Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV) (202232303)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202232303

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV)

23 August 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. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water.
2. The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.

Background

The property is a 3-bedroom house and the resident has an assured tenancy, which began on 23 December 2013. The landlord is a housing association.
The property is supplied with heating and hot water from a communal biomass boiler system which uses pellets as fuel. The communal boiler is linked to the resident’s property through a Heat Interface Unit (HIU), which enables the property to receive heating and hot water from the communal boiler. The property also has an independent immersion heater which supplies hot water.
The landlord has advised this Service that it was not advised of any vulnerabilities for the resident at the time of the tenancy sign-up.
The tenancy agreement states the landlord will: “keep in good repair and working order any installations provided by [the landlord] for space heating, water heating and sanitation and for the supply of water, gas and electricity including…water heaters…and central heating installation”.

Summary of events

On 2 December 2022, the resident reported that she had no heating or hot water, which were supplied though the landlord’s biomass system, and that the HIU was leaking onto the electrical wires. She contacted the landlord’s out of hours team to report this. The contractor’s records stated that it attended on the same day and isolated the supply as it had found leaks on the drain valve. The contractor noted that the valve would need to be replaced. The contractor’s notes stated that the resident had no heating or hot water but had an immersion heater.
The resident wrote to the landlord on 4 December 2022 to register a complaint regarding problems she had experienced with her boiler on 2 December 2022. She stated that an engineer had come out on the same day and had isolated her boiler because water had been leaking onto the electrics. She stated that she understood the biomass system and back up boiler were also not operational. The resident confirmed that the heating engineer had left a temporary heater but she said this was inadequate to heat the property. She stated that the system had been unreliable and therefore the landlord needed to investigate urgently as temperatures were due to fall considerably.
The resident wrote to the landlord on 5 December 2022 stating that her HIU had been isolated and therefore even when the issues with the main biomass boiler were resolved, she would still be without heating and hot water. She confirmed that the contractor had left one electric fan heater.
A senior engineer attended on 7 December 2022, repaired the leaks, carried out a “temporary fix” on the valve and ordered parts for a permanent repair.
The landlord wrote to the resident on 9 December 2022 to acknowledge receipt of her email dated 4 December 2022, which it confirmed would be logged as a stage one complaint.
The contractor’s records show that an appointment had been scheduled for 12 December 2022 to deliver temporary heaters. The notes stated that the contractor attended the property but had not been able to obtain temporary heaters for delivery on that day. The contractor therefore delivered 2 heaters to the resident on the following day (13 December 2022).
An internal email dated 12 December 2022 from the landlord stated that the biomass system had run out of pellets from 2 December 2022. The contractor had ordered more pellets and the system was operational from 6 December 2022. It had therefore been non-operational for 4 days.
The contractor’s records state that the resident phoned the contractor on 15 December 2022 to chase the repair to the HIU. The contractor advised the landlord on the next day that it was having difficulties locating parts to repair the HIU.
The contractor’s records show that during the period from 21 December 2022 to 20 January 2023, it was seeking the landlord’s approval to order a new HIU due to the age of the HIU and the difficulties in finding parts.
The landlord wrote to the resident on 23 December 2022 and advised that it was not yet able to provide a full response to the resident’s complaint. It would therefore need an extension of 10 working days and would reply by 10 January 2023.
The landlord sent its stage one reply on 6 January 2023 in which it stated the following:
1. The landlord had investigated the resident’s complaint regarding water leaks from her boiler and problems with the biomass heating system.
2. The landlord was aware that the resident had experienced heating problems due to the biomass pellets running out. It had now taken delivery of a large supply of pellets and the contractor was carrying out weekly checks of the level of pellets available. The landlord said it was also installing remote monitoring of the biomass boiler so it could remotely check the pellet levels.
3. The landlord stated that all its HIUs had been serviced or were due to be serviced during January 2023.
4. The landlord said that its longer-term plan was to ensure that if the biomass boiler failed, there would be sufficient gas back-up to provide heat for the whole estate.
5. The landlord upheld the complaint, apologised for the loss of heating and offered the resident £50 compensation for time and trouble.
The contractor’s records state that it ordered a new HIU for the property on 23 January 2023.
The contractor’s records show that it booked an appointment with the resident to install the new HIU on 30 January 2023. However, the installation did not take place as the unit was unavailable at the supplier. The contractor emailed to inform the landlord. The contractor’s notes state that it was also unable to install the unit on 31 January 2023 as it was still not available at the supplier.
The resident phoned the landlord on 31 January 2023 to report that the HIU had still not been installed. It was due to have been fitted on 30 January 2023 and her son took a day off work. However, the contractor had contacted her to say the part was at a different depot and would be fitted on 31 January2023. She stated that the engineer had attended on 31 January 2023 but did not have the part.
The landlord wrote to the resident on the same day (31 January 2023) to advise her that it would escalate her complaint to stage 2.
The contractor’s notes stated that it had spoken to the resident on 1 February 2023 and had not been able to install the HIU on that date as the resident was not at home and was unavailable on that day. The landlord also wrote to the resident on 1 February 2023 and requested her to provide copies of her electricity bills for the period she had been without heating and hot water and for the same period during the previous year. The landlord said it would then consider reimbursement of the additional electricity costs. The landlord also attached a copy of its stage one reply as the resident had mentioned not receiving it.
