Ongo Homes Limited (202305459)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202305459

Ongo Homes Limited

13 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reports of recurring issues with blocked drains.
  2. The Ombudsman has also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured shorthold tenant of the property, a 1-bedroom flat on the ground floor of a low-rise block. He has lived in the property since January 2014. The landlord has told this Service it is not aware of the resident having any vulnerabilities.
  2. The resident reported problems with his toilet on 13 and 31 March 2022. On each occasion the landlord attended the same day and completed the repair. He reported a further problem with the toilet on 31 October 2022. The landlord attended the following day and noted that further investigation was required using a contractor. The repairs appeared to be completed by 14 November 2022.
  3. On 6 February 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to complain that his toilet was “constantly backing up” and he was sick of having to get someone out to unblock it. The resident was advised that investigations had revealed that the blockage was in an area that fell under the responsibility of a water company, and the water company would be responsible for addressing the blockage. Despite the water company attending the following day, the resident continued to report problems with his toilet throughout March and April 2023.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 12 April 2023. It stated that a contractor had attended 5 times in 2022 and investigated the drains which the landlord was responsible for, including removing his toilet to use CCTV to inspect the drain from the toilet to the main chamber, and jetting it as a precautionary measure. It stated that the contractor had advised the issue was located in areas that were the responsibility of the water company.
  5. The landlord noted that the resident had reported his toilet blocked on 4 occasions since the beginning of 2023. It stated that due to the resident’s ongoing concern, the landlord employed a different contractor for a second opinion. The second contractor’s report confirmed that the issue was the responsibility of the water company as the drains that were running slow were not situated on the landlord’s land. It also stated that it had raised a complaint with the water company and urged the resident to do the same.
  6. The landlord said it had not found a service failure in relation to its actions surrounding the resident’s issues and was unable to uphold his complaint. However, it said that it remained in contact with a case worker at the resident’s local MP office, who was chasing the matter on his behalf, and it had also reached out to the local council and the water company, to try and arrange a meeting in a further attempt to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
  7. The resident was unhappy with the outcome and escalated his complaint on 13 April 2023.
  8. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 10 May 2023. It maintained its view that it had taken “robust and well thought out” actions in trying to achieve a successful outcome and did not uphold the resident’s complaint.
  9. Although the drainage issues have now been rectified, the resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and the amount of time and trouble it had taken him to get the matter resolved. The resident brought the complaint to this Service.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In his correspondence with this Service, the resident has raised other matters that have not yet been through the landlord’s complaint process. In the interest of fairness, the scope of this investigation is limited to matters which completed the landlord’s internal complaints procedure on 10 May 2023. This is because the landlord needs to be given a fair opportunity to investigate and respond to any reported dissatisfaction with its actions before the involvement of this Service.

