The Guinness Partnership Limited (202108476)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202108476

The Guinness Partnership Limited

17 November 2021

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 concerns how the landlord handled the resident’s requests for the windows in the property to be replaced.

Background and summary of events

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a house.
3. The landlord categorises its repairs as “emergency” (attended within 24 hours) and “routine” (attend within 28 calendar days). An emergency repair is defined as a repair to an issue determined to be an immediate health and safety risk.
4. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the landlord operated a reduced service, and for a period of time, it only attended emergency repairs. During the time period of this complaint, the landlord had started attending non-emergency repairs. It had advised residents via its website that due to the backlog of routine repairs, delays in arranging appointments were likely.
5. The landlord operates a two-stage complaints process. When a complaint is received, the landlord will aim to acknowledge the complaint within two working days and provide its decision on the complaint within ten working days. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the complaint, they can request an escalation to the next stage of the landlord’s process. A review of the complaint will be undertaken, and a response given to the resident within 20 working days. This will be the landlord’s final response to the complaint.
6. The landlord’s complaint policy does not specify that it will provide a complainant with a written response at either stage of the complaint process.

Summary of events

7. The landlord’s repair logs state that the resident called to report issues with the property’s windows on 4 December 2020. The logs note that it was informed by the resident that she experienced draughts through the windows and believed they needed to be replaced.
8. The landlord’s repair logs go on to state that a repair work order was raised to “carry out minor PVC window/door repair” and this was marked as completed on 14 January 2021.
9. An inspection of the windows was arranged for 27 January 2021. However, this was marked on the landlord’s repairs logs as cancelled. A note described the reason for the cancellation as “waiting on info from [landlord] operative on plans to add [windows] to planned programme of work”.
10. On 4 February 2021 the resident called the landlord and requested to raise a formal complaint. The landlord’s notes of the call described the elements of the complaint as:
    1. She was not notified in advance that the 27 January 2021 inspection had been cancelled.
    2. She had been informed by operatives who had attended previous repairs to the windows that there was nothing more they could do. Therefore, the landlord should replace the windows.
11. On 5 February 2021 the landlord wrote to the resident and confirmed that a formal complaint had been opened. It also advised her that due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that it may not be able to meets its published timescales for complaint responses, but she would receive a response within 20 working days.
12. A stage one complaint response was given to the resident via a telephone call on 9 September 2021. The landlord’s notes of the call state that it informed the resident that replacement of the windows would occur as part of a planned programme of work in 2022, and that in the meantime it would undertake repairs to the windows as needed. The notes then state that the resident informed the landlord of her dissatisfaction with this resolution and that she would continue to raise complaints until the windows were replaced.
13. The resident called the landlord on 18 February 2021. The landlord’s notes of the call state that the resident said she was under the impression that she had requested an escalation during the stage one telephone call. The landlord informed her that the complaint would be escalated.
14. The landlord called the resident on 3 March 2021 to discuss the complaint and it sent a stage two complaint response to the resident on 11 March 2021. The landlord stated that the resident had agreed for the complaint to be closed during their telephone call and that landlord had agreed to:
    1. Install new extractor fans, then clean and treat mould in the property.
    2. Assess whether the front and back doors required replacing.
    3. Check whether the double glazing had blown and required replacing.
    4. Confirmed that the window frames would be replaced as part of the 2022 planned programme of works.
15. The landlord repair logs show a work order was raised on 25 February 2021 to “fill cracks around windows”. This was marked as completed on 15 March 2021.
16. A further work order was raised on 26 February 2021 to “carry out minor carpentry or joinery repair to faulty bedroom window”. This was marked as being completed 6 April 2021.
17. During a telephone call with this Service on 24 September 2021, the resident described the outstanding issues and desired outcome to the complaint as:
    1. The windows need to be replaced, but the landlord was ignoring her calls over the matter.
    2. She wanted more information on when the landlord’s planned programme of works would be undertaken.