The resident replied to the landlord on 1 February 2023 and reiterated that she had not received the stage one reply. She advised the landlord that now she had seen the reply, she was not happy with it. She advised the landlord that her complaint had been about her own HIU rather than the biomass system. She advised the landlord that she had stayed away from the property over Christmas due to the lack of heating and hot water. She also mentioned experiencing stress, anxiety and health issues. Finally, the resident mentioned that she had submitted various online complaints and had not received a response to them.
The contractor’s engineer attended on 2 February 2023 to install the HIU. The notes state that he carried out extensive alterations to the pipework and advised that an electrician was needed to run additional electrical cables.
The resident wrote to the landlord on 6 February 2023 and advised that the HIU had been partly installed on 2 February 2023 but had not been completed as it required an electrician. Therefore, the resident said she still had no heating or hot water.
The landlord’s records show that an electrician and heating engineer attended on 9 February 2023 and carried out the remaining works to the HIU. The system was filled, tested and commissioned.
The resident contacted the contractor on 24 February 2023 to report that she had no heating or hot water. The contractor attended on the same day and identified that the resident’s energy provider needed to attend regarding the meter as the power kept cutting out and showing there was no credit on the meter. The contractor’s records show that it emailed the landlord on 27 February 2023 to advise that it should contact the energy provider.
The landlord wrote to the resident on 27 February 2022 to advise her that it would need to extend the complaint response deadline by a further 10 working days.
The resident chased the contractor on 1 March 2023 regarding the repair and was advised by the contractor that the matter had been referred to the landlord to arrange for the energy provider to attend. The landlord wrote to the resident on the same day to advise that she would need to ensure there was sufficient credit on her prepayment meter before the heating would work.
The landlord’s records show that it had contacted the energy provider on 2 March 2023 and requested it to contact the resident to resolve any outstanding issues regarding the meter. On 3 March 2023, an electrician from the energy provider attended the property to reconnect the meter. The resident confirmed to the landlord that the system was left in working order following the visit.
The landlord phoned the resident on 13 March 2023 to advise her that it would need to extend the deadline for replying to her complaint because it was awaiting approval for its compensation offer to the resident.
The landlord wrote to the resident with its stage 2 reply on 15 March 2023 in which it stated the following:
1. The landlord stated that it had received the resident’s request to escalate her complaint on 31 January 2023.
2. The landlord understood that the resident was dissatisfied with its response because she had taken time off work on 30 January 2023 for the contractor to install a new HIU. However, the contractor had not attended and although it attended on the following day, the resident reported that the operative did not have the correct part needed to complete the repairs. Since then, the resident had reported ongoing issues, missed appointments and higher energy costs.
3. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint due to the length of time it had taken to resolve the ongoing issues with her boiler since 2 December 2022.
4. The contractor had attended to the initial report of boiler issues made on 2 December 2022 and completed repairs. However, the landlord accepted that following the repairs, the resident lost heating and hot water again and the landlord passed the matter to the energy provider to rectify as there was a debt on the meter that needed to be cleared and the meter needed to be reconnected.
5. Although the resident had advised the landlord that she had not received a copy of the landlord’s stage one reply, the landlord said it was satisfied with the way the complaint had been handled. Therefore, it sent the resident a copy of the stage one reply and said it did not uphold the resident’s complaint about the way the stage one complaint had been handled.
6. The landlord outlined the various dates the resident had reported problems with the boiler and its contractor had attended during December 2022 to February 2023. Some of the key days were:
  1. The resident had first reported no heating or hot water on 2 December 2022.
  2. The contractor had attended and established that the drain valve would need replacing.
  3. The contractor attended on 7 December 2022, carried out a temporary repair on a boiler valve that was leaking and ordered a new valve. The contractor contacted the energy provider who advised they needed an order and therefore the contractor advised the resident to contact the landlord.
  4. On 13 December 2022, the landlord provided temporary heaters.
  5. The contractor contacted the resident early on 30 January 2023 to advise that it could not attend an appointment that day to replace the HIU as the correct unit was unavailable. The contractor made an appointment for the following day.
  6. The landlord stated that the planned installation of the unit on 31 January 2023 “failed again”.
  7. The contractor attended on 1 February 2023 to install the unit but the landlord stated that the resident was in a meeting. The contractor therefore attended on 2 February 2023 but found there were some unanticipated electrical issues. An appointment was therefore made for an electrician to attend.
  8. The landlord’s records state that works were carried out on 9 February 2023 and the heating/hot water system was left working.
  9. On 24 February 2023, the resident reported that the heating system had failed again. The contractor attended on the same day and advised the resident that the energy provider would need to attend as the meter was cutting off power with no credit on the meter.
  10. On 3 March 2023, the energy provider attended to complete the works. The heating and hot water were left working.
7. The landlord acknowledged that although the resident had access to hot water and heat, the boiler itself had not been fully operational and therefore the resident had to use the immersion heater. The landlord therefore apologised to the resident for the distress and inconvenience caused.
8. The landlord said in order to consider reimbursing the resident for additional electricity usage, she would need to provide itemised electricity bills for the period of disrupted service and the bills for the same time during the previous year for comparison.
9. The landlord agreed to reimburse the resident for unpaid leave she had taken from work on 31 January, 2 February and 9 February 2023. It stated that as per its policy, the amount it would reimburse was £10.42 per hour, which was the national living wage. The landlord said it had no record that a visit had been arranged on 12 December 2022 and therefore would not reimburse her for this day.
10. The landlord confirmed it was upholding the resident’s complaint and offered her compensation of £652.29 which was made up of:
  1. £234.45 loss of earnings for 3 days;
  2. £246.84 reimbursement for electricity charges;
  3. £71.00 reimbursement of the energy provider’s charge;
  4. £50.00 for failure of service;
  5. £50.00 for time and trouble (offered at stage one).

