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Newlon Housing Trust (202116050)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202116050

Newlon Housing Trust

10 March 2023


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s floorboards.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves his complaint about its handling of repairs to his floorboards satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord of a second-floor flat.
  2. The resident stated that he first raised a report to the landlord that his floorboards were noisy when he moved in to his property several years earlier, but that it had informed him at the time that it would not replace the floorboards unless they were broken. It recorded that he reported the issue to it again on 4 February 2021 because his downstairs neighbour had been complaining to him about the noise.
  3. The landlord then inspected the resident’s floorboards on 4 March 2021, and it concluded that a further joint inspection by a surveyor and its contractor was required. He said that he had lifted his floor coverings for this inspection, which he reported had made the noise issue worse. The resident also reported that he was being “harassed” by his downstairs neighbour and was “scared to go home”. There were a further two appointments, scheduled for 22 March and 28 April 2021, that were missed by the contractor and surveyor, respectively.
  4. The resident raised a stage one complaint to the landlord on 29 April 2021, as he was dissatisfied that the landlord had scheduled appointments which he had to take time off work to attend, and then it did “not even bother to show up.” He requested that the repair work begin as soon as possible, and he requested a rent reduction in the interim, as he was living in a property without floor coverings and would have to pay for new floor coverings because his were damaged when they were lifted.
  5. The resident further reported that his downstairs neighbour had been “knocking on my door, writing me letters threatening to take further action.” He made a further complaint on 4 May 2021, and stated that he was “very stressed” and had considered moving home, and that he was having to tip-toe through the property to avoid disturbing his neighbour.
  6. There was a further appointment scheduled for 14 May 2021, which the surveyor was unable to attend due to an urgent issue. However, the surveyor spoke with the contractor prior to the appointment, and the contractor proceeded with the inspection, in which the repair issues were identified. The resident expressed dissatisfaction that the surveyor had not been present, because he had previously been informed that a joint visit was required, and he had wasted a further day of his annual leave. The landlord agreed that he should have been informed that the surveyor would not be attending beforehand.
  7. The landlord’s stage one complaint response of 28 May 2021 asked for clarification on the “harassment” that the resident had reported, so that it could raise an antisocial behaviour report on his behalf. It also provided him with expected timelines for the floorboard repair job to be completed, and it told him that it would update him on the outcome of the appointment that had been booked for this for 4 June 2021 within 48 hours. The landlord identified that there had been failures in its repair service and communication, and it explained that this had been fed back to the relevant staff members. It also acknowledged that the resident was eligible for compensation, but that this would be reviewed once it received confirmation of when the repair would take place.
  8. The resident escalated his complaint to the second stage of the landlord’s complaints procedure on 3 June 2021, however, because his main concerns about the length of time for the floorboard repair to be completed, the missed appointments, and his current floor coverings were not addressed. He re-requested a rent reduction from it because he was unable to live comfortably in the property while he waited for the repairs, and he also requested that it cover the cost of new floor coverings. As the landlord had previously informed the resident that it would update him following the appointment on 4 June 2021 and it failed to do so, he subsequently chased it about this throughout June 2021.
  9. The landlord’s first stage two complaint response of 6 July 2021 confirmed that the floorboard repair work was scheduled to begin on 12 July 2021, and would be finished on 14 July 2021. It agreed that the repair had been poorly handled and noted that there were further failings in its service, including missed appointments, which it apologised for. The landlord stated that the delay that the resident had experienced was avoidable, with clearer more effective management, and that it had raised learning points for the failures to be addressed within the repairs team. It also apologised for the delay in its complaint response and offered him £300 total compensation, which was broken down as:
    1. £50 for the two appointments that it had missed;
    2. £50 for the delay in providing its stage one and two complaint responses;
    3. £100 for the delay in providing the repair;
    4. £50 for its poor communication, and;
    5. £50 for the inconvenience caused.
