Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (202127147)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202127147

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

14 August 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

This complaint is about the landlord’s decision not to renew the resident’s kitchen and bathroom.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The tenancy started on 17 May 2004. The property is a 3-bed house.

Policies and Procedures

The landlord’s Barnsley Homes Standard sets out the landlord’s processes and criteria for ensuring its properties are maintained to a reasonably modern level. When a property is identified as potentially being due for modernisation, the landlord will arrange an inspection to determine what works, if any, are required. If an area fails to meet the relevant standard at the time of the inspection, it will be added to the landlord’s planned modernisation works. The pass or fail criteria for the rooms relevant to this complaint are as follows:
1. A kitchen fails to meet the standard if:
  1. It is more than 20 years old;
  2. It has an inadequate amount of space or an inadequate layout;
  3. It has three or more items or anomalies in need of replacement or repair.
2. A bathroom fails to meet the standard if:
  1. It is more than 30 years old;
  1. Two of the three bathroom elements are more than 30 years old or in a state of disrepair, resulting in them needing to be replaced.
The Government’s Decent Homes Standard says that kitchens have an expected lifespan of 30 years, and that bathrooms have an expected lifespan of 40 years. It says that kitchens which are less than 20 years old and bathrooms which are less than 30 years old are considered ‘reasonably modern’, and that it is not necessary to modernise kitchens and bathrooms which are not reasonably modern if the remaining criteria for “reasonably modern facilities and services” are met.

Scope of the investigation

Paragraph 42(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme) says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which have not yet exhausted the landlord’s internal complaints process. When referring her complaint to the Ombudsman, the resident raised concerns about damp in the property. She also told the Ombudsman that she was unhappy with the standard of the rewiring works the landlord had carried out at her property. However, as neither of those issues had gone through the landlord’s internal complaints process at the time the complaint was referred to the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman cannot consider those concerns as part of this investigation.

Summary of events

On 9 November 2020, the landlord wrote to the resident to confirm the property had been selected for modernisation works. It said a surveyor would visit the property shortly to determine what works were required, and it would let the resident know what works it would be carrying out after the survey had taken place. The landlord sent a further letter setting out similar information on 22 June 2021.
On an unknown date before 9 August 2021, the landlord carried out surveys of the property. The results of the surveys said that both the bathrooms and the kitchen passed the criteria set out in the landlord’s Barnsley Homes Standard, and had around five years of life remaining. It identified that modernisation works were needed for the boiler, wiring, and insulation.
On 9 August 2021, the landlord wrote to the resident. It said that following the surveys, it would be carrying out an electrical upgrade and a boiler upgrade at the property, and installing loft insulation.
On 18 October 2021, the resident made a complaint to the landlord. She said:
1. Her bathroom had not been renewed during the previous upgrade works 18 years previously, and her wet room had only been half updated.
2. She had been told when having damp works carried out that she would not get any upgrades due to the condition of her property. She felt she was being penalised for looking after her home.
3. She was dissatisfied that her kitchen and bathroom were not being renewed by the landlord.
On 6 December 2021, the landlord discussed the complaint with the resident. On 7 December 2021, the landlord visited the property to carry out an additional survey. Its notes of the inspection say:
1. The kitchen was in very good condition, with no damage to any units or doors.
2. The bathroom and wet room both passed the criteria to remain in place. There was no damage to the bath, sinks or toilets, and the shower was in full working order. The cisterns were in full working order with no leaks or damage, but as they were made of plastic the landlord would consider replacement.
3. The resident was dissatisfied that others may have the same type of kitchen replaced if they had not looked after it, whereas she would not because she had kept it in good condition. The landlord explained the procedure and criteria for replacements, as well as its rechargeable repairs procedure.
4. It told the resident that the decision regarding the scope of works would not change following the second inspection.
On 9 December 2021, the landlord issued its stage one response to the complaint. It set out the criteria for bathroom and kitchen replacements and told the resident that, having surveyed the bathroom, kitchen and wet room, as well as checking the installation dates for the rooms, her property did not meet the criteria for replacements. It said the cisterns needed to be replaced, but that did not mean the whole bathroom failed the criteria.
On or around 15 December 2021, the resident asked to escalate her complaint. She was dissatisfied that others who did not take care of their homes would have new bathrooms and kitchens installed, while she would not because she took good care of her home.
On 18 January 2022, the landlord issued its stage two response. It said:
1. It followed set guidelines and policies when assessing the bathroom and kitchen to identify the scope of works needed.
2. The age of components is a guideline for when a renewal may be needed. The timeframe for renewal can be revised based on the condition of the components when the survey takes place, as it would only replace components in poor condition or in need of repair.
3. There were two inspections of the bathrooms and kitchen. Both found the rooms in a good state of repair, with no repairs needed. Many bathrooms and kitchens of the same age were found to be in good condition and were therefore not being replaced.
4. It had referred two cisterns for replacement as it received a recommendation for all plastic cisterns to be replaced. This was not a result of disrepair.
5. Its staff member did not know the installation date of the bathroom at the time of inspection, but the landlord could confirm it was installed in 1995.
On 11 and 22 March 2022, the resident contacted the Ombudsman as she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response to the complaint. She said:
1. Her kitchen looked like the ‘before’ photo on the Barnsley Homes Standard website, so she wanted to know why that kitchen met the criteria for replacement but her kitchen did not.
2. She was frustrated with the condition of her home, and felt it was unfair she was not having improvements to her kitchen and bathrooms. She felt that she was being pushed to move out of the property and was being punished for looking after her home.
On 26 May 2022, the resident contacted the Ombudsman again. She said she did not think it was fair that her neighbours with bathrooms and kitchens of a similar age had their rooms renewed when she did not.
The landlord has informed the Ombudsman that it has since arranged stock condition surveys for all of its properties, and that the resident’s property was surveyed on 12 February 2023. It said the results of the stock condition survey supported the findings of the previous two surveys of the resident’s property.