Events following the landlord’s stage 2 reply

The landlord wrote to the resident on 16 March 2023 to confirm it would offer an additional £78.15 to cover the loss of earnings on 12 December 2022. The landlord stated that it now accepted that the contractor had failed to deliver the temporary heaters on this day. The landlord confirmed that its total offer of compensation was therefore now £730.44.
On 18 April 2023, the resident wrote to this Service to provide details regarding her complaint. She stated:
1. That it had been necessary for her to vacate her property over the Christmas period because she had no heating or hot water and the property was very cold.
2. She had incurred additional travelling expenses because she had to stay elsewhere over Christmas.
3. The heating had cut out on 24 February 2023 as there was no credit on her meter because she had been charged a standing charge throughout the period she had been without heating and hot water.
4. She said that she had not received the landlord’s stage one reply on 6 January 2023.
5. She stated that the experience had caused her stress, anxiety and ill health as the temperatures were below 15 degrees inside the property.
The landlord wrote to this Service on 7 February 2024 and advised that it had reviewed its award of compensation and decided that an additional £100 should be awarded for time and trouble because the issues had continued following on from the closure of the stage one complaint until 9 February 2023 when the HIU was replaced. The landlord stated that further issues were reported with the HIU on 24 February 2023 but these were addressed within the landlord’s service level agreement as explained in its stage 2 reply.
In response to a question from the Ombudsman, the landlord advised this Service on 13 August 2024 that it had only received one other complaint from the resident during 2022 and this was on an unrelated matter.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

