GreenSquareAccord Limited (202218810)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202218810

GreenSquareAccord Limited

01 February 2024

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 the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of low water pressure from the shower in her bathroom.
This report also looks at the landlord’s complaint handling.
This report also looks at the landlord’s knowledge and information management.

Background

The resident lives in a 3-bedroom, mid-terrace house owned and managed by the landlord. The property was let under an assured tenancy agreement in 2011.
The landlord records that the resident has depression, stress, anxiety. The resident has also reported that she has a skin and immune disorder to the landlord.
This Service held a conversation with the resident on 25 January 2024. The resident explained that the landlord had not recorded the medical advice both the resident and her MP had previously provided on its housing databases. The resident said that the landlord’s actions had aggravated her medical condition and that she was due to have an operation in March 2024. It is noted that the resident has stated that she considers that her occupation at the property has exacerbated her medical conditions. However, it is beyond the expertise of this Service to make a determination on whether there was a direct link between her reports of low water pressure and the bathing difficulties this caused and her medical condition. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers that her household’s health has been affected by any action or lack thereof by the landlord.
It is within the role of the Housing Ombudsman to identify whether a landlord has given due regard to its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (“EA2010″) and/or the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA 1998″), provide redress for any detriment caused to the resident, and ensure that lessons are learned to minimise the risk of similar failures. This is relevant in many circumstances such as where residents or family members have physical and/or mental health conditions that are impacted by the issues complained about either directly or indirectly. The resident and her MP disclosed medical information to the landlord related to her request for a shower repair. The landlord response to this information is therefore referred to in the assessment below.

Relevant policies and procedures

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985), the landlord is obliged to keep the installations for the supply of water to the property in repair. It is also obliged to complete repairs within a reasonable timeframe. The tenancy agreement says that the landlord will keep any installations for the supply of water in proper working order.
The landlord’s responsive repairs policy says it will consider a resident’s vulnerability and information given to it at the time of reporting a repair when determining its speed of response. It will change a repair priority when there is a genuine need. It will respond to standard responsive routine repairs within 28 days and repairs that fall outside of the usual scope of routine repairs, and which need time to plan their completion within 84 days.
The landlord’s compliments and complaints procedure refers to a 4-step ‘customer process’. At step 1, the landlord will seek to resolve the issue within 2 working days. At step 2 a customer care specialist will call the resident to understand the issues, investigate what has happened and provide a response within 10 working days. If the matter is not resolved, a step 3 executive review can be requested for a director to review whether the case was handled fairly and reasonably within 10 working days. Step 4 refers to the tenant’s right to escalate the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman
The landlord’s discretionary compensation procedure says that it will consider making a compensation payment for loss or inconvenience due to a service failure, poor complaint handling, and where customers have suffered inconvenience or distress to recognise a failure in the way the landlord delivered a service.
Paragraph 5.14 of the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code (the ‘Code’) says if an extension beyond 10 working days is required to enable the landlord to respond to the complaint fully, this should be agreed by both parties.

