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Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust Limited (202014351)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202014351

Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust Limited

25 March 2022


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns related to the water pressure.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the complainant which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The resident submitted a complaint to her landlord as she was unhappy with the handling of, and length of time taken to resolve the issues she had reported with low water pressure.
  2. On 2 November 2021, the landlord issued its initial response to the complaint which was followed up by its final response on 15 December. It explained that there had been delays for a few different reasons, including pandemic restrictions, the resident’s allergies and difficulties accessing the leaseholder owned flat below. However, it accepted that it could have kept the resident better informed and would consider paying compensation. It asked the resident to complete a form with details of the compensation they were seeking.
  3. The resident contacted this service as they remained unhappy with the landlord’s final response and agreed to take part in our mediation process. They explained they were seeking compensation of £2000 and wouldn’t accept less than £1500 to resolve the complaint.
  4. On 8 March 2022, our service contacted the landlord to let it know the resolution the resident was seeking.
  5. On 14 March, the landlord agreed to offer compensation of £1600. Our service then called the resident to let them know that the landlord had agreed to the outcome they had said they would accept in resolution of their complaint.
  6. Paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:
    1. “At any time, the Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.”
  7. I am therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should pay the resident the agreed amount of compensation within the next three weeks and provide confirmation of payment to this service.