The new improved webform is online now! Residents and representatives can access the form online today.

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202012737)

Back to Top

 

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202012737

London & Quadrant Housing Trust

10 September 2021

 

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 concerns the landlord’s response to the resident’s requests for it to replace her poorly performing heating system.

Background and summary of events

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
  2. The property is a flat, located in a building of similar properties.
  3. The resident initially contacted the landlord on 18 May and 10 July 2020 to advise it that she had received a large electricity bill, which her energy supplier had suggested might have been generated by her storage heaters. The landlord advised her that it would carry out an electrical inspection once the restrictions imposed by the corona virus pandemic eased.

Summary of events

  1. The landlord’s internal records show that a work order was raised for the resident’s property on 7 September 2020. This was followed by its internal communication, dated 29 September 2020, which stated that she had chased it to ask whether it would carry out an electrical inspection there, as the weather was becoming cold and she had a new-born child in the property.
  2. The resident then chased the landlord for the above electrical inspection again via telephone on 6 and 7 October 2020, and she requested that a stage one complaint about this be raised by it on 13 October 2020.
  3. On 14 October 2020, the resident sent a letter to the landlord to advise it that:
  1. She was unhappy with the lack of heat from her heating system, and with the cost of running this.
  2. She had contacted it on multiple occasions between 2015 and 2017 in respect of this matter.
  3. The cost of running the current heating system had impacted her mental health.
  4. The current heating system was “struggling to keep up with demand”, and the heat was released too quickly, which resulted in her having to either use the booster function or alternative heating methods.
  5. She found its response, that the current heating system was functional and no upgrades were available, to be “unsatisfactory”, as her neighbour’s heating system was upgraded earlier that year.
  6. An independent electrician had advised her that a gas central heating system would be more efficient, which her and her neighbours in the building agreed with, resulting in a letter to it to this effect being signed by multiple people.
  1. The landlord wrote to the resident on 16 October 2020 to advise her that it would provide a response to her stage one complaint within ten working days.
  2. The landlord’s internal communication, dated 4 November 2020, stated that it had attended the resident’s property and found that the storage heaters there were in working order, and that she chose to use the oil radiator because of the high cost of running the heating system. It also advised her to contact her energy supplier for her meter to be assessed.
  3. The landlord issued a stage one complaint response to the resident on 20 November 2020, in which it confirmed that it attended the property on 4 November 2020 and found that “the heating appliances [were] fit for purpose and [would] not be replaced”, and so it recommended contacting the energy supplier.
  4. On 1 February 2021, the resident contacted the landlord to escalate her complaint to the final stage of its complaints procedure. Furthermore, she confirmed that she had contacted her energy supplier, which had assessed her electric meter and found that this was functional, and had advised her that the heating system needed to be replaced but had refused to put this in writing.
  5. On 8 February 2021, the landlord issued its final stage complaint response to the resident, in which it:
    1. Confirmed that two members of its staff had inspected her heating system and found that all of the storage heaters were functional.
    2. Advised that it could not discuss the replacement of her neighbour’s storage heaters.
    3. Explained that, if her energy supplier could provide a report detailing their findings regarding the functionality of the storage heaters, it would review their recommendations.
    4. Provided her with advice on how to operate the heating system.
  6. The resident wrote to her local councillor on 9 February 2021, to describe the issues that she had been experiencing with her heating system, and the impact that this had on her health. As a result, her local MP contacted the landlord regarding the replacement of the existing heating system with gas central heating, and it confirmed to the MP and the resident on 24 February and 1 March 2021, respectively, that this was not currently possible due to the property and the block not being connected to the gas network.
  7. The landlord added that it was currently looking into one of the Government electric heating funding schemes mentioned by the resident, for which she had been placed on its list of interested residents to be contacted in the future if this became available. The MP then contacted this Service to refer the resident’s complaint to us in the capacity of her designated person.
  8. The case became one that this Service could formally investigate on 21 May 2021, and the resident confirmed to us on 24 June 2021 that her complaint was comprised of:
    1. The fact that the heating system was not “operating efficiently” and was “working extra hard to warm up bricks”.
    2. The heat “escap[ed] during the day”, which led to her “having to use the booster [function] in the evening and at night at the expensive rate”.
    3. She had a young child in the property, who was impacted by “inadequate heat”.
    4. She was aware of Government funding that was available for landlords to assist with the costs of replacing/upgrading heating systems.
    5. She did not need further advice on how to use the existing heating system.
    6. As a resolution, she wished for the existing heating system to be replaced or to be switched to gas central heating.

