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Basildon Borough Council (202203138)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202203138

Basildon Borough Council

28 September 2022


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:
    1. The landlord’s response to the resident’s request to repair or replace the guttering at the property.
    2. The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. In November 2021, the resident contacted the landlord as an appointment relating to ongoing repairs with her fence, roof and bath had been missed. On 16 December 2021, the landlord confirmed with the resident that repairs had been carried out to the fencing at the property and the bath had now been repaired, it stated that the guttering had been referred to a contractor.
  3. Due to the dissatisfaction shown by the resident on 24 November 2021, the landlord acknowledged this as a stage zero complaint. The resident raised concerns originally about an appointment for the fencing repair being missed. She then raised further concerns with the landlord about the ongoing issues with the gutter filling with water which resulted in it leaking and, was dissatisfied that this had not yet been repaired despite numerous appointments where little progress was apparent other than inspections or photos being taken.
  4. On 22 December 2021, the landlord advised the resident that remedial works had been booked for 05 January 2022. However, the contractor was unable to complete the repairs and install the downpipe needed as there would have been no drain for it to connect to. Between 19 January 2022 and 28 April 2022 there were five appointments relating to the gutter repairs, in which, remedial works were carried out such as excavating a gully that needed to be exposed. However, the contractors were unable to repair the gutter and following this, an appointment was then made for 16 May 2022 for a further inspection.
  5. In the landlord’s response to the complaint, it offered a total of £120 in compensation. This was made up of £20 for the missed appointment for the fencing repair and, £100 to acknowledge the delays and inconvenience. It apologised for the poor communication and delays throughout the repairs process. It stated that staff had been reminded of the importance of communication with residents and that an engineer would attend on 16 May 2022 to fit a downpipe to the gutter which should relieve the gutter from filling with water.
  6. On 16 May 2022, the resident contacted this Service to escalate her complaint due to the repairs not being completed on the day as the contractor advised the resident the gutter needed to be replaced rather than repaired. The resident is seeking for the landlord to replace the guttering, repair the damage caused due to the gutter leaking such as damp and stains within the property and, for compensation to be increased.
  7. Following the complaint escalated to this Service, the resident has stated that despite further appointments throughout July and August 2022, the issue has not yet been resolved. The resident has informed this Service that she has received no update regarding the works since the last appointment on 25 August where the contractor stated they had installed a temporary fix. The repairs were outstanding on 9 September 2022.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

  1. The resident has informed this Service that the leaking gutters have resulted in damp and staining within the property. The Ombudsman understands that this will be distressing for the resident, but the landlord must be given the opportunity to respond to the resident’s additional concerns. The landlord has not yet investigated a complaint about damp in the property, or the adequacy of its response. Paragraph 39(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme says the Ombudsman ‘will not consider complaints which in his opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint handling failure and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member has not taken action within a reasonable timescale’.

Policies and Procedures

  1. The repairs policy states that the landlord is responsible for maintaining the gutters at the property.
  2. The complaints policy states that there is a stage zero complaint which does not always require a formal written response and, stage one, two and three responses which are all responded to within 10 working days.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s request to repair or replace the guttering at the property.

