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Havering Council (202214124)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202214124

Havering Council

19 July 2023

 

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 is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about communal electricity, CCTV, and other charges being included in her rent increase letter, and the amount it credited her for the communal electricity charge.

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 the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Background

  1. The resident held a tenancy with the landlord for a first floor flat. The flat shares a communal entrance with another address.
  2. On 22 February 2021, the resident received an annual rent review letter from the landlord. It listed all service charges for that year. These included, block cleaning, bulk rubbish collection, communal electricity, housing enforcement, and water charges.
  3. On 25 May 2021, the resident raised a stage one formal complaint with the landlord about the service charges. The resident stated that the rent review letter said she had to pay £1.23 per week towards communal electricity for the year. She said she had had past discussions with the landlord about this amount being credited to her every year, so didn’t see why she “had to pay this twice over”. The resident also said that the amount the landlord did credit her back every year didn’t cover the weekly charge. She said the electricity charge totalled “£63.96 a year and the landlord only credits her back £48”. The resident also explained that the space under her stairs was “like a junkyard” and did not see why she had to pay for block cleaning. The resident also stated she did not understand why she was being charged for bulk rubbish collection or housing enforcement charges.
  4. Following internal enquiries about the resident’s service charges by the landlord in June 2021, on 8 November 2021, the resident contacted the landlord again and requested her complaint be escalated to stage two of the landlord’s complaints process, as she had not received a response to her initial complaint. She explained that she wanted it to stop charging her for the communal electricity, block cleaning and CCTV.
  5. After writing to the resident in November and December 2021, and numerous times between February and August 2022 to update her on, and explain the delays in issuing its stage two response that she and her MP had continued to chase it about, the landlord issued its stage two response on 17 August 2022. It said that the resident had not been charged for communal electricity in 2020, 2021, or 2022. It explained that the annual rent review letter sent to the resident in 2021 had a communal electricity charge listed, but that was an error which had been identified before her rent payment was taken, so she had not been charged. The landlord also explained that CCTV charges for all residents had been removed in 2021.
  6. Additionally, the landlord said that the credits it had been paying the resident for communal electricity charges had been “indexed linked” and that it was satisfied the credits covered the cost. It explained that due to budgetary constraints it was unable to install a separate electricity feed. The landlord explained all other service charges were paid by all residents, and could not be removed. It apologised for the delay in issuing its stage two response, and offered the resident £50 in compensation for the delay.
  7. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response, and brought her complaint to the Ombudsman, where it was duly made on 2 November 2022, complaining about having had to pay service charges for electricity in communal areas, the high cost of this, and the landlord’s agreed credits for the charge not covering this, which she sought to be removed. She subsequently confirmed to us that she had been moved from the property, but that she should not have had to pay the communal electricity charge under her tenancy agreement for it.

Reasons

  1. Under paragraph 42 (e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion: “concern the level of rent or service charge or the amount of the rent or service charge increase.”
  2. The resident’s complaint is regarding service charges included in her rent, specifically, electricity, CCTV, cleaning, rubbish disposal, and housing enforcement charges. Complaints concerning the level of rent and service charge, or the amount of the rent or service charge increase, fall outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. This is because we do not have the authority or expertise to determine the level of rent or service charges in the way that a court or tribunal might. For this reason, the complaint is outside of the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman.