London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202200947)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202200947

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

10 January 2024

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. A personal injury claim by the resident due to delays in the installation of the heating system.
2. Delays installing a heating system, resulting in a loss of heating and hot water at the resident’s property.
3. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Jurisdiction

What the Ombudsman can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Scheme. When a complaint is brought to this service, the Ombudsman must consider all the circumstances of the case, as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42 (g) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme), the following aspect of the complaint are outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
1. A personal injury claim by the resident due to delays in the installation of the heating system.
The resident is seeking a compensation payment from the landlord of £1,427, to cover medical expenses. The resident said the expenses were the result of a personal injury she experienced due to the lack of heating and hot water. This Service is unable to determine a link between the lack of service and any injury incurred by the resident. The resident may wish to seek legal advice, as a personal injury claim may be a more appropriate way of dealing with this aspect of their complaint.
This position is in accordance with paragraph 42(g) of the Scheme which says that “The Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which in the Ombudsman’s opinion concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, other tribunal or procedure”.

Background

The resident has a secure tenancy. The property is a four-bed fourth floor flat in a converted building. The tenancy started on 13 September 1999.
The landlord was making changes to the heating system within each property in the resident’s building and had been seeking access from the resident. The resident had refused access due to “ongoing issues” with the landlord. The resident said she wanted to agree compensation for previous heating issues before agreeing to allow access. This meant that when the heating system was taken offline in October 2021, the resident was left with no functional heating or hot water system.
A compensation payment of £5,000 was agreed on 23 November 2021. This was to compensate the resident for “the lack of heating in the flat for the past 14 years”. After this was accepted, the resident agreed to allow access to the property to carry out the required work.
The resident was without the new heating system until 23 February 2022, which left the resident without heating and hot water during that time. The resident raised a complaint in March 2022 due to the delay and requested additional compensation to account for the delay. The internal complaint process was followed with a stage two response in September 2022. The resident remained unhappy with the outcome of the complaint process.

Policies and Procedures

The landlord’s compensation policy says that a loss of heating between 31 October and 1 May would result in a payment of £10 per day with a maximum of £100 for that defect.
The landlord operates a two-stage complaint policy which consists of the following:
1. Stage one – The landlord should provide a written response within 10 working days of receipt of the complaint. If there will be a delay in providing the response, the landlord should provide an explanation in writing and write again within a further 10 working days.
2. Stage two – The landlord should contact the resident within 2 working days to discuss the complaint and provide a full written response within 20 working days of the request to escalate. If there will be a delay in providing the response, the landlord should provide an explanation in writing and write again within a further 10 working days.

