Southern Housing Group Limited (202204844)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202204844

Southern Housing Group Limited

12 January 2023

 

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 concerns how the landlord handled:
    1. The resident’s reports of fly tipping and rubbish being dumped at the rear of the building.
    2. The resident’s request to have CCTV installed.
    3. Repairs to the lock of the rear gate.

Background

  1. The resident in an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a flat in a communal building.
  2. The resident has been in correspondence with the landlord since June 2020 about rubbish being dumped in the communal bin store and that the rear access gate did not have a lock, which had resulted in an increase in the fly tipping. In May 2021, the resident emailed the landlord photographs of the condition of the bin store and noted that as a result of the amount of rubbish that had been dumped there, it was not possible to access the recycling bins. The landlord’s records state that the rubbish was cleared on 14 May 2021 and that it had raised a work order to repair the gate, which it expected to be completed by 24 May 2021.
  3. The resident wrote to the landlord on 24 July 2021 and requested to raise a formal complaint into how it was handling the issues. He described the elements of his complaint as:
    1. He had been unable to gain access to the bins in the communal bin store due to the amount of rubbish that had been dumped around them.
    2. He had reported this to the landlord numerous times over the last two years but despite the landlord arranging for the rubbish to be cleared, more rubbish had been left there.
    3. He informed the landlord that the lock of the rear access gate was broken two years ago. A contractor attended and removed the lock from the gate, but a new lock had not been installed.
    4. As a resolution to the complaint the resident requested that a new lock be installed to the gate and that if that did not reduce the amount of fly tipping, that the landlord consider installing CCTV. The resident noted that other buildings in the scheme had CCTV cameras installed.
  4. In its complaint responses, the landlord:
    1. Informed the resident that letters from both it and the local authority had been sent to all residents of the building concerning the correct disposal of rubbish.
    2. Stated that it had been in touch with its repairs team about installing a lock on the gate. The landlord apologised to the resident for the length of time it was taking for this issue to be resolved and that the repair should have been completed by August 2021.
    3. Explained that as the installation of CCTV would result in an increase of the service charge, it would require the agreement of the other residents in the building for it to be installed. The landlord also explained that there were issues with on-site storage of the CCTV equipment in the building. It had asked its estates management team to write to the other residents to see if there was collective agreement before taking the matter further.
  5. In referring the case to this Service, the resident described the outstanding issues of the complaint as the landlord had yet to repair the gate and that rubbish was still building up in the communal bin store. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested that the landlord repaired the gate, install CCTV in the building and take action against the residents who had been dumping rubbish in the bin store.

Assessment and findings

Relevant policies and procedures

  1. Section 3.5 of the tenancy agreement sets out the landlord’s repair responsibilities. This, in part, states that the landlord is responsible for the upkeep of “the structure and exterior of the property”. Section 3.8 of the tenancy agreement relates to repairs of communal areas. This states that the landlord will “take reasonable care to keep the common entrances, halls, stairways, lifts, passageways, rubbish chutes, paths, grounds, roadways, parking areas, communal gardens and such other facilities that we provide from time to time (including their electric lighting, time clocks, entry phones and glazing to communal windows) in reasonable repair, clean tidy and fit to be used by you or other people who live in or visit the property or the scheme”.
  2. Section 4.26 of the tenancy agreement relates to the tenant’s responsibility for rubbish disposal and care of the communal areas. This states that the tenant agrees to “dispose of any rubbish only in the bins provided or according to other local arrangements in order to help keep the common parts of the scheme clean, tidy and free from obstruction (this applies to areas such as communal passageways and stairways and scheme roadways, pathways, courtyards, gardens and areas in the immediate vicinity of the scheme, etc.). Persistent breaches may result in you losing your tenancy”.
  3. Section 5.6 of the tenancy agreement relates to right to consultation and states that the landlord will “consult you and also any tenants’ group we have recognised before making changes in matters of housing management, or undertaking any long-term maintenance or improvement work which is likely to have a substantial effect on you”.
  4. The landlord’s repairs policy defines its repair categories as “Emergency”, “Routine” and “Communal”. Communal repairs are defined by the landlord as repairs to “the communal areas and facilities that you have shared use of with your neighbours” and that it aims to complete these types of repairs “as quickly as possible”.
  5. The landlord’s upkeep of common parts policy sets out its obligations in maintaining the communal areas of the building and scheme. In regard to bin storage areas, the policy states that it is the landlord’s responsibility to “keep communal rubbish areas (where these are provided) clean and tidy”.

