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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202007697)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202007697

London & Quadrant Housing Trust

30 September 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 response to the resident’s reports of:
    1. Damp at the property and subsequent repairs.
    2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Background and summary of events

Background

  1. The resident is a licensee at the property, a three-bedroom flat and is subject to the licence agreement. The landlord is a housing trust.
  2. The landlord operates a two-stage complaints policy, the policy states that the complainant must be kept updated throughout the complaints process. If the resident made a complaint at the first stage, the landlord should formally respond within 10 working days. If the resident is dissatisfied with the response, the resident can request that the decision be escalated to stage two of the landlord’s complaints process and a response should be provided within 20 working days.
  3. Under the licence agreement it is the landlord’s responsibility to keep in good repair the structure of the property including internal walls, floors and ceilings. The resident has an obligation to promptly report any disrepair or defect to the landlord.
  4. Under the landlord’s repairs policy for all emergency repairs where there is an immediate danger to the occupant or members of the public it will attend within 24 hours. For non-emergency repairs it will arrange a mutually convenient appointment with the resident.
  5. Under the landlord’s compensation policy it can offer discretionary compensation in the form of a goodwill gesture for loss of facilities and amenities. It also offers a fixed £10 payment for its failure to respond to a query within 10 working days or its failure to respond to a formal complaint within the timescales published in its complaints policy.

Summary of events

  1. On 16 June 2020, a leak was reported coming from an upstairs apartment into the ceiling of the resident’s property. The landlord’s operatives attended on 17 June 2020 and visited a number of apartments in an attempt to establish where the leak was originating.
  2. On 19 June 2020, operatives discovered that the leak was being caused by loose tiles in a shower cubicle and the issue was repaired that day.  There were further reports of a leak by the resident on 23 June 2020 and the landlord attend the same day and completed the required repairs. It advised the resident that it would make good her walls in a follow up appointment on 3 July 2020.
  3. On 3 July 2020, the landlord attended the resident’s property and carried out a mould wash in the resident’s bedroom.  Further works were performed on 17 July 2020 to renew the upstairs neighbours shower and a disconnected overflow pipe was also fixed that day.
  4. On 24 and 28 July 2020, the landlord organised to attend the resident’s property to perform a mould wash and redecorate the affected areas however the resident reported a further leak. The landlord completed further repairs to the upstairs apartment on 31 July 2020.
  5. On 11 August 2020, the resident contacted the landlord and reported ongoing issues with damp at the property from a previous leak. The landlord advised that the resident allow for plenty of ventilation and to open the windows in the property. The operative that attended the property advised that the bedroom was fine to use.
  6. On 7 September 2020, the resident advised that the damp issue continued and the landlord provided her with a dehumidifier. The operative reported the bedroom plaster was damaged and organised for repairs to be performed.
  7. On 6 October 2020, the resident contacted the landlord in relation to the ongoing issues of damp at the property and advised the following:
    1. That the damp smell had been getting worse since May 2020 and that she had removed all of her furniture, clothes and a mattress from the affected bedroom.
    2. That she had not been receiving updates from the landlord about when the repairs would be complete and had moved to her sister’s house.
    3. She came back from holiday in August 2020 and found the walls to be cracking and flaking, an operative from the landlord attended and said that the room was fine to use and would come and fix the problem.
    4. She was informed by the landlord of another upstairs leak and she advised that she was sick of dealing with the ongoing issues and wanted compensation as she was unable to use the property but continued to pay rent.
  8. On 8 October 2020, the landlord’s operative performed works to the plaster in the resident’s bedroom and protective sheeting was hung to allow the plaster to dry. The resident was advised that the bedroom was safe to use and further works would be performed once lockdown restrictions were lifted.
  9. On 16 October 2020, the resident contacted the landlord and made a complaint about the repair works at the property. The landlord advised that it would log a complaint and investigate the repairs.
  10. On 26 October 2020, the landlord contacted the resident and advised that due to Covid-19 it was only carrying out emergency repairs. It noted that the leak had been repaired and a dehumidifier provided to dry out any damp in the bathroom. It advised that works had been booked for 19 November 2020 and if this was not convenient for the resident to contact it.
  11. On 26 October 2020, the resident contacted the landlord and advised that a dehumidifier had not been provide. She asked what stage of the landlord’s complaints process her complaint was up to. The landlord advised that further repair works would be performed on 19 November 2020.
  12. On 5 November 2020, the resident contacted the landlord and advised that she would not be available to provide access on 19 November 2020 and works were rescheduled for 4 December 2020. Due to unforeseen circumstances by the landlord the repairs were cancelled and a new appointment was booked for 18 and 19 January 2021.
  13. On 18 and 19 January 2021, the landlord’s operatives carried out plastering works and made good the bathroom and bedroom wall. A follow-on appointment was arranged for 8 February 2021 to allow plaster to dry in order to paint and complete all works.
  14. On 27 January 2021, the landlord contacted the resident and provided its stage one response and apologised for the length of time that it had taken to complete repairs at the property and for the inconvenience caused. The landlord offered the resident £925.36 compensation for the length of time she was unable to use the bedroom.
  15. On 29 January 2021, the resident contacted the landlord and asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage two of the landlord’s complaints process. She enquired about how the landlord arrived at the compensation amount as she did not think it that it reflected her distress and inconvenience.
  16. On 15 February 2021, the landlord contacted the resident and stated that her cheque had been processed incorrectly due to details on its system being incorrect, it advised that once the account had been updated it would be able to send a new cheque.
  17. On 15 March 2021, the Ombudsman contacted the landlord and asked it to provide the resident with a stage two response within 20 working days.
  18. On 23 April 2021, the landlord issued the resident with its stage two final response and provided a detailed history of the repairs at the property and addressed the following:
    1. That the level of service provided to the resident was not reflective of the high service that it aims to provide and that the repairs should have been performed sooner and apologised that its service fell short of acceptable standards.
    2. It advised that the resident’s case would be used as a learning opportunity to improve customer service and service delivery.
    3. It offered the resident £1735.05 compensation for acknowledged service failures broken down into the following:
      1. Inconvenience – £15 x 8 Months = £120
      2. Distress – £15 x 8 months – £120
      3. Time and Effort – £100
      4. Missed appointment for 04/12/2020 – £20
      5. Delay response £20
      6. No use of bedroom for a period of 85 days at 25% of weekly rent = £1,235.05
      7. Complaint handling £100 for time and effort and £20 for delay in providing a response.