Summary of events

Internal landlord emails from 28 July 2021 said it had experienced issues obtaining access to some individual properties, in order to carry out the required works to allow use of the new heating system. It said the resident had refused access due to “ongoing issues” with the landlord.
The landlord hand delivered a letter, dated 30 July 2021, to residents at the building who had not agreed to allow access for the installation of a new heating system in the building. It said “if you fail to give access whilst the contractor are on site this could result in you being without heating during the winter months”. It said that once the contractor left site, it would pursue access via legal action. It requested that residents contact the Liaison Officer by 6 August 2021 to book an appointment for the work to be completed.
The landlord emailed the resident on 11 October 2021 to request access for it to complete the heating works. It advised that the same works would be completed in all other properties, apart from the resident’s, by the end of that week. It explained that once the works were completed, the old heating system would be no longer available. The resident replied the same day and said “please advise if the landlord are willing to compensate me”.
The landlord responded the next day and said that any compensation they may be entitled to is “completely different from the heating works”. It warned that if no access was provided, the resident would “be without heating from next week”. The resident responded the same day and asked why the landlord had not taken her to court, when it took others from the building that had also refused access.
On 13 October 2021, the landlord emailed the resident and advised that nobody had been taken to court, as all other residents had allowed access. It said that if she did not allow access, they would have to go through the courts to gain access. It said that when the system was changed over, the resident would not have access to hot water. The resident responded the next day and referred the landlord to a previous email and explained that she would be “happy to go to court”.
An internal landlord email on 5 November 2021 said that “the resident was not on the referral list for access issues”. It explained that this meant it had not “made any contact with home visit, telephone call or sending a letter as it was not required”.
The landlord called the resident on 8 November 2021 to discuss access to the property to complete the required works for the new heating system. It was noted within internal landlord emails that the resident said she was yet to receive £3,500 in compensation that had been agreed previously. The resident said this had been agreed on the basis that the heating system would be installed by October 2020.
On the same day, the landlord emailed the resident to confirm its understanding of the discussion. It said that the previously agreed heating works had been ceased due to lockdown restrictions. The landlord asked if the £3,500 payment was “still agreeable” and asked if the resident would allow access, once this was paid to her.
Internal landlord emails on 8 November 2021 discussed the compensation offered to the resident. These said that the previous offer of £3,500 had been rejected and it said it would increase its offer to £4,000. The landlord said it would propose this to the resident and then look to arrange access with the required works being completed within 3 days.
The resident responded by email on 10 November 2021 and provided historical emails related to the issues she had experienced with the heating system. The resident requested an increased compensation payment of £6,000.
The resident followed this up the next day and said “today my water was completely isolated”. She said that although her last email requested £6,000, she may “now have to rethink”. She said that if she had not heard from the landlord within 5 working days, she may withdraw her request and “consult a solicitor”.
The landlord responded on 15 November 2021 and said it would not agree to her request for £6,000. It said it would maintain the offer of £3,500 but it would also look into her concerns further. The resident responded the same day and said she did not accept the £3,500 when it was offered and her position remained the same. She confirmed that once a “settlement” was agreed, she would allow access to the contractor.
The landlord responded later that day to reiterate that heating works were ceased previously due to lockdown restrictions and said it would investigate her concerns and respond accordingly.
On 22 November 2021, the landlord wrote to the resident to confirm agreement of a compensation payment of £5,000 for “the lack of heating in your flat for the past 14 years”. It said this had been agreed between the resident and an Assistant Director and asked that the resident confirm acceptance so it could arrange payment. The letter said “hopefully we can now restore the heating to your flat by completing the works required”. Internal landlord emails show that it was awaiting her acceptance in order to have the contractor attend and start the works.
An internal landlord email from 23 November 2021 said that an agreement had been reached with the resident and that the installation of the heating could be arranged. A project manager responded and said it would take about “1-2 weeks’ notice to mobilise” and they had tried to contact the resident “with a view to commence on 6 December 2021 but got no reply”.
The installation of the heating system was due to begin at the resident’s property on 6 December 2021. However, the work was not started on this date. We have not had sight of any record of this work being scheduled but the landlord has not disputed the resident’s claim that the work should have started on this date.
The landlord confirmed in writing on 7 December 2021 that the £5,000 payment had been requested from its finance department. It said that “this matter is now fully settled, and that you would now forfeit any further claims related to lack of heating in the property”. It said that the contractor “are now installing the new heating system apparatus in your flat which will afford you the ability to control the heating in your own home”.
The resident emailed the landlord on 6 January 2022 and said “it has now been 9 weeks since I last had hot water”. She said “nobody has spoken to me about this situation” and explained that she had stopped paying rent and asked for somebody to call and speak to her about the situation.
The landlord responded the same day to explain that they were advised “the only thing that is holding up the works in your flat is for you to agree to the design”. It said that the Project Manager would be asked to contact her directly to discuss it.
On 11 January 2022, the resident emailed again and said she had not received the call from the Project Manager. The resident said she had not refused the design of the heating system and she had been under the impression the installation was due to begin on 6 December 2021. The landlord replied the same day and said it would arrange for the Project Manager to meet with her to “approve the design and arrange a date for the works to start”.
The resident emailed the landlord on 13 January 2022 and gave her availability for a meeting.
The landlord met with the resident on 17 January 2022 to complete the required paperwork and arrange the installation.
Internal landlord emails from between 20 January 2022 and 28 January 2022 show the landlord attempting to arrange the required works. The last email says that the installation was confirmed to start on 15 February 2022. It said the resident had been notified of the start date.
The resident said that the heating works began at her property on 17 February 2022. Internal landlord emails show that these were confirmed as completed on 21 February 2022.
On 24 February 2022, the landlord acknowledged a complaint from the resident about the size of one of the radiators in the property. It said it would investigate the complaint and provide a written response by 8 March 2022.
The resident raised a stage one complaint by email on 12 March 2022. Within the email she said that she had accepted the previous compensation payment as she “had no heating for 12 plus years”. The resident said this was accepted “on the understanding that the new heating system would be fitted in my property asap”. She said “as far as I was concerned the works were due to start on 6 December 2021”. The resident said “I no longer agree with the amount I have been paid”. She explained that due to the delay, she had been without heating and hot water until the works were completed in February 2022. Due to this delay, the resident said she had to carry hot water from the ground floor to her flat on the fourth floor, which had lead to her sustaining a shoulder injury.
The landlord acknowledged the complaint in writing on 14 March 2022. It said it would investigate the delay in the installation of the new heating system and provide a written response by 25 March 2022.
The landlord’s records show that it contacted the resident on 14 March 2022 to discuss the complaint. It noted that the resident requested additional compensation for the delay and also £1,427 in medical charges incurred due to an injury she sustained. The landlord noted that it was to review the complaint and requests for compensation and come back to her with an offer “as soon as possible”.
The resident contacted this Service on 13 April 2022 as she had not received a stage one response. We contacted the landlord on 21 April 2022 and requested that it provide a stage one response. Although it did not respond to this Service until 31 May 2022, internal landlord emails show it received the contact on the same day and requested a response be provided by 6 May 2022.
The landlord noted that it called the resident on 26 April 2022 to discuss the complaint. The resident was noted as requesting additional compensation for the delay in installing the heating system and to cover the medical expenses she incurred. It followed up the next day and asked that the resident provide evidence of the incurred medical expenses.
On 25 May 2022, the landlord chased the resident for a copy of the medical invoice she wanted to claim back from it. The resident agreed to provide it as soon as possible.
The landlord emailed this Service on 31 May 2022 and said the reason it had not provided a response was due to it awaiting information from the resident. It said it had received that information on 27 May 2022 and it would soon provide a written response and compensation offer.
On 14 June 2022, the landlord called the resident and offered a compensation payment of £200 in response to the stage one complaint. No written response was provided. The resident rejected this offer and the complaint was recorded as being escalated to stage two. On this call, the resident was told that if she wished to claim back medical costs, she would need to make a personal injury claim through an insurance company.
Internal landlord notes on 16 June 2022, show that it later questioned why a written response was not on record. It said that a written response was required in line with the Complaint Handling Code. The landlord has confirmed that no written response was issued.
The resident emailed the landlord on 6 July 2022, as she had not had a response to her stage two complaint. This Service has not had sight of any record of a reply.
As she had still not received a response, the resident emailed the landlord again on 22 July 2022. It responded the same day apologising for the delay and explained that this was due to its “new approach to complaint handling” that “meets the needs of the new Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code”. It said an officer would be in touch when the complaint had been allocated to them.
The resident emailed the landlord again on 2 August 2022, as she had still not received a response. The landlord’s complaint records noted that it emailed the resident and advised her to contact the complaints team again, or to contact this Service.
Following contact from the resident, this Service contacted the landlord on 15 August 2022 and requested that it provide its stage two response, no later than 30 August 2022. On the same day, the complaint was allocated for a stage two review.
The landlord called the resident on 17 August 2022 to discuss the complaint. Internal landlord notes show that following the call, the complaint agent sought further information from those involved with the compensation offer in November 2021.
Internal landlord notes show that it considered a “communication error” to be the cause of the delay. It identified that the cheque for £5,000 had not been cashed and asked for that to be reissued and an additional £100 was proposed for the additional “lack of heating”. A cheque for £5,100 was authorised.
The landlord issued its stage two response letter on 30 August 2022. Within the response it said the following:
1. The resident was made aware on 3 December 2021 of the cancellation of the appointment to install the heating on 6 December 2021, it said this was due to the resident refusing access. It acknowledged that the resident disputed this refusal of access.
2. It acknowledged that that “communications and repairs” should have been managed more effectively.
3. It acknowledged that “we are aware that you do require priority support for heating and hot water repairs”.
4. It said that any medical claim would need to be made through its insurers and it provided details for the insurance company.
5. It said it had reissued a cheque for £5,100 and it offered a further compensation payment of £860. It said this would be offset against current rent debt, which meant it would be £596. The payment of £860 was broken down as follows:
  1. £50 for the delay between stage one and stage two responses.
  2. £50 for the complaint handling.
  3. £360 for loss of an individual service.
  4. £100 time and effort in bringing the matter to its attention.
  5. £300 distress and inconvenience.
The resident responded the same day and said she remained dissatisfied with the outcome and the compensation payment offered. She said she would await a response from the insurance claim before deciding on her next steps.
As the resident remained unhappy with the outcome of the complaint, she contacted this Service again on 13 September 2022. The complaint was accepted for review on 1 October 2022.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