How the landlord handled the resident’s reports of fly tipping and rubbish being dumped at the rear of the building

  1. Once the landlord had received the resident’s reports about the condition of the communal bin store, it had a duty to respond to the issue in line with the obligations set out in the tenancy agreement and its published policies and procedures. Overall, the landlord has acted appropriately to the reports. It’s records and internal correspondence show that when it was informed by the resident of excess rubbish being dumped in the store, it arranged to have it removed.
  2. When the resident raised a formal complaint, the landlord reviewed its refuse collection policy to determine if it should be changed to twice-weekly from its current schedule of one collection per week. Ultimately it decided to keep it’s refuse collection schedule unchanged and arranged for a bulk collection contractor to visit the scheme to remove excess rubbish when needed.
  3. Therefore, there is no evidence of service failure in how the landlord responded to this element of the complaint. It acted on the resident’s reports and considered changes to its refuse collection procedures as a result of the resident’s complaint. It also arranged to have the rubbish cleared in line with the obligations set out in the upkeep of common parts policy.
  4. In bringing the case to this Service, the resident has requested that the landlord take action against other residents of the building who had been fly tipping. While the landlord does have the right to take action, in line with the tenancy agreement detailed above, as a result of data protection legislation it would not be able to provide detail of any action it took against another tenant to the resident unless it had received written permission from that tenant. Therefore, the landlord would not be expected to provide this type of information to the resident.

How the landlord handled the resident’s request to have CCTV installed

  1. The resident requested that CCTV be installed in the building to monitor the communal bin store. The resident noted that other buildings in the scheme had CCTV. The landlord explained that there were issues of space in the resident’s building that would make it difficult to install CCTV equipment. The landlord also explained that as installing CCTV would increase the service charge, it would require the consent of the other residents of the building prior to installation.
  2. The landlord’s position is in line with section 5.6 of the tenancy agreement on the right to consultation detailed above. It was therefore appropriate for it to decline the residents request to install CCTV prior to consultation the other residents and identifying solutions to the logistical issues surrounding the installation of the equipment. Therefore, there is no evidence of service failure in how the landlord handled this element of the complaint.
  3. It was reasonable for the landlord to start the consultation process and contact the other residents to receive their feedback on the installation of CCTV in the building. It is not clear from the evidence provided what the result of this consultation was or what the landlord’s decision was regarding the feasibility of having CCTV installed in the building. It is therefore recommended that the landlord write to the resident and provide this information, if it has not done so already.

How the landlord handled repairs to the lock of the rear gate

  1. It is not in dispute that the lock from the gate had been removed following a previous report from the resident, and that the lack of a lock had exacerbated the build-up of rubbish at the bin store.
  2. The landlord raised a work order on 4 August 2021 to repair the lock on the gate. This had a target completion date of 14 August 2021. In the stage one complaint response sent on 27 August 2021, the landlord informed the resident that it had arranged a meeting with its repairs team to discuss the issue and agree an appointment date. In the stage two complaint response sent on 29 November 2021, the landlord apologised that the lock had yet to repaired and noted that the work should have been completed by the end of August 2021. It then informed the resident that the matter had been escalated internally in order to confirm an installation date. When the resident asked this Service to consider the case on 9 June 2022, he stated that the lock had yet to be repaired.
  3. While the landlord has acknowledged that it did not arrange a repair in a timely manner and apologised to the resident, it did not provide an explanation as to why it was not able to arrange an appointment. Moreover, the correspondence and records provided by the landlord as part of its evidence for the case do not show that the landlord had kept the resident informed on the status of the repair.
  4. Therefore, there has been maladministration by the landlord in how it handled the repair to the gate and for the poor communication the resident received about the status of the work during the time period considered in this report, which is from 24 January 2021 (six months before the formal complaint was raised) up to 9 June 2022 when the case was Duly Made. In order to fully resolve this element of the complaint, it would be appropriate for the landlord to pay compensation to the resident to recognise the delay and the inconvenience this had caused.
  5. The Ombudsman’s own remedies guidance (which is available on our website). recommends a payment of £100 to £600 for considerable service failure or maladministration which adversely affected the complainant, but there was no permanent impact. This includes distress and inconvenience, time and trouble, disappointment, loss of confidence, and delays in getting matters resolved. It would therefore be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident a total of £450 compensation, made up of: £300 compensation for the ten-month delay in arranging an appointment to repair the lock of the rear gate and a further £150 compensation for its poor level of communication in not keeping the resident properly updated on the progress of the work, and for the inconvenience caused to the resident in having to chase the landlord for updates on the status of the gate repair.
  6. It is not clear from the evidence provided whether the gate was repaired after the Duly Made date of 6 June 2022. Therefore, it is recommended that the landlord, if it has not done so already, write to the resident to confirm the status of the gate repair. The landlord should also consider if further compensation should be offered for the delays in repairing the gate after 6 June 2022. It should then write to the resident to inform him of its decision and explain how it was reached.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of how it handled:
    1. The resident’s reports of fly tipping and rubbish being dumped at the rear of the building.
    2. The resident’s request to have CCTV installed.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of how it handled repairs to the rear gate.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to pay to the resident £450 compensation in respect of the failures identified in this report with regards to the repairs to the lock of the rear gate. This payment should be made within four weeks of the date of this report. The landlord should update this Service when payment has been made.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Write to the resident to confirm the status of the gate repair if it has not done so already. The landlord should also consider if further compensation should be offered for the delays in repairing the gate after 6 June 2022. It should then write to the resident to inform him of its decision and explain how it was reached.
    2. Write to the resident to inform him of the result of its consultation with the other residents in the building about the installation of CCTV, if it has not done so already.