The resident advised this Service that the reported loss of heating and hot water during the winter months impacted on her family’s health. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments regarding her health, but this Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This would be better dealt with as a personal injury claim through the courts. The resident may wish to consider taking independent legal advice if she wishes to pursue this option. The Ombudsman has, however, assessed the service the landlord provided and any overall distress or inconvenience this may have caused.
The resident advised the landlord that she had to leave the property over the Christmas period due to the reported lack of heating and hot water. As a result, she stated that she had incurred additional expenses, such as travelling costs. The resident also advised the landlord that she had incurred other costs, such as loss of earnings due to missed appointments. It is not within the Ombudsman’s authority to determine negligence or liability in the same way as the courts, or to order damages in relation to these. Only a court can offer a definitive and legally binding decision in such matters. The Ombudsman has, however, assessed whether the landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s compensation request in line with its policy and procedure and followed good practice when reaching its decisions. The resident may wish to obtain independent legal advice if she wishes to pursue damages for losses such as loss of earnings.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water

The landlord’s Repair Responsibilities Guide states that repairs will be carried out within the following timescales:
1. Emergencies – the contractor will visit within 24 hours to ensure the property and the household are safe.
2. Routine (appointments) – every effort will be made to complete the repair within 28 calendar days (or 20 working days) of the resident contacting the landlord.
3. Non-routine – where a repair is considered to take longer than the routine period due to its complexity or materials needed, the contractor will be given 90 days to complete the repair.
4. Inspections – these will be carried out where the landlord considers a repair is more complicated and needs to be inspected to diagnose the repair.
The guide also states:
1. Reports of no heating and hot water will be dealt with by the landlord as an emergency repair.
2. Where the landlord cannot repair the heating on the first visit, it will provide the resident with a portable heater in the colder months if required.
The resident reported having no heating or hot water on 2 December 2022. She also reported that water was leaking from the HIU onto electrical wires. The landlord’s out of hours contractor attended on the same day and isolated the HIU. The landlord’s contractor therefore responded within an appropriate timescale as the resident had reported no heating or hot water and had reported a potentially dangerous situation caused by water leaking onto the electrics. The contractor took appropriate steps to make the situation safe as per its Repairs Guide.
The resident confirmed in her emails dated 4 and 5 December 2022 that the contractor had left a potable heater on 2 December 2022. As the contractor could not carry out a repair on the first visit, it was appropriate that it had left a portable heater as per its Repairs Guide. However, it was a shortcoming that the contractor had only left one heater at that stage given the size of the property.
The resident submitted a complaint on 4 December 2022 regarding the lack of heating and hot water. She also wrote to the landlord on 5 December 2022 to explain that there had been a fault with her HIU and this would therefore need to be addressed urgently. As the contractor had isolated the resident’s HIU on 2 December 2022, it was unreasonable that it had not arranged a follow-up visit by an engineer on the next working day to carry out repairs to the unit. The landlord’s Repairs Guide states that the loss of heating and hot water is an emergency and therefore should be responded to within 24 hours. It was not until 7 December 2022 that an engineer attended the property, which was 5 days after the resident had reported the loss of heating and hot water. The delay was therefore inappropriate.
The engineer carried out a temporary fix on the HIU valve and ordered parts for permanent repair. It was reasonable that the engineer had carried out temporary repairs and ordered parts for a permanent fix. However, the evidence seen suggests that the resident still did not have heating and hot water from the HIU (although the resident was able to use an immersion heater for some hot water).
The Ombudsman understands that landlords and contractors may have to order parts that are not readily available. However, where this is necessary, it is incumbent on the landlord to ensure that the resident has adequate temporary heating and where practical a supply of hot water. In this case, the resident had an immersion heater and therefore was able to access some hot water. In terms of heating, the landlord had provided a temporary heater on 2 December 2022, however, the landlord had not disputed that this was inadequate.
The contractor had arranged for additional temporary heaters to be delivered on 12 December 2022; however, the contractor was unable to provide the heaters on this day and therefore they were delivered on 13 December 2022. It was unreasonable that the landlord had failed to deliver the heaters on the agreed date. It was also unreasonable that the landlord had delayed providing the additional portable heaters until 13 December 2022, which was 11 days after the initial report of the problem with the HIU and nearly a week after the engineer had visited the property on 7 December 2022.
The contractor advised the landlord on 16 December 2022 that it was having difficulty obtaining the parts to repair the HIU and, shortly after this, the contractor requested the landlord’s permission to order a new HIU. The landlord’s records show that the contractor ordered the new HIU on 23 January 2023. It had therefore taken a month for the HIU to be ordered following the contractor advising the landlord about the difficulties in ordering parts. The delay was unreasonable as it meant the resident had been without a suitable source of heating and hot water for almost 2 months. This caused the resident distress and inconvenience, particularly because it included the Christmas period. The resident advised the landlord that it had been necessary for her to stay with family members over the Christmas period because of the lack of heating and hot water.
