Newlon Housing Trust (202003308)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202003308

Newlon Housing Trust

30 June 2022

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 repairs to the resident’s property.
   2. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of inadequate heating and insulation at the property.
   3. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of damp at the property.
   4. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about fire safety.
   5. The landlord’s complaints handling.

Background

2. The resident occupies the property, a 3-bedroom house, under an assured tenancy agreement with the landlord. The resident’s child, who the resident reports has an underlying health condition, also lives at the property.
3. The resident complained about outstanding repairs and other issues, including incomplete bathroom works, damp in his child’s bedroom, replastering required to the ceiling of the W.C, inadequate heating and insulation at the property, replacement of the living room radiator, replacement of a windowpane, a cracked bathroom sink, a faulty W.C., and a faulty rear door. The resident also raised concerns about fire safety, as the property’s windows did not have a large enough opening to provide an escape route in the event of a fire.
4. The landlord responded via its formal complaints process, confirming the status of the repairs it was aware of and asking the resident to provide information about the rear door, windows, damp, and cracked sink. The landlord accepted that there had been an unreasonable delay and poor communication in relation to some repairs. In the landlord’s final complaint response, it noted that it had not received the additional information and photographs it had requested from the resident, and so some repairs had not been progressed following the stage 1 response. The landlord had sought an update from its repairs team on the W.C and ceiling repairs and the heat loss survey but found service failure as this had not been provided in time for the complaint response. It found further service failure for the additional delays, apologised, and offered £200 compensation.
5. Following the final complaint response, the resident sent images of the damp and other outstanding issues, stating that these had been sent to the landlord before. In August 2021, the resident reported to this Service that replastering work had not been completed and the boiler had been faulty since the radiator had been replaced, leaving the property without hot water. He also confirmed that the damp had not been investigated and the rear door had not been repaired.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

6. Paragraph 39(a) of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate matters that have not been considered by the landlord as a formal complaint and exhausted its internal complaints process. Following the final complaint response, the resident raised additional repairs issues with the landlord that did not form part of the original complaint. These were a report of missing joists in the roof of the property and a report that more handles had fallen off the windows. As the landlord has not had an opportunity to respond to the resident’s concerns about its handling of these repairs, these items are outside the scope of this investigation.

