Leeds City Council (202215014)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202215014

Leeds City Council

11 May 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 the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
   1. Reports of a broken shower.
   2. Reports of damp and mould.

Background

2. The resident lives in a two-bedroom flat on the fifth floor of a ten-storey block. She has a secure tenancy and no vulnerabilities recorded by the landlord.
3. The landlord’s records indicate that the resident raised the issue of damp and mould in her property on 30 May 2022. Arrangements were made that day for a technical officer to inspect the damage on 16 June 2022 in the afternoon. There was no access on the day and the inspector said that he left a card with contact details, but no contact was made by the resident.
4. On 23 June 2022, a call was logged concerning a broken shower and a repair raised to repair and make good. The contractor said that they had attended on 28 June 2022 and found that there was an electrical fault. The electrician left a voicemail on 1 August 2022, and attended on 2 August 2022 when it was found that a replacement shower was required. A letter was issued on 3 August 2022 for an appointment on 18 August 2022, but no access was given on the day, when a further ‘no access’ card was left, and the job was cancelled.
5. The resident complained on 17 August 2022 that she had no contact from the landlord regarding her broken shower and that she had rodents in the property but had been advised that this was for her to deal with. She also said that she had damp and mould caused by a leak from the upstairs flat and had reported noise from above, but that the landlord had not responded.
6. The landlord complaint response of 31 August 2022 said that it had left a message to discuss the rodent problem further and it gave contact details for the resident to pursue the issue. It said it had made several attempts to resolve the shower repair and a number was given for the resident to raise the repair again as the job had been cancelled. An inspection had been booked for 16 June 2022 to inspect the damp and mould, but there was no access. The landlord said there were no noise reports for the address and gave contact details for the resident to raise any ongoing concerns.
7. The resident responded that she was unhappy the shower repair was cancelled as she had no contact from the landlord and disputed that a no access card was left on 16 June 2022. On two other occasions the resident stated she was working so could not give access or speak on the phone. An inspector subsequently gained access on 4 October 2022 and raised a repair to treat a small amount of mould on the bathroom and bedroom ceilings, (although there was no access when the contractor attended on 15 December 2022).
8. The landlord’s final response on 7 October 2022 said that a repair for the shower was booked for 17 October 2022 which the resident could rearrange if not suitable.
9. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman saying she had rodents in the property, she wanted the shower fixed and the mould issue resolved. She wanted the landlord to arrange sensible dates and times instead of showing up unannounced then cancelling repairs leaving her to start the process again. She wanted an apology from the landlord and for it to listen and take her seriously. The shower was replaced on 7 November 2022.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

10. Several issues were raised by the resident in her initial complaint, including the presence of rodents at the entrance of the property and holes in the property allowing rodents to access her home, and noise complaints about the flat upstairs. These issues were responded to in the stage one response letter from the landlord dated 31 August 2022 but not included in the resident’s request to escalate her complaint on 15 September 2022, which only referred to the broken shower and the no access appointment regarding the damp.
11. Around this time the landlord spoke to the resident to arrange a surveyor to inspect the reported damp and mould. Accordingly, the landlord’s final response letter dated 7 October 2022 covered only the shower and the damp and mould issue.
12. As the rodent and noise concerns were not escalated by the resident after the first stage complaint response and therefore did not complete the landlord’s internal complaint procedure, the Ombudsman will not consider it. A landlord must have the opportunity to resolve a complaint through all stages of its complaint procedure before the Ombudsman can assess the reasonableness of the landlord’s response. This is in accordance with the Housing Ombudsman Scheme paragraph 42 (a) which says that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman opinion, are made prior to having exhausted the landlord’s complaint procedure.
13. If the issue of the rodents or the reported noise remain on-going, the resident should consider making a new complaint directly to the landlord. This investigation includes the resident’s reports of a broken shower and of damp and mould only.

