Brent Council (202122635)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202122635

Brent Council

21 June 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 resident’s reports of water leaking into her property, and its handling of associated repairs to remedy damp and mould.

Background

  1. The resident has been a tenant of the landlord of a ground floor flat since 31 May 2021 as a result of a medical transfer. The resident has a chronic illness and mobility issues, and her son has asthma. The flat has a garage next to the main bedroom, and both share an adjoining wall.
  2. After moving into the property, the resident notified the landlord that there was water leaking into her garage. Upon investigation by it, asbestos was found on the garage roof, and this was removed as a result, but she reported that no replacement roof was installed by it.
  3. On 21 June 2021, the resident informed the landlord of a water leak in her property and that, as a result of the leak, damp and mould had begun to grow in her bedroom. She stated that water had leaked into her garage due to there being no replacement roof, and that this had then leaked into her bedroom via the adjoining wall. The landlord‘s contractors subsequently attended the property on 30 June 2021, and the roof was checked for the source of the leak, but this was not found.
  4. The landlord also unsuccessfully attempted to contact the occupant of the flat above the resident’s, in order to carry out further investigations to see if the source of the leak was there. Repair work was then carried out to her property by it on 31 August 2021, in order to stem the leak, after she had reported that nothing had been done in two months. The landlord’s surveyor subsequently attended the property on 3 September 2021 to assess the damage caused by the leak, and they advised that a dehumidifier be installed in order to help to dry out the wall, so that it could then complete the repairs there after two weeks. The resident then chased it about this being outstanding on 13 September 2021, and it requested the repairs on 16 September 2021.
  5. However, no further action was taken by the landlord until the resident made a stage one complaint to it on 22 September 2021 about its delay in responding to and resolving the water leak, and the damp and mould, which she reported had affected her and her son’s ill-health, and that she sought alternative sleeping arrangements to her bedroom for. On 19 October 2021, its stage one complaint response apologised for the delay in carrying out work in response to the surveyor’s findings, including in supplying the dehumidifier that it stated that it provided from 5 to 13 October 2021, and for its poor communication.
  6. The landlord advised the resident that its contractor would attend her property on 19 October 2021 in order to check if the walls were dry enough for repair work to be carried out, and to agree a start date for this with her for them to coat her garage roof and repair and redecorate her bedroom. The contractor nevertheless reportedly failed to attend an appointment for this on 1 November 2021, and the resident requested an escalation of her complaint to the final stage of the landlord’s complaints procedure on 29 October 2021. This was because the repair work had still not started, and she reported that it had not responded to her about the timeframes for the repair work and its further inspections for this, again querying where she could sleep during the work.
  7. Neither the landlord nor its contractors then attended the resident’s property again until 1 December 2021, when its inspection determined that the walls there had completely dried out, so that these were to be plastered and painted next that she would not need to be decanted for. However, no work was started as of 9 December 2021, when it issued its final stage complaint response, in which it once again apologised for the delay and the impact of this on her and her son’s health, and offered her £350 compensation in recognition of this. The landlord also agreed to contact the resident within one week to agree a mutually convenient date to commence the outstanding works.
  8. The landlord pointed out that some of the repair delays had been unavoidable as a result of it not having access to the flat above the resident‘s, however it agreed to review this to see how this could be improved in the future. It also acknowledged that its failure to complete works after she had chased it for them had led to her stage one complaint. Therefore, the landlord agreed to remind its staff to ensure that repair appointment commitments made to residents were tracked and monitored to be carried out as soon as reasonably possible, as well as to review repair complaint histories and how it communicated with contractors to minimise repair delays while awaiting drying out.
  9. The resident then complained to this Service that repair work had not commenced in her property, and that she had not been contacted by the landlord about this. She advised us that she still had to sleep in a room with mould on the walls despite her and her son’s medical conditions, being concerned about dust and debris if they had to stay there during the work. The landlord subsequently confirmed that a separate complaint from the resident about its delay in completing repairs to her garage had exhausted its complaints procedure on 10 May 2022, for which it awarded her £500 compensation and expected to commence works for from 6 June 2022. It also confirmed that this was necessary before repairs could be carried out to the water damage in the bedroom.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. Although the resident has complained about outstanding repairs to her garage, neither eight weeks have passed since this exhausted the landlord‘s complaints procedure nor has a designated person agreed or refused to refer that complaint to this Service. Therefore, under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this is not something that we can currently consider. Moreover, while the resident has reported that her and her son’s health have been affected by the condition of her property, we do not have the authority or expertise to determine liability or award damages for ill-health in the way that a court or insurer might, and so this is also outside the scope of this investigation.