Handling of repairs

7. Under the terms of the resident’s tenancy agreement the landlord is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the structure and exterior of the property, and the property’s installations. This includes repairs to the doors and windows, internal walls and ceilings, plasterwork, installations for heating and for the supply of water, gas and electricity, and bathroom fittings such as toilets and sinks. The resident must report any disrepair that the landlord is responsible for addressing and allow access for repairs to be completed.
8. The landlord’s Repairs Procedure states that it aims to complete emergency repairs within 24 hours. Emergency repairs include a total loss of heating or hot water between the months of October and May where a resident at the property is vulnerable. Certain security issues which have occurred due to crime may also be considered an emergency. For other, ‘routine’ or ‘urgent’ repairs, the landlord has a target timeframe of 20 working days. It states that it will prioritise urgent repairs, including a lack of heating and hot water. Some repairs issues, including the presence of damp and bathroom replacement works may require specialist contractors, and so the landlord aims to complete these works within 3 months.
9. The landlord has failed to provide complete, contemporaneous repairs records to this investigation, including correspondence with the resident pre-dating the complaint, detailed repair logs, notes or reports from contractor visits. This means that the Ombudsman is unable to fully investigate the resident’s concerns or to accurately determine the length of any delay, which amounts to service failure.
10. When investigating the complaint, the landlord identified that on 11 January 2021 a recommendation was made to replace the living room radiator, but this was not actioned. It was 3 months before the landlord’s contractor attempted to complete the radiator replacement on 7 April 2021, which the Ombudsman agrees was an unreasonable delay. The landlord also identified that the bathroom works had been prolonged due to confusion about the resident’s contact details and a delay in approving additional works. The landlord advised that these works were due to be finished in the first week of April and the resident reports that, following the complaint, these repairs were completed. The landlord’s response to the complaint about the bathroom repairs and radiator replacement was proportionate, as it apologised for the delay, acknowledged that there had been service failure and offered £125 compensation.
11. In its stage 1 response, the landlord reported that its records showed all works to the windows were completed on 12 November 2020 and the back door lock was replaced following a job raised on 9 October 2020. The landlord requested further information from the resident so it could investigate the cracked sink, windowpane, and rear door repairs. In its stage 2 response the landlord noted that this information had not been provided.
12. The landlord is only obliged to investigate and respond to a repair once it has been reported, and where a first report of a repair is made as part of a formal complaint, the Ombudsman will not find service failure for the landlord’s failure to address it before that time.
13. There is no evidence that the resident had reported the cracked sink or faulty W.C prior to the formal complaint. In addition, as the contractor confirmed that there were no outstanding works to the windows and rear door, it was reasonable for the landlord to await additional information from the resident before taking action to progress repairs to the remaining repairs. There is no evidence that this information was provided until the resident’s email of 7 June 2021, following the final complaint response. It may, however, have been more productive to arrange an inspection of the property as part of the stage 1 complaint resolution, to establish what works were required. Had the landlord identified and resolved the remaining issues at an earlier stage, this may have prevented the resident from escalating his complaint. 
14. Following the stage 1 response, the resident continued to report a lack of progress with the repairs, with only the bathroom works completed and the radiator changed. The resident confirmed that the ceiling, rear door, and faulty W.C repairs had not been carried out. He also reported on 1 May 2021 that since the radiator had been replaced the boiler had not been working correctly, meaning that the property was without heating and hot water. The resident clarified in the stage 2 escalation that he had reported to the window contractor that a pane of glass had been missed but they had not returned to fix it.
15. It was appropriate for the landlord to remind the resident in the stage 2 response that additional information was required to progress the remaining repairs. The landlord could, however, have contacted its contractor to confirm whether the resident had reported that a windowpane had been missed during previous repairs and asked the contractor to progress any further works. Overall, the landlord could have been more proactive in its communication with all parties to resolve the issues raised in the complaint. Ultimately, the landlord is responsible for repairing and maintain the property and it should take reasonable steps to ensure repairs it has been made aware of are investigated and any required works carried out.
16. The landlord’s stage 2 response noted the resident’s comments about a lack of heating and hot water but did not indicate what action would be taken. According to the information provided, the faulty boiler was not attended until 3 September 2021, over 4 months after it was reported. As the landlord’s Repairs Policy states that repairs to address a lack of heating and hot water will be prioritised within the 20–working day target timeframe, this was an unacceptable delay. The Ombudsman calculates that, in accordance with the landlord’s Compensation Policy, compensation for lack of heating and hot water should be provided at a rate of £12.50 per week for 16 weeks, totalling £200.
17. The landlord has accepted that its communication with the resident about the bathroom and radiator repairs was poor. The landlord’s target timeframe for responding to repairs emails is 10 working days. Having already identified at stage 1 that its communication had been below the expected standard, there is no evidence that the resident received a response to his emails of 7 June 2021, 29 June 2021 or 20 July 2021 chasing the outstanding repairs. The landlord also failed to acknowledge receipt of photographs provided in the email of 07 June 2021 and to explain to the resident what action it would take next.
18. The Ombudsman has identified additional service failures by the landlord in its handling of the repairs to the resident’s property. In the Ombudsman’s opinion the compensation offered by the landlord as part of its complaint response was not sufficient to reflect its poor communication, lack of repairs records and the additional delays in investigating and completing boiler repairs following the resident’s complaint escalation. A further award of compensation is made in line with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance.

