have also raised concerns about the hot water and heating. For clarity, we are only looking at the complaints and aspects that have been raised by the resident. Any other residents’ concerns would need to be taken up with the landlord directly and those residents would need to bring their own complaints to the Ombudsman once they have exhausted the landlord’s complaint procedures.

The landlord failing to switch on the heating in line with its contractual obligations in 2019.

  1. The landlord has sufficiently addressed the resident’s concerns regarding the late turning on of the heating in 2019. It has acknowledged that this was done late, not in accordance with the 1998 agreement. It confirmed going forward it would adhere to the agreement and it seems to have done so in September 2020.
  2. In line with its compensation agreement, the landlord paid £45 redress to the resident to cover the 15 days that the resident was left without heating from 15 September 2019 to 1 October 2019. This was a reasonable level of redress in regards the issues the resident experienced in 2019. Whist the compensation was agreed, it is unclear whether this has been paid to the resident yet, so the Ombudsman has made a recommendation below.

The heating and hot water issues experienced in 2020 and that he was charged for the periods that did not have heating.

  1. As per section 6.1 of the landlord’s repair policy, residents will be notified of repairs and when the repairs are expected to be completed. With regards to the works that were carried out in 2020, the landlord has not provided the Ombudsman with any correspondence that was sent to the resident to advise of the planned works. There is indication within the landlord’s internal notes that this work did take time to complete but it is unclear exactly how many times the heating was cut off and how long these outages lasted. It was unreasonable that the landlord failed to let the residents know and subsequently failed to provide the resident with guidance on how long the work would take. Therefore, whilst the landlord advises that the works were completed within its guidelines, in line with section 6.1 of its repairs policy, there was insufficient communication with the residents about these works.
  2. Furthermore although it has advised works were completed within its timescales the Ombudsman has not seen sufficient evidence of this. Therefore taken all together, there was service failure in the landlord’s actions

The landlords handling of the complaint

  1. In line with the landlord’s complaint handling procedure, the stage one response was issued within the correct timescales. The stage 2 response was issued within 30 working days of the acknowledgment. The landlord’s compensation guidance states stage two complaints will generally be responded to within 20 working days. In more complex cases, the Council may extend the timeline by a further 10 working days. Based on this information, it was not unreasonable that the landlord took the 30 working days due to the nature of the case. This also acknowledges the fact that the   case was being considered during December when a lot of services have reduced staff capacity due to the holiday season, further compounded by the shortage of staff through the pandemic.
  2. Whilst the landlord has internally noted the complaint was partially upheld at stage one, this is not apparent from the letter that it issued to the resident. There was no apology for the lack of communication from the repairs company about the planned work. At stage two it also did not acknowledge or apologise that the resident was not kept informed about the planned works.
  3. On the Ombudsman has given consideration to the letter issued on 3 June 2021. Whilst this was almost 5 months after the resident’s stage two response from the landlord, this letter provided an in depth response to the resident’s concerns that had been raised throughout the complaint process. Based on the information provided, the landlord’s final response did not cover all the points he had raised. Whilst I appreciate some of the information could only be clarified following further works, the landlord should have provided some of this information within its stage two response following a thorough investigation. Given that the landlord failed to do so,  this amounted to service failure in the way the complaint was handled. It also acknowledged that there had been both planned and unplanned works in 2020, when its original first and second stage responses made no mention of unplanned works.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55(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 failure to switch on the heating in 2019 in line with its contractual obligations, satisfactorily.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s complaint about the heating and hot water issues in 2020.
  3. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 39(d) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme the Service is unable to look at the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s failure to switch on the heating as per its contractual obligations in September 2015 as this is out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
  4. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.

Reasons

  1. The landlord acknowledged its failings in 2019 and offered compensation in line with its compensation policy.
  2. The landlord did not ensure that its contractors provided updates on planned works that took place in 2020. It also was not clear about the unplanned works which took place in 2020 or provide an indication into any unplanned works (indicated in the letter of 3 June 2021). The landlord also did not provide clear time frames as to how long these works would take. As the landlord has confirmed the council is intending to compensate all the residents for heating issues in 2020, this further suggests that failings were recognised later than necessary.
  3. The landlord has advised us that the resident will be paid £100 compensation in recognition of the issues experienced in 2020.
  4. The landlord was not transparent in explaining its outcome to the resident about his complaint regarding the heating and hot water in 2020. Whilst it explained that these were planned works completed within its timescale, it did not apologise to the resident that they were not kept informed about these works and how long they would take in both the first and second stage response. The landlord could have addressed the resident’s complaint points in more detail as per its correspondence of June 2021.

Orders

  1. In light of the findings of this investigation, within three weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
  • Pay the resident £100  in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by its service failure with regards to the heating and hot water issues experienced in 2020. This is in addition to the £100 already offered by the landlord. The landlord should also provide a clear time frame as to when the resident will receive the compensation.
  • Provide confirmation that the £45 compensation agreed with respect to the heating issue of 2019 was paid to the resident. If it has not paid this yet, the landlord is to do so and confirm that this has now been actioned.
  • Pay the resident £50 compensation in recognition of the way it handled the resident’s complaint.

Recommendations

  • The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord should review its processes to ensure that there are clear, dated records of all the works that have been arranged, worked on and completed.