Paragraph 42(c) of the Ombudsman’s Scheme, states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which were not raised with the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable time, which would normally be within six months of the matter arising. The resident first raised a formal complaint on 12 March 2022, meaning we can consider relevant events from 12 September 2021 onwards.
It is accepted by the landlord that the resident had experienced service issues and a lack of heating in the property for a number of years prior to this complaint. This led to the landlord making offers of compensation to address the lack of heating in the property but nothing was agreed until November 2021.
It is evident that the resident agreed to the compensation payment of £5,000 in November 2021, as redress for the previous instances of loss of service. In view of this and as the previous instances of loss of service cannot form part of this investigation, this review will focus solely on the delay in installing the heating system following this agreement with the landlord.

Delays installing a heating system, resulting in a loss of heating and hot water at the resident’s property.

It is evident that the landlord provided the resident with reasonable notice of the potential for a loss of heating and hot water, prior to the change in the heating system in October 2021. The change in heating systems was a major project and it would not be reasonable for the required contractors to remain on site until an agreement was reached with the resident to allow access. As the resident refused to allow access until a compensation figure had been agreed, responsibility for the initial loss of access to hot water and heating in October 2021 cannot be solely apportioned to the landlord.
The landlord and resident agreed to a compensation figure and for the resident to provide access. The landlord confirmed this and said it was in a position to progress the works in its email dated 23 November 2021. Given that the contractor had left site after carrying out the heating system change in October 2021, it is reasonable that this could not be carried out straight away. The landlord then proposed a start date of 6 December 2021 for the start of the installation. Despite requests for this information, this Service did not have sight of any record of this appointment being cancelled prior to 6 December 2021. Further to this, the landlord’s email of 7 December 2021 said that it was under the impression that the work was underway.
Both the landlord and the resident gave the impression that the work should have begun on 6 December 2021. Therefore, any delay after this date must be considered a failing on the part of the landlord. This is a significant failing, as it left the resident without access to heating and hot water until 21 February 2022, a period of 77 days. This meant that the resident was significantly impacted during the coldest months of the year and across the holiday period when she would likely spend more time at home. This caused significant distress and inconvenience for the resident during this period, as she explained that she had to carry hot water from a communal area elsewhere in the building.
As the landlord was aware that the resident was without heating and hot water throughout its discussions over compensation, it should have been considered a priority to ensure that this work started as soon as possible. Despite requests for any evidence of contact with the resident in December 2021, the landlord did not provide any. Following its email on 23 November 2021, to confirm the proposal to start work on 6 December 2021, the landlord has not provided any evidence of contact with the resident, until it responded to her email on 6 January 2021. This is a further failing on the part of the landlord to ensure adequate oversight of reinstating the residents access to heating and hot water. Had it done so, the landlord could have provided alternate means by which the resident could have access to hot water and heating during this period. The lack of contact from the landlord during this period could only have left the resident feeling ignored and isolated by the landlords actions.
The landlord continued to show a lack of empathy towards the residents situation after her email of 6 January 2022. Within this email, the resident made it aware that she was still without access to heating and hot water and it failed to acknowledge this within its responses. The landlord could have offered electric heaters and potentially a payment towards additional energy costs to run the heaters or to boil water while it awaited an appointment. However, no such offers were made and the resident was left in the unenviable position of living without these services for another six weeks.
There was a continued lack of urgency to complete the required works by the landlord, even after the resident chased a response. The landlord responded to the resident’s email of 6 January 2022 and said that somebody would call her. Given the circumstances, it would be reasonable for the landlord to ensure that the call was made as a matter of urgency, instead nobody called and the resident had to chase again on 11 January 2022. This continued when planning the works as it had previously given a timeframe of “1-2 weeks” to arrange the work but it took 4 weeks to arrange the work after the meeting with the resident on 17 January 2022. The continued delays and the lack of any offers of assistance during this period is another failing on the part of the landlord. It failed to show any desire to have the works started as soon as possible, despite being aware of her circumstances.
Ultimately, the landlord failed to ensure that the required works to allow the resident to access the new heating system were completed quickly. It proposed a date to start those works but failed to oversee the process which meant the resident was left without heating and hot water for a significant period during the winter. Even when it was chased by the resident, it failed to act with any urgency and it took a further six weeks for it to complete those works. During this time the resident has experienced significant detriment along with the distress and inconvenience it caused her during this period. When considering the failings in the landlord’s management of this process, cumulatively this amounts to maladministration.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