  10. The resident responded to the landlord by stating that it had not responded to his request for a rent reduction, and that he felt that £50 for his inconvenience was insufficient considering that the repair had been ongoing for five months. He reported to it that the ongoing repair work was impacting him financially, due to the time that he was taking off work to attend appointments. The resident also reported that there were further missed appointments on 12 and 13 July 2021. The landlord then explained to him that the contractor needed to self-isolate, and that the works had been rescheduled to start on 14 July 2021.
  11. While the repair works were being completed in July 2021, the resident raised concerns from 17 July 2021 onwards that the floorboards were still producing large amounts of noise, and he asked for a surveyor to inspect the repairs. He did not want the landlord to proceed with unsuccessful repairs as this was a “waste of money”.
  12. The resident also reported that damage had been caused to his kitchen floor, skirting boards, front door and the bathroom threshold by the contractor, and that the floorboards were a health and safety hazard because there were sharp objects and trip hazards, for which he asked to be decanted. An inspection of this was therefore conducted by the landlord on 12 August 2021, which concluded that the property was habitable, and that there was no need to decant him while the repair works were ongoing.
  13. On 25 August 2021, the landlord responded to the resident’s requests for an update on his case throughout July and August 2021, and it apologised that he had to chase it for this, stating that this was “unacceptable”. It informed him that his compensation would be reviewed in light of the further missed appointments, and that it would replace the property’s floor coverings. The landlord also apologised for previously providing incorrect information regarding this, and it confirmed the findings of its above inspection to the resident.
  14. Following further reports of missed appointments on 1 and 2 September 2021 and correspondence chasing updates on his case from the resident, the landlord’s contractor attended the property again on 4 October 2021. They confirmed that additional works were needed to the living room and kitchen floorboards. The contractor subsequently confirmed that the works were completed following an inspection on 14 October 2021. The landlord informed the resident of this, and it confirmed that it would now review his stage two complaint.
  15. The resident explained that he was not satisfied with the repair work, and he described the outstanding issues with the floorboards as including loud bending and creaking, as well as a lack of screws. The landlord’s surveyor then performed a post-work inspection on 20 October 2021, and they agreed that the floorboards were still noisy, and that the standard of workmanship was “unacceptable”.
  16. Further floorboard repair works were therefore completed on 26 October 2021, which resolved the noise issue. The resident nevertheless subsequently installed his own floor coverings in November 2021, despite the landlord being in the process of organising this at the time. He explained that this was because it would have taken “weeks” to process the quote and organise the installation for this, by which time he would have been unable to take further time off work, and so he organised the floor covering installation himself. The resident also complained to this Service about the landlord’s handling of the floorboard repair and its stage two complaint response for this.
  17. The landlord then issued a final stage two complaint response of 2 December 2021 reviewing its previous stage two complaint response. It apologised for the failings which had led to the delay in repairing the resident’s floorboards, and it increased its total offer of compensation to him to £800, broken down as:
    1. £300 that it had already offered to him;
    2. £125 for the five appointments that it had missed;
    3. £100 for its poor workmanship, which led to further visits;
    4. £75 for its poor communication regarding the repairs;
    5. £100 for its further delays in completing the works, and;
    6. £100 for the inconvenience that he had experienced.
  18. The resident subsequently accepted and received the landlord’s increased offer of compensation. He then confirmed that this had satisfactorily resolved his complaint to this Service, but that it was taking no further action for or responding to his subsequent safety concerns regarding the still spongy and bouncy floorboards and joists putting pressure on the pipework below them that might burst. The resident reported that the landlord’s surveyor’s inspection of his property had instead only arranged for it to drill the squeaky floorboards into the concrete under them to address their noise, without looking underneath the floorboards to investigate and address his concerns about their effect on the pipework below.
  19. Paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:

“The Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that: the member has offered redress to the complainant prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.”

  1. I am therefore satisfied that, in light of the above confirmation from the resident, the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendation

  1. It is recommended that the landlord respond to the resident’s request for a survey to investigate and address his safety concerns about the effect of the condition of his floorboards on the pipework below them.