Assessment and findings

It is not the role of the Ombudsman to determine whether the resident’s kitchen and bathroom were in need of renewal. It is the Ombudsman’s role to assess whether the landlord’s decision not to arrange for a renewal was reasonable based on the evidence available to it, taking into account its policies and good industry practice.
The landlord identified the resident’s property for potential modernisation works, and informed her of that by letter in November 2020. It told the resident that surveys would be needed, and that it would confirm the works it would carry out once it had the results of the surveys. It then carried out surveys, the results of which were that the bathrooms and kitchen did not require upgrade works, but that the boiler, wiring, and loft insulation did. It then gave the resident details of the works it intended to carry out.
Under its policy, the landlord would only renew a kitchen if it were more than 20 years old, had inadequate space or an inadequate layout, or had three or more specified items or anomalies that were in need of repair. It would only renew a bathroom if it were more than 30 years old and two out of the three components needed to be replaced. Its initial survey confirmed that the property did not meet the criteria for a renewal of the kitchen or bathrooms. The landlord is entitled to rely on the conclusions of its appropriately qualified staff and contractors, and its decision was in line with its policy based on the results of the surveys.
When the resident asked why her kitchen and bathroom would not be renewed, the landlord accurately explained the relevant criteria to the resident. It then arranged a second inspection in response to the complaint. The results of the second inspection were that the kitchen and bathroom were both in good condition and did not require renewal.
Given that there was no suggestion from any of the surveys that the kitchen and bathroom were in need of repair, that the rooms did not meet the criteria for renewal under the landlord’s policy, and that the rooms would still be classed as ‘reasonably modern’ under the Decent Homes Standard, the Ombudsman has seen no evidence which suggests the landlord acted inappropriately when deciding not to renew the resident’s kitchen or bathroom.
When the landlord told the resident that it would not be renewing her kitchen and bathroom as part of that year’s modernisation works, it would have been helpful for the landlord to provide further information about when it was likely to inspect the property for modernisation again in the future. However, this does not change the outcome of the resident’s complaint because, as found above, the landlord was entitled to decline to replace the kitchen and bathroom.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there has been no maladministration by the landlord with regard to its decision not to renew the resident’s kitchen and bathroom.

Reasons

The landlord carried out surveys of the property and, based on the results of those surveys, determined that the kitchen and bathrooms did not require renewal. That decision was based on the results of the surveys, the age of the rooms, and the criteria set out in the landlord’s policy and the Decent Homes Standard. As the rooms did not meet the criteria for a renewal, the landlord did not act unreasonably when choosing not to renew the kitchen or bathrooms.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the landlord write to the resident to confirm when it anticipates replacing the kitchen and bathrooms in future.
The landlord should reply to this Service within four weeks of the date of this report to confirm its intentions in regard to the above recommendation.