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Lambeth Council (202221323)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221323

Lambeth Council

5 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 the landlord’s handling of repairs including leaks from a downpipe and blocked guttering.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the associated complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord. The resident has long term health conditions which the landlord is aware of.
  2. In October 2022, the resident’s neighbour reported that the guttering at the rear of the property needed repairing. The resident reported the same issue to the landlord on 3 November 2022.
  3. The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 8 November 2022. He said that a gutter was broken, causing water to run down the exterior walls of the property. This had caused damp in his kitchen and living room. He asked the landlord to repair the gutter and to clear it of leaves. He said that the problem had been happening for over a year.
  4. On 16 January 2023, the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said that:
    1. Its contractor was due to repair the gutter on 27 October 2022. This repair was rescheduled as the neighbour who had reported the issue was unavailable on that date.
    2. It had chased its contractor for updates on 8 November, 9 November, and 16 November 2022. An inspection was scheduled for 2 December 2022. The landlord chased its contractor for the outcome of the inspection on 5 December, 7 December, and 14 December 2022. A roofing contractor was due to attend on 29 December 2022, however, the landlord did not have information as to whether this had happened.
    3. Its contractor would clear the gutters on 17 January 2023, and the landlord would arrange for its surveyor to inspect the work once it had been completed.
    4. It apologised for any frustration, inconvenience and upset caused to the resident.
  5. The resident escalated his complaint on 27 January 2023. He said he had inspected the gutters as it was raining and there was still water pouring down the external wall of the property onto his kitchen roof. He said that the drainpipe had been dislocated and that the work carried out by the contractors had not been done satisfactorily.
  6. On 9 February 2023, the resident contacted the landlord. He said he had been told that the works would be finalised in 2 months’ time when the walls were dry. He said that a contractor had washed and painted the walls, however, water damage had caused the wallpaper in the living room to crack and the paint in the kitchen to bubble up. He said he had been told the contractors had only cleared out part of the gutter and he was worried that the issue would return if the entire gutter was not cleared.
  7. The resident contacted the landlord again on 13 February 2023. He said he had no record of his stage 2 complaint being acted upon. Nor had he received any communication from the landlord’s contractors about what steps were needed to complete the repairs.
  8. On 9 March 2023, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It apologised for any confusion, frustration and distress caused by its contractors. It said that the outstanding works had been scheduled for 14 March 2023.
  9. The resident complained to the Ombudsman on 17 March 2023. He said that the issues with the drainpipe and the gutter had not been resolved. He said he wanted the landlord to:
    1. ensure that the gutter was watertight,
    2. clear the gutter of leaves and install an anti-leaf mesh,
    3. check the brickwork for cracks and carry-out repointing,
    4. make good areas which needed refurbishment inside his home, and,
    5. carry out an inspection before the works were signed off.
  10. Between 22 March 2023 and 28 April 2023, the resident continued to contact the landlord. He said that its contractors had not attended booked appointments on multiple occasions. He informed the landlord that he had a long-term illness, and the smell of damp was affecting his chest. He said that the issue was getting worse as the contractors had removed the mortar between the bricks but had not returned to complete the repointing. Each time he tried to call the contractors for updates there was a 60-minute wait to get through.
  11. The landlord contacted this service on 9 August 2023. It said that all the work had been completed and it had offered the resident £250 compensation for the delays and inconvenience.
  12. On 20 September 2023, the resident told this service that the gutter had not been repaired properly, and water was cascading down the side of his property again.

Assessment

Scope of investigation:

  1. The resident reported to the landlord that his health was affected by the landlord’s handling of the repairs. This service does not doubt the resident’s comments about his health, and it is accepted that damp can have a negative impact on health. However, it is beyond the Ombudsman’s remit to consider whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and the resident’s health. This service can consider any distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about his health.

Policies and procedures:

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it is responsible for repairs to the main structure and fabric of its properties including roofs, walls, gutters, and drains. The policy states that the landlord is responsible for monitoring the quality of its contractors’ work and performance. It also states that all non-emergency repairs should be completed within 30 working days of the repairs being reported.
  2. The landlord’s complaints process has 2 stages. The policy states that at stage 1, complaints should be acknowledged within 3 working days. At both stage 1 and stage 2, a response should be sent to residents within 15 working days.
  3. The Ombudsman’s complaints handling code (published on our website) states that landlords must address all points raised in the complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law, and good practice where appropriate.