Assessment and findings

The tenancy agreement

  1. The resident’s tenancy agreement states that it is the landlord’s responsibility “to keep in good repair and proper working order any installations provided…for space heating, water heating and electricity including…water heaters, fireplaces, fitted fires and central heating installations”.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s requests for it to replace her poorly performing heating system

  1. It is noted that the resident has stated that she considers that the issue with her heating system has affected her medical conditions. However, it is beyond the authority and expertise of this Service to determine whether there was a link between the landlord’s handling of her requests for it to replace her poorly performing heating system and her medical condition. This aspect of her complaint is therefore outside of the scope of this investigation.
  2. This Service’s investigation has taken into account the fact that the resident advised that she had been contacting the landlord in respect of the issues that she had been experiencing with her heating system since 2015. While these historic events were reviewed to provide context, however, this report will focus on the events investigated during the complaint process in 2020 to 2021. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about issues that were not brought to the landlord’s attention as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within six months of the matters arising.
  3. Due to the resident’s reports of a high electricity bill dated 18 May and 10 July 2020, the landlord raised a work order on 7 September 2020 for her heating system to be assessed. This resulted in an inspection of this being carried out by it on 4 November 2020, during which it found that the heating system was functional, and that she chose to use an oil heater due to financial reasons. In consequence, the landlord decided to not replace or carry out any further works to the resident’s heating systems.
  4. This Service appreciates the inconvenience experienced by the resident, however the landlord complied with the above terms of her tenancy agreement because it inspected the heating system to ensure that this was in good repair and proper working order. Furthermore, it was permitted to rely upon the recommendations of its qualified staff when determining whether further action was needed on its behalf for this, in the absence any other expert evidence to the contrary.
  5. It is also noted that the resident advised the landlord on 14 October 2020 and 1 February 2021, respectively, that both an independent electrician, and an electrician who had attended the property on behalf of her energy supplier, had confirmed that the heating system needed to be replaced. Considering the discrepancy between the landlord’s findings and those of the third parties who had inspected her heating system, it was reasonable of it to agree to review any reports issued by the third parties. However, as the landlord was not provided with any evidence from third parties such as written documents stating the above, it was permitted to not take any further action for this and to instead rely on its own experts’ above findings.
  6. This Service has taken into account the resident’s request for the landlord to replace/upgrade the existing heating system, or to switch to gas central heating. However, as long as there was a functional heating method available at the property in good repair and proper working order, any replacement of the heating system, whether with another electric system or with gas central heating, would be considered an improvement. As such, it would be the landlord’s decision as to whether it was prepared to undertake such replacement or upgrade works to the heating system that it was not obliged to carry out, or to bear the costs involved in doing so or seek these from other funding sources such as the Government.
  7. The landlord nevertheless also confirmed on 24 February and 1 March 2021 that it was not currently possible due for it to provide the resident with gas central heating due to the property and the block not being connected to the gas network. Although it explained that it was looking into a Government electric heating funding scheme, for which it agreed to contact her in the future if this became available. It was therefore also reasonable for the landlord to decline to provide the resident with gas central heating when her property and block were not connected to the network for this, and when it was exploring alternative electric heating for her.
  8. To conclude, this Service appreciates the inconvenience experienced by the resident, caused by the cost of and lack of heat from the existing heating system. However, based on the information provided to us, there was no failure in the landlord’s response to her requests for it to replace her poorly performing heating system. This is because it attended the property and inspected the heating system to ensure that the resident had a reliable and permanent heating source available. The landlord also agreed to review recommendations made by third parties in relation to the functionality of the heating system, explained why it could not replace this with gas central heating, and agreed to explore alternative electric heating for her.
  9. As it remains of concern, however, that the resident has reported experiencing high costs and a lack of heat from the existing heating system, the landlord has been recommended below to consider inspecting her property’s structure, insulation and windows to seek to resolve these issues, and to provide her with the outcome of this.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s requests for it to replace her poorly performing heating system.

Reasons

  1. The landlord inspected the resident’s heating system and based its decision to not complete further works to this on the recommendation of its qualified staff, in the absence of any other expert evidence to the contrary, that this was in good repair and proper working order. It also agreed to review any other evidence, explained why it could not provide her with gas central heating, and agreed to explore alternative electric heating for her.

Recommendation

  1. It is recommended that the landlord consider inspecting the resident’s property’s structure, insulation and windows to seek to resolve her reports of high costs and a lack of heat from her existing heating system, and that it provide her with the outcome of this.
  2. The landlord should contact this Service within four weeks to confirm whether it will follow the above recommendation.
  3. The Ombudsman accepts that, because of the present restrictions due to the corona virus pandemic, the timing of the above actions will depend on what is reasonable in the light of Government guidance regarding the health of the resident and of the landlord’s staff.