Assessment and findings

Damp at the property and subsequent repairs.

  1. The resident raised issues of a leak coming from an upstairs property in June 2020 which had led to damp forming in the resident’s property. The landlord had an obligation under the licence agreement to make the appropriate repairs at the property within a reasonable timeframe. It is clear from the evidence provided that the landlord took a resolution focused approach and attempted to identify the cause of the leak. The leak was reported on 16 June 2020, the landlord attended on the same day and once the issue was identified works were carried out and completed on 19 June 2020. This timeframe was reasonable given that the landlord had to gain access to multiple properties to find the source of the leak.
  2. There were reports of a further leak from the upstairs property on 23 June 2020, the landlord attended the resident’s property on the same day to investigate the issue and performed further works to repair the leak that day in line with its repairing obligations. On 24 July the resident informed the landlord of a further leak and the landlord completed repairs on 31 July 2020. This represents a  delay as it would have been reasonable for the landlord to prioritise its response give the previous leaks and to avoid further damage to the resident’s property. The resident advised that she was still experiencing damp at the property on 11 August 2020, an operative attended the property and performed a preventative mould wash and advised the resident to ventilate the property in order to dry out the plaster. This was appropriate given there was no evidence of a new or continued leak into the property and in line with its repair’s obligations.
  3. The landlord began repairs to make good the damage caused by the leak at the resident’s property on 8 October 2020, this represents a two-month delay from when it last attended in August 2020. Furthermore, the works were not complete until January 2021 which represents a significant three-month delay in the landlord completing the required remedial repairs which was not approprate or in line with its repairs obligations. It is accepted that there was some delay as the landlord had to wait for the plaster at the property to dry however it is unlikely that it would take this long and it would be reasonable for the landlord to have taken a more resolution focused approach and it should have kept the resident up to date in relation to the works. The landlord appropriately apologised for the delay and offered the resident £1,235.05 which represents a 25% rent reduction for a period of 85 days which was sufficient to compensate for the acknowledged failure and for the loss of the bedroom.
  4. It is acknowledged by both parties that the landlord failed to attend an appointment on 4 December 2020 and it appropriately offered the resident £20 for the missed appointment. In its stage two complaint response it also offered the resident a further £360 which comprised of £240 compensation for the resident’s distress and inconvenience which was approprate to compensate for the resident’s experience. It also offered £100 for her time and effort in reporting issues which was also proportionate to the landlord’s acknowledged failures.
  5. Overall, there was a significant delay by the landlord in completing the remedial works at the resident’s property. It is accepted that there were some unavoidable delays due to works in the upstairs property, national lock downs and allowing for the plaster to dry but it would have been reasonable to expect the landlord to keep the resident updated and informed as she had made further reports about the damp issue. However, the £1615 compensation offered by the landlord in respect of its accepted repairing failures and delays was proportionate to its failures and sufficient to compensate for the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident. It is also in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. The documentation provided shows the initial formal complaint was made by the resident on 6 October 2020 and the landlord supplied a formal response on 26 January 2020. This represents a three-month delay in the landlord providing the resident with its stage one response. The resident also had to chase the landlord for updates during the period demonstrating further failure. The landlord’s handling of the complaint at stage-one was not appropriate or in line with its complaints policy.
  2. The resident asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage two of the landlord’s complaint process on 29 January 2021 and a final response was provided by the landlord on 23 April 2021. This represents a two-month delay in the landlord providing a response. The length of time that passed was not appropriate or in line with the landlord’s policies however the landlord offered an apology and £100 in recognition that the resident had to chase a response. It also offered £20 for its delay and advised that the resident’s case would be used as a learning opportunity to improve customer service and service delivery. Given the circumstances of the case the landlord acted reasonably in acknowledging the mistake, investigating the issue and offering a proportionate amount of compensation to its complaint handling failures.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme) the landlord has offered reasonable redress to the resident which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily with respect to its handling of:
    1.  Damp at the property and subsequent repairs.
    2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

Reasons

  1. There were significant delays and failings with respect to the remedial works carried out by the landlord following reports of damp and mould at the property. However, these failings were accepted by the landlord and it offered the resident compensation which was sufficient to put right its failures.
  2. The complaints handling by the landlord was not in line with its internal policies at stage one or two of its complaints process. The landlord however acknowledged the mistake, acted efficiently in investigating the issue and the amount of compensation offered was adequate and in line with its compensation policy. 

Recommendations

  1. If it has not already been paid, the landlord should reoffer the resident the previously offered £1735.05 compensation offered in its stage two response.