Assessment and findings

18. In line with the tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for maintaining the windows at the property. The Ombudsman understands that the resident wants the windows to be replaced as a resolution to her complaint. However, social landlords have limited resources and they are expected to manage these resources responsibly, to the benefit of all their residents. In view of this, landlords are entitled to opt to repair damaged items such as windows rather than replacing them. However, the windows should be replaced if they cannot be economically repaired. Therefore, it was reasonable for the landlord to attempt a repair in the first instance. If the repair has not been successful, the landlord should consider whether it would be more appropriate to replace the windows ahead of the scheduled repairs programme in 2022.
19. It is also reasonable for landlords to schedule major works such as replacing multiple windows in a property in order to manage their annual budgets. In view of this, it was reasonable for the landlord to include the window replacement for the resident’s property in its schedule for 2022 rather than carrying out a replacement sooner than this. In internal correspondence, the landlord has mentioned that it will be fitting new windows for multiple properties in the area in 2022 and the resident’s property will be included in this programme of works. The landlord should write to the resident to explain the planned programme of work procedure and how/when the windows in the property will be replaced
20. The resident has said that when the landlord’s contractor visited the property, they told her she needed new windows and the current windows could not be repaired any further. She has said that a surveyor has since told her the same thing. As explained above, the landlord is not disputing that the windows need to be replaced. The dispute is concerning whether they need to be replaced immediately or if the replacement can take place in 2022, with repairs being carried out in the meantime to ensure the windows remain functional. The Ombudsman is not questioning the resident’s account of what she was told by the contractor or surveyor. However, there appears to be no record in the landlord’s repair logs or correspondence with its contractors to show that the contractor told the landlord that the windows could not be repaired and needed to be replaced immediately. The landlord would only be expected to act upon information it is given and if the landlord was told that the windows could be repaired, it would be entitled to repair them, even if the resident may have been given different information by the landlord’s contractor.
21. Overall, the landlord has followed its repairs policy in responding to the resident’s reports of problems with the windows and carrying out repairs between February and April 2021. Not all appointments were booked within 28 calendar days. However, the landlord had advised that delays to routine repairs would be likely due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions which generated a backlog of work. The landlord would not be expected to compensate a resident for delays to repairs that were a result of circumstances outside its control and therefore it would not be expected to pay compensation in this instance.
22. The stage two complaint response stated that the landlord and resident had agreed to a resolution of the complaint. The landlord confirmed that the windows would be replaced as part of its 2022 planned programme of work and it also agreed to undertake certain repairs and inspections of the property in the meantime.
23. This agreement has not been disputed by the resident. However, in bringing her case to this Service, the resident has stated her dissatisfaction with the actions of the landlord after it gave its final response to the complaint. She highlighted poor communication from the landlord, that inspections of the windows remained outstanding, and she had not been provided information about how the planned programme of works would proceed.
24. The landlord’s repair logs show that on 21 May 2021 the resident reported that two of the bedroom windows had blown and required replacing. The log state that a work order was raised to “carry out minor glazing repair”. This work is marked as “not completed” on the repair log.
25. The repair logs also show that an inspection was raised on 23 July 2021 relating to the resident’s reports of blown windows and mould in the property. This is marked as being completed on 28 July 2021, but no further information was added to the log as to the result of the inspection. Furthermore, no evidence has been provided to show that the landlord has updated the resident on the status of the work it agreed to carry out as part of the stage two complaint response.
26. Therefore, there has been service failure by the landlord as its records do not show that it had kept to its agreement described in the stage two response. There is also no evidence that the landlord has contacted the resident to keep her updated on the progress of the work.
27. In view of this, the Ombudsman orders the landlord write to the resident to inform her on the status of the work and, if any work remains outstanding, to explain the reasons why.
28. It would also be appropriate for the landlord to pay compensation to the resident for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delayed repairs and miscommunication. The Ombudsman’s own remedies guidance (which is available on our website) suggests a payment of £250 to £750 in cases where the Ombudsman has found considerable service failure or maladministration, but there may be no permanent impact on the complainant. Examples include failure over a considerable period of time to act in accordance with policy – for example to address repairs.
29. In this case, while the landlord and resident came to an agreement to what work and inspections would occur. However, due to the landlord’s poor recording-keeping it is not clear if this had been undertaken. The resident has told the Ombudsman that the work has not been completed and she has not been given any explanation for the delay. Therefore, the landlord should make a compensation payment of £250 to the resident for the distress and inconvenience this caused her.

Determination (decision)

30. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s requests for the windows in the property to be replaced.

Reasons

31. The landlord followed its repairs policy and reached a resolution with the resident on what work and inspections it would undertake. It also agreed that the windows would be replaced in 2022 as part of a planned programme of work. The landlord was entitled to include the window replacement in its planned programme of work and it was not obliged to replace the windows sooner. Although it was expected to carry out any necessary repairs to ensure the windows remained functional in the meantime.
32. However, there is no evidence that the agreed work was carried out or the landlord had kept the resident updated on the progress of the work. The landlord should offer compensation as set out below in view of the distress and inconvenience this caused to the resident.

Orders

33. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. pay to the resident £250 compensation.
    2. Write to the resident and give an update on the progress of the work it agreed to carry out in the stage two complaint response. If any work remains outstanding, the landlord should inform the resident of the reasons for the delay and, if possible, provide a timeline of when it expects the work to be completed.
    3. Write to the resident to inform her of how her windows will be replaced as part of its 2022 planned programme of works. It would also be appropriate for the landlord to signpost the resident to any policies and/or information it has on its website relating to planned maintenance and major works.