  1.  The resident originally raised concerns with the landlord following an appointment being missed in relation to a fencing repair, she also requested updates on repairs to her bath and the guttering at the property. The landlord acted appropriately in acknowledging the missed appointment and compensating the resident £20, which followed its compensation policy. It also carried out remedial work to the bath in the property, however, the issues with the guttering were ongoing. The landlord informed the resident that the remedial work for the gutter had been referred to a contractor.
  2.  Following this referral, a contractor attended the property on 05 January 2022 to produce a schedule of works and assess the gutters. This was 2 months after the resident’s November 2021 concerns. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to treat the remedial works on the gutter as a routine repair, which, in best practice, should have been completed within 28 days and therefore the timescale in this case was inappropriate. Following the inspection, a contractor attended on 09 February 2022, which was a further 26 working days from the last appointment. A CCTV survey of the gutters took place, and works were recommended.
  3.  Similarly, contractors attended on 07 April 2022, however, the works could not be completed due to a gully needing to be excavated. The gully extended on to a private neighbour’s land and therefore the landlord had to request the neighbour’s permission. Following the permission being obtained, the gully was excavated on 14 April. From the 09 February when the CCTV survey was completed, until the 07 April when work was to commence, it was a total of 42 working days which is an unreasonable delay, especially when taking into consideration that the original issues were reported prior to November 2021. However, the delay caused in April whilst waiting for the neighbour’s permission for the works was outside of the landlord’s control and therefore, this element was a reasonable delay.
  4.  Following the remedial works on 14 April 2022, the contractor attended on 28 April 2022 and was unable to complete any further remedial work as it was not possible to fit a downpipe on the existing gutter. The landlord arranged a further appointment on 16 May 2022, however, contractors were unable to complete remedial works as it stated the gutter needed to be replaced, rather than repaired. Ultimately, it is a landlord’s responsibility to ensure that the contractors it arranges are able to complete the necessary works and that remedial works are completed within an appropriate timeframe. In this case, there were a considerable number of appointments which resulted in further delays as works had not been appropriately identified or it was not possible for the works to be carried out.
  5.  The impact of the delays in remedial works was further exacerbated by the landlord’s poor communication with the resident. It acknowledged this, and apologised to the resident. It also advised the resident that it had learnt from its poor communication and offered further staff training so that members of staff understand the importance of maintaining communication with residents going forward. This was appropriate action for the landlord to take and, showed it had learnt from its previous mistakes.
  6.  In addition to this, the landlord offered the resident a total of £120 in compensation for the delays and inconvenience, including the £20 previously offered for the missed appointment. The compensation it offered was disproportionately low given the 11 month delay and that this delay is ongoing. Furthermore the landlord has failed to learn from the complaint given the repeated incorrect or incomplete repair visits.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1.  The landlord’s complaints policy states that its stage zero complaint may not need a formal written response and, it’s stage one, two and three responses would be sent within 10 working days. Whilst the landlord appropriately handled the stage zero, one and two responses, the stage two escalation was requested by the resident on 07 January 2021 and was not responded to until 09 May 2022 which is a total of 84 working days later. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to respond to the escalation within the 10-working day timescale, as stated in its complaints policy.
  2. In relation to this, the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code states that a landlord’s complaints procedure shall comprise of two stages.  The Ombudsman does not believe a third stage is necessary as part of a complaints process but if a landlord believes strongly it requires one, it should set out its reasons as part of the self-assessment. A process with more than three stages is not appropriate in the Ombudsman’s view.
  3.  Similarly, a landlord’s complaints procedure shall include the following maximum timescales for response:
    1. Logging and acknowledgement of complaint – five working days.
    2. Stage one decision – 10 working days from receipt of complaint.
    3. Stage two response – 20 working days from request to escalate.
    4. Stage three response – where a landlord believes this stage is absolutely necessary a response should be sent within 20 working days from request to escalate.
  4. In summary, whilst the landlord handled the first three stages of its complaint process efficiently, its final complaint response exceeded the appropriate timeframe by a considerable length and therefore, this constitutes a service failure. Likewise, the landlords handling of the complaint should not have extended across four stages and it is recommended that it reviews its complaints policy in order to bring it in line with the Complaint Handling Code.

Determination

  1.  In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in way the landlord responded to the resident’s request to repair or replace the guttering at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in the way it handled the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total of £370 inclusive of the £120 previously offered by the landlord if it has not yet been paid. This is made up of:
    1. £20 for the missed appointment as previously offered by the landlord.
    2. £300 for the 11 month and ongoing delay in the guttering work.
    3. £50 for the landlord’s poor complaint handling
    4. This should be paid within four weeks of the date of this letter.
  2. The landlord should arrange to complete any outstanding remedial works in relation to the gutters at the property within four weeks of the date of this letter.
  3. The landlord should raise a complaint regarding the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns of damp and staining. If any failings are found, the landlord should consider giving additional compensation.
  4. The landlord is ordered to review its Complaints Policy to bring it in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code. This should be completed within four weeks of the date of this letter.