Hornsey Housing Trust Limited (202014795)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202014795

Hornsey Housing Trust Limited

28 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for a replacement kitchen and bathroom.

Background and Summary

The resident holds an assured tenancy of a two bedroom first floor flat on a split level.
The resident says that the landlord agreed to replace her kitchen and bathroom in 2017. The resident says she has experienced flooding in the kitchen and bathroom due to disrepair and that this has remained unresolved for several years.
On 20 August 2019, a three bedroom house was offered to the resident. No other details about this offer have been provided to this service. The resident has said that this offer was not suitable due to the needs of her mother.
The resident lives with her daughter and her elderly mother. In a letter dated 3 November 2020 from Adult Social Services, the living conditions of the resident and her mother are described. The resident’s mother sleeps on a hospital bed in the lounge. The mother has ‘limited functional abilities’ and has right side weakness due to strokes, diabetes and other conditions. The resident’s mother is said to have difficulty managing bath transfers as well as her personal care safely and independently. The landlord says that no vulnerabilities are recorded for the resident or her daughter.
On 23 September 2020, the landlord made an appointment for ‘essential works to bathroom walls and tiles’. The landlord was unable to gain access. The landlord advised on 16 September that it could obtain a court order to carry out the necessary works. Following this, the resident contacted Shelter who made representations to the landlord regarding the bathroom works on her behalf seeking clarification on exactly what works were to be carried out.
In an email dated 20 November 2020 to the resident’s representative from Shelter, the landlord said it had considered the circumstances of the resident’s case and had decided that in order to minimise disruption to the resident and her household, it would arrange for tiling works to be completed at the same time as replacing the bath tub.
On 16 December 2020, in an internal email, the landlord says it had not been able to gain access to carry out works to replace the bath tub and that this had happened multiple times. A similar report was made by contactors on 21 December. This is disputed by the resident, who says that the contractors refused to carry out work due to the dust caused affecting her mother.
The landlord wrote to the resident on 24 December 2020 to confirm various issues discussed with her in a telephone conversation. The landlord said it was monitoring a neighbour dispute involving allegations of anti-social behaviour by both sides. These matters are being investigated under a separate complaint by this service with reference 202013324. The landlord also said it had asked the resident if she would attend a viewing of a possible vacant flat and the resident had said she would need to discuss this with the rest of her household.
On 13 January 2021, an appointment to carry out the agreed works had been made but the landlord said it was unable to get access.
On 27 January 2021, the landlord offered the resident a ‘two bedroom ground floor flat with a one bedroom flat in close proximity’. The resident said the offer of accommodation was unsuitable for her needs.
On 25 February 2021, this service wrote to the landlord and asked it to respond to the resident’s concerns about the failure to replace her bathroom through the complaints process.
On 11 March 2021, the landlord sent a stage one response to the resident. In the stage one response, the landlord said that:
1. A program of renewals was commissioned by the landlord in May 2017.
2. No commitment to replace the kitchen and bathroom was made in the letter as it says that a survey of works would need to be undertaken.
3. The appointment to carry out the survey of works was cancelled and never rescheduled by the resident.
4. An agreement was made with assistance from Shelter that a new bathtub, bathroom taps, and replacement tiles would be completed at the same time. This work had been scheduled for 13 January 2021.
5. The landlord said that 8 works appointments had been cancelled
6. The toilet and sink in the bathroom were not part of the agreed repair works
On 14 March 2021, the resident made a formal complaint about her request to replace the kitchen and bathroom. The resident said that:
1. the landlord had previously acknowledged a mistake confusing her mother’s former tenancy and her own.
2. the original commitments made in 2017 by the landlord had not been honoured.
On 23 March 2021, the landlord sent a stage one response. The landlord said that it had advised on 18 March 2021 via email that the resident’s kitchen and bathroom were included in the planned replacement program and that inspections would take place within two to three weeks.
On 24 March 2021, the resident escalated her complaint saying that the works could not be done ‘until her mother’s living arrangements had been resolved’. The resident said that contractors had said that the dust caused would affect her mother’s health.
On 26 March 2021, the landlord sent an email to the resident saying it was ‘willing to offer your mother alternative accommodation on a temporary or permanent basis at one of our sheltered accommodation schemes so the work in your home can be carried out.’ The work to be done was as specified in the agreement with Shelter.
On 6 April 2021, the landlord clarified what steps it had taken to try and resolve her mother’s living situation and asked the resident to clarify what else it could do.
On 20 April 2021, the landlord sent an email to the resident explaining what steps it had taken as part of the stage two of the complaints process. The landlord said that if the offer of sheltered accommodation was taken up, a support officer would attend her mother daily to ‘make sure she is comfortable and provide any support necessary’.
On 7 May 2021, the landlord sent the resident a letter stating that it understood that the resident was ‘unable to accept’ kitchen and bathroom refurbishment due to her circumstances and that the resident would be contacted again in approximately one year to see if her circumstances had changed and if the works could go ahead.
On 11 May 2021, the resident escalated her complaint to stage three saying that the landlord had written ‘complete falsehoods’ about her situation in the stage two response. The resident said that she had not refused access as suggested in the landlord’s response, but that the contractors had refused to start the work due to the impact the resulting dust would have on her mother’s health and wellbeing.
On the 26 May 2021, a virtual meeting took place to discuss the resident’s concerns as part of the stage three response to the complaint. A written response was then sent on 2 June 2021 which summarised the landlord’s findings at stage three as follows:
1. That the landlord had given reasonable notice of the intended works and inspections
2. That following the residents request for a replacement bathroom suite, the landlord had said it offered to put the resident on the replacement program for bathroom and kitchen but had been unable to gain access to carry out preliminary measurements and assessment.
3. Co-operation of tenants was critical to delivering its repair and replacement service
4. The complaint was not upheld
The resident approached this service on 30 June 2021 for resolution to the outstanding issues in her complaint as works in her bathroom had still not taken place.
A letter was sent to the resident by the landlord on 4 August 2021 outlining the resident’s housing options. The letter said due to the demand for three bedroom houses, the housing register was unlikely to provide a timely resolution to the residents ‘urgent housing needs.’ The letter said that the Occupational Therapist stated that the resident’s mother needed ‘to be housed with your family in order to be well supported due to your limited functional abilities and wellbeing.’ The landlord said it did not have three bedroom sheltered accommodation available which has a maximum size of two bedrooms.

