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Settle Group (202221163)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221163

Settle Group

24 April 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 structural repairs to the resident’s property, and claimed financial losses incurred by the resident.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of the landlord of a flat, which she rented out to private tenants.
  2. The resident contacted the landlord on 28 July 2021 to report that a heating engineer had been installing a boiler in the loft and noticed that there was a gap between the gable end wall and the roof. The landlord inspected the issue and arranged for scaffolding to be erected on 30 July 2021.
  3. The resident submitted a liability claim on 12 October 2022, and stated that the landlord had been negligent in dealing with the issue, which she referred to as structural damage. She stated that this had caused her considerable losses as she was unable to let out the property because the boiler could not be installed until the repairs were completed.
  4. The repairs to the building were completed in February 2022. The resident wrote to the landlord on 17 May 2022 and stated that the delays in repairing the roof had resulted in the property being uninhabited between July 2021 and February 2022. She said that this had led to a loss of approximately £10,000, including a loss of rent during this period as well as extra costs she had incurred for utility bills, council tax, solicitors’ fees and the cost of plumbing works.
  5. The landlord wrote to the resident on 20 June 2022 and advised her to make a claim on her own landlord’s insurance. The landlord said that she had not entered into any agreement with it about letting the property, and it would therefore not accept liability for her use or occupation of the property. The landlord acknowledged that there were delays in undertaking the repairs and stated that in recognition of this, it had not charged her for her proportionate share of the works, which cost in excess of £7000. It also offered the resident £250 compensation for the time and trouble in pursuing the matter. The landlord did accept liability for water damage that had been caused inside the property due to the roof repairs.
  6. The resident responded on 2 August 2022 and stated that she had been letting the property since 1999 and permission had previously been granted when the property was owned by the local authority. The resident stated that the roof was left unrepaired for 8 months and that the landlord’s communication with her about the repairs was poor throughout. She said that the landlord was responsible for the repairs, and she should not have had to suffer losses due to the landlord’s negligence. This letter was taken as the resident’s stage 1 complaint.
  7. The stage 1 response was issued on 16 August 2022. The landlord referred to the following schedule in the resident’s lease:
    1. “The council shall not be held responsible for any loss damage annoyance or inconvenience which may be suffered by the Lessee in consequence of the carrying out by or on behalf of the council of any such repairs decorations additions alteration or other works to the demised premises or the building containing the same as the council may from time to time consider necessary or desirable provided that all such works as aforesaid have been carried out with proper skill and care and taking all reasonable precautions for the protection of the Lessee and his property and effects.”
  8. The landlord stated that while it sympathised with the resident’s situation, it was under no obligation to reimburse her for lost revenue and there was no recourse for her to claim under its buildings insurance policy. It stated that the conclusion provided in the 20 June 2022 letter was reasonable and in line with the resident’s lease agreement.
  9. The resident wrote to the landlord on 18 September 2022 and requested the landlord to substantially increase the amount of compensation offered to account for the financial loss incurred, as well as the inconvenience caused.
  10. The resident’s complaint was escalated and the stage 2 response was issued on 6 October 2022. The landlord identified that there had been a service failure regarding the time taken to complete the repairs. It concluded that the decision not to seek payment from the resident for her share of the costs of the works was fair and proportionate given the time it took to complete the work, and that the £250 compensation would not be increased further. The landlord also commented that the resident did not request permission to relocate the boiler for the duration of the works which would have allowed the property to be let, and her losses mitigated.
  11. The resident contacted the Ombudsman on 4 November 2022 and stated that she sustained a loss of approximately £10,000 due to the length of time it took the landlord to carry out the repairs. On 29 January 2023, the resident stated that the main issue she wished to raise was that the landlord’s negligence in promptly dealing with the repairs had caused her considerable financial loss, as well as damage to her property.

Assessment and findings

Scope

  1. The Ombudsman sympathises with the resident’s position that the delay in repairs to the property led to a financial loss as she was unable to let out her property while the repairs were outstanding. However, it is not possible in this case for the Ombudsman to determine legal liability or order the landlord to compensate the resident for damages. We cannot make the same findings that a court would, and we do not operate in the same way a court does. We do not make binding decisions on matters such as negligence or liability and we do not make orders of compensation in the way that a court may order a payment of damages. Therefore, the claim for £10,000 is better suited to be pursued through an insurance claim or the courts. The landlord’s handling of structural repairs to the resident’s property, and claimed financial losses incurred by the resident.

The landlord’s handling of structural repairs to the resident’s property, and claimed financial losses incurred by the resident.

