Hammersmith and Fulham Council (202221764)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221764

Hammersmith and Fulham Council

26 July 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

The complaint is about:
1. The level of compensation offered by the landlord for the time taken to repair the windows in the property.
2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident holds a secure tenancy and occupies a converted two-bedroom flat on the second floor. The resident has two children who, at the time of the complaint, were aged 8 and under one year old.
The windows in the property have timber frames. The resident first raised the issue with the windows on 21 October 2021. In particular, she reported the window frames in her son’s bedroom were rotten with holes. An appointment was made for 5 November 2021. The window frames were beyond repair and required new sash window frames to be installed. The resident chased for an update between 15 November 2021 and 23 November 2021, and was advised the landlord was waiting for a quote.
On 9 December 2021, the resident reported disrepair with the second bedroom and bathroom windows. They were also described as being rotten with holes in the frames. The landlord attended on 12 January 2021 and stated that the windows in the bedroom and bathroom needed to be replaced. It is also noted that the kitchen glass was cracked and the toilet window needed new sash cords.
On 24 January 2022, the resident reported that the glass in the lounge window frame was not secure at the base as putty was missing. She stated she was fearful the glass could fall out. The evidence shows she chased an update on 8 February 2022 and an appointment was then made for 2 March 2022. The landlord’s logs show that the repair could not be completed at that time as scaffolding was required to access the window frames.
On 25 February 2022, the landlord advised that the windows were rotten and beyond repair and would need to be measured up and replaced. There is no evidence that it arranged appointments to carry out the required work.
On 11 April 2022, part of the window frame in the second bedroom fell out and into the neighbour’s back garden. The landlord made safe with a temporary repair. It noted that the windows needed to be replaced or the same issue would likely reoccur.
The resident continued to chase the landlord for updates and on 4 May 2022 logged a formal complaint. The resident was dissatisfied that she had first reported the windows in November 2021 and the works had not been completed. She reiterated that the frames were rotten, with gaps and holes in and were causing damp and mould in her children’s bedroom. She stated she had reported the windows countless times and was concerned they would fall out. She advised her children were getting colds, one of which was a young baby.
The landlord acknowledged the delay and apologised. It made an appointment for 1 June 2022 to assess the specification for scaffolding so it could complete the works. It advised that following the appointment, the scaffolding would be erected, and an appointment would be made to carry out the repairs. The landlord offered the resident £100 compensation.
The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 on 24 June 2022. She said since raising her complaint she had not received any further updates.
The landlord issued its final response on 15 November 2022. It stated that an admin error had resulted in only one window being ordered. It said it would carry out regular meetings to ensure the repairs orders were correct. It offered the resident £1250 compensation. The landlord advised that the works had been approved as follows:
1. Master bedroom – for the left window to be overhauled and the right one to be renewed.
2. Children’s bedroom – to renew the middle and left window and overhaul the right window.
3. Toilet – to overhaul, fit draft excluders, and renew the sash cord.
4. Bathroom – complete epoxy repairs (wood fillers), fit draught excluders, and overhaul.
5. Kitchen – to renew the glazing and draught excluders.
6. Living room – to replace the window.
The work remained outstanding, and the resident brought her complaint to this service on 18 January 2023. At the time, the windows had not been replaced. On 20 February 2023, the resident advised that the windows in her son’s room had been replaced but no others.
On 15 March 2023, the landlord visited the property and advised it would visit again on 17 March 2023 with a contractor and surveyor to scope the works needed. The landlord increased the compensation to £2350.
On 28 April 2023, the landlord confirmed the new windows had been authorised and placed with the contractor. It advised there was a lead time of 10 to 12 weeks and that it would monitor this. It increased the compensation to £2950. This was broken down as follows:
1. £2000 for the delays in the work being done.
2. £150 for the poor complaint handling.
3. £800 heating costs.
The resident has since advised the Ombudsman that the landlord attended the property on 17 July 2023 to start the work. She confirmed that all the windows have now been replaced and that the work was completed on 19 July 2023. She advised the Ombudsman that the landlord replaced all the windows in the property and that she was happy with the work undertaken.
The resident has asked that the level of compensation be reviewed. She feels that she was unable to enjoy her home due to the condition of the windows. She said that it was cold, and damp and water came in through the windows. She further explained that she was embarrassed by the condition of the property because of this, which prevented her and her older son from inviting people in to their home.