Assessment and findings

The focus of this investigation is on the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for a replacement kitchen and bathroom. The landlord has responded to the anti-social behaviour complaint separately and since the internal complaints process was completed at a different time it remains appropriate for this complaint to be investigated separately.
There is no statutory obligation on the landlord to carry out improvement works but under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord has a duty to carry out repairs, including to the structure and exterior of the property.
Similarly, the landlord is expected to meet the home standard set by the Regulator of Social Housing. According to the Standard, for a home to be considered ‘decent’ it must: 1. Meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing 2. Be in a reasonable state of repair 3. Have reasonably modern facilities and services, and 4. Provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
The resident has reported that there are flooding problems in her kitchen and bathroom because of disrepair and the landlord therefore has an obligation to investigate and take appropriate action. However, there is no evidence of the resident making repeated complaints of an unresolved severe leak or flood. The emphasis of the complaint is rather on the unresolved request to replace the whole bathroom.
The tenancy agreement between the landlord and the resident says that the landlord will take “all reasonable steps to maintain and repair any space heating, water heating and sanitation systems and any fittings in your home for the supply of water, gas and electricity.”
The landlord’s repairs policy states that the landlord “is responsible for any installations we provide including basins, sinks, baths, toilets, flushing system and waste pipes.”
The notification sent to the resident on 16 September 2020 saying that the landlord could obtain a court order to carry out essential works to her bathroom is evidence that the landlord took its repair obligations seriously and was willing to respond to the resident’s disrepair concerns.
The landlord said in its stage one response that it arranged at least eight appointments to carry out repair work or carry out preliminary assessments prior to work being done. However, the resident disputes that she has refused access and says that contractors refused to carry out works as they could see that the dust caused by the works would adversely affect the resident’s elderly mother who sleeps in the lounge. Although there is no evidence that the contractors have refused to carry out the works, the landlord has shown by its later actions that it accepts the resident’s position that the housing situation needs to be addressed before the works can go ahead.
The landlord has attempted to provide resolution to this problem to enable commencement of the works. The landlord has offered sheltered accommodation for the resident’s mother on a temporary or permanent basis to enable the works.
The resident has said that sheltered accommodation would not be suitable since her mother benefits from living with her family. There is some evidence of this provided by the occupational therapist but the existence of these offers is indicative of the landlord’s approach to the case which has been responsive and resolution focussed despite the situation itself remaining unresolved.
The landlord has highlighted to the resident that a support officer could attend daily if her mother was rehoused temporarily in sheltered accommodation. Although social services have indicated that the resident’s mother should reside with her family for her wellbeing, the offer of temporary accommodation was reasonable in the circumstances and it was appropriate for the landlord to suggest this as a possible solution.
A further example of the landlord’s attempt to resolve matters is the correspondence with the representative from Shelter. The landlord showed flexibility in agreeing to adjust the works to minimise disruption although the work itself never took place.
It is not disputed by the landlord that the bathroom works have not been carried out. Although this has caused the resident distress and inconvenience as well as flooding issues, it is reasonable for the landlord to expect the resident to provide access to the property to enable works to be carried out or to engage in meaningful discussion about realistic housing solutions.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for a replacement kitchen and bathroom.

Reasons

The landlord has shown willingness and made reasonable efforts to attend the resident’s home and carry out repairs and improvements to the kitchen and bathroom. The resident has said the works cannot take place until her mother’s housing situation is resolved. The landlord has made reasonable attempts to resolve the complaint by offering housing solutions including offers of permanent or temporary sheltered accommodation. In the context of high demand and short supply of housing locally and nationally, these offers of resolution were appropriate and reasonable, although a recommendation has been made below for closer working with social services to try and resolve the outstanding issues in the case.

Orders and recommendations

It is recommended that a joint assessment of the resident’s needs takes place within four weeks between housing needs and adult social care. This assessment should be with a view to exploring a range of housing options to enable the bathroom renewal to take place as soon as possible.