Birmingham City Council (202228647)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202228647

Birmingham City Council

17 April 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about damage to a window by its contractor.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant. The property is a flat, situated on the 5th floor of a high-rise building. At the time of the complaint, the building was in the process of being refurbished by the landlord.
  2. The resident reported damage to her balcony window on 23 May 2022, after the window was struck by a moveable platform in use by a contractor. As a result of the impact, the resident reported that she was unable to close the window. It is understood that this was a bedroom window. The landlord’s contractor inspected the window on 30 May 2022.
  3. The resident raised a stage 1 complaint on 8 July 2022. The resident was dissatisfied because the landlord had not updated her regarding repairs required to the window, despite asking for updates on several occasions. To remedy the complaint, the resident wanted the landlord to clarify when the window would be repaired. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on the same day.
  4. The landlord’s contractor sent a letter to the resident on 12 July 2022, explaining that it had attended the resident’s property on several occasions to discuss the damage to the window and to explain the steps it was taking. However, the resident had not been at home. The resident was asked to make contact to arrange a convenient time to meet.
  5. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 15 July 2022. The landlord noted that the resident had now spoken to its contractor. Its contractor had expressed its hope that the window repair would be completed by 19 August 2022. It said that the resident would be kept updated.
  6. The resident escalated the complaint to stage 2 on 5 September 2022, because the landlord had not taken the action it had promised. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on the same day.
  7. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 8 September 2022. The landlord explained that its contractor had struggled to source parts for the window. It said it would provide a further updates once the parts had been delivered. In the meantime, its contractor would attend the property to see if it could close the window.
  8. The landlord told the Ombudsman that the window was repaired on 15 March 2024. The resident told the Ombudsman on 16 April 2024, that the landlord endeavoured to repair the window on 11 April 2024. However, it was still not possible to open the window due to an issue with the handle.

