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Southwark Council (202201645)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202201645

Southwark Council

 

6 July 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 resident complained about the landlord’s handling of her complaint about kitchen and bathroom upgrades.

 

Background

  1.  The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord.

 

  1. The resident raised a complaint via her councillor on 12 May 2021 about upgrades to her kitchen and bathroom. The resident stated that she had lived in the property since 1985 and that the bathroom and kitchen were not new when she first moved in.  The resident contacted the landlord again on 14 September 2021 and raised that she had not received response to her complaint. She requested compensation for loss of a non-monetary benefit, loss of opportunity, time and trouble and distress and delay.

 

  1. The stage one response was issued on 23 November 2021. The landlord stated that all non-essential major works had been put on hold (due to the Covid-19 pandemic), and that it had only recently been able to provide an update about this work. The landlord explained that major works were due to begin externally, and that the internal works were part of a wider proposed scheme across several estates. It stated that the resident would be informed once the works had been assigned a contract manager and that the contract manager would be asked to communicate the anticipated start date to the resident.

 

  1. The resident escalated the complaint to stage two on 29 November 2021. The resident stated that the landlord had not acknowledged her request for compensation, or progressed her complaint in a timely manner. The stage two response was issued on 7 June 2022. The landlord upheld the complaint and offered an apology for the delay in starting the works to the kitchen and bathroom. The landlord stated that the major works programme had commenced and that it anticipated the works would be completed within the financial year April 2022 to March 2023. It stated that it was unable to give an exact start date for the work.

 

  1. The resident raised her complaint with this Service on 20 July 2022. She stated that she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response to her complaint for the following reasons:

 

  1. The landlord had not explained why the resident has not received a bathroom upgrade since moving into the property in 1985.

 

  1. The landlord had not provided an update in relation to an upgrade of the resident’s kitchen, which was due to take place in 2015.

 

  1. The landlord did not respond to the resident’s complaint within the required timescales.

 

  1. The landlord has not responded to the resident’s request for compensation.

 

  1. The resident stated that in order to resolve her complaint, the landlord should complete an upgrade of her kitchen and bathroom, offer compensation and communicate with her in a timely manner going forward.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident’s substantive complaint about kitchen and bathroom renewals was dealt with through the complaints process. The landlord’s complaint handling policy states that the landlord will respond to stage one complaints within 10 working days and stage two complaints within 20 working days. The policy states that if more time is needed to provide a response, the landlord will inform the resident and agree a new timescale.

 

  1. As well as providing timely complaint responses, the landlord is also responsible for maintaining regular communication with residents about when works are due to take place.

 

  1. The landlord has stated that, as part of the internal works programme, kitchens assessed as 20 years or older and bathrooms assessed as 30 years or older would be renewed in full. This is in line with timeframes set out in the Decent Homes Standard. It appears that the major works were initially due to begin in the financial year April 2019 – March 2020. However, the programme was delayed. The landlord explained that upon commencement of the works, a survey would be carried out to assess whether the resident’s kitchen and bathroom met the criteria for renewal.

 

  1. Within its complaint responses, the landlord did not comment on whether the resident’s bathroom had been upgraded since she moved into her property in 1985. There is no evidence to indicate that the landlord referred to its records to establish whether an upgrade had previously been offered.

 

  1. The landlord informed this Service that it has no records of when the resident’s kitchen was last renewed. However, the evidence reflects that it was due to be renewed in 2015, but that this work did not take place. Due to the time that has elapsed, this investigation has not considered the specific events that led to the work not being progressed at that time, however, this is evidence that an upgrade was required at least as early as 2015.

 

  1. When acknowledging the initial complaint, the landlord informed the resident that a stage one response would be provided by 30 June 2021. However, the response was issued almost five months later, on 23 November 2021, significantly outside of the landlord’s complaint policy timescales. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord proactively communicated with the resident during this time to notify her of the delay and agree new timeframes for responding, which was also not in line with the complaint policy. There is also no evidence to suggest that the resident was updated with regard to the commencement of the internal works within this time.

 

  1. The stage one response gave no anticipated timescales for when the major internal works would begin. However, the landlord stated that the resident would be informed when the works had been assigned to a contract manager, and that she would be provided with the details of the contract manager. It is not clear whether the resident was ever provided with this information.

 

  1. The resident escalated her complaint on 29 November 2021 and a stage two response was issued on 7 June 2022, another very long delay against the landlord’s complaint handing policy timescales, and a significant failing. The evidence provided indicates that the landlord contacted the resident only once within that period to apologise for the delay and provide the date for which she could expect to receive its complaint response. This was inadequate. Again, there is no evidence that the resident was updated about the internal works in the time between escalating the complaint to receipt of the stage two response. In its stage two response the landlord stated that it could not give an exact start date for the works to begin, but that it estimated that it would be completed within the financial year April 2022 to March 2023.

 

  1. The landlord sent a letter about the major works to all residents on 26 July 2022. The letter stated that the estimated start for the internal works was November/December 2022, and that the programme would be completed by approximately November 2023. The landlord stated that it was not in a position to advise where individual properties would fall in the overall time period. The letter stated that a resident consultation session would be held on 15 August 2022. This would have been frustrating for the resident, given the landlord had previously advised her that the works would completed by March 2023.