The landlord acknowledged the residents stage one complaint in line with the timeframe set out in its policy. However, it then took 63 working days for it to provide a response. Within its acknowledgement of the complaint, the landlord said it would provide a written response by 25 March 2022. The resident was not kept informed of any reason for the delay, in line with its complaint policy, leading to her contacting this Service due to the lack of response. This is a failing by the landlord which led to the resident feeling she had no option but to seek assistance with her complaint from a third party.
After this Service contacted the landlord on 21 April 2022 to chase a response, it contacted the resident to discuss the complaint again. During this contact, it requested evidence of the medical expenses she had requested it reimburse her for. When the landlord explained the delay in providing its stage one response on 31 May 2022, it said this was due to it waiting on this evidence. However, this was not requested in writing until 27 April 2022, some 32 working days after its initial discussion with the resident. When the resident did provide this information on 27 May 2022, the landlord still took another 11 working days to provide its response. Overall, the time taken to provide its response to the stage one complaint is a failing by the landlord. The time taken could only have added to the resident’s frustrations around delays in the landlord’s actions.
When the landlord did respond to the stage one complaint, it did not provide a written response in line with its policy. The landlord called the resident and offered a payment of £200 due to the delay in the heating installation and said that any medical expense claim would need to be made through an insurance company. Given the nature of the response, the delays in providing it seem unnecessary, as the landlord could have directed the resident to a personal injury claim at any time during the prior 63 working days. The payment towards the delay in the heating installation could also have been offered much sooner as the work had been completed prior to the complaint. When considering the management of the stage one complaint by the landlord, it can only be considered a failing on its part. The response was provided outside the policy timeframes, it did not provide any detail of its investigation and findings and the resolution offered could have been offered much sooner. The landlord was also aware that it should have offered a written response but it failed to do so, even after acknowledging its own failure. It is unsurprising that the resident felt her complaint had not been addressed adequately, as its response does not present an impression of a well investigated complaint. This could only have added to the residents frustration, given the time and trouble she had invested in seeking a resolution.
Despite the resident requesting an escalation to stage two on the call of 14 June 2022, she did not receive a response within 20 working days, as per the policy. Her request for an update on 6 July 2022 was not responded to until she chased it again on 22 July 2022. The landlord said the lack of response was due to a “new approach to complaint handling” but this was not linked to a policy change, so it responsibility to reply had not changed. The resident had to request another update on 2 August 2022 and was directed to contact this Service, rather than it providing a response. The landlord did not contact the resident until after this Service contacted it on 15 August 2022 and requested a stage two response be issued. In line with the Dispute Resolution Principles, landlords should look to learn from its complaints. The management of the stage two complaint shows no learnings as there were similar delays as seen in at stage one and a lack of responses to the resident’s contacts.
The stage two response provided by the landlord acknowledged some failings around its “communication and repairs” when providing the resident with access to the heating and hot water. However, the majority of its response was a timeline of what had happened during the complaint period, rather than an investigation of the main complaint issue and its stage one response. This does not demonstrate an understanding of what it did wrong and would limit any learning from the complaint.
The landlord does make an improved offer of compensation totalling £960 in addition to the £5,000 it had offered in November 2021. This consisted of £300 for distress and inconvenience, £200 for complaint handling related matters and a payment of £360 for the loss of an individual service. Although the proposed payments for complaint handling and distress and inconvenience were reasonable, the payment offered for the loss of a service was not in line with its compensation policy. The policy says it would offer £10 per day for a loss of heating but says the maximum would be £100. This limit on such payments is unreasonable, as there is no such restriction on the number of days that a resident is without that service. Given that the policy proposes £10 per day, it would only be reasonable to offer this payment for the entire period that the resident was without heating. Given the reason for the initial delay, it is the view of this Service that this period should be between 6 December 2021 and 21 February 2022, a period of 77 days. On this basis, an award of £770 will be included within the award proposed in this report.

