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Tower Hamlets Homes (202218547)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202218547

Tower Hamlets Homes

21 August 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 is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the centralised control system for the internal extractor fans.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of a flat in a building comprised of similar properties. The landlord is a managing agent acting for the local authority freeholder.
  2. The landlord’s building manager reported on 27 April 2022 that the centralised control system for the internal extractor fans had switched off. The landlord attended on 9 May 2022 and checked the system, leaving the fans running. After a report, from one of the resident’s neighbours on 22 June 2022, that the fans were not working again the landlord attended on 28 June 2022. It identified an issue with the system and passed the works to a fan specialist.
  3. The resident has stated that he first reported that his bathroom fan was not working on 11 July 2022. The fan specialist attended the property on 10 August 2022, where it found further issues with the centralised control system. The resident complained on 13 September 2022. He explained that he had reported the issue several times and yet the issue was still outstanding. He was dissatisfied with the delays, and the lack of communication from the landlord. He stated that the lack of a bathroom extractor fan was a health risk.
  4. The landlord responded on 27 September 2022. It apologised for the delay, yet stated that the 10 August 2022 had been the next available appointment for the fan specialist. It explained that the specialist had attended again on 26 September 2022, to scope out the full extent of the works to the system. The landlord explained that unfortunately this was a complex repair, and it was waiting for parts to be supplied which would take six to eight weeks to arrive. The resident asked to escalate him complaint on 27 September 2022. He remained unhappy with the delays to his repairs and the landlord’s lack of communication. The resident asked when the repairs would be completed.
  5. The landlord responded on 21 October 2022. It explained that it had explained to the resident after its last visit that the materials would arrive in two to six weeks. It also assured the resident that it had no concerns in regard to health and safety risks at present.
  6. In his complaint to this service on 17 November 2022, and again on 20 July 2023, the resident explained that the repairs have still not been completed. He remains unhappy with the delays and wants the works to be completed as soon as possible.

Assessment

  1. Under the landlord’s lease agreement, the landlord is obliged to maintain the common parts and keep them in good and substantial repair and condition. The landlord’s repairs policy defines responsive repairs as those which are usually unforeseen, minor in nature, and can generally be completed on a first visit from standard van stocks. The landlord will aim to complete these within 20 working days. Planned works do not have a specific completion time and will be subject to the supply of materials and the availability of appropriate operatives.
  2. When the resident reported the issue with the fan system on 11 July 2022, the landlord had already been attending to the issue from the start of May 2022. The landlord’s property manager, as well as the neighbouring residents had reported the same issues, as other properties had been affected by problems with the system. The landlord’s repair logs show that after the system was reported to have shut down on 27 April 2022, the landlord acted appropriately and attended within timescales on 9 May 2022, leaving the system working.
  3. The landlord again acted appropriately when another report of an issue came through on 22 June 2022, attending within the same 20 working day timescale on 28 June 2022. It identified that there was an issue with the system and concluded that a specialist was required to undertake the works. This was appropriate, as the landlord was ensuring that the works were carried out by appropriately qualified operatives. In line with the landlord’s repair policy, this would no longer be treated as a responsive repair, as the works had proved to be more complex than what could be repaired on the day. The landlord has explained that the next available appointment for the fan specialist was for 10 August 2022. This delay was not something that the landlord can be held responsible for, as it was not due to its actions that the appointment was so far in advance.
  4. The fan specialist attended on 10 August 2022 to inspect the system. The landlord has explained that due to the extent of the repair, it required a quote from the fan specialist, to gain approval for the works. The specialist attended again on 15 September 2022 to ascertain the full scope of the works. The landlord explained in its first response to the resident on 27 September 2022 that it had sourced the materials for the works, which needed to be manufactured. It explained that unfortunately this would take between two to six weeks for the materials to be arrive. While this repair did take time to resolve, the landlord was acting appropriately by continuing to manage the repair, arranging visits from the fan specialist and ensuring that the works were approved internally. Again, the landlord is not responsible for the wait time on material supplies, as there is no evidence to suggest that it was delayed in placing the order.
  5. However, while the timeframe of the repairs can be deemed reasonable, in-line with general good customer service standards, the landlord would still be expected to communicate throughout the works with the resident. The resident has stated that it was a month after his report on 11 July 2022 that the landlord finally acknowledged his repair report on 10 August 2022.
  6. The landlord did not contact the resident to update him again until 26 September 2022, where it stated that the materials would take another two to six weeks to arrive. This was not appropriate, as this was six weeks after it had told the resident that it was attending the property, and almost three months after the resident has originally reported the issue. Without an update, there was no reason for the resident to believe that his repairs were being addressed or resolved. This would have added to his stress and frustration regarding the outstanding works. The landlord’s lack of communication was a failing in the circumstances.
  7. The landlord acted appropriately in its complaint responses by acknowledging that the repairs had taken a while to resolve and apologising for the resident’s inconvenience. It explained why the delays has occurred, and underlined the need to arrange for a specialist to attend the property. The landlord assured the resident that the broken extractor fan did not pose a health and safety risk, and stated that the repairs would be completed once the materials had arrived. It gave a rough estimate on when that might be, based on the available information.
  8. However, the landlord failed to acknowledge that its communication was not sufficient during these works. According to the resident, the landlord has also failed to complete the works to the fan system, stating as recently as 20 July 2023 that a lasting repair had not been undertaken. This is not appropriate, as according to this Service’s complaint handling code, any remedy proposed during the complaint response must be followed through to completion. The landlord’s failure to follow through with its promises to restore the fan system, and its lack of recognition of its poor communication are further failings.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of repairs to the centralised control system for the internal extractor fans.

Orders

  1. Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £150 compensation in recognition of its lack of communication in this case, and its failure to properly complete the repairs.
    2. Supply this service and the resident with an action plan, detailing how it will be completing the repairs to the centralised fan control system.
  2. Evidence of compliance with the above orders must be sent to this Service with the same four week timeline.