Landlords can now complete the Complaint Handling Code Annual Submissions form. More information is available online.

Jigsaw Homes Tameside (202108701)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202108701

Jigsaw Homes Tameside

25 July 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 complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s air ventilation system.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. The resident hired a decorator, due to soot staining the walls, and the decorator suggested a vent at the property could be the cause of the staining. The resident reported the issue to the landlord on 25 January 2021, and its contractor attended the same day and confirmed the resident’s air ventilation unit was blocked. The unit was then replaced on 26 January 2021. The resident wanted to claim on the landlord’s liability insurance as the soot had caused damage to the interior of the property.
  3. The resident raised a complaint to the landlord on 13 July 2021, as she was dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the repair issue to the air ventilation unit. She said she was unaware of the unit and the landlord’s repairs policy said it was responsible for the maintenance of the unit.
  4. In the landlord’s final response to the complaint, it said that it had acted in line with its repairs timeframe to replace the air filtration system, once reported by the resident. It said that air ventilation units were dealt with as responsive repairs, rather than being replaced periodically as part of cyclical maintenance works. It added that as the tenancy had been succeeded from the resident’s parents meaning the property had not completed the voids process when the resident’s tenancy started, so it would not have completed maintenance checks at the start of her tenancy. It declined her compensation claim as the resident was responsible for internal decoration and the landlord’s insurer had found that the landlord was not liable for the damage. B
  5. In the resident’s complaint to this Service, she said she remained dissatisfied as she was not aware of the air ventilation unit, prior to the fault, and the landlord had failed to maintain it. She also said the landlord had failed to provide a carbon monoxide detector in line with regulations.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has referenced how the landlord’s failure to maintain the air ventilation unit has impacted her health. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments about her health. However, we are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. Therefore, we cannot determine whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s handling of repairs and problems with the resident’s health. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident. This is an accordance with paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which states the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure.
  2. The resident has also raised to this Service that she was dissatisfied that a carbon monoxide alarm had not been fitted in the property prior to the repair issue. However, there is no evidence that the resident has raised the issue in her complaint to the landlord. In accordance with paragraph 39(a) of the Ombudsman scheme, we will not consider complaints that “are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure”. This is because the landlord has to be given the opportunity to resolve any issues itself before the Ombudsman becomes involved. If the resident has any further concerns with the issue, it is recommended that she raises a new complaint with the landlord. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to her new complaint, she may be able to refer the matter to the Ombudsman as a separate complaint.

Repairs to the air ventilation system.

  1. In accordance with the landlord’s repairs policy, the landlord is responsible for repairs to ventilation units. The landlord’s repair policy defines an urgent repair as when “a situation is causing a tenant discomfort, inconvenience and nuisance and it is likely to lead to further deterioration if the problem persists”. It states that urgent repairs will be completed within five working days. The resident reported the repair issue on 25 January 2021, and the landlord replaced the air ventilation unit on 27 January 2021. As a result, it acted in line with its repairs policy and promptly resolved the issue.
  2. In her complaint, the resident said that she was dissatisfied as the landlord had not regularly maintained the air ventilation unit, and she said this had caused the damage to her property. In accordance with the tenancy agreement, the resident is responsible for reporting faults or damage to the property. Therefore, although the landlord is responsible for completing repairs, it is expected to be reactive, rather than proactive. It was therefore appropriate that the landlord explained it would not be responsible for providing yearly maintenance to the air ventilation unit. In its complaint response, the landlord provided further clarification and explained that unlike gas central heating boilers, it does not have a statutory requirement to carry out routine servicing on air ventilation units. Therefore, repairs to the air ventilation unit would be completed as responsive repairs, rather than cyclical maintenance carried out periodically. It was appropriate that the landlord provided a clear explanation outlining its responsibilities and appropriately managed the resident’s expectations. The resident also stated that she was not aware of the air ventilation unit and had not been advised by the landlord how to use it. The landlord explained in its final complaint response that as the resident had succeeded the tenancy from her parents, the property had not competed the usual voids process, therefore it did not have responsibility for showing the resident the unit, as she did not have a property viewing prior to the start of her tenancy.
  3. The landlord acted appropriately as it signposted the resident to her home contents insurance and its own liability insurer if she wished to claim for damage to her personal items and decor. The Ombudsman is unable to comment on the outcome of the insurance claim as this Service can only consider the actions of the landlord, and the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction over the landlord’s insurers. However, as the landlord’s liability insurer found that the landlord was not liable for the damage, the landlord would not be obliged to award compensation. Landlords are entitled to have liability insurance to cover the cost of liability claims and the landlord would not be expected to pay compensation for damage to the resident’s possessions outside the insurance process. In accordance with the tenancy agreement, the resident is responsible for completing internal decoration. Therefore, if the landlord was not found to be liable for the damage, it would not be obliged to repair any to the decoration.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of repairs to the resident’s air ventilation system.