The landlord’s handling of the repairs

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy, set out above, states that it will deal with non-emergency repairs within 30 working days. The gutter and broken downpipe were first reported to the landlord in October 2022, and the necessary repairs were not confirmed as complete until 9 August 2023. This was 8 months outside of the landlord’s stated timescales for completing repairs. The landlord has not given an adequate explanation for this delay; therefore, the Ombudsman can only conclude that it was unreasonable. It would have been difficult and distressing for the resident to live with the repair issues for such a long time before they were fixed.  It was not acceptable that the resident had to send multiple emails chasing the landlord for updates and to inform it that its contractors had not attended prebooked appointments on several occasions. This will have caused the resident significant time, trouble, and inconvenience.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it is responsible for monitoring the quality of contractors work and performance. In its stage 1 complaint response, the landlord stated that it had to chase its contractors on at least six occasions for updates and to check that inspections of the work had been carried out. This points to a lack of oversight and monitoring of the repairs by the landlord and will have caused the resident frustration as well as further time, trouble, and inconvenience.
  3. The resident reported to the landlord that the damp in the property was affecting his health. The landlord should have responded to this report looking at whether it could take any steps to support the resident and/or refer him to other agencies who may be able to provide support. It would also have been appropriate for the landlord to advise him that he could pursue a personal injury claim with its liability insurer should he wish to do so. It is outside the Ombudsman’s remit to comment on the outcome or handling of insurance claims and therefore we could not comment on the actions of the landlord’s liability insurer if a claim is made to it.
  4. The landlord has acknowledged and apologised for the delays in completing the repairs. Since its stage 2 complaint response, it has offered the resident £250 compensation. Whilst it was reasonable for the landlord to acknowledge its errors and offer compensation, the compensation offered for this aspect of the complaint does not fully reflect the time, trouble, and inconvenience, the delays will have caused the resident.
  5. The Ombudsman remedies guidance (published on our website) sets out our approach to compensation. The guidance states that where maladministration has been identified which adversely affected the resident, £100-£600 compensation should be offered. In the opinion of this service additional compensation of £250 is due in view of the landlord’s failures in completing the repairs, bringing the total compensation to £500 including the landlord’s earlier offer of £250.
  6. As the resident has reported that the gutter has started leaking again, the landlord is ordered to carry out a full survey of the gutter and ensure that it is repaired within four weeks of the date of this report.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The resident submitted his stage 1 complaint on 8 November 2022. However, in its stage 1 response, the landlord states that it received the resident’s complaint on 19 December 2022, which points to poor record-keeping. It did not respond to the resident’s stage 1 complaint until 16 January 2023, a month and a half outside of its stated timescales for doing so. It is recommended that the landlord review its record-keeping to ensure that it accurately records the date it receives a complaint and responds in line with the timescales in its complaints policy.
  2. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint procedure on 27 January 2023. The landlord did not issue its stage 2 complaint response until 9 March 2023. This was 3 and a half weeks outside of its stated timescales for doing so. The delays in responding to his complaints will have caused the resident, time, trouble, and inconvenience as he was left waiting for an answer to his complaint for longer than he should have been.
  3. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response was inadequate. It simply reiterated its stage 1 response at length and while it acknowledged and apologised for the further delays, it did not offer any explanations as to the cause of these further delays. Nor did it provide any assurances to the resident as to what it would do to prevent the same mistakes from being made in future. It said that the outstanding work would be completed on 14 March 2022, but it did not set out what steps the landlord would take to ensure that this happened, nor whether it would monitor or inspect the repairs once completed.
  4. As set out above, the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance states that where maladministration has been identified, £100-£600 compensation should be offered. The landlord should offer the resident £150 for its failures in responding to the resident’s complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in the way it handled the repairs to the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in the way it handled the associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to do the following, ensuring that this service is provided with evidence of compliance by the same date:
    1. Carry out a full survey of the gutter and ensure that it is repaired within four weeks of the date of this report.
    2. Pay the resident £250 compensation for its failures in completing the repairs. This amount is in addition to the £250 already offered to the resident through its complaint process.
    3. Pay the resident £150 for its failures in complaint handling.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman has previously recommended the landlord undertake reviews to improve its record keeping, complaint handling and repairs service. The landlord needs to consider the findings in this case alongside the Ombudsman’s special report of February 2022. In particular it should consider:
    1. Reviewing its systems to ensure it has oversight of whether its contractors attend appointments on the date scheduled.
    2. Reviewing its record-keeping to make sure it accurately records the date it receives complaints.
    3. Carrying-out staff training in responding to complaints to ensure that it provides a full explanation of the cause of the issues raised and sets out what steps it will take to prevent similar issues happening in future.