Assessment and findings

  1. Before starting refurbishment works, the landlord sent a general letter to all residents explaining that it would be installing a powered platform lift on the outside of the building. The letter asked residents to keep their windows closed during working hours, to avoid any damage being caused by the platform. It is understood that the resident’s window was open at the time of the incident. This was unfortunate given the instructions previously given, but the landlord accepts this did not excuse its delay in repairing the window.
  2. After the resident reported damage to the window on 23 May 2022, the landlord’s contractor inspected the window 5 working days later. The landlord has not provided a copy of its inspection report. There is no evidence that the landlord raised a works order for follow on works, which is of concern.
  3. The landlord did not inform the resident of its intentions in regard to repairing the window in a timely manner. This was unfair and left the resident unclear how the matter would be resolved.
  4. The resident stated in her stage 1 complaint that she had chased the landlord several times but had not received a response. This is not reflected by the landlord’s records. This suggests there may be an issue with the landlord’s record keeping.
  5. The landlord did not complete the window repair by 19 August 2022 as it had hoped. There is no evidence that the landlord proactively contacted the resident to explain the reason for the delay, which was unreasonable.
  6. After the resident escalated her complaint to stage 2, the landlord’s contractor attended the property on 8 September 2022 and secured the window shut. It said that it would arrange a date to complete a full repair, which was dependent upon delivery of ordered parts and materials. This information was echoed in the landlord’s stage 2 response. While this remedied the resident’s immediate concern about drafts, from here on, the resident was unable to open the window as a means of ventilating or controlling the temperature of the room. This would have been particularly inconvenient in a bedroom, where humidity levels naturally increase while sleeping.
  7. The Ombudsman accepts that the landlord may have struggled to secure the required parts or materials for the window to complete the work. However, the landlord should have proactively kept the resident informed. There is limited evidence seen that this happened, which was unreasonable given the landlord said it would keep the resident updated.
  8. At the beginning of August 2023, nearly 15 months after the window was first broken, the resident contacted her local member of parliament (MP) for support in finding a resolution. In response, the landlord raised a new works order on 10 August 2023, to fully replace the window. It is understood that the supplier had an 8 to 12 week delivery time for supply of the new window. The landlord has not confirmed its reason for raising the new works order, but if it was having difficulty obtaining parts, this was a pragmatic decision. However, the landlord should have set out its expectations for completing the repair, within its response to the MP. According to the new works order, the new target completion date for the work was 31 March 2024. The landlord’s failure to manage the resident’s expectations concerning this was unfair.
  9. After the Ombudsman asked the landlord for evidence to support this investigation, the landlord’s contractor emailed the resident on 10 October 2023. It offered to remove and board up the window as an interim measure. As well as alleviating drafts, it said this would allow it to inspect the window more closely and see if it could be straightened. Given the target date for replacing the window was still 5 months away, this was probably in the resident’s best interests. However, since the landlord had already managed to close the window, the resident chose to wait until the new window could be fitted. The Ombudsman is concerned that the resident made this decision without understanding the timescales for replacing the window. The continued lack of transparency by the landlord about this was unreasonable.
  10. It is encouraging that the landlord has self-reflected on its handling of the repair. It identified itself that the window repair was not adequately followed up from the initial enquiry, which it attributed to a high turnaround of staff. It also identified issues in regard to internal communications related to the ordering of parts. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, there was an apparent lack of oversight by the landlord over its contractor in this case. It also failed to track the repair expeditiously through to completion. Cumulatively, such failings delayed resolution of the matter for the resident.
  11. Although the landlord claims to have repaired the window in advance of its target completion date, this is disputed by the resident. The resident claims that the landlord did not endeavour to repair the window until 11 April 2024, which as of 15 April 2024, still could not be opened due to a faulty window handle. It is unclear whether the landlord was aware of this. The Ombudsman would have expected the landlord’s contractor to have checked that the window was fully operational upon completing the window repair. If follow-on works were required, its contractor should have informed the resident and the landlord at the time and acted accordingly. It is unfair that the resident has not had full use of her bedroom window for nearly 23 months. The landlord is ordered to investigate the current position with the window and arrange follow-on works if necessary.
  12. In January 2023, the Ombudsman issued a special report about the landlord highlighting concerns with its repair handling, record keeping, complaint handling, and compensation. The report recommended that the landlord independently review those areas and develop an action plan based on the findings. While the landlord has engaged with the Ombudsman and progress has been made, similar failings have been identified in this case, in relation to the landlord’s handling of repairs. The landlord should consider the findings highlighted in this report against the recommendations in the Ombudsman’s special report of January 2023. A relevant order is made later in respect of this.
  13. The Ombudsman finds maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about damage to a window by its contractor. The resident was caused inconvenience, frustration, as well as increased time and trouble.
  14. As a remedy, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay compensation which reflects the resident’s inconvenience, and the impact caused to the resident by the landlord’s lack of oversight over its contractor and required repairs. This calculation is based on loss of use of the window between 23 May 2022 and 31 March 2024. The Ombudsman considers it reasonable to compensate at a rate of £5 weekly over this period. The Ombudsman makes separate orders for compensation in recognition of the impact caused to the resident from inadequacies in the landlord’s communications and in respect of the resident’s time and trouble. If on investigation, the landlord establishes that follow-on works are required, the landlord should consider making a further offer of compensation which recognises the added delay and the resident’s continued inconvenience.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about damage to a window by its contractor.

Orders

  1. The landlord must write to the resident to apologise for the failings identified in this report.
  2. The landlord must pay compensation of £680 directly to the resident. This compensation has been determined in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance and is broken down as follows:
    1. £480 in recognition of the inconvenience and impact caused to the resident by loss of use of a window.
    2. £100 in recognition of the inconvenience and uncertainty caused to the resident by inadequacies in the landlord’s communications.
    3. £100 in recognition of the resident’s time and trouble.
  3. The landlord must investigate the current position with the window and arrange follow-on works if necessary. Where follow-on works are required, the landlord should consider making a further offer of compensation which recognises the added delay and the resident’s continued inconvenience.
  4. The landlord must consider the findings highlighted in this investigation regarding its handling of repairs, against the recommendations in the Ombudsman’s special report of January 2023. Thereafter, the landlord should assure itself that it has implemented corrective actions to ensure that repairs are appropriately managed thorough to completion. The landlord must share with the Ombudsman the actions that it has taken or will take.
  5. The landlord must provide evidence to the Ombudsman that it has complied with the above orders, within 4 weeks of the date of this decision.