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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202200632)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202200632

London & Quadrant Housing Trust

29 September 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 a radiator leak.
    2. the loss of hot water and heating.
    3. the associated complaint, including the amount of compensation offered.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy that started on 5 April 2004.
  2. On 4 June 2021, the resident reported to her landlord that the radiator in her bathroom had fallen off the wall. She told her landlord that water had leaked onto the floor. She asked her landlord to repair this and mentioned she was disabled.
  3. On 7 June 2021, the landlord raised a job for the repair, but it subsequently cancelled this two days later when it re-categorised the repair as a priority. The landlord sent an engineer to the resident’s property on 9 June 2021. The engineer concluded that the radiator needed new brackets and wall plugs. The engineer reported that the resident’s heating system was not working.
  4. The resident complained to her landlord on 10 June 2021 that the operative had flooded her bathroom by turning her boiler on whilst her radiator was off the wall. The resident complained that her floor had been ruined and that the flood was a risk to her health and safety. She also complained to her landlord that she had to mop up the discharged water.
  5. Another of the landlord’s operatives attended the resident’s property on 11 June 2021. The operative reported that a builder would need to attend to cut out some pipework from the wall.
  6. The landlord’s operative was able to secure the radiator back onto the wall and restore hot water and heating on 23 June 2021. Despite this, the resident reported to her landlord the next day that her boiler was leaking. She also reported having no heat or hot water. The radiator remained unconnected as it required a part.
  7. The resident clarified with her landlord on 24 June 2021 that her hot water had been temperamental. She told her landlord:
    1. That she needed to boil kettles as she needed a daily bath for medical reasons.
    2. She could not afford to replace the damaged floor or repair the damage caused to the cupboard by the boiler leak.
    3. She used her towels and clothes to mop up the water.
    4. It had left a hole in the bathroom, and she had no indication of when her radiator would be replaced.
  8. The resident requested her landlord compensate her for the length of time taken to resolve the issues, the lack of heating and hot water, the damage to her floor, and the ongoing issues with her boiler.
  9. The landlord raised a priority job on 24 June 2021 to look at the lack of hot water and heating. It initially arranged an appointment to fix the radiator for 28 June 2021. This did not go ahead and was re-booked for 9 August 2021, but the repair was not completed until 27 October 2021.
  10. On 24 January 2022 the landlord offered the resident £150 in compensation over the telephone and suggested that any damaged items could be covered by insurance. The resident requested an escalation to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint process on 26 January 2022.
  11. The resident’s boiler broke again and was reported to the landlord two days later, on 3 February 2022. The resident had no hot water and heating until the boiler was repaired on 10 February 2022. The landlord provided the resident with two electrical heaters however the resident was concerned about the cost of using these.
  12. The resident complained to the landlord on 8 February 2022 and alleged that the landlord’s operative broke the boiler after a gas inspection earlier in the month.
  13. On 27 April 2022, the landlord responded to the resident at stage 2 of its complaint process and stated:
    1. It could have managed the repairs more effectively and it apologised for the service it provided.
    2. It offered staff training and would reflect on staff performance.
    3. Although it would not consider compensation for damaged items as this was the resident’s responsibility, it directed the resident to make a public liability claim through its insurer.
    4. It cannot award compensation in accordance with its policies for the loss of heating and hot water between 9 June 2021 and 23 June 2021 as this was during the summer months.
    5. It was willing to offer compensation of £260 that would be offset against her arrears in accordance with policy, to cover the inconvenience and distress caused to her and the delay in issuing a stage 2 response.
  14. The resident informed her landlord that she was unhappy with the outcome and with compensation being credited to her rent account. The resident requested this service investigate.