Ultimately, the landlord failed to manage the resident’s complaints in line with its own complaint policy. There were significant delays, during which time the resident had to request call backs and responses through the landlord and this Service. The stage one complaint was not addressed as such and its response diminished the severity of the reason for the resident’s complaint. This continued during the stage two process and although the eventual response was provided in writing, it was outside the timeframes set out in its policy and did not provide a comprehensive investigation of the complaint. These failures meant that the resident was impacted by the time and trouble she had to invest in chasing a response and had her ability to seek independent review impeded by the landlords delays. When considering the failings in the management of this process, cumulatively this amounts to maladministration.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 42(g) of the Scheme, the personal injury claim by the resident due to delays in the installation of the heating system was not within the jurisdiction of this Service.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the delays installing a heating system, resulting in a loss of heating and hot water at the resident’s property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Reasons

The landlord failed to provide adequate oversight of providing access to heating and hot water for a resident it saw as a “priority”. It provided a date for the required works to start but failed to follow up on them. When this was highlighted by the resident, it still failed to treat it with the urgency it required and it was another six weeks before the resident was provided with those services. It failed to account for the loss of service during that time, as it offered no alternative methods of heating and hot water in the property while it awaited completion of the work. This lack of understanding of the resident’s situation and the overall delays have impacted the resident negatively during the coldest months of the year.
The landlord failed to manage the resident’s complaint, in line with its policy, across both stages of it. There were unnecessary delays and a lack of communication with the resident, despite her requests for contact throughout. The stage one response was not provided in writing, showing no real investigation of the matters brought to it. Although the stage two response was more comprehensive, it still did not provide a demonstration of understanding of the cause of the complaint. Its offer of compensation at stage two was more considered but could not be seen as fair redress. The complaint process was unnecessarily long, taking over 5 months, when the same response could have been produced much sooner as there were no outstanding works or actions that would account for the delays.

Orders

The landlord is ordered to make a payment of £1,270 to the resident. This is not linked to the previously agreed payment of £5,000 and should be paid directly to the resident within 28 days of the date of this report. This payment is made up of the following elements:
1. £770 for the loss of heating and hot water for a period of 77 days due to the landlord’s delay installing the new heating system between 6 December 2021 and 21 February 2022.
2. £300 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay installing the new heating system.
3. £200 for the distress and inconvenience, time and trouble caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
The landlord must review the learning from this report, it must advise this Service of its intentions within four weeks of the date of this report and provide a report showing that this has been brought into its operations identified improvements within three months of the date of this report. This review must consider at minimum:
1. Ensuring it has adequate oversight measures in its management of works that affect residents access to essential services such as heating and hot water.
2. Ensuring that residents experiencing a loss of heating and hot water are offered alternative methods by which to obtain these services during any delays in required works.
3. Knowledge refresh for relevant staff re complaint handling timeframes and managing complaints in line with its complaint policy.
4. Ensure that thorough complaint investigations are undertaken and written responses are only issued once it is entirely satisfied with the completeness of its responses, utilising resident agreed time extensions where required and justified.