Summary of events

The landlord raised a works order on 29 November 2021 to investigate the water pressure of the shower. The target date for the repair was 27 December 2021. The repairs database says that an appointment had not been available within the target time.
The resident contacted the landlord on 6 January 2022 to obtain an update on a works order to address the water pressure of the shower. The landlord noted that the resident was disabled and found it difficult to get in and out of the bath.
The landlord received a letter from the resident’s MP on 24 January 2022 requesting an update on the repair to the shower and the investigation into low water pressure. The MP said that the resident had an immune disorder and suffered from dizzy fits which could lead to her passing out.
The landlord installed a new electric shower in the property on 8 February 2022.
The resident’s MP emailed the landlord 10 March 2022 to ask if the landlord could install a power shower in the property because the water pressure was low, and the resident had a skin and immune disorder.
The landlord raised a works order on 3 May 2022 to locate the external stop tap and undertake a water pressure survey.
The contractor emailed the landlord on 5 May 2022 to say that it had called the resident to arrange an appointment, but the resident was not available. The contractor agreed to call the resident the following week to make an appointment.
The contractor attended the property on 13 May 2022 to investigate the water pressure at the property. The contractor emailed the landlord on 15 May 2022 to confirm that it had identified low water pressure issues with the shower which were related to its connection to a joint water supply. The contractor confirmed that a new water supply appeared to have been half-completed and that new pipework had remained unconnected to the property. The contractor asked the landlord to confirm if it wished the contractor to investigate further with a view to connecting the property to a new supply.
The landlord replied to the MP’s second enquiry on 17 May 2022. The landlord summarised the actions it had taken to address the water pressure and confirmed that a specialist contractor had been employed to install a new water supply.
The contractor confirmed that the new water supply pipework was ‘live’ on 26 May 2022. Furthermore that it had been connected to the public mains.
An entry was made on the landlord’s housing database record on 21 July 2022 that said the contractor would return to the property the following week to redirect works and that it would contact the resident regarding the date.
The resident submitted a request for compensation to the landlord on 21 July 2022 to cover the petrol costs she had incurred when driving to use a shower at her partner’s property. The resident said that the compensation was due to the length of time taken for the landlord to address the low water pressure in the property.
The landlord sent an internal email on 21 July 2022 that said that the resident had a bath in the property and therefore had had facilities to wash.
The landlord sent an internal email asking for the resident to be contacted following a conversation it held with the resident on 1 August 2022. The landlord said:
1. The resident had experienced low water pressure for 5 to 6 years and had installed numerous new showers, but the water pressure remained low and had been affected by anyone in the street using their water supply.
2. A contractor had attended the property and had found that the property had not been connected to its own water supply.
3. The resident had health conditions and had been unable to wash at the property and when she did use the shower it took a long time due to the water pressure which was expensive.
4. The resident had been visiting her partner to wash which was a further expense for which the resident had requested compensation and ongoing costs until the shower was repaired.
The resident contacted the landlord on 11 August 2022 to follow up on the compensation request she had requested. The resident said she was unhappy that she had not been contacted to discuss the matter.
The landlord resent its internal email of 1 August 2022 on 16 August 2022 to request that the resident was called back about the shower repair and her compensation request.
The resident called the landlord on 12 September 2022 to request information about the water supply. The operative forwarded an internal email requesting a call back.
The landlord sent an email to the contractor on 2 October 2022 asking it to “look into the matters”.
The contractor emailed the landlord on 7 October 2022 to say that it had completed works to address low water pressure the day before. The contractor sent a detailed summary of its assessment and its response to the water pressure issues.
The landlord sent an internal email on 14 October 2022 asking for someone to contact the resident because she had not received a response from it and had 3 open cases about the water supply matters.
The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 19 October 2022. The resident said that the landlord had fixed the issues with the water pressure and that she had been told that she would be provided with compensation when the shower issue had been fixed. The resident said that she had been without a working shower for 5 years and had to travel to her partner’s property to wash properly because of an immune disorder. She also said that she had incurred fuel costs from the travel she had been required to make and had incurred an increase in electricity costs. The resident said that her condition had become worse because she had not been able to stay as clean as was necessary and that these matters had a detrimental effect on her mental and physical health.
The landlord sent a complaint acknowledgement email to the resident on 19 October 2022 confirming that it would provide a written complaint response to her by 2 November 2022.
