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Housing For Women (202101075)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202101075

Housing For Women

18 October 2023

 

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 handling of repairs to the roof, and;
    2. the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as an assured tenant since July 2015. The property is a 1 bedroom third floor flat, which has a part flat roof.
  2. The resident first reported a leak from the roof in 2017. The landlord completed several repairs between 2017 and 2020. On 28 May 2020, the resident complained about the amount of time the landlord was taking to repair the leak.
  3. In its stage 1 response on 10 September 2020, the landlord told the resident the leak was now repaired, and it would arrange to repair internal damaged caused by the leak. The landlord apologised for the delay in responding to the complaint, the delay in repairing the leak, and for the inconvenience caused. It offered £30 compensation.
  4. On 4 December 2020, the resident escalated her complaint because she said the leak had not been fixed. When the landlord did not respond, the resident contacted this Service in April 2021. The landlord did not respond to this Service’s enquiries. This Service issued a complaint handling failure order on 28 June 2021.
  5. On 30 June 2021, the landlord sent the resident a stage 1 response. It said the property needed a new roof and this would take several months to approve and complete. It said in the meantime it would undertake interim repairs and make good any internal damage. It said it would offer suitable alternative accommodation while the roof was replaced and would contact the resident to advise her when work would commence. It offered £140 for inconvenience, distress, and delay.
  6. The resident accepted the landlord’s decision to replace the roof and the offer of £140. She also accepted the need for a temporary decant while the roof was replaced. On 9 August 2021, she escalated the complaint when she said the landlord had not given her details on when the roof would be replaced.
  7. In its final response on 1 November 2021, the landlord acknowledged it had provided a poor service on complaint handling and keeping the resident informed about the roof replacement. It offered £1,500 for inconvenience and set out a broad timetable for replacing the roof. The resident accepted the landlord’s offer, but escalated her complaint to this Service on 13 December 2021, when she said the landlord had still not replaced the roof.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the roof

