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Abri Group Limited (202214884)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202214884

Abri Group Limited

02 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

  1. The complaint is about the resident’s tenancy type following a mutual exchange.

Background

  1. The resident was an assured tenant of another landlord and mutually exchanged into the landlord’s property on 22 June 2022. The property is a 2 bedroomed house.
  2. Two weeks after the assignment took place, the landlord contacted the resident to advise there had been some errors on its part and informed the resident that the tenancy assigned to him was not an assured tenancy but an assured shorthold tenancy with intermediate market rent.
  3. In its final response the landlord apologised unreservedly and gave the resident written reassurances that it would treat his tenancy as if it were assured including all the associated rights but it did not offer any compensation.
  4. The resident remained dissatisfied with this and brought his complaint to the Ombudsman. To resolve the complaint, the resident wants the landlord to grant an assured tenancy.
  5. As part of the investigation, the Ombudsman discussed the case with the landlord in more detail. Following these discussions, the landlord found it was able to offer the resident an assured tenancy of the property and offered £1,000 compensation.

Assessment and findings

  1. Paragraph 53(c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states:

“The Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that c. the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.

  1. The landlord accepts it got things wrong and has now offered to put the resident back into the position he would have been in, had its errors not occurred – namely with an assured tenancy. It has also offered £1,000 compensation for the time taken to come to the right outcome. This was following intervention by the Ombudsman.
  2. The redress proposed by the Ombudsman and accepted by the parties commensurate to the redress that would have been ordered by the Ombudsman. It is therefore the Ombudsman’s opinion that the complaint has been resolved satisfactorily.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(c) of the Scheme, this complaint has been resolved with intervention.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord is now required to agree on a date to terminate the current tenancy and for the new assured tenancy to be signed. This should be arranged within 28 days of the date of this determination.
  2. The landlord should pay the compensation within 28 days of the date of this determination.