The landlord sent an email on 21 October 2022 which said it had received a complaint from the resident on 19 October 2022. The landlord said that the complaint was about a poor water supply and a request for compensation due to the travel she had been required to undertake to wash.
The landlord spoke to the resident on 26 October 2022 to confirm that the water pressure had been resolved by installing a direct water supply. The resident said that there were no further issues with the exception of her request for compensation.
The landlord emailed the resident on 2 November 2022 to advise her that due to unforeseen circumstances it had extended the due date for providing a response to her complaint until 4 November 2022.
The landlord emailed the resident on 4 November 2022 to advise her that it had to extend the due date for providing a response to her complaint until 18 November 2022.
The landlord emailed the resident on 18 November 2022 to advise her that it been required to further extend the due date for providing a response to her complaint until 24 November 2022. The landlord explained that this was because of an unexpected resourcing problem.
The resident replied to the landlord on 18 November 2022 to say that she would be contacting a solicitor the next day as the delay in responding was unacceptable.
The landlord recorded notes of a conversation it held with the resident on 24 November 2022 and made a note to arrange for someone to call her back. The resident said:
1. The water pressure had improved but that when the bath had been installed it had been located incorrectly with the bath taps opposite the shower.
2. She had incurred petrol debts due to having to shower at her partner’s property.
3. A contractor that had visited the property in February 2022 had advised her to get a mixer tap fitted.
4. The shower was better but not great and she was still showering at her partner’s property.
5. She had requested compensation from 29 November 2021 until October 2022 when the water supply had been changed and for travel costs she had paid for on credit cards when travelling to her partner’s property.
The landlord sent an internal email on 24 November 2022 that said the resident and her MP had previously reported that she had a disability in January 2022 but that this had not been recorded on its housing database. The landlord asked if this could be added to her account or if a doctor’s note was required.
The landlord emailed the resident on 24 November 2022 to say that it would provide a response to the resident’s complaint on 25 November 2022. The landlord apologised for the delays the resident had experienced.
The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 5 November 2022. The landlord said the complaint was about the time it had taken to improve the water pressure and its communication about the matter. The landlord summarised the actions it had taken to investigate and install a new shower and a new water supply in the property. The landlord noted that the resident had reported the matter on 29 November 2021 and explained that because the resident had a bath as a back-up washing facility a routine repair had been raised. The landlord recognised that it had not scheduled the repair and apologised that the resident had had to chase the landlord for an appointment in January 2022. The landlord also confirmed that it had not held a record of the resident’s disability on her account but had noted this when she referred to it in January 2022. The landlord confirmed that it had installed a new shower in the property on 8 February 2022 and had installed a new water supply in October 2022. The landlord acknowledged that it had not responded to the resident’s requests for information or compensation between July and September 2022 which had resulted in her making a complaint in October 2022. The landlord upheld the complaint and offered a goodwill gesture of £250 for its poor communication, slow progress, and for the inconvenience the matter had caused.
The resident escalated her complaint to stage 3 of the complaint procedure on 25 November 2022. The resident said that the goodwill gesture did not cover the extra costs she had incurred while waiting nearly a year for a usable shower. The resident referred to fuel costs and increased electricity costs. The resident also referred to the stress, anxiety and physical health struggles that had been caused. The resident said that she was aware that compensation was available and did not accept that the matter could not be resolved.
Following contact from the resident this Service sent an email to the landlord on 2 December 2022 asking it to respond to the resident’s complaints by 9 December 2022.
The landlord sent an email to the resident on 5 December 2022 to advise her that it had not been able to speak to its surveyor about the water pressure and so would update her by 7 December 2022. The landlord sent an update email the next day to advise her that it had held a conversation with its contractor and had scheduled a meeting later the same day to discuss what it could do next because the resident believed the water pressure could be further improved.
The resident emailed the landlord on 8 December 2022 to ask if her complaint had been escalated to the executive review stage as she had requested on 25 November 2022. The resident also said that she had not received the £250 goodwill gesture that had been offered.
The landlord sent a stage 3 response to the resident on 9 December 2022. The landlord said that it continued to uphold the resident’s complaint and that its previous response had been fair and accurate. It also that there was nothing specific in its compensation policy and procedures relating to poor water pressure but that it appreciated that the resident had had to take longer and slower showers which would have caused inconvenience. The landlord increased its previous compensation offer to £400 as a gesture of goodwill. The landlord confirmed that although the water pressure had improved it had arranged for an inspection of the property to be completed on 13 December 2022 to reassess the water pressure. The landlord confirmed that its letter was its final response and referred the resident to this Service.