  1. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) the landlord is responsible for keeping in repair the structure and exterior of the property. This means the landlord has a general obligation to repair and maintain the property.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy sets out its specific responsibilities. The policy says the landlord must keep the structure and outside of the property in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. This includes the roof.
  3. The landlord’s repairs policy says repairs are prioritised according to the urgency and nature of the work. It says it aims to complete all repairs in one visit and wants it to take as little time as possible.
  4. When the resident reported a problem with a leak in 2017, the landlord attempted a repair. Records provided by the landlord show that over the next 3 years, it made 5 attempts to resolve the leak by repairing flashing, applying primer to the flat roof, replacing slates, and clearing gutters. This Service finds that it was reasonable for the landlord to attempt to repair the roof, in line with its repairs policy, when the resident raised the initial reports of a fault.
  5. The resident first complained that the leak had not been fixed in May 2020. In its first complaint response in September 2020, the landlord told the resident it had fixed the leak. When the resident complained again about the leak in December 2020, the landlord told the resident in June 2021 that it was looking at replacing the flat roof as previous repairs had not resolved the problem. It said this could take several months to consider, approve, and commence on site. It offered interim repairs and suggested alternative temporary accommodation while the major work was completed.
  6. The resident escalated her complaint because she said the landlord had not set out a date when the roof replacement work would be completed. In its final complaint response in December 2021, the landlord said it planned for the work to be completed by March 2022.
  7. This Service finds that the landlord’s overall approach to dealing with reports of a leak were reasonable. It initially attempted to repair the leak in line with its repairs policy. When this was not successful, it arranged a condition survey that identified that more significant work was needed. The landlord reasonably proposed interim repairs while it planned and carried out the major works. The landlord also reasonably proposed to move the resident into temporary accommodation.
  8. In its complaint response in June 2021, it told the resident that the work would take some time due to the need to approve the works and appoint contractors. Given the scale and location of the work, this Service finds that it was reasonable for the landlord to provide the resident with a general timeframe. This is because it was difficult for the landlord to give a precise timeframe owing to the complexity of the work and the preparations it needed to make. However, in its final response, the landlord accepted that it could have made this clearer.
  9. In addition, this Service has found that the landlord could have acted sooner following the resident’s report that the leak was not resolved in December 2020. It could have identified the need for roof replacement work earlier and reduced the amount of time the resident experienced inconvenience and distress from the ongoing leak. Because of this, this Service has found that the landlord failed to follow its repairs policy by not responding to the resident’s reports of an ongoing leak in December 2020. There was a significant delay during which time the resident continued to experience a leak in her home. This caused inconvenience and distress. In line with this Service’s remedies guidance, the landlord’s failure to follow its repairs policy resulted in the resident being adversely affected. Such a failure amounts to maladministration. This Service has noted that the landlord offered the resident £1,500 in its final response. This Service finds that this was appropriate compensation for the delay in repairing the leak.
  10. This Service has considered the landlord’s actions after its final response in November 2021, as the resident told this Service in September 2023 that the leak had not been resolved and there is internal damage. This Service asked the landlord for evidence that the roof had been replaced. The landlord has provided evidence that the flat roof was replaced on 25 April 2023, which this Service accepts. The landlord also advised that the resident has reported a leak. It said that this remained under investigation as the resident had not arranged access.
  11. However, this Service has noted that it took almost 18 months after the landlord’s final response to replace the roof, when it said work would be completed by March 2022. The resident had told the landlord in May 2021 how the leak was affecting the enjoyment of her home and the worry was affecting her sleep. The additional delay was a significant failing by the landlord, which caused further distress and inconvenience for the resident. In line with this Service’s remedies guidance, maladministration is identified in cases where the Ombudsman has found a significant failure. The landlord is ordered to compensate the resident an additional £800 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the additional delay in replacing the roof.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The landlord’s approach to complaints is set out in its complaints policy. The policy says that when it first receives a complaint it will provide a response within 10 working days. When a complaint is escalated, it will respond within 20 working days. The policy says a request for escalation should ideally be made within 20 working days of the stage 1 decision.
  2. The resident first complained about the time it was taking to resolve the roof leak on 28 May 2020. The landlord responded on 10 September 2020, which was 105 working days and was significantly outside its policy and this Service’s Complaint Handling Code. This Service has seen no evidence that the landlord contacted the resident to explain why there was a delay in responding to the complaint. The landlord’s significant delay in responding to the complaint was maladministration.
  3. The resident escalated her complaint on 4 December 2020. This was after 20 days but given the delay in the landlord’s response it would have been reasonable for the landlord to accept the escalation.
  4. When the resident did not receive a response to her escalated complaint, she contacted this service. This Service contacted the landlord on 14 April 2021 and asked it to respond to the resident. This Service wrote to the landlord again on 14 June 2021, as it had not responded, warning the Ombudsman would issue a complaint handling failure order. On 28 June 2021, this Service issued a complaint handling failure order.
  5. The landlord sent a complaint response to the resident on 30 June 2021. This was 140 working days after the resident escalated her complaint. To compound the delay, the landlord issued a second stage 1 response. The landlord said it had closed the previous complaint as it had not received a request to escalate to stage 2. It said contact from this Service had triggered a new stage 1 complaint due to the length of time since the previous issue was logged. Even though this Service had raised the escalation with the landlord, it decided to deal with the complaint, which was about the same issue, as a new stage 1 complaint. This was maladministration.
  6. The resident initially accepted the landlord’s response but escalated her complaint on 09 August 2021, when she said the landlord had not given her details on when the roof would be replaced.
  7. Following further intervention from this Service, the landlord issued its final response on 1 November 2021. This was 60 working days after the resident escalated her complaint. To compound the delay, the landlord’s response referred to a third stage complaint panel. The landlord later said it had used an out-of-date letter template and this was no longer part of its policy. It withdrew the offer of a panel when the resident escalated the complaint to this Service. The landlord’s handling of the escalated complaint, in terms of both the delay and issuing the wrong template, was maladministration.
  8. This Service finds that the landlord consistently failed to deal with the resident’s complaint in line with its policy or this Service’s Complaint Handling Code. There were 3 separate failures in the landlord’s complaint handling over an 11-month period. These related to significant delays, not escalating the complaint, and issuing the wrong template. Each of these were maladministration. These significantly inconvenienced the resident who took considerable time and trouble chasing the landlord and contacting this Service to get a response. This caused frustration for the resident, who had highlighted the effect the landlord’s lack of response was having on her health and wellbeing.
  9. The landlord failed to follow its policy and the Complaint Handling Code even after it had been issued with a complaint handling failure order. Combined, these were serious failings over a significant period of time in the landlord’s complaint handling, which had a significant impact on the resident. In line with this Service’s remedies guidance, severe maladministration is identified in cases where the Ombudsman has found a serious failure. The landlord is ordered to compensate the resident an additional £350 for the repeated failure to follow its complaints policy and the Complaint Handling Code.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of repairs to the roof.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was severe maladministration by the landlord in its complaint handling.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to write to the resident to apologise for the failures identified in this report, acknowledging its failures and the way the resident was treated within 4 weeks of this report.
  2. The landlord is ordered to compensate the resident a total of £2,650 within 4 weeks of this report. This comprises of:
    1. £1,500 as previously offered on 11 November 2021 if it has not already been paid.
    2. £800 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s further delays in completing work to the roof and taking a year longer to do so than it advised it would in its final stage 2 complaint response.
    3. £350 for the repeated failure to follow its complaints policy and the Complaint Handling Code
  3. The landlord is ordered to arrange an inspection of the property at a time convenient to the resident. It should satisfy itself that the leak is repaired, and if not, arrange necessary works. It should also identify any work required to repair damage caused by the leak and agree these with the resident. It should provide this Service with a report detailing the outcome of the inspection and its plans to carry out any necessary work within 6 weeks of the date of this report.
  4. The landlord is ordered to conduct a review of this complaint to identify opportunities to prevent a recurrence and demonstrate learning from the outcome of this complaint. Evidence of the review should be provided to this Service within 6 weeks of the date of this report.