Assessment and findings

The tenancy agreement is a legally binding document that both the resident and the landlord are bound by. Under part E section 1 (a) of the terms, the landlord is responsible to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property. There is a further duty on the landlord under section 11(1)(a) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Where a repair is raised, the law states that a landlord must inspect to determine if it is responsible to repair. Where the landlord is responsible, it must conduct a repair within a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time will depend on all the facts, including the type of repair. In most cases, landlords have repairs policies which set out when repairs ought to be completed. In this case, the repairs policy states urgent repairs will be completed between 3 and 5 working days, and routine repairs will be completed within 20 working days.

Did the landlord comply with its obligations?

The resident first reported the bedroom window on 21 October 2021. Once the resident reported the issues with the windows, the landlord was then required to inspect and determine the cause of the problem, and repair within a reasonable time, under the express and implied terms of the tenancy. The Ombudsman understands that the repair was not completed until 20 February 2023.
The resident reported the second bedroom and bathroom windows on the 9 December 2021, and the lounge window on 24 January 2022. These repairs were not completed until 19 July 2023.
The evidence catalogues several failings resulting in significant delays to the work being carried out. The landlord has accepted and acknowledged these failings without dispute in its final complaint response dated 15 November 2022.
The Ombudsman notes that the repairs were raised in the winter months and that the resident has explained the property was cold and affected her young family.
The landlord has paid £2000 compensation to recognise the significant delays and the impact this has had on the resident. It has also paid £800 towards increased heating costs.
In line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on remedies for cases of severe maladministration, awards upwards of £1000 should be considered. The amount offered recognises the failings of the landlord and the delays this caused but does not consider the fact that the resident was unable to enjoy her home during that period and is therefore not reasonable redress.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint

Stage 1

The landlord’s complaints policy is a two-stage process. It says that it will investigate and respond to complaints within 10 working days of the date the complaint was received.
In this case, the resident raised the complaint on 4 May 2022. The landlord acknowledged the complaint the same day and provided its response on 25 May 2022. This was in line with its policy.

Stage 2

On 24 June 2022, the resident escalated the complaint. She stated that she was still waiting for an update on when the windows would be replaced, and that the works remained outstanding. Under the landlord’s policy, it had 20 working days to provide a response, or request an extension. It failed to do this, as the stage two response was issued 15 November 2022, some 5 months later. This was contrary to the landlord’s own policy, and the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
The landlord has acknowledged its failings regarding its complaint handling and paid £150 compensation to recognise this. The Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies as set out above, suggests payments of £100 to £600 for maladministration. In this case, there were significant delays in providing the stage 2 response. There was no communication with the resident to provide any updates and it was left to the resident to continue to chase the landlord for updates, therefore the award should be higher than £150.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in the level of compensation it offered the resident for the time taken to repair the windows.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord for the handling of the complaint.

Orders

The Ombudsman orders that the landlord to pay the resident £3,750 compensation, within 28 days of the date of this determination. This replaces the landlord’s award, and the landlord may deduct from this compensation any payments already made:
1. £2,600 for the distress, inconvenience and loss of amenity caused by the delay of 91 weeks in completing the repairs to the windows.
2. £800 for the heating costs, already offered.
3. £350 for the landlord’s poor complaint handling.
The landlord is ordered to conduct a learning lesson review of what went wrong in this case and why. The review must be conducted by a senior manager within 28 days of the date of this determination. As part of its review, the landlord must produce a report which sets out what went wrong and why together with what actions it will take to ensure errors do not happen in similar cases in future. The relevant staff members and departments must be offered feedback on how to ensure the same errors do not happen again in similar cases. A copy of the landlord’s report must be provided to the resident and filed with the Ombudsman within 28 days of the date of this determination.