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The Guinness Partnership Limited (202113202)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202113202

The Guinness Partnership Limited

21 October 2022


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 the resident’s property move.

Background

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord.
  2. In 2020, the resident hoped to transfer properties, as her home no longer suited her needs. This was due to vulnerabilities affecting her mobility, and issues with anti-social behaviour in the surrounding area. The landlord stated in October 2020 that she could not bid on a new property, because of arrears on her rent account. The resident asked for a management move, which would eliminate the need to bid on a new property. The landlord denied her request. However, it did ask the resident to provide more information to support her application, so that it could reassess her request based on her medical needs.
  3. There is no evidence of further activity until in August 2021 the resident complained to the landlord that she had been housebound for over a year. She was dissatisfied that the landlord had not contacted her about a managed move. She stated that she had been told she would be placed in a higher banding due to her vulnerabilities, which would allow her to be given priority when moving. The landlord responded on 5 September 2021 and stated that the resident needed to provide medical evidence to support her application.
  4. In September 2021, the resident provided medical evidence, which the landlord sent to be assessed by the local authority (LA). The resident was then given a higher banding. She was matched with a new home by the LA in November 2021, however, upon discovering that the resident still had substantial arrears, the LA withdrew the offer.
  5. The resident escalated her complaint in November 2021, complaining about the landlord’s lack of communication regarding her housing transfer. The landlord assessed the resident’s medical evidence and, in December 2021, approved a management move.
  6. In its final response on 16 December 2021, the landlord explained that the resident had been granted a management move, thus resolving her transfer issues. It acknowledged that the transfer process should be better explained to residents. It also stated that its complaint response was late, offering £20 to the resident for the inconvenience.
  7. In her complaint to this Service, the resident explained that she remains dissatisfied with how the landlord handled her management move.

Assessment

Scope of investigation

  1. In accordance with paragraph 42(c), the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, were not brought to the attention of the member as a formal complaint within a reasonable period which would normally be within six months of the matters arising. Because of that, this investigation will focus on the events in the months leading up to the resident’s complaint in August 2021. While the resident’s original request to move and the landlord’s handling of that request in 2020 will provide context, it will not be assessed in this investigation.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s property move

  1. The landlord’s policy defines a management move as a move that occurs when there is an urgent or exceptional need for the customer to move from their existing home. It works outside the landlord’s general transfer scheme, as it is an offer of accommodation made directly to the resident.
  2. To apply for housing, the landlord’s policy states that all new and existing residents will be asked to complete an application form and medical assessment form (if applicable). It also states that the landlord may suspend an application of an existing resident to the transfer scheme, after considering the resident’s commitment to paying back rent arrears or housing–related debt, where rent arrears or housing–related debt apply.
  3. The resident complained in August 2021 that the landlord had not contacted her regarding her transfer. However, the evidence shows that it did contact her, in October 2020, asking for further information it needed to assess the transfer request. There is no evidence of it receiving the details it asked for until after the complaint was raised.
  4. Once the resident provided medical evidence in September 2021, the landlord acted promptly by sending the information to the relevant parties (the LA), so that the resident could be assessed for a higher priority banding. In November 2021 the local authority decided that the resident could not be accepted for a transfer due to her rent arrears. The landlord acted reasonably by considering the newly provided medical evidence itself, and agreeing to a management move in December 2021. It was appropriate for the landlord to consider the management move after other options for the resident had been exhausted, as its policy explains that management moves are for extreme or exceptional circumstances.
  5. In its complaint response in September 2021, the landlord explained what details and supporting information the resident needed to provide to support an application for a higher priority banding. It also apologised to the resident for any confusion it had caused regarding the transfer process. After subsequently receiving the medical evidence, the landlord acted reasonably in using its final complaint response in December 2021 to update the resident, explaining that it had now assessed the information and was able to process her “band A management move” and would be looking for suitable housing for her. The landlord offered the resident a new property shortly after on 16 December 2021. Overall, in the period considered in this investigation, the landlord’s handling of the resident’s housing transfer was reasonable and in line with its policies, and nothing in the evidence indicates delay or poor handling in the circumstances of the complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of the complaint.