Assessment

Broken shower

14. Page three of the landlord’s repairs and maintenance handbook tells tenants how they should report repairs by phone or online. Page four provides a table which indicates which repairs are the landlord’s responsibility and includes ‘sanitation and the equipment that has been installed for delivering these services.’ Page 7 includes a table giving response times for priority repairs to include plumbing and drainage faults with a response time of 3 working days. Other general repairs will be carried out within 20 working days.
15. Page 11 says that before the repair the landlord will tell tenants how quickly it will complete the repair, give a target completion date and arrange an appointment where possible. The landlord will phone or text to let tenants know that operatives are on their way.
16. The tenancy agreement booklet at section 7.35 (a) says that the resident must allow the landlord or contractors/agent to enter their home at all reasonable hours for repairs or other works or (d) to carry out an inspection of the property, with reasonable written notice (normally 24 hours).
17. In this case, it appears that the resident had access to a bath and the fault with the shower was an electrical one rather than plumbing or drainage, so the repair would fall under the 20-working day category. The first appointment was made with the resident for 28 June 2022, following the fault being raised on 23 June 2022. A voicemail was left on 1 August 2022 and the resident advised that an electrician would be attending the next day, when it was identified that a new shower was required. The landlord says that on 3 August 2022 an appointment was confirmed in writing for the afternoon of 18 August 2022, when the operative could not gain access, so the repair cancelled.
18. In her email of 15 September 2022, the resident explains that she was unable to give access to the operative as she was working, and that she did not receive the letter which was sent. Neither of these things are doubted and it is not unreasonable that the resident was working and unable to provide access at the time suggested by the landlord or its contractors. However, there is no evidence of the resident chasing the shower repair between the last successful  appointment on 3 August 2022 and the complaint of 17 August 2022.
19. When the landlord provided the number for the resident to re-book the shower repair in the complaint response dated 31 August 2022, there is no evidence that she did so, instead the complaint was escalated on 15 September 2022. In the circumstances and given that the landlord had responded promptly to the repair, it was reasonable that the resident took the step of calling to reopen the shower repair and make an appointment which was convenient for her at that time. The landlord confirmed in the final response that an appointment had been made to replace the shower on 12 October 2022. It would seem that this was not convenient for the resident and was moved to 7 November 2022 when the job was completed.
20. It is noted that the resident asked why the surveyor who came to inspect the damp on 4 October 2022 did not attend to the shower, but by this time the shower repair was at a different stage, it had already been agreed that the shower needed replacing by a contractor and it was with the resident to make contact to arrange a date. Whilst it is appreciated that the resident felt the surveyor should have knowledge of the other repair, there is no evidence to suggest that the surveyor was required to inspect the shower at that time in order to progress the repair. The surveyor had also noted that the resident did not raise the issue of the shower whilst he was in the property.
21. It is reasonable to conclude that the landlord had made several attempts to contact the resident to repair the shower. It is noted that the first appointment found that an electrician was required, and the electrician then found that the shower needed replacing rather than repair, and it is understood that this would be frustrating for the resident. However, it is reasonable that the first contractor who attended was a plumber, and it being the case that may not be placed to deal with the required electrics, it is also reasonable that an electrician be asked to attend. It is also appropriate that the landlord should seek to repair the electric shower before considering a replacement, and while this resulted in multiple visits to the property, which were inconvenient for the resident, there is no evidence that the landlord’s actions amounted to a service failure.

Damp and mould

22. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance handbook table on page seven says general repairs will be carried out within 20 working days. As above, the guide says that the resident should give access to allow the landlord to carry out repairs.
23. In this case, the landlord’s repair log indicates that the damp and mould repair was raised on 30 May 2022 and a surveyor attended the property on 16 June 2022 when no access was granted. It is appreciated that the resident has stated that she did not receive this card, and this is not doubted. However, the landlord had responded appropriately to the repair request by raising an order for a technical officer to attend the property. The next contact from the resident was the complaint dated 17 August 2022. Whilst it would have been prudent for the landlord to proactively contacted the resident after the no access visit of 16 June 2022, it was reasonable for it to expect that follow up contact would be made by the resident between 30 May 2022 and 17 August 2022 if the damp remained a concern.
24. The landlord’s complaint response dated 31 August 2022 explained why the previous repairs were closed and provided the resident with the contact details for the repairs line. It is not recorded that the resident contacted the repairs line, but notes show that prior to the final response letter, the landlord arranged for the further survey of 4 October 2022. Following this, a repair was raised by the surveyor regarding the ‘small amount of mould on bathroom ceiling to treat and bedroom’. Although it then seems there was some delay by the contractor in responding to the repair, when they attended on 15 December 2022 there was no access given, despite the appointment being confirmed with the resident on 9 December 2022. Again, the landlord has recorded that a no access card was left asking the resident to make contact.
25. The landlord has evidenced that it responded quickly to the reports of damp in the property initially, and when the complaint was raised, it arranged for a further surveyor appointment. There was some delay on the part of the contractor in making contact with the resident to arrange the works, but this is mitigated by the fact the appointment was agreed with the resident who it seems did not then make contact to say that she was unable to grant access, as she is obliged to do as per the terms of her tenancy.
26. At this time, the landlord has said it is awaiting contact from the resident to rearrange the damp and mould treatment. In summary, the landlord has shown that it has responded appropriately to the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property, and there is no evidence of service failure in this respect.

Determination

27. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of the landlord’s handling of the:
    1. Reports of a broken shower
    2. Reports of damp and mould.

Recommendations

28. It is recommended that the landlord contact the resident and work together to ensure that the damp and mould treatment is completed, and any concerns raised regarding rodents and noise are followed up.
29. It is recommended that in cases where a landlord does not gain access to inspect a report of damp and mould, it proactively contacts the resident to obtain an update and to rearrange the appointment as necessary.