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Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council (202212658)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202212658

Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

27 February 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 is about:
    1. The delays in the rewiring of the resident’s property
    2. The landlord’s decision to not renew the resident’s bathroom

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
  2. An electrical surveyor attended the property in December 2019 to carry out cyclical testing on the resident’s electrics. The survey did not identify any safety issues. However, due to the electric wiring nearing 30 years of age, it was recommended that the property be rewired. The landlord included the resident’s property in its planned scheme to renew the electrical wiring, alongside over 200 other properties. The landlord estimated a completion date of March 2022.
  3. A visual inspection of the wiring was carried out in February 2022 prior to the scheme commencing. During this visit, the surveyor advised the resident that her bathroom was also due to be renewed. The landlord later advised that the bathroom was still within its 30-year age bracket for renewal and there were no signs of concern or disrepair and therefore it would not be renewing it.
  4. The resident complained about the delay in the rewiring of her property and about the landlord’s refusal to renew her bathroom.
  5. The landlord did not provide evidence of its stage one response. However, a stage two response was provided on 20 May 2022. The landlord explained that there had been a delay in the commencement of the scheme and as the wiring was tested and deemed safe, there was no priority for it to replace it before the scheme started. The landlord also explained that its criteria for a bathroom replacement was for bathrooms 30 years of age and above or ones in poor condition. It noted the resident’s bathroom was 19 years old with modern fixtures and fittings and it that it would look to renew the bathroom in a future planned works programme. In its stage three response on 14 July 2022, the landlord reiterated its comments from stage two and additionally offered £150 in compensation for time and trouble as a result of the resident having to chase the landlord for updates.
  6. The resident brought her complaint to this Service as she remained dissatisfied with the delay in the completion of the rewiring which was impacting her new kitchen installation and the landlord’s refusal to renew her bathroom.

Assessment and findings

The delays in the rewiring of the resident’s property

  1. The landlord advised the resident that her property was going to be included in a scheme of over 200 properties to complete the rewiring. Up until February 2022, where a visual inspection was carried out before the start of the scheme, the work was scheduled to commence. However, this did change and the landlord explained that there had been ‘unexpected delays’ in the scheme starting.
  2. Understandably, the delay in this work being completed has been no less than frustrating for the resident. However, it is not uncommon to encounter delays and set backs whilst undergoing major planned works, especially of a magnitude such as this. Landlords generally have a set budget for this type of work, hence carrying it out as part of planned programme can help to adhere to the budget. The landlord explained that, as the wiring in the resident’s property was deemed safe after inspection, there was no priority to complete the work outside of the planned scheme. This was an appropriate response as it explored the option of completing the work earlier but advised against doing so with valid reasoning.
  3. The landlord’s communication and reasoning for the delay could have been better. A more detailed explanation for the delay could have helped set the resident’s expectations earlier on and a better response time to the resident’s communication could have prevented further time and trouble for the resident in her pursuit for information. Nevertheless, the landlord addressed these shortcomings in its final response and, with its offer of £150 compensation, made a reasonable offer of redress. The compensation amount falls within the guidelines of the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance as there has been no evidence of financial loss or major detriment or impact on the resident. The landlord has since informed the resident that its new estimated date of completion is March 2023.

The landlord’s decision to not renew the resident’s bathroom

  1. Landlords are entitled to make the final decision on what work is carried out and how it approaches the work, so long as it is fair and reasonable. Surveyors can provide their opinion, but the landlord decides having considered any recommendations, if certain repairs are necessary. Furthermore, the decent homes standard sets out a timescale to renew bathrooms at 30 years of age. This is not a strict rule or policy, as other factors such as functionality and condition do play a factor in deciding a potential replacement. However, the decent homes standard can be used as a guide, amongst other things, to measure the appropriateness of the landlord’s decisions.
  2. The evidence provided suggests that the surveyor who attended to inspect the wiring made a recommendation based for the bathroom to be renewed. On 28 February 2022, the landlord initially advised that the bathroom renewal would take place at the same time as the rewiring, but later decided against this. As mentioned above, the landlord’s decision must be fair and reasonable. It is within its rights to change its decision given that there is a justifiable reason.
  3. In this instance, the landlord explained that the bathroom was 19 years of age with modern fixtures and fittings and there was no evidence which indicated a renewal was necessary. It further explained that the criteria for a new bathroom would be if it was over 30 years of age and/or in poor condition. It is noted that the resident’s bathroom meets neither criteria, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. This also meets the timescales and additional criteria such as modernity and functionality set out in the decent homes standard. Nonetheless, the landlord did advise the resident that the bathroom would be replaced as part of a future scheme and this was air and reasonable.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress in respect of the delays in the rewiring of the resident’s property prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of the landlord’s decision to not renew the resident’s bathroom.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Pay the resident the £150 offered in its complaint responses, if it has not already done so.
    2. Update the resident on the completion date of the rewiring, if this has not been completed already.