Policies and procedures

  1. According to the landlord’s responsive repairs manual (the manual) emergency appointments will be made for issues such as severe leaks to make them safe within two hours and to rectify them within 24 hours. Under right to repair, the timescale to repair a leaking roof is seven days, although if the cost of repairs will be over £250, then the repair will be classified as normal routine work. If so, routine appointments are to be booked for a date within 28 calendar days, with later exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis, and repairs should be completed within an average of ten working days.
  2. The manual also states: “With our Vulnerable Residents it is important that we deal with them [e]ffectively and cohesively for the benefit of our Residents and [contractor]…[The contractor] will monitor the progress of works to these properties by undertaking… 1. Monthly report on status of works to [landlord]…” The manual says that is it vital to manage residents‘ expectations, including by explaining to them what to expect and when, and also states that health and safety issues must be given the correct priority.
  3. The landlord’s complaints policy states that stage one complaints will be responded to within 20 working days. With regard to final stage complaints, it is to provide a full response within 30 working days.
  4. The Ombudsman’s complaint handling code (the code) states that a stage one complaint response should be issued within ten working days from receipt of complaint. If this is not possible, an explanation and a date by when the stage one response will be received should be given to the resident. This delay should not exceed a further ten working days without good reason. With regard to stage two complaints, the code states that a response should be issued within 20 working days of a request to escalate and, if this is not possible, an explanation and a date by when the stage two response will be received should be given to the resident. This delay should not exceed a further ten working days without good reason.

The landlord’s response to resident’s reports of water leaking into her property, and its handling of associated repairs to remedy damp and mould