Arrangements were made for the HIU to be fitted on 30 January and 31 January 2023. However, due to internal errors on the part of the contractor, the unit was not fitted. As well as the continued discomfort of not having adequate heating and hot water, the contractor’s failure to install the HIU on these dates meant that the resident was further inconvenienced by having to take unnecessary time off work or by arranging for her son to take time off.
The contractor fitted the HIU on 2 February 2023, however, the engineer confirmed that an electrician needed to attend to run additional cables. The landlord stated in its stage 2 reply that the electrical work had been unanticipated. Consequently, the resident wrote to the landlord on 6 February 2023 and advised that she still did not have heating or hot water. The electrician and the engineer attended on 9 February 2023 and were able to carry out the final work to the HIU. The system was left in working order.
The resident had therefore been without heating and hot water from the HIU for over 2 months. The evidence shows that during this period the resident chased the landlord on several occasions for updates, which caused her further time and trouble. There were also missed appointments, which added to the resident’s distress regarding the lack of heating and hot water. Even taking into account that the landlord had to order a new HIU and the difficulties faced by the contractor in locating parts, the time taken to reinstate the heating and hot water was unreasonable. The landlord has not disputed that the internal temperature within the property was very low during this period and therefore the Ombudsman’s view is that the landlord should have dealt with the issue with greater urgency.
On 24 February 2023, the resident reported that she had no heating or hot water. The contractor attended on the same day, which was appropriate as it was categorised as an emergency. The contractor identified that the problem was with the pre-payment meter and the lack of credit on the meter. The matter would therefore need to be dealt with by the energy provider. The evidence shows that both the resident and the landlord contacted the energy provider and an appointment was booked for the energy provider to attend on 3 March 2023. It had therefore taken a further week for the issue with the meter to be resolved. However, as the landlord was not directly responsible for the meter and it had contacted the energy provider to assist the resident to resolve the matter, the Ombudsman’s view is that the landlord acted reasonably following the resident’s report of no heating and hot water on 24 February 2023.
The landlord advised the resident in its stage one and stage 2 replies that there had initially been problems with the communal biomass boiler due to insufficient supplies of the fuel pellets. The landlord explained in its stage one reply the measures it had put in place to ensure the problem did not reoccur. The landlord’s records showed that the boiler had resumed providing heating and hot water on 6 December 2022. Although it was unsatisfactory that the landlord had not ensured there were sufficient supplies of fuel for the boiler to remain operational, the landlord demonstrated learning by putting systems in place to ensure the problem did not reoccur. The resident stated in her email dated 1 February 2023 that her complaint had been about her own HIU rather than the main biomass boiler.
Overall, the Ombudsman has found the following failings in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water:
1. Although the contractor attended on 2 December 2022 to ensure that any hazards were made safe, it did not arrange a follow-up visit on the next working day to repair the HIU.
2. There was a delay in the landlord providing additional temporary heaters and it did not provide them on the date agreed with the resident.
3. The landlord took a month to authorise the replacement of the HIU after the contractor had notified it about the difficulties in obtaining parts.
4. The resident was without the main source of heating and hot water for over 2 months before the contractor completed the necessary works to the new unit.
In its stage 2 reply, the landlord upheld the resident’s complaint due to the length of time it had taken to resolve the issues regarding the lack of heating and hot water. The landlord apologised to the resident for the distress and inconvenience caused and offered compensation of £652.29 for loss of earnings due to the contractor missing appointments, reimbursement of additional electricity costs, reimbursement of the energy provider’s charges, compensation for failure of the service and time and trouble. On 16 March 2023, the landlord increased the compensation to £730.44 as it accepted it had omitted one of the days when the contractor had missed an appointment.
The landlord’s Compensation Policy states that it will reimburse residents for quantifiable losses such as increased heating bills where the landlord has failed to meet its obligations. Therefore, it was right that the landlord had offered to reimburse the resident for her actual losses such as the additional electricity charges and had attempted to put things right by recognising the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident.
When there are failings by a landlord, as is the case here, the Ombudsman will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
The landlord acted fairly by acknowledging its failings in its handling of the reported problems with the resident’s HIU. It also acted fairly by apologising for the length of time it had taken to rectify the problem and for the service that the resident had experienced. It also acted fairly by compensating the resident for the quantifiable losses she had incurred in relation to missed appointments and the additional energy costs.
However, although the landlord offered compensation of £50 for the failure of service and £50 for time and trouble, the Ombudsman does not consider the landlord’s offer to have been proportionate to recognise the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident due to not having a main source of heating and hot water during the winter months. The Ombudsman has therefore found there was a service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water. This is because, in line with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance, although the landlord made an offer of compensation, it did not reflect the detriment to the resident and was not proportionate to the failings identified by this investigation. The Ombudsman has ordered the landlord to pay additional compensation of £150 to recognise the distress and inconvenience experienced by the resident.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints

