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Catalyst Housing Limited (202001847)

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REPORT

 

COMPLAINT 202001847

Catalyst Housing Limited

15 January 2021


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint concerns:
    1. the landlord’s response to reports of water ingress and a lack of electricity supply to the garage;
    2. the level of service provided by an operative who attended after hours to investigate the issue.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord in respect of a second floor flat. She rents a garage in the same building under a separate agreement. There is no internal access between the garage and the flat.
  2. On 14 January 2020, the resident raised a complaint with the landlord regarding the conduct and timekeeping of an operative. In a follow-up email three days later, the resident stated that she had been asked to provide access three times without any repairs being completed. She noted that there had been no electricity to the garage for over a year and the electrician who attended on 14 January 2020 was unable to ascertain why. The resident said that she had tried to contact the contractors on three occasions but was cut off after waiting 20 minutes each time.
  3. The landlord provided its stage one response to the complaint on 31 January 2020 and offered the resident £200 in apology for the inconvenience caused by delayed repairs. The complaint exhausted the complaint process on 27 March 2020. The resident referred the complaint to the Ombudsman and reports that there is still no electricity in her garage.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 39(j) of the Scheme sets out that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, “concern the terms and operation of commercial or contractual relationships not connected with the complainant’s application for, or occupation of, a property for residential purposes.”
  2. The reported issues with the garage have no doubt caused the resident distress. However, the garage is not demised to the resident under the occupancy agreement for the property but is let under a separate contract. The complaints therefore relate to the standard of services provided under that contract, and not in relation to the occupation of the property. As such, the complaints fall outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction in line with paragraph 39(i) of the Scheme.