Assessment and findings

The radiator and boiler repairs

  1. The landlord was responsible for repairing the boiler and radiator under its repairs policy and section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The resident reported the leak on 4 June 2021. The landlord should have categorised this as an urgent repair and attended within 24 hours. It did not and therefore, it was at fault. This is because the landlord’s repair policy states emergency works should be responded to within 24 hours and the extent of the leak would amount to an emergency.
  2. The evidence shows that the landlord was unable to repair the radiator until 23 June 2021 and the resident was without hot water and heating between 9 June to 23 June 2021. It was unreasonable of the landlord to leave the resident without any hot water for this period. Appendix B of the resident’s tenancy states that a total or partial loss of water heating from 1 May to 31 October is to be classed as an emergency. The landlord was aware that the resident was vulnerable and should have prioritised this work. The delay in dealing with the radiator repair was caused by a delay in the landlord’s operative sending a builder. The landlord was at fault for this. There is no evidence the landlord considered offering the resident a decant.
  3. The evidence indicates that the landlord failed to repair the boiler in a timely way. The resident informed her landlord on 24 June 2021 that despite the repairs to the radiator her boiler was not working and that she had no heating or hot water. Whilst the landlord raised a priority job to repair the boiler there is no evidence that this was resolved until 27 October 2021. The evidence suggests that the landlord could not access the resident’s property on 22 July 2021 or 18 August 2021. However, there is also evidence that the landlord failed to attend to the resident’s property on either 19 July 2021 or 9 August 2021 despite having agreed to. It was inappropriate for the landlord to have missed two appointments, without any explanation, or to have left the resident without a reliable source of hot water or heating for nearly four months. This left the resident, because of her medical condition that required a source of hot water, in a vulnerable position.
  4. There is no evidence that the landlord, having repaired the radiator, considered the damage to the resident’s floor promptly. In June 2021 the resident suggested to the landlord that the operative that attended to repair the radiator caused the flood. Despite this, there is no evidence that the landlord directed her to its insurer until 27 April 2022. This was unacceptable as it was aware that the resident was struggling financially, had no contents insurance, and that there was a potential public liability claim. It was inappropriate for the landlord not to refer the resident’s claim for damage earlier. This is because it was aware in June 2021 that the damaged flooring was potentially hazardous and may have been caused by its operative’s actions.
  5. The resident was also left without hot water for a further period between 1 February and 10 February 2022 due to a boiler fault. The disrepair was reported on 3 February 2022, but the boiler could not have been repaired earlier as the landlord needed to order a new part. The landlord also left two heaters with the resident which was a reasonable step to help keep the resident warm. However, given the resident had already explained that she needed access to hot water to manage her health condition it was unreasonable of the landlord to not consider decanting her temporarily.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. The landlord failed in its complaint handling. The resident complained about the radiator repair, flooding to her bathroom, and about having no hot water and heating in June and July 2021. Despite this, the landlord failed to show that it complied with its complaints policy or complaints standard operating procedure. This is because there is no evidence that it undertook an investigation that looked to understand the impact of the landlord’s actions on the resident or considered her vulnerabilities. It also failed to issue a stage 1 response in writing within 10 working days of the resident complaining.
  2. The landlord also failed to respond to the resident’s request to escalate the complaint on 26 January 2022 within 20 working days. The landlord’s response was not issued until three months later. This was an unacceptable delay for which there was no explanation. This would have delayed the resident’s complaint been referred to this service.
  3. The landlord offered the resident £150 for the inconvenience and delay in complaint handling at stage 1 and a further £50 for the delay in complaint handling at stage 2. It also offered £40 for the distress caused and £20 for the loss of heating and hot water.
  4. Apart from the failure to issue a written response at stage 1 the landlord failed in its stage 2 response to address the lack of heating and hot water the resident experienced between June and October 2021 or in February 2022. This response failed to show any consideration of the resident’s vulnerabilities or explain why it felt the compensation award of £40 for distress was appropriate. Nor did it explain why a payment of £20 was appropriate for loss of heating and hot water.

Compensation

  1. The landlord’s complaint compensation standard operating procedure requires a payment to be made of £10 for the first 5 days of a loss of hot water and £2 for each day thereafter. The same payment is required for loss of heat between 1 October and 30 April unless temporary heaters are provided.
  2. The landlord was not required to make a compensation payment for the loss of heat and hot water between June 2021 to September 2021. It was also not required to offer compensation for the loss of heating or hot water in June 2021. It was not required either to make a payment for the loss of heating in February 2022 as it provided heaters.
  3. However, the landlord should have made a payment for the loss of hot water and loss of heat between 1 to 27 October 2021 and a payment for the loss of hot water in February 2022 between 1 to 10 February 2022. Under the landlord’s policy this would amount to £128 made up of:
    1. 1-27 October 2021 (£10 for loss of heat and £10 loss of hot water for the first 5 days until 5 October and then £88 for loss of heat and loss of hot water £4 X 22 days)
    2. 1-10 February 2022(£10 for loss of hot water for the first 5 days until 5 February and then £10 for loss of hot water £2 X 5 days)
  1.  The resident was also entitled to £40 for the two missed appointments on 19 July 2021 and 9 August 2021. Her landlord should have offered her at least £168 for the missed appointments and loss of services.
  2. The landlord’s award of £40 for distress was inadequate as it did not reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident over the period June 2021 to February 2022, some nine months. Nor was the award in line with the remedies guidance published by this service. The resident suffered from anxiety and depression and was very worried about her health and the risk of personal injury. The lack of appropriate action taken by the landlord over a protracted period amounts to excessive service failure. This would have greatly increased the resident’s anxiety and impacted on her wellbeing. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, it would be appropriate to award a sum to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident over this period.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the radiator leak. This is because of the delay in repairing the radiator between June to October 2021.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the loss of heating and water at the property. This is because of the landlord’s delays in dealing with the repairs to the resident’s heating system between June 2021 to February 2022 and its failure to consider a decant.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling, including the calculation of compensation.

Orders

  1. Within 28 days of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. Contact the resident and arrange for the replacement of any damaged flooring and cupboards.
    2. Pay the resident the sum of £1,138 comprised of:
      1. £720 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its delays and failures in repairing the radiator and boiler, this amounts to £80 per month for the nine months between June 2021 to February 2022.
      2. £168 for the loss of hot water and heating, and two missed appointments.
      3. £250 for the failures in complaint handling.
  2. This compensation must be paid directly to the resident, unless they request for it to be paid onto the rent account.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord review how it monitors and reviews the performance of its contractors to minimise delays in attendance and missed appointments.