 

  1. On 22 December 2022, the landlord informed this Service that a survey was being arranged to take place at the resident’s property in January 2023. The landlord said that the work would likely start in February and March 2023, and that it would ask for the resident’s property to be put towards the start of the major works programme if upgrades to her kitchen and bathroom were required.

 

  1. The resident has informed this Service that a survey was carried out on 14 June 2023 which established that her kitchen and bathroom required renewal. The resident supplied a letter from the landlord dated 19 June 2023 which confirmed that the works to the kitchen and bathroom would begin on 27 June 2023, and would take approximately 20 working days to complete.

 

  1. It is accepted that major works may need to be delayed for various reasons. It is noted that the landlord explained that it was tackling a backlog of two years of internal works. However, in such circumstances, it is reasonable for landlords to take steps to mitigate the impact of delays. In light of the ongoing concerns raised by the resident, and the delays in the major works commencing, the landlord ought to have attended the resident’s property to assess whether the kitchen and bathroom would meet the criteria for renewal. This would have provided the resident with a realistic expectation of what works would be carried out upon commencement of the programme. It should also have assessed if any interim repairs could be made in the meantime.

 

  1. It is evident that a surveyor has now attended the resident’s property and a start date has been provided for the work to commence. While this reflects that the landlord has now begun to take appropriate steps to resolve the issue, the amount of time taken to progress the works was unreasonable. It is evident that more than two years had elapsed between the date the resident initially raised her complaint to when a surveyor attended the property to assess the kitchen and bathroom. The landlord did not complete the work within the anticipated timescales set out in its stage two response. The resident’s expectations as to when the works would begin were therefore not met. No evidence has been provided to reflect clear and consistent communication with the resident about the works while her complaint was ongoing.

 

  1. As part of her complaint, it is noted that the resident reported issues with the water pressure in her bathroom. In its stage one response the landlord stated that the issue would be looked at when the contractors were on site. Given the significant delays in the commencement of the internal works, the landlord should have logged this issue as a repair so that it could have been dealt with sooner.

 

  1. The resident stated that the delay in the work being carried out and the complaint handling delays have negatively impacted her. The resident stated that she felt she had received unequal treatment as her kitchen and bathroom have not been updated, while other tenants in her housing block have had such work done. The resident also reported that she felt stressed and frustrated that her complaint was not responded to within the required timescales. It is clear that the resident was required to spend time contacting the landlord to request updates. She also requested the involvement of this Service to chase the stage two response. Both the delays in the works commencing, and the delays in complaint handling have caused inconvenience and frustration to the resident.

 

  1. In light of the above, and in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles, the landlord should have taken action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’. While the landlord did offer some apologies, it did not give any consideration to the resident’s request for compensation within its complaint responses. The resident requested compensation because she had been living with a kitchen and bathroom that required replacement, and because she felt that she had experienced a loss of opportunity and loss of a non-monetary benefit. The resident also requested compensation for the time and trouble spent pursuing the matter. The impact on the resident of both the delay in the work being carried out and the poor complaint handling has not been considered by the landlord. The landlord should have properly considered the resident’s compensation request, and taken steps to offer suitable redress for any adverse effect on the resident as a result of her complaint.

 

  1. There is no indication that the landlord has learned from outcomes. Given the significant delays in the works to the kitchen and bathroom being progressed, and the identified complaint handling failures, the landlord should have taken steps to explore how it could learn from these outcomes in order to improve its service and avoid a similar recurrence.

 

  1. The failings identified amount to maladministration by the landlord. In order to remedy the complaint, the resident should be offered a total of £800 compensation. £500 compensation should be offered in recognition of the adverse effect that the delay in replacing the resident’s kitchen and bathroom and the associated poor communication had on the resident. An additional £300 compensation should be offered in recognition of the impact on the resident of the landlord’s poor complaint handling and the time and trouble she has incurred in pursuing the complaint. These amounts are in line with this Service’s remedies guidance for financial redress, which suggests amounts of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure which adversely affected the resident, but no permanent impact.

 

  1. The works in the resident’s property should now be underway. In order to ensure that appropriate action has been taken to resolve the complaint, the landlord should provide this Service with confirmation that the bathroom and kitchen upgrades have been completed within the timeframe stipulated in their letter to the resident.

 

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in the way it handled the resident’s complaint about kitchen and bathroom upgrades.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total of £800 compensation within 28 days of this report. The compensation compromises:

 

  1. £500 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in the works to the resident’s kitchen and bathroom being progressed.

 

  1. £300 for the delays in its handling of the resident’s complaint.

 

  1. The landlord should review its handling of the resident’s complaint to identify why the failings occurred, and highlight what actions will be taken to avoid a recurrence.

 

  1. The landlord should evidence compliance with the above orders within 28 days of this report.

 

  1. The landlord should complete the works to the kitchen and bathroom as agreed, and provide written confirmation to the Ombudsman that the works have been completed. This should be provided within two months of the date of this report.