  1. The manual says that it is vital to manage the expectation of residents and, with regard to vulnerable residents, to deal with them effectively and cohesively. The landlord and its contractors failed to do so, however, with no warnings or explanations given to the resident, who had to find out what was happening herself by contacting it directly. For example, the landlord‘s contractor reportedly did not attend an appointment to agree a start date with the resident for them to coat her garage roof and repair and redecorate her bedroom on 1 November 2021.
  2. The landlord failed to arrange this, inform the resident that the contractor would not attend, or offer her an explanation as to why they could not do so. This was a failing by it under the manual to manage her expectations, and occurred after it had agreed to do so from the date of its stage one complaint response of 19 October 2021. The landlord‘s final stage complaint response also stated that, had it completed the works after being chased for these on 13 September 2021 following the report of the leak on 21 June 2021, the resident would not have felt the need to complain.
  3. In addition, the landlord failed to reasonably liaise with its contractor in order to ensure that the repair jobs that the landlord had raised for the leak, damp and mould at the resident’s property on 16 September 2021 were started and completed, and that the appointments for these were attended by the contractors. This was shown by and contributed to by the landlord failing under the manual to ensure that its contractors provided monthly reports to it on the status of these repairs for the vulnerable resident. The fact that it did not do so or keep her up to date with the delays, the reasons for these, and a date for its contractors to attend was a failure to meet its obligations in the manual. This was both with regard to how to deal with vulnerable residents, and in how to manage the expectations of residents.
  4. The manual also states that health and safety issues will be given the correct priority by the landlord. According to the resident, the delays in the outstanding leak, damp and mould works at her property had a long–term impact on her and her son’s health, for which it apologised. There is nevertheless no evidence that the landlord took their health conditions into account while it was investigating the works, or while the delays were ongoing, even though it was aware that she was vulnerable.
  5. The landlord should have instead prioritised these repairs in light of the health of the resident and her son, given that she had been identified as vulnerable by it and had moved into the property due to a medical transfer, as well as her reports to it about this. As per the manual, a severe leak will be classed as an emergency repair and will be made safe within two hours, and completely resolved within 24 hours. Under the right to repair, if the cost of the work will be greater than £250, work should commence within 28 calendar days and should then be completed within ten working days.
  6. The leak was reported by the resident on 21 June 2021 and the landlord‘s contractors first attended this on 30 June 2021, seven working days after the report. Although until this point the severity of the leak had not been assessed, and neither had the cost of repair, so the justification for this was unclear. The fact that the leak had affected the main bedroom of a vulnerable resident, allowing for the growth of mould and damp, suggests that the landlord should have at least assessed the severity of the leak and the health and safety implications of this for her and her son sooner.
  7. While under the right to repair the works should have commenced within 28 calendar days on 19 July 2021 and then been completed within ten working days by 2 August 2021, the landlord did not stem the leak at property until 31 August 2021. On 30 June 2021, the source of the leak could not be found from the roof of the resident’s garage by its contractors, and it had unsuccessfully tried to contact the occupier of the flat above hers, but this did not explain why the leak was not stemmed sooner, instead of two months after it had attended this.
  8. The landlord subsequently advised that it planned to start work to the resident’s garage in the week commencing 6 June 2021, and that this was necessary before repairs could be carried out to the water damage in the bedroom, with some of its repair delays being unavoidable due to its lack of access to her upstairs neighbour’s flat. However, this did not explain all of the delays, its lack of prior works to the garage and then her bedroom, why she was not provided with an estimated start date for the work in the bedroom, and the lack of updates on the delays.
  9. The landlord did attempt to remedy the situation for the resident in its complaint responses by acknowledging its failings including its repair delays such as not providing her with a dehumidifier from 3 September to 5 October 2021, its poor communication, and the impact on her and her son. Following notification by her, it additionally chased inspections and appointments, reminded its staff to track and monitor repair appointments for them to be carried out as soon as reasonably possible and check repairs complaint histories, and reviewed its communications with its contractors to minimise any unnecessary delays while awaiting drying out.
  10. The landlord also attempted to remedy the situation by offering the resident £350 compensation in recognition of its failings in respect of the leak, damp and mould repairs at her property, as well as a subsequent £500 in compensation for its failings in relation to completing repairs to her garage that were required before the works to the property could start. Moreover, it responded to her concerns about seeking alternative sleeping arrangements during these repairs for reasons including her and her son’s ill-health by inspecting her property on 1 December 2021, and finding that they would not need to be decanted for these.
  11. It is nevertheless of concern that the resident reported this, and that the scope of the landlord’s repairs to the property might have increased in the interim, as well as that its above compensation offers did not recognise her further wait between the latest offer on 10 May 2022 and the beginning of the works in the week of 6 June 2022. It is additionally concerning that neither its compensation nor its other actions to try and put things right in her case recognised its failures to follow the manual with regard to her being a vulnerable person, or in respect of health and safety issues. The landlord has therefore been ordered and recommended below to remedy these failings with proportionate further compensation and actions, in line with this Service’s remedies guidance.
  12. On a separate note, the landlord’s complaints policy states that it will issue a stage one complaint response within 20 working days, and that it will aim to provide a stage two complaint response within 30 working days. The code states that a stage one response by a landlord must be given within 10 working days of receipt of complaint, and a stage two complaint response within 20 working days from the escalation request. Therefore, the landlord’s complaint policy fails to adhere to the timeframes in the code, which it has been recommended to correct below.


Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s reports of water leaking into her property, and its handling of associated repairs to remedy damp and mould.

Orders and recommendations

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident the £850 total compensation that it previously awarded her within four weeks, if she has not received this already.
    2. Pay the resident £500 further compensation within four weeks, in recognition of her subsequent wait for repairs from 10 May to 6 June 2022, and its failures to follow its responsive repairs manual with regard to her being a vulnerable person, or in respect of health and safety issues.
    3. Contact the resident within four weeks to provide her with an update on the status of the repairs to her garage and to the rest of the property, the timescale for the completion of any outstanding works to them, and monthly status updates on these repairs until their completion.
    4. Provide the resident with details within four weeks as to how to make a liability insurance claim to it or its insurers for the damages that she has reported to her and her son’s health as a result of outstanding repairs.
  2. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Review its complaints policy to ensure that this complies with this Service’s complaint handling code at https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/landlords-info/complaint-handling-code/.
    2. Reassess whether, in light of the resident’s and her son’s health conditions, they can be temporarily decanted until the works in her property have been completed.
    3. Review its staff’s training needs in relation to their application of its responsive repairs manual’s requirements for vulnerable residents and health and safety issues.
  3. The landlord shall contact this Service within four weeks, to confirm that it has complied with the above orders and whether it will follow the above recommendations.