The landlord’s handling of reports of recurring issues with blocked drains

  1. The resident has one toilet within his property. He reported problems with his toilet on 13 and 31 March 2022. He told the landlord he had tried everything he could to fix it himself but was unable to resolve the issue. The landlord attended the same day and completed the repair on both occasions.
  2. The resident’s tenancy agreement sets out the responsibilities of the landlord in relation to repairs. The landlord is responsible for keeping in good repair any installation for sanitation and the supply of water, including toilets, flushing systems, and water pipes. The policy specifically states that it will attend the same day to reports of a toilet that wont flush, or the following day for a blocked toilet. Given the resident only had one toilet in his property, it was reasonable that the landlord attended the same day.
  3. On 31 October 2022, the resident reported his toilet was blocked for the third time that year. The landlord attended the following day and completed a repair, in line with its policy.
  4. The repair log, dated 1 November 2022, recorded that the issue was “between the toilet and a blind connection on the sewer line”. It stated that a further visit would be required, accompanied by a plumber, to remove the toilet and complete a further investigation as the issue was happening frequently. A call from the resident to the landlord on the same day suggests that his toilet was working following the visit.
  5. The landlord’s contractor attended on 9 November 2022 to complete the investigation. The repair log is unclear as to what the investigation identified. However, the landlord’s stage 1 response, dated 12 April 2023, suggests the contractor provided a report at this stage, indicating that the issue was located within an area that was the responsibility of the water company.
  6. On 14 November 2022, the resident reported further problems with his toilet. The landlord was also aware that the issue was affecting other tenants. The resident had requested 4 call outs for the problem during 2022, and a neighbouring tenant had reported similar problems on 23 May 2022. This information, in conjunction with information learned from its contractor inspections, should have prompted the landlord to take further action, such as contacting the water company. While the tenancy agreement is silent on who should take charge of matters such as this, it would have been reasonable to expect for the landlord to make the report on behalf of its tenants and co-ordinate action with water suppliers as it was likely there would be further call outs and costs incurred to the landlord, while the problem remained unresolved.
  7. The neighbouring tenant reported further problems with their toilet on 20 December 2022. This was another missed opportunity by the landlord to take the lead in the co-ordination with the service provider and seek an early resolution to the problem whilst promoting good landlord/tenant relationships.
  8. On 4 February 2023, the resident reported his toilet was blocked again. The landlord’s contractor attended the property the same day and determined that the issue lay outside of the landlord’s boundary. The landlord’s contractor contacted the water company directly to report the issue to them.
  9. On 6 February 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to complain that the toilet was constantly backed up. During the call, the resident was advised that the water company owned the area of pipe that was causing the issue, and he should contact them directly. When the resident refused, he was informed that the matter would not be reported on his behalf. This was unreasonable of the landlord, given its contractor had already been in contact with the water company, the likely impact on more of its tenants and will have caused the resident further frustration.
  10. Despite its earlier refusal, the landlord contacted the water company on 7 February 2023 and the water company attended the same day. The following day, the landlord’s contractor reported they had attended a call out at another property in the area that was experiencing similar issues to the resident, which suggested that the water company had not fully addressed the issue. The landlord immediately contacted the water company and requested a further investigation was conducted. This was a positive step for the landlord to take.
  11. The resident reported further problems with his toilet on 3 and 15 March 2023. The landlord’s contractor attended both call outs on the day they were made, although the repair log contains little detail of what was found.
  12. However, the contractor emailed the landlord on 15 March 2023, with an update on the situation. The contractor stated they attended on 3 March 2023 and managed to partially lower water levels, but it was still blocked in areas maintained by the water company. The contractor said it called the water company on that date, who stated they would send someone out that day. Upon returning to the property, the contractor said the water company had taken no action, and a further call had been placed to the water company requesting the matter be investigated.
  13. This Service acknowledges that the time taken by the water company to attend the repairs needed is beyond the control of the landlord. The documents provided suggest that the landlord did remain in contact with the water company from this time to try and facilitate a resolution to the problem. An email from the water company to the landlord, dated 28 March 2023, suggests the water company was disputing ownership of the problem areas, despite being advised by their own subcontractor that they were responsible. This undoubtably caused further delays for which the landlord cannot be held accountable.
  14. On 4 April 2023, the resident reported his toilet was blocked again. The landlord raised an emergency repair with a different contractor, to get a second opinion on the problem. Also, prior to its contractor attending, the landlord attended the property within 30 minutes of the resident’s call. This was a positive step for the landlord to take, in an effort to reassure the resident it was taking his problems seriously.
  15. The landlord noted that the toilet was not blocked and the drain outside was still running, albeit there was still some standing waste. The landlord advised the resident that as his toilet was functioning and the issue was not affecting his property, it was not an emergency. The contractor was informed that it was no longer an emergency, and it was agreed with the resident that the contractor would attend the following morning. This was reasonable of the landlord to do and in line with its repair policy.
  16. The second contractor attended on 5 April 2023, and their investigation of the issues revealed the same findings as the first contractor; the problem lay within an area that the water company was responsible for. The landlord communicated this back to the resident the same day. It also contacted the local council and the water company to set up a joint meeting regarding the ongoing issues.
  17. On 6 April 2023, the resident reported his toilet was overflowing and the drains were blocked. The landlord instructed its contractor to attend the same day to temporarily clear the drains to prevent further problems over the bank holiday weekend. Again, this was a quick positive response from the landlord.
  18. In its stage 1 complaint response, dated 12 April 2023, the landlord set out its responsibilities under the tenancy agreement. It also explained the action it had taken at each stage and acknowledged that there remained an issue in an area for which it was not responsible. The landlord stated it was satisfied that it had acted in accordance with its obligations each time a problem had been reported and set out a plan of action going forward as to how it would try and reach a satisfactory outcome for the resident. It said that it had requested a meeting with the council and water company and had arranged for a drain survey to be commissioned, which would outline the areas of responsibility for each party.
  19. The landlord chased up the water company on 13 April 2023 and was informed a full cleanse of the drains had been arranged for 21 April 2023. The water company contacted the landlord on 19 April 2023 to say that reports from every job they had attended had indicated customer misuse as the reason for the drain blockage, such as the flushing of wet wipes. The water company suggested that the landlord’s residents may benefit from some education to prevent improper use of the drainage system. The email also referred to a pump that was not currently up to standard and once updated, would automatically notify the water company of problems in the system.
  20. Following receipt of this email, the landlord considered the preventive action it could take, to discourage tenants from flushing items down the toilet that were not designed to be disposed of in that manner. The landlord contacted the water company on 25 April 2023 and asked if they had any suitable leaflets that could be distributed to its tenants.
  21. On 10 May 2023, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. It explained it did not uphold the resident’s complaint and reiterated the action it had taken to resolve all matters that fell within its area of responsibility. The landlord further stated that it remained committed to working with the other agencies responsible, to find a lasting solution to the problem.
  22. It is apparent that the water company completed further work during this time, and the landlord communicated this to the resident on 11 May 2023. Correspondence between the resident and the landlord dated 19 February 2024, suggests that the issue has been successfully resolved and there have been no further reports from the resident since June 2023.
  23. The landlord did act swiftly to all reports of problems with the toilets and fulfilled its obligations under the tenancy agreement by completing repairs that fell under its area of responsibility. However, the failure to act upon the contractor’s findings in 2022, inform the water company at an earlier stage and take responsibility for co-ordinating on behalf of the resident and others effected, delayed the resolution of the issue, and added to the distress and inconvenience the resident experienced. Therefore, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of reports of recurring issues with blocked drains. The landlord has been ordered to pay £100 compensation to the resident, for the distress and inconvenience caused, in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.