Handling of reports of inadequate heating and insulation within the property

19. There is no evidence that the landlord adequately investigated the resident’s concerns about the property’s heating or insulation or provided a response to him about its responsibilities. The landlord has stated that it has no record of the resident raising concerns about cavity wall insulation prior to the formal complaint, however, it failed to record and investigate the resident’s concerns after that date. Although a landlord may conclude that there was no service failure for failing to take action prior to the complaint, it should still log and respond to any new concerns raised, either by addressing these within the complaint response or by forwarding to the relevant team for action.
20. The landlord did acknowledge in its stage 1 response that it had failed to follow-up on a heat loss survey of the property. A job order was first raised to complete the survey on 4 January 2021, but the resident was not contacted to arrange this until 2 August 2021, an unreasonable delay of 7 months.
21. The landlord’s complaint responses demonstrate that information about the progress of the job was not readily available or easily accessible, as it stated that it would have to investigate with its contractor. The landlord did not contact the resident directly to find out whether the survey had taken place, which would have been a more proactive way to resolve his concerns. There is also no evidence that it progressed the matter following the stage 1 and 2 responses, despite having promised an update by 13 March 2021. Where a landlord commits to take action within a specified timeframe in response to a complaint, there should be processes in place to ensure it meets the stated deadline, or that it provides an update to the resident explaining why this was not possible. This did not happen in the present case.
22. The failings identified above raise concerns about the landlord’s record keeping and the management of its contractor. The absence of contractor notes and reports on the landlord’s system and the difficulty it faced in establishing whether works had been completed indicates that its communication with its contractor was poor. It is ultimately the responsibility of the landlord to that ensure repairs are completed within a timely manner, and so notes should be maintained of communication between all parties. There was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of inadequate heating and insulation at the property.

Handling of report of damp

23. The landlord has stated that it has no record of a report of damp in the bedroom of the property prior to the formal complaint. No evidence has been provided to this investigation to show that the resident raised concerns about damp with the landlord before that time. In the stage 1 complaint response, the landlord reasonably requested photographs of the affected area from the resident so that it could take action to address his concerns. It noted in the stage 2 response that no further information had been provided and so the repairs had not been progressed.
24. Although the resident states that he had sent photographs of the damp to the landlord on several occasions, there is no evidence that the requested information was sent until 7 June 2021, following the final complaint response. On receipt of the photographs, the landlord should have organised an inspection of the property to determine the cause of the damp and followed-up with the resident to inform them of any action it intended to take. If it has not already done so, the Ombudsman recommends that the landlord contact the resident to determine whether this issue is ongoing and, if necessary, arrange an inspection.

Handling of concerns about fire safety

25. The landlord investigated the resident’s fire safety concerns relating to his windows with its area surveyor. They indicated that window restrictors should be fitted to the windows but that these can be overridden, and so the landlord asked the resident to confirm if this was the case. There is no evidence that the landlord received a response from the resident, and so no service failure can be found in relation to its handling of this aspect of the complaint.

Complaints handling

26. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response was provided a week later than the 10-working day timeframe stated in its Complaints Policy. No update was provided to the resident explaining the reason for the delay and the acknowledgment email sent on 12 March 2021 had not indicated the timescale for providing a response. The landlord’s stage 2 response was also provided a week late, for which it offered £25 compensation. Although additional failings in the landlord’s complaints handling have been identified, the Ombudsman is satisfied that an apology and the offer of £25 compensation was a reasonable and proportionate means of resolving this aspect of the resident’s complaint.

Determination

27. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of repairs at the resident’s property.
28. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Scheme there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of inadequate heating and insulation within the property.
29. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Scheme there was no maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s report of damp at the property.
30. In accordance with paragraph 54 there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of fire safety concerns.
31. In accordance with paragraph 55(b) of the Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the resident which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion satisfactorily resolves the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s complaints handling.

Orders

32. Within 28 days of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to confirm to this Service that it has complied with the following orders to:
    1. Pay the resident £350, in addition to the £150 already offered, in recognition of the additional failings identified in the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s property, and its handling of the resident’s reports of inadequate heating / insulation.
    2. Arrange an inspection of the property to determine what, if any, works remain outstanding and, following the inspection, arrange for the completion of any required works within the landlord’s usual timescales.

Recommendations

33. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Review its record keeping policies and procedures to ensure that detailed and accurate records are kept of all repairs reports, visits and correspondence.
    2. Review its processes for communicating with its contractors and sharing information about repairs.
    3. Make the compensation payment of £25 to the resident, if it has not already, in relation to this handling of the resident’s complaint and on which the finding of reasonable redress was made.