London Borough of Ealing (202206026)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202206026

London Borough of Ealing

7 November 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

The complaint is about:
1. The landlord’s handling of repairs following a leak.
2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident is a leaseholder and holds the lease to a second floor flat. The building is a block of flats and there is a communal water tank in the loft space. The water tank is located above the resident’s property.
The resident reported an uncontainable leak coming through her hallway ceiling on 24 March 2022. The landlord’s out of hours contractor attended the same day as an emergency but was unable to stop the leak as they did not have the key to access the communal loft-space. The resident says the leak got much worse later that night and she called the fire service out, who isolated the electricity supply to the property and attributed the leak to defective pipework from the communal water tank.
The resident says she attempted to contact the landlord’s repair department on 25 March 2022, but could not reach anyone for a progress report on the leak and the damage done to her property. She spoke to the landlord later that day and reported that the leak was continuing and her property was unhabitable so she had arranged temporary hotel accommodation. The landlord told the resident to contact the building insurer about claiming for temporary accommodation.
The resident also raised a formal complaint with the landlord on 25 March 2022. She wanted the communal water tank to be properly repaired, and compensation for the costs she had incurred and the stress and inconvenience caused.
The landlord attended the property on 26 March 2022 and identified that the ball valve to the water tank needed replacing and the water tank needed overhauling. It was noted that the leak had stopped.
On 17 June 2022, the resident contacted the landlord to advise that her temporary accommodation was coming to an end as the insurer had said all internal repairs to her property had been completed. However, the resident said the repairs had not been completed, including the removal of asbestos and reinstatement of the electrics. In response the landlord told the resident that the insurer had confirmed all repairs were complete and if she disputed this then she needed to pursue a complaint with the insurer.
The landlord’s stage 2 response of 2 December 2022 partially upheld the resident’s complaint, apologising that there were considerable delays in issuing its response. It said its investigation found that it should have escalated the matter when first attending to the leak and apologised that this did not take place. It said that it had arranged for an inspection of the water tank to take place on 12 December 2022 to ensure there were no further outstanding repairs.
The resident brought her complaint to the attention of the Ombudsman, dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the repairs. She said that the repairs to her property remained outstanding and she had been unable to move back in since the leak occurred. She wanted all remedial works completed to a satisfactory standard and confirmation that the water tank had been fully repaired. She also requested compensation for the stress and inconvenience caused, damage to personal possessions, and utility bills while she was unable to occupy the property.
On 19 December 2022, a further leak occurred into the resident’s property while she was living elsewhere. In response the landlord raised an emergency repair to stop the leak but the contractor was unable to gain access to the property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident has raised concerns that the communal water tank leaked into her property previously in 2014 and 2015. While this is noted, there are limits to how far back an Ombudsman investigation can go. This is because the Ombudsman must reach an evidence-based decision and as events become historical, it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord or the Ombudsman to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address the issues complained about. In addition, the Ombudsman must be fair to all involved and therefore requires that complaints are raised with the landlord within a reasonable time of the matter occurring, which is usually within 6 months. Therefore, this investigation has focussed on events from March 2022 onwards.

Occupancy agreement, policies and procedures

Under the terms of the lease the landlord is obligated to keep the structure and communal areas of the block in good and substantial repair and condition. The landlord’s responsive repairs policy confirms that it aims to complete emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent and routine repairs within 15 working days, and planned repairs within 60 working days.
The landlord has a two-stage complaints procedure. It is required to issue its stage 1 response within 10 working days and its stage 2 response within 20 working days. These timeframes mirror those set out in the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code, which member landlords are required to comply with.

