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Paragon Asra Housing Limited (201816234)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 201816234

Paragon Asra Housing Limited

27 March 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 relates to the landlord’s handling of a request for disclosure of CCTV footage.
  2. This Service has also considered any associated complaint handling.

Background and summary of events

  1. The resident is a shared owner, under a lease with the landlord.
  2. An incident occurred on 9 September 2020 during which a parcel, meant for the resident, was assumed to have been stolen from the communal hallway.
  3. The resident requested CCTV footage from the landlord following the incident, providing a crime reference number. The landlord declined the request. It said it would only share the footage with the police, following a request from it.
  4. On 14 September 2020, the resident made a complaint to the landlord following its response to their request. The landlord informed the resident the complaint had been logged and provided a 20 day timescale for a response.
  5. The investigating officer contacted the landlord and submitted a personal data request form, requesting the CCTV, on 6 October 2020. The request was approved, and the appropriate footage was supplied to the investigating officer.
  6. During the process of CCTV being requested and it being provided, the landlord felt the resident’s involvement was inappropriate. This was raised with the police.
  7. The resident provided the landlord with additional complaint details on 28 October 2020. This included their concerns about:
    1. The landlord’s response to their CCTV request.
    2. The landlord having charged the resident for CCTV which was “not fit for purpose”.
    3. The landlord’s behaviour towards the investigating officer.
  8. The resident issued the landlord with an apology the following day, regarding their additional comments. The apology related to their comments about the quality of CCTV footage provided to the investigating officer and their comments about landlord staff. However, the resident stated the landlord’s “refusal to use CCTV for the benefit of residents” was inappropriate and their reason for the complaint remained.
  9. The landlord issued a complaint response on 30 April 2021, explaining the CCTV issue was addressed in 2020 and provided the resident with referral rights to this Service.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of a request for disclosure of CCTV

  1. The landlord’s CCTV policy outlines the key principles, access and viewing approach and guidelines for disclosure. This includes:
    1. the landlord may use and operate CCTV for the prevention and detection of crime and to facilitate the identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders in relation to crime and community safety.
    2. footage will only be made available where there are lawful grounds for disclosure.
    3. images recorded by CCTV on the landlord’s property will be used only by the landlord, except where the landlord is statutorily required to share CCTV digital recordings with third parties such as the police.
    4. recorded CCTV images shall only be reviewed where there is a defined business need. Requests to review recorded CCTV images shall be submitted to the Data Protection Officer.
  2. The policy is clear that the CCTV would only be used by the landlord. This meant there was no obligation on the landlord to disclose the footage to the resident. The exception to this is where the footage would be shared with the police. Whilst the reason for the resident’s request met the policy requirements, the capacity in which they made the request did not. The resident was not acting on behalf of the police or an appropriate third party.
  3. The policy and process is in place to protect the rights of anyone recorded by CCTV and to ensure it is only viewed by those authorised to do so. As the initial request for CCTV was made directly by the resident, the landlord’s decision to not disclose the footage was reasonable and in line with its own policy and procedure – as well as the law.
  4. Whilst the residents pay a charge for the operation of the CCTV, that does not mean that they are entitled to copies of all footage. Data protection laws require landlords not to create, maintain or share personal data, including CCTV images, unless there a reason for processing.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy sets out how a resident can make a complaint and how it will be handled. The policy also sets out timescales for each stage. For a stage one complaint, the policy states:

“When we first receive a complaint we aim to agree a solution with our customer within 10 working days. If the complaint is particularly complex, we may on occasion need longer than 10 days to resolve. In these instances, the customer will be kept informed and regularly updated on the reasons for this.”

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code includes similar provisions to provide a stage one complaint response within ten working days. The Code also states:

“If a landlord decides not to accept a complaint a detailed explanation should be provided to the resident setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process.”

“A landlord’s complaints procedure shall comprise of two stages. This ensures that a resident has the opportunity to challenge any decision by correcting errors or sharing concerns via an appeal process.”

  1. The resident first expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of their CCTV request on 14 September 2020. The landlord responded explaining the complaint had been assigned to a member of staff and provided a reference number. This Service recognises the landlord indicated it could take up to 20 working days to respond, due to the ongoing pandemic at the time.
  2. Following this Service’s involvement, the landlord issued a complaint response to the resident on 30 April 2021. This was 139 working days, against a target of 20 working days.
  3. The landlord explained “the issues surrounding the CCTV were addressed at length at the time, both during the stage one complaint process and in email exchanges between [the resident] and the Tenancy Solutions Team and other colleagues in the Neighbourhoods Team.”
  4. It is the Ombudsman’s finding that, on providing the resident with a complaint reference in September 2020, it was reasonable for the resident to believe their concerns had been recorded and the complaint process had begun. The landlord said it would issue a complaint response within 20 working days, as per the acknowledgement email to the resident. Whilst the landlord did provide the resident with information about its CCTV policy, it did not issue a formal stage one response within 20 days. The landlord also did not provide updates or inform the resident of any delays preventing a response from being issued.
  5. The resident made it clear in their email of 29 October 2020 that their complaint remained a live issue. The landlord had another opportunity at this point to investigate and provide a formal response, following its complaints policy. However, the landlord made the decision not to record this as a complaint.
  6. When the landlord received the email from the resident on 29 October 2020, it decided against logging it as a complaint. The landlord should have recorded the resident’s concerns as a complaint or provided an explanation why it was not suitable for the complaints process. Whether the landlord agreed or disagreed with the resident’s complaint points at this stage, it should have recorded them and responded in line with the complaints policy. The landlord did not log or respond appropriately to the resident in September 2020 or October 2020.
  7. Despite not following the appropriate complaint process, this Service recognises the landlord took some action to resolve the issue relating to CCTV, during email correspondence with the resident. Any associated complaint handling issues did not impact the decision relating to the handling of the CCTV disclosure request.
  8. The landlord failed to meet service standards for actions and responses, but the failure had no significant impact on the resident. When a landlord’s errors have caused distress, inconvenience and upset, the Ombudsman will award compensation to recognise those negative emotions. The Ombudsman’s approach to compensation is set out in our Remedies Guidance, published on our website. The Remedies Guidance suggests that awards of £100 to £600 may be appropriate for cases where the landlord has failed to acknowledge failings and/or has not made an attempt to put things right.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this Service has found no maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the request for disclosure of CCTV.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, this Service has found service failure by the landlord in its associated complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay the resident £150 compensation. This is to recognise it will have caused some distress and inconvenience to the resident in failing to comply with its complaint policy and the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code in not issuing an appropriate timely response. The landlord must pay this within 28 days of the date of this determination.
  2. The landlord must provide evidence that it has complied with this Order within 28 days of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should run refresher training for any relevant staff, covering:
    1. Recording and handling complaints.
    2. Responding to complaints appropriately.