London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202202578)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202202578

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

3 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

1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to a request for a refund of the credit on the rent account.

Background

2. The resident lives in a 2-bedroom house as a secure tenant.
3. On 18 October 2021, the resident asked the landlord for an update on her rent account. The landlord told her that the account was in credit, and she could reduce her payments or request a refund. The resident said she wanted a refund. The landlord gave her details of how to request a refund.
4. On 31 March 2022, the resident requested a refund of £718.72. The landlord checked whether any housing benefit payments were outstanding and then refunded £97.16.
5. The resident queried the amount refunded. On 3 May 2022, the landlord said it was sorry if it had advised the resident in October 2021 that she could have a refund of all the credit. It said it had to ensure there was enough credit on her account to stop it falling into arrears. It said housing benefit was paid in arrears every 4 weeks, and once it received the housing benefit payment, the account went into credit. It said rent was then added weekly, which reduced the credit. The landlord said it reviewed her account and £97.16 was the excess credit.
6. The resident complained on 9 May 2022, that she was unhappy with the landlord’s refund calculations. She raised an issue related to the under-occupancy charge, which she referred to as the bedroom tax, between 2017 and 2019, which she said was the reason her account was in credit.
7. In its response on 18 May 2022, the landlord repeated that the resident was required to have 4 weeks credit on her rent account. It said that it had arranged a further refund of £119.07 excess credit and a £25 good will payment for inconvenience caused.
8. The resident escalated her complaint on 23 May 2022. She referred to discrepancies on her statement, overpayments due to the under-occupancy charge, and court proceedings in 2019. Between June and September 2022, there was an exchange of emails between the resident and landlord about the rent payments.
9. On 13 January 2023, this Service asked the landlord to escalate the complaint. The landlord sent its final response on 23 January 2023. The landlord repeated its previous position and referred to its refund policy. It offered £60 for the delay in responding to the complaint. The resident remained dissatisfied with the amount refunded and escalated her complaint to this Service.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

10. The resident referred to previous court proceedings in her complaint and a refund paid in 2019. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 41(c) of the Scheme, this Service will not consider matters previously dealt with in court. This is because the Scheme says that this Service cannot consider complaints that concern matters that are the subject of court proceedings or where judgement on the merits was given.
11. The resident also referred to payment of the under-occupancy charge between 2017 and 2019 affecting the rent account. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme, this Service will not consider this element of the complaint. This is because the Scheme says this Service may not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 6 months of the matters arising.
12. This Service can assess whether the landlord has followed policy and procedures, and behaved reasonably, considering all the circumstances of the case.

The landlord’s response to the request for a refund of the credit on the rent account

13. The tenancy agreement is the contract between the landlord and resident, which sets out the obligations and expectations on both parties. On rent payments, the tenancy agreement says the resident must pay rent in advance according to the agreed frequency. This Service has noted that the resident is required to pay her rent every 4 weeks in advance.
14. The tenancy agreement also says that if the landlord owes any money to the resident, such as a credit on the rent account, it will first deduct any money the resident owes it before it makes a payment.
15. The landlord’s income management standard operating procedure sets out how it will process refunds. It says it will check the refund will not result in arrears within the next 4 weeks of the payment cycle. If it does, the landlord says it will inform the resident that a refund is not possible. If sufficient credit is on the account, a refund will be made.
16. The resident asked the landlord for a rent balance in October 2021, and it told her the account was in credit. In March 2022, the resident requested a refund of the amount she said the landlord had told her the account was in credit. The landlord checked the account in April 2022 and paid the resident £97.16 that it said was the excess balance.
17. When the resident queried the amount refunded and said she had been told the account was over £700 in credit, the landlord responded by saying the resident was required to have 4 weeks credit on her account. It said housing benefit was paid in arrears, and when received, the rent account went temporarily into credit. It said weekly rent deductions over the next 4 weeks then reduced the amount of credit. The landlord said it did not hold a recording of the call in October 2021, as it only held 3 months of call recordings.
18. This Service cannot determine what the resident was told by the landlord in October 2021, as the landlord says no records exist of the call. However, in its first complaint response on 18 May 2022, the landlord apologised for any inconvenience it may have caused because of the October 2021 call and offered a £25 good will gesture. This Service finds that this was a reasonable course of action for the landlord to take in the circumstances.
19. This Service has noted that in its communications and complaint responses between May 2022 and January 2023, the landlord maintained that it had calculated the refund in line with the tenancy agreement and the income management standard operating procedure.
20. This Service has reviewed both documents and found that the landlord’s position in its final response on 24 January 2023 was reasonable. This is because the landlord followed the approach to refunds set out in the tenancy agreement and income management standard operating procedure when it calculated the amount to be refunded. Both documents are clear that the resident is required to pay her rent every 4 weeks in advance, and the landlord will check that a refund will not result in arrears within the next 4 weeks of the payment cycle.
21. In addition, the landlord apologised for any inconvenience it caused and offered a good will payment. The landlord additionally made a payment in recognition of the delay in sending its final complaint response. Because of this, this Service has found that there was reasonable redress offered by the landlord.
22. This Service has noted that as part of the complaint, the resident requested a copy of her tenancy agreement. The resident has told this Service that she has not been provided with a copy. This Service recommends that the landlord provides a copy of this to the resident as a matter of urgency.

Determination

23. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress offered by the landlord in respect of its response to the request for a refund of the credit on the rent account.

Recommendation

24. This Service recommends that the landlord provides a copy of the tenancy agreement to the resident as a matter of urgency.
25. The landlord should reoffer the £60 compensation payment if it has not already been paid.