The landlord’s handling of repairs following a leak into the property

In accordance with the responsive repairs policy, the landlord was required to attend to the resident’s report of an uncontainable leak on 24 March 2022 within 24 hours. While the landlord’s contractor attended the property within that timeframe, they were unable to gain entry to the communal loft space to inspect the water tank due to not having the correct key. The resident says that she had to rely on the fire service to attend later that night and make the electrics in her property safe. The available evidence indicates that the leak was ongoing on 25 March 2022 and as such the landlord failed to fulfil its obligation to stop the leak within a reasonable timeframe.
The available evidence shows that the landlord reattended on 26 March 2022 and noted that the leak had stopped. It also identified that the ball valve to the water tank needed replacing and the water tank needed overhauling. In accordance with its responsive repairs policy, the landlord was required to complete these repairs within a maximum of 15 working days. However, no evidence has been provided to show that the repairs were completed at this time.
In its subsequent stage 1 response of 30 June 2022, the landlord confirmed that it had arranged an emergency inspection of the water tank and would complete any repairs required, suggesting that repairs were still required. Again, no evidence has been provided to confirm that the inspection or any remedial repairs were carried out at this time.
In its stage 2 response, the landlord committed to carrying out an inspection of the water tank on 12 December 2022 to ensure there were no outstanding repairs. However, the landlord told the Ombudsman in June 2023 that there are no survey or inspection reports relating to this and the works remain outstanding as it is in the process of mobilising new contractors. This is of serious concern as the landlord failed to honour the commitment it made in its stage 2 response and then failed to take timely action to ensure the leak that occurred on 19 December 2022 had been fully remedied.
The available evidence indicates that the internal repairs to the resident’s property were being completed as part of the resident’s claim on the building insurance policy. This was in line with information on the landlord’s website which confirms that all leasehold properties are covered by its building insurance policy and this will cover damage to internal decorations and fixtures and fittings within individual flats from an escape of water.
Very little detail of the insurance claim has been provided but it is known that the resident reported to the landlord in June 2022 that the insurer had stopped providing her with temporary accommodation on the basis that the internal repairs had been completed. The resident disputed that any repairs had been carried out and raised concerns that she was being made homeless. In response the landlord contacted the insurer about the matter who said the repairs had been completed. However, the landlord should have considered what else it could have done to assist the resident, such as inspecting the property to establish if the repairs had been completed and following up with the insurer as necessary.
The building insurance policy does not cover damage to contents. Therefore, the resident would need to claim on her own contents insurance for any damage to her belongings from the leak, or if she has grounds to believe the landlord is liable (for example because it did not repair the leak within a reasonable timeframe) then she may be able to claim on the landlord’s liability insurance. It should be noted that the Ombudsman cannot make decisions on liability where this is disputed, as this is a legal matter that would ultimately need to be decided upon by the courts.
In relation to the provision of temporary accommodation, the landlord’s decant policy does not confirm that it will provide temporary accommodation to leaseholders. As such, its advice to the resident that the insurer would be able to facilitate this was reasonable. If the resident has grounds to believe that the landlord is liable for other costs she has incurred while living in temporary accommodation, then she would need to pursue this as either a claim on the landlord’s liability insurance or seek legal advice.
The resident has also raised concerns that the landlord did not respond to her insurer’s legal department regarding why the leak had occurred again and whether the necessary remedial repairs had been completed. The landlord would be expected to work with the resident’s insurer to reach a timely conclusion to her claim, therefore allowing the resident to recover costs for damaged possessions within her home. As part of its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord informed the resident that it contacted its home ownership team to ascertain if it had received any communication from the resident’s insurer yet no evidence has been provided to show that it subsequently updated the resident regarding this matter.
Considering the above findings, the Ombudsman makes a finding of maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the leak and associated repairs. It is evident that the leak in March 2022 caused significant damage to the resident’s property rendering it uninhabitable and the landlord should have been proactive in ensuring that a lasting repair to the water tank was carried out. However, the available evidence indicates that the landlord repeatedly failed to do so and this was a serious failing.
While the landlord partially upheld the complaint, it failed to put things right as it offered no apology or compensation for its failings. In addition, there was no evidence of learning in the complaint responses. Although the landlord identified that it should have followed up on the failed emergency call out after the leak was first reported, it failed to explain what action it would take to ensure this did not happen again. No evidence has been provided to the Ombudsman to show that the landlord has taken any meaningful action to ensure that the same service failures do not recur.
To put things right various orders have been made below. This includes an order for compensation of £600 which has been calculated using the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, which confirms awards of this amount are suitable where there has been a failure which has had a significant impact on the resident. Additional orders have been made to ensure the water tank is fully repaired, the landlord reviews the handling of the repairs and makes changes to ensure the same service failures do not recur, and responds to the resident’s insurer if her claim is still ongoing.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The resident raised her initial complaint on 25 March 2022 and this was responded to on 30 June 2022, after intervention from the Ombudsman. Hence there was a considerable delay of three months in responding to the complaint. The landlord apologised for the delay, attributing this to a backlog of cases, but did not offer any redress to the resident aside from the apology.
Due to the landlord’s poor record keeping, it has not been possible to establish when the resident escalated her complaint. However, the landlord accepts that there was a significant delay in it responding, as it apologised for this in its stage 2 response. The resident also had to seek assistance from the Ombudsman again with progressing her complaint, and the Ombudsman had to chase the landlord on several occasions before it confirmed the complaint had been responded to. No explanation was offered in the stage 2 response for why the further delay occurred nor was any redress offered aside from an apology.
Furthermore, where complaint handling delays are unavoidable, the landlord would be required to communicate any delays in its response at the earliest opportunity. However, the landlord has not evidenced what actions it took, if any, to inform the resident of the delays at both stages of its complaints procedure. Neither was there any indication in the landlord’s complaint responses that it had learnt from the complaint and was taking steps to improve its complaint handling.
As such, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s complaint handling and it is ordered to pay the resident £200 compensation to put this right. This amount has been calculated using the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance which confirms awards of this amount should be made where there has been maladministration by a landlord which has adversely affected the resident. The landlord is also ordered to review its staff training in respect of its complaint handling.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of repairs following a leak.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

The landlord is ordered to:
1. Pay the resident compensation of £800 within 4 weeks of the date of this report, broken down as follows:
  1. £600 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the repairs following a leak.
  2. £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its poor complaint handling.
2. Arrange for a surveyor to inspect the water tank and complete any necessary remedial repairs. The landlord should confirm the outcome of the inspection to the resident and the Ombudsman in writing within 4 weeks of the date of this report.
3. Review the failings in its repairs service identified by this investigation and draft an action plan to prevent them happening again. This should include an action point in respect of out of hours contractors accessing the communal loft space. The action plan should be shared with the resident and the Ombudsman within 8 weeks of the date of this report.
4. Check with the resident whether it still needs to respond to her insurer in relation to the claim for damage to her belongings and if so, ensure this is done within 4 weeks of the date of this report.
5. Conduct staff training regarding its complaints policy to ensure that complaint responses are responded to within published timescales. Where this is not possible, all complaint handling delays are to be communicated with the customer in a timely and appropriate manner and in accordance with the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code. The training should be completed within 8 weeks of the date of this report.