The landlord’s complaints policy states that it operates a 2-stage complaints process. The landlord will reply to stage one complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. At both stages, the policy says that if the landlord cannot respond within the prescribed timescales, it will keep the resident informed and agree new response times.
The resident submitted a complaint on 4 December 2022 regarding the loss of heating and hot water. The landlord sent its stage one reply on 6 January 2023, which was 21 working days after the resident submitted her complaint. The landlord therefore took longer than its 10-working day target for stage one replies. However, the landlord had written to the resident on 23 December 2022 to advise her that it would need additional time to send its stage one reply. Therefore, although it was a shortcoming on the landlord’s part that it had not replied within its target timescale, it had notified the resident that it needed an extension of time, which was in line with its complaints policy. The overall time taken by the landlord to reply to the stage one complaint was therefore reasonable as it had kept the resident updated of progress in terms of sending its reply.
The resident advised the landlord on 1 February 2023 that she had not received the stage one reply. While the Ombudsman is not doubting the resident’s statement, this Service bases its decisions on evidence and the landlord has provided evidence that it sent the stage one reply on 6 January 2023.
The resident contacted the landlord on 31 January 2023 to advise that the new HIU had still not been installed, despite being notified by the landlord that it would be installed on 30 January and then being advised that it would be installed on 31 January 2023. The landlord sent its stage 2 reply on 15 March 2023, which was 31 working days after the resident made her stage 2 complaint. The landlord therefore took longer to respond than the 20-working day target timescale shown in its complaints policy. However, the landlord had written to the resident on 27 February 2023 to advise her that it would need to extend the complaint response deadline by a further 10 working days. The landlord had therefore acted within its complaints policy by notifying the resident that the timescale for response would need to be extended.
The resident advised the landlord on 1 February 2023 that she had submitted various online complaints and had not received a response to them. However, the landlord has confirmed to this Service that it had only received one other complaint from the resident during 2022 and this had been on an unrelated matter. The landlord’s complaints log confirms this information.
Overall, the time taken by the landlord to reply to the resident’s stage one and two complaints was reasonable as it had sent interim replies to advise the resident that there would be a delay in replying to the complaints. It had then replied within a reasonable timescale following these interim replies.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of no heating and hot water.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the associated complaints.

Reasons

The landlord acted fairly by acknowledging its failings in its handling of the reported problems with the resident’s HIU, apologising and offering compensation to put things right. However, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, the amount offered by the landlord for the distress, inconvenience time and trouble she had experienced was insufficient to put things right.
The time taken by the landlord to reply to the resident’s stage one and two complaints was reasonable as it had sent interim replies to advise the resident that there would be a delay in replying to the complaints. It had then replied within reasonable timescales following these interim replies.

Orders

The landlord is ordered within 4 weeks of this report to pay the resident £150 for its handling of the loss of heating and hot water.

Recommendation

The landlord should reoffer the resident the £730.44 compensation previously offered if this has not already been paid.