Complaint handling

  1. A landlord’s complaint handling process is an essential aspect of its overall service delivery provision. An effective complaints process will enable a landlord to identify and address service delivery issues in a timely manner. It will also provide learning for future service provision.
  2. The resident contacted the landlord on 6 February 2023 regarding the issues he was experiencing with the blocked drains. Landlord notes of the conversation recorded, “Toilet is constantly backing up and [he] is sick of having to get someone out to unblock it.”
  3. The landlord logged this as an “informal complaint” and arranged for the water company to attend the location the following day to clear the blockage. The landlord emailed the resident on 8 February 2023 to inform him that the issue had been resolved and his complaint was now closed.
  4. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will make every effort to resolve any expression of dissatisfaction in an informal way when contact is first made, and if it cannot resolve the complaint upon initial contact, it will inform the resident who would be dealing with the complaint. Given the resident’s expression of dissatisfaction was relating to the standard of service provided around an ongoing issue, and the fact it could not be resolved upon initial contact, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to register the complaint at stage 1 at this point, in line with the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
  5. On 16 March 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to express further frustration with the ongoing issues he was experiencing. The exact details of the conversation have not been recorded, but internal landlord notes state that a stage 1 complaint was opened at the request of the resident. The landlord’s complaint policy states that it will acknowledge a complaint during initial contact and provide information as to who would be dealing with it. There are no notes from the call with the resident to confirm whether this happened.
  6. The resident’s local MP contacted the landlord on 30 March 2023, to follow up the complaint on his behalf. The landlord provided the MP with an update on the complaint investigation process on 6 April 2023, to say that the complaint investigation was being extended by 10 working days. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 12 April 2023.
  7. The landlord’s complaint policy states that a stage 1 complaint response will be issued within 10 working days and if this is not possible it will inform the resident of any delays. It is appropriate that the landlord updated the MP, given they were now acting on the resident’s behalf. However, its update regarding the delays was issued 15 working days after the complaint had been registered and this was a failing.
  8. The resident requested his complaint to be escalated on 13 April 2023. In an email to the landlord, he said that he had taken “offence to your summation of the problem”. He stated that over the previous 9 days the toilet had been unusable on 4 occasions and every time he reported it nothing was done. In a further email the same day, the resident confirmed he did not accept the outcome of the complaint, and he wanted it escalated to stage 2. According to internal landlord notes, the resident made a further request for his complaint to be escalated on 18 April 2023. The landlord finally acknowledged his request on 21 April 2023.
  9. The landlord’s complaint policy states that if a resident is unhappy with the outcome or handling of a complaint, they can request an escalation. It also states it will inform the resident of who would be dealing with their complaint but gives no timescales for when this would occur. It was unreasonable for the landlord not to acknowledge the resident’s escalation request when he initially submitted it. This delay caused the resident to feel ignored and caused him further distress.
  10. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 10 May 2023. The landlord’s complaint policy states that a stage 2 complaint response will be issued within 10 working days following escalation. It also states that it will agree any extensions to those time scales with the resident. The landlord failed to comply with its own policy and issued the response 19 working days later. It also failed to notify the resident of the delays to its response.
  11. There was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling by not recording and investigating the complaint correctly when it was first recorded and not following its own policy in relation to time scales and updating the resident. The landlord has been ordered to pay the resident £100 compensation for the inconvenience caused and the time spent chasing his complaint.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of reports of recurring issues with blocked drains.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Provide the resident with a written apology for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay directly to the resident a total of £200 compensation, made up of:
      1. £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by its failures in handling reports of recurring issues with blocked drains.
      2. £100 for inconvenience, time and trouble caused by its failures in complaint handling.
  2. The landlord should reply to this Service with evidence of compliance with the orders within the time scales set out above.