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it is responsible for carrying out the majority of repairs to the structure of a property. The policy states that the landlord aimed to reduce its repairs response times from an average of 22 days to under 18 days, and that it would complete responsive repairs jobs as quickly as possible.
  2. The evidence indicates that the landlord initially acted quickly to inspect the property following the resident’s report on 28 July 2021. The landlord’s repairs records indicate that scaffolding was erected on 30 July 2021 and a tarpaulin was fitted on 6 August 2021 so that the property was watertight. However, it appears that there was a lack of prompt action to carry out the repairs in the months following this.
  3. The resident first raised concerns about loss of rental income in August 2021. The landlord acted reasonably by submitting a query to its buildings insurers about whether it could assist though its insurance policy. On 11 August 2021 the insurers informed the resident that the repair was unlikely to be deemed an insured peril and it was therefore unable to assist with the progression of a claim under its policy. There is no evidence to indicate that the landlord provided advice to the resident about making a liability claim at this stage, which would have been an appropriate action.
  4. The resident contacted the buildings insurer again on 29 September 2021 and reported that her financial losses to date amounted to approximately £1,950. The resident was advised that if she intended to submit a liability claim, she would need to provide details regarding why she felt the landlord was responsible for her losses.
  5. The resident emailed the landlord and building insurers on 5 October 2021 and questioned how she could make a liability claim. The resident also requested an update on the repairs and asked whether anything could be done to progress matters to avoid further financial loss. The insurers again informed the resident that there was no cover under its building policy for private rental loss and advised how she could make a liability claim. There is no evidence to indicate that the landlord responded to the resident’s request for an update on the outstanding repairs.
  6. As stated above, the resident submitted a liability claim on 12 October 2021. The evidence indicates that the claim was passed to the landlord’s insurers and the resident was advised that it could take several months to investigate. The outcome of this investigation has not been provided to the Ombudsman.
  7. The resident emailed the landlord and the insurer on 26 October 2021 to request an update on both the repairs and the liability claim. Again, there is no evidence to indicate that the landlord responded to the resident.
  8. On 29 October 2021 the resident sent a further email to enquire about whether the works were currently being undertaken and reported that the right side of the gable wall was also coming away from the roof. On 30 October 2021 the resident emailed the landlord again to report that the issues appeared to be getting worse and had resulted in water ingress which had caused damage to her property. The landlord responded on 1 November 2021 to advise that an emergency repairs job was raised to ensure that no further damage was caused and to assess the condition of the walls. It is unclear what date this repair was attended. It is noted that the resident contacted the landlord on 19 November 2021 to request an update on the repairs and stated that she had not been updated by the landlord since the emergency repair had been raised.
  9. Landlords should provide regular updates to residents about actions taken in response to reported repairs, as well as expected timelines as to when repairs will take place. It is evident that the resident raised concerns on several occasions about the delays in progressing the repairs. However, the landlord did not provide timely updates to the resident about the progress of the repair, nor did it communicate with her about the emergency appointment raised on 1 November. This indicates a failure by the landlord to engage in meaningful and regular communication with the resident.
  10. The landlord stated that the extent of the required repairs exceeded its financial regulation limit which meant that 3 quotes for the repairs needed to be obtained. Quotes were received from 3 contractors in December 2022 and the works commenced in February 2022. While the requirement to obtain quotes for the works may have reasonably led to some delay, it is unclear why there was a delay of approximately 5 months between the resident’s initial reports and the quotes being sought. A further 2 months then elapsed before the works were completed.
  11. The landlord failed to act in accordance with the principles set out in its repairs policy which state that responsive repairs will be completed as quickly as possible. While it may not have been possible for the landlord to have met its 18-day repairs timeframe due to the extent of the works, the landlord still ought to have made efforts to ensure that the repairs were carried out within a reasonable timeframe and that the resident was updated about the progress of the repairs.
  12. Where there are failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the landlord has offered suitable remedies in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
  13. The landlord acknowledged the significant delay in carrying out the repairs and made efforts to put things right by offering the resident £250 compensation for the time and trouble incurred and not charging her for her percentage of the costs of the repairs which amounted to more than £7,000. This amount was reasonable to remedy the delay in completing the repairs.
  14. However, further compensation should be paid in recognition of the landlord’s poor communication, which the landlord did not recognise in its response to the complaint. The resident experienced distress and inconvenience due to the lack of updates regarding the repairs, which she was required to chase up. An order has therefore been made for the landlord to pay the resident an additional £150 compensation in order to remedy the communication failings identified in this investigation.
  15. Further, a landlord should use the complaints process to identify issues with its service delivery and take remedial action to prevent these reoccurring. There is no evidence to indicate that the landlord has learned from the outcome of the complaint. The landlord did not properly explain why such a delay had occurred or how it would avoid this from happening again.
  16. As such, while the landlord has taken steps to recognise failings and put things right, a finding of service failure is made and orders made below to provide remedy.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was a service failure by the landlord regarding its handling of structural repairs to the resident’s property, and claimed financial losses incurred by the resident.

Orders and recommendations

  1. The landlord should pay the resident a total of £400 compensation, made up of:
    1. £250 already offered by the landlord, if this has not already been paid.
    2. £150 in recognition of poor communication by the landlord.
  2. The landlord should conduct a senior staff review of its handling of the structural repairs and determine the cause of the delays in addressing this, and the communication failings with the resident, and whether any measures are needed to ensure such repairs are handled in a timely manner. The outcome of this review should be provided to the Ombudsman.
  3. The landlord should provide evidence of compliance with these orders to the Ombudsman within 28 days of this report.