Home Group Limited (202103597)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202103597

Home Group Limited

29 October 2021

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 request for a new kitchen.

Background and summary of events

2. The resident has held a secure tenancy for a 4-bedroom house since 2003 and lives with his wife and children. Landlord records show no vulnerabilities recorded.

Relevant Landlord Policies

3. The landlord’s Property Management Policy, standard six, says that as a minimum the landlord gathers information from stock condition surveys to develop planned maintenance programmes and works to ensure properties meet the ‘Decent Homes Standard’. Standard 10 of the policy covers response repairs.
4. The landlord’s Response Repairs policy says that further information about appointments can be found in its Repairs and Maintenance Standard Operating Procedure, however this link is broken.
5. The landlord’s online Customer Handbook contains information on maintenance and repairs and confirms that the landlord is responsible for kitchens it has fitted, plinths, worktops and units.
6. The landlord’s Complaints, Compliments and Comments Policy says that the landlord will respond in a timely manner in accordance with legislation, and appropriate Ombudsman services. 
7. The landlord’s online information says that complaints will be responded to in 10 working days at stage one, and 20 working days at stage two.

Summary of events

8. The resident contacted the landlord on 2 February 2021 as an inspection of his kitchen had been made, but the resident had not heard back. The resident said the kitchen was failing to bits, and he wanted to know if a new kitchen had been approved.
9. On 12 March 2021, the landlord’s database recorded that the kitchen repair had been chased by the resident. An inspection of the kitchen was undertaken on 20 March 2021.
10. The landlord logged a complaint on 21 Mar 2021:
    1. The resident had been reporting the condition of the kitchen since it was installed, it was unhygienic, the electrics were too close to the cooker, the sink was not level and there was an issue with the radiator.
    2. The resident had stated that a previous inspection had found the kitchen needed a one-off replacement but then another the previous day had found the current condition was satisfactory and the kitchen could be repaired.
    3. The resident disagreed and wanted an independent investigation as the kitchen breached health and safety regulations and he wanted someone with health and safety qualifications to check the kitchen.
    4. The resident was sick of being ‘fobbed off’ and inspections being carried out but nothing happening, and no updates being provided.
11. On 31 March 2021 the landlord logged a repair for the radiators in the kitchen and at the top of the stairs. This was shown as completed on 6 April 2021.
12. A stage one complaint response was issued on 1 April 2021:
    1. The landlord had spoken to the resident on 24 March 2021 to discuss the complaint, and a visit had been arranged for 25 March 2021 when the Maintenance Manager and a Director had inspected the kitchen.
    2. It was proposed that repairs would be made including renewing two cupboards, but existing doors will be kept.
    3. A plinth would be supplied and fitted but this would be chargeable.
    4. A shelf under the sink would be renewed, this would also be chargeable.
    5. The base units would be levelled to allow refitting of the worktop.
    6. Electrical sockets would be repositioned, and tiles installed.
    7. If the resident wished to remove tiles to the ceiling height, the landlord could plaster the walls, but this would be chargeable. 
    8. The landlord had discussed this with the resident on 26 March 2021 but understood that they remained dissatisfied and wanted the complaint escalated to stage two. 
13. An acknowledgment was sent to the resident on 8 April 2021 and the stage two response was issued on 6 May 2021:
    1. The resident had major concerns regarding the kitchen, including that the electrics were incorrectly positioned, the sink uneven and it was generally unhygienic.
    2. Following the stage one complaint, a manager and a director inspected the kitchen on 25 March 2021, and it was later confirmed that the kitchen would be repaired not renewed.
    3. Work was proposed including the renewal of one complete cupboard and the renewal of another but with the existing door. 
    4. A plinth and shelf would be renewed, and base units made level to resolve the sink issue.
    5. Electrical sockets would be repositioned, and three rows of tiles installed.
    6. The resident had remained dissatisfied as he wanted a full renewal of the kitchen.
    7. The complaint was reviewed by a regional maintenance manager at stage two. The manager had taken advice from other senior staff including the maintenance surveyor. The landlord said that the kitchen would not be renewed as it was not a Health and Safety Rating System (HSRS) failure and therefore it would complete repairs to the existing kitchen as stated at stage one of the complaint process.
    8. The kitchen had been renewed in 2012 and was due to be renewed in 2032 driven by the stock condition survey undertaken in 2014.
    9. The landlord asked the resident if he now wished to accept the works proposed in the visit on 25 March 2021, so it could ensure the work was raised and completed.
    10. Further appeal rights and contact details for this Service were given.  

Assessment and findings

14. This Service has a very specific role in considering whether a landlord has met its obligations to the resident, in line with any relevant policies and procedures, and taken reasonable steps to resolve the complaint. It is not the role of this Service to decide whether the kitchen at the property requires replacement, but rather to determine whether the landlord responded to the resident’s reports of problems in a reasonable and competent manner.
15. The landlord has relied on the findings of its experts, including a surveyor, a regional manager and one of its directors having carried out several inspections of the property and concluded that the kitchen should be repaired. 
16. There is no evidence to indicate that the landlord is obliged to provide a new kitchen to the resident’s property. The landlord has identified repairs and is waiting for the resident to agree that these can go ahead. In this way, it has responded to the resident’s concerns in a reasonable and competent manner.
17. It is noted that the resident said an earlier inspection had found that the kitchen should be replaced. Given the lack of any record of this previous inspection, it was reasonable for the landlord to require a further inspection. While this Service can understand that this was frustrating for the resident, the landlord did not act inappropriately here.
18. The landlord has shown that it instructed expert personnel to inspect the property and make a recommendation regarding the repair or otherwise of the resident’s kitchen. The Ombudsman has no documentary evidence on the basis of which to arrive at a contrary conclusion regarding the condition of the kitchen. Thus, this report finds that the action the landlord has taken in respect of the repair is reasonable and fair in all the circumstances.
19. The resident has said that the kitchen was not acceptable since it was installed 11 years earlier. There was evidence that a problem with the kitchen had been reported in December 2019 (and that this was responded to by appointment), however there is no evidence of a formal complaint being made before 2021.
20. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and whilst the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. As the issues become historic it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such as the Ombudsman, to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address those issues.
21. This is supported by paragraph 39(e) of the Scheme, which states that the Ombudsman will not consider issues which were not raised with the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within six months of the matters arising.  Although the resident has said there were problems with the kitchen since it was installed, no formal complaint appears to have been made prior to March 2021. This assessment does not consider any specific events prior to this time. 
22. The complaint was appropriately responded to within the landlord’s policy timeframes and those in the Housing Ombudsman Service Complaint Handling Code.

Determination (decision)

23. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Scheme there was no maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for a new kitchen.

Reasons

24. The landlord has responded appropriately to the resident’s complaint and is not obliged to replace the kitchen in the property.  

Recommendations

25. That the landlord reminds relevant staff of the necessity to feed back to residents following enquiries within a reasonable timeframe and record such contact. 
26. The landlord should ensure that the links from its Responsive Repairs Policy to its Repairs and Maintenance Standard Operating Procedure are working, or that this information is otherwise readily available to its customers and stakeholders.