Events that took places after completion of the internal complaint procedure.

The landlord visited the property on 13 December 2022 and told the resident there was nothing further it could do to address the water pressure from the shower.
The landlord emailed the resident on 14 December 2022 to confirm that the compensation payment of £400 would be credited to her bank account by 26 December 2022.
The landlord discussed the low water pressure matters with the resident in January 2024 during which she said that she had not raised the matter again because she had been told there was nothing else that could be done. The landlord confirmed that it had not retained a record of the previous inspection it completed in December 2022 and agreed to send a surveyor to inspect the property and provide a second opinion. It also agreed to investigate her concerns about the installation of the bath. The landlord recorded updated information about the resident’s disabilities and said that it would update its housing database.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of low pressure from the shower in the bathroom.

It is unclear whether the resident had reported concerns about the shower to the landlord prior to November 2021 given that she later advised that it had affected her for 5 to 6 years. However the landlord raised a works order to investigate it on 21 November 2021. The resident chased the landlord for an update on the repair on 6 January 2022 because she had not received any further contact from the landlord. The landlord noted on the works order that an appointment had not been available within the target time and that it had ’reappointed’ the repair. It was inappropriate for the landlord not to have booked an appointment for the repair within its routine 28-day timescale. It was also unreasonable for the landlord not to have communicated the delay to the resident when it realised it had no available appointments. This was missed opportunity for the landlord to manage the resident’s expectations and which consequently caused time and trouble to the resident.
The resident reported that she had a disability to the landlord when she chased the repair on 6 January 2022. Her MP also confirmed that she had an immune disorder in an email she had sent to the landlord on 24 January 2022. The landlord explained in an email it sent in July 2022 that because the resident had a bath which was an alternative bathing source the repair priority had not been considered urgent. However, there is no evidence that the landlord investigated the resident’s medical health further so as to understand her vulnerabilities and whether this required a change of repair priority under the provisions of its repairs policy. Neither did it make a note of the reported disability on its housing databases, nor demonstrate that it had considered its obligations under the EA2010. This was inappropriate.
The landlord installed a new shower in the property on 8 February 2022 which was 71 days after it had raised a routine works order to repair the shower. It was inappropriate for the landlord not to have completed the shower repair within its 28-day timescale for a routine repair and this caused distress and inconvenience to the resident.
The resident’s MP asked the landlord if it could install a power shower in the property in an email she sent on 10 March 2022, indicating that the replacement shower had not resolved the low water pressure problems. However this Service has not seen any evidence that the landlord took any further action until 3 May 2022 when it raised a works order to complete a water pressure survey. The investigative approach taken by the landlord to consider alternative causes of the low water pressure was appropriate, however the landlord should have completed this work sooner so as to reduce the detriment the ongoing matter caused the resident.
The landlord undertook a series of investigations and repairs between 13 May 2022 and 7 October 2022 which resulted in the landlord connecting the property to its own individual water supply. The actions taken by the landlord in this regard were appropriate and suggest that it took a reasonable approach to finding a lasting solution to the matter. The resident confirmed in a complaint and compensation request she sent to the landlord on 19 October 2022 that the water pressure had been fixed. However, the time taken for the landlord to reconnect the property to a new water supply was 147 days which was significantly longer that the landlord 84-day target for non-routine repairs. This delay caused further distress and inconvenience and time and trouble to the resident.
The landlord considered its handling of the repairs to the shower and the water pressure when responding to her complaint. The landlord recognised that its poor communication and slow progress had caused inconvenience to the resident, and it upheld her complaint and offered her a compensation payment. It was appropriate for the landlord to have considered the detriment its handling of the repairs had caused to the resident during its assessment of her complaint. When there are acknowledged failings by a landlord, as is the case here, the Ombudsman will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. The landlord offered the resident £250 as compensation in its initial complaint response of 5 November 2022 and increased the offer to £400 in its final complaint response of 9 December 2022. However it is the view of this Service that the landlord’s offer was not proportionate to the distress and inconvenience the matter had caused to the resident. An increased award of compensation is therefore ordered below.
It is evident that the situation had been distressing for the resident and that she had asked the landlord for compensation for the petrol costs she incurred by traveling to use her partner’s shower. However, we are not in a position to assess whether the increase in petrol costs was directly as a result of the landlord’s actions in responding to her reports of low water pressure. However, as set out above we have made an order for further compensation for the distress and inconvenience and time and trouble the matter caused to the resident.
It is evident that the landlord took a solution focussed investigative approach to completing repairs to the water pressure in the property. By doing so the landlord sought to provide a lasting solution to the matter and this was appropriate. However the landlord took an unreasonable amount of time to complete the repairs which it was expected to have completed within its own policy timescales. Furthermore it did not appropriately communicate with the resident in keeping with good customer care principles. The landlord had been made aware of the resident’s medical circumstances which it raised in internal emails it sent about the matters, but it did not record this information on its housing databases, nor did it fully explore how this affected the resident. This was unreasonable and could have been remedied by asking the resident to explain further how her condition affected her bathing needs and/or discussing whether any reasonable adjustments could be implemented. It is noted that since the completion of the internal complaint procedure the landlord has completed further inspections of the property and is re-evaluating the water pressure from the shower.
Taking all matters into account this Service finds maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of low water pressure from the shower in the bathroom.

