Anchor Hanover Group (201910311)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 201910311

Anchor Hanover Group

5 January 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 resident complains about the summer temperature settings of the district heating system.

Background and summary of events

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant since 2011 of a studio flat on the first floor of a residential block.
3. The tenancy agreement states there is a monthly hot water and heating charge payable as part of the service charge. The landlord will maintain and repair any system it has provided for heating.

Summary of events

4. On 21 June 2019, the resident reported that there was no heating in his property between 8pm and 6am.
5. On 24 June, the resident formally complained about the lack of heating between 8pm and 6am and that he had been informed the heating was on a summer setting and the communal gauge noted the heating was at an acceptable level in the communal areas, however it was not in his property. He noted in the afternoons the heating would be on when it was not necessary. He requested the landlord reinstate the heating during 8pm to 6am.
6. On 1 July, the landlord responded noting that it had spoken with its energy team following its conversation with him on 21 June, and requested that it switch the summer heating settings off. It noted this had been actioned immediately. It noted it had also found a fault relating to a pump in the system at the time of his complaint, which could possibly be affecting the heating, and it would be investigating the issue further.
7. On 22 July, the landlord’s contractors attended to investigate the issue with the pump.
8. On 1 August, the resident escalated his complaint noting that 10 days had passed since he was advised the faulty pump was being inspected. He noted there was still an issue with the heating as it was not on in the early hours of the morning when he woke up.
9. On 16 August, the landlord provided its stage 2 response. It noted the heating system worked on a control system and would turn on once the temperature outside dropped. It confirmed the system was set to the winter setting meaning it would work at its optimum. It confirmed the faulty pump had also been repaired and as a secondary measure it was repositioning its outside sensors to try and get a more accurate reading of the temperature outside, which controlled the automatic switching on and off of the heating system.
10. It noted the ambient temperature of the communal areas was 26 degrees, but could be cooler in his flat if windows were open. It explained if there was no change following the repositioning of sensors, the resident would need to increase the temperature by other means like electric radiators. It apologised for any disappointment its response caused.
11. On 21 October, the landlord received the resident’s response that he previously controlled the heating in his property and the landlord should return the system to its former state.
12. On 26 October, the landlord provided its final response. It noted that the complaint had been investigated and it had acted fairly, impartially and within the normal framework and all concerns had been previously addressed.

Assessment and findings

13. Residents are entitled to central heating or other equipment for space heating (radiators, etc) in every occupied room of a property, and landlords are obligated to provide this. It’s worth noting there are legally required temperatures associated with this as well; when the temperature drops below minus 1°C, any rooms designated as bedrooms should have the facilities to be heated to a minimum of 18°C whilst any living rooms should be able to be heated to at least 21°C. Whilst these are in relation to winter months, there are no such requirements for summer months.
14. Following the resident’s complaint, the landlord responded immediately by requesting that its energy team revert the heating settings to the winter setting. It also identified that works were needed to the system, and this was carried out within a reasonable period of time.
15. The landlord has explained that the system is set to come on when outside temperatures drop, this is standard for communal heating systems. Whilst the inside of an individual’s property may be cooler than that of communal areas, the landlord would be expected to ensure that there is a fair way of controlling heating for all residents, and by relying on the outside temperature is the fairest way to do so.
16. The Ombudsman also notes that the landlord took additional precautions with the external sensors to ensure that it was receiving accurate readings and, in any event, given the time of year, the outside temperature was far warmer than the legal temperatures required for heating to need to be at 18 degrees Celsius.

Determination (decision)

17. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint about the summer temperature settings of the district heating system.

Reasons

18. The landlord acted reasonably by considering the resident’s reports, carrying out a repair and adjusting its sensors to ensure accurate temperature readings. The temperature outside did not fall below the legal threshold.