The landlord’s handling and management of the resident’s complaints

There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaints as the landlord:
1. Unreasonably extended the date for providing its stage 2 complaint response 4 times.
2. Told the resident that it had extended the dates for its stage 2 response without agreeing the extensions of time with the resident. This was not in line with principles of the Code.
3. Provided its stage 2 response to the resident 27 working days after she had submitted it to the landlord, and which was 17 working days later than its policy target time.
When a landlord is at fault it need to put things right by acknowledging its mistakes and apologising for them, explaining why things went wrong and what the landlord will do to prevent the same mistake happening again. The landlord offered a compensation payment for its repairs failings. However, it did not consider its handling of the resident’s complaint when reviewing the housing services it had provided. This was a missed opportunity for the landlord to consider the impact its complaint handling delays had on the resident. An award of compensation for complaint handling is therefore ordered below.

The landlord’s knowledge and information management

Despite vulnerability information being provided to the landlord by the resident and her MP in January 2022 this Service has not seen any evidence that the landlord recorded the information provided on its housing databases.
It is evident to this Service that the landlord recognised that it had not updated its records when it referred to the missing vulnerability information again in an email it sent on 24 November 2022.
The landlord has told this Service that it contacted the resident to obtain updated information about her disabilities in January 2024. Furthermore that it would be updating its housing records as a result. Consequently this Service finds service failure in the landlord’s knowledge and information management.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of low water pressure from the shower in her bathroom.
In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaints.
In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s knowledge and information management.

Reasons

The landlord took an unreasonably long amount of time to investigate and complete repairs to resolve the low water pressure in the property. Furthermore, the landlord failed to appropriately investigate and consider the impact its repairs handling had on the resident and her medical conditions.
The landlord failed to comply with its own complaints policy and the Code during its handling of the resident’s complaints. The landlord failed to investigate its own complaint handling and therefore consider whether compensation for its complaint delays was appropriate.
The landlord failed to record the vulnerability information it had been provided by the resident and her MP on its housing database.

Orders and recommendations

The landlord is ordered to apologise to the resident for its failings in managing the shower and low water pressure repairs and for its complaint handling and knowledge and information management failures. This is to be provided in writing within 4 weeks of the date of this report.
In addition to the previous compensation the landlord issued in December 2022 and within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total of £600 in compensation made up as follows:
1. £400 for the distress and inconvenience and time and trouble incurred by the resident as a result of the landlord’s failings in its response to the resident’s reports of low water pressure from the shower in her bathroom.
2. £100 for time and trouble caused to the resident related to the landlord’s complaint handling failures.
3. £100 for the time and trouble caused to the resident in its failings in its knowledge and information management.

The compensation is to be paid direct to the resident and not offset against any money that the resident may owe the landlord.

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to provide evidence to this Service that it has updated its housing records with the resident’s medical and/or vulnerability information, subject to the receipt of her consent.
Within 6 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to provide the resident and this Service with an update on the repair appointment that has been booked for 26 February 2024. If further works to the shower, water pressure, or the location of the bath are required the landlord should send the resident and this Service details of the works within 2 weeks of the date of the appointment together with a timetable for the works to be carried out.
Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to review the learning on this case in respect of its management of knowledge and information. It is ordered that the landlord reviews and incorporates the best practise highlighted in the Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on knowledge and information into the provision of housing services. In particular related to:
1. The retention and management of accurate records about disclosed disability and/or vulnerability.
2. The retention and management of accurate property inspection records.