Tower Hamlets Homes (202234784)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202234784

Tower Hamlets Homes

16 August 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 response to the resident’s reports of recurring leaks, damp, mould, and associated repairs at her property.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of the landlord of a first floor flat in a block, which she rents out to tenants.
  2. In March 2022, the resident made a stage 1 complaint to the landlord about water leaking into her property when it rained since she bought this in 2008. She reported a window and corner of the property next to an external wall as affected by recurring leaks, which occurred again in 2021 after it cleaned her block’s roof’s clogged gutter pipes years earlier. The resident reported she was still waiting for the scaffold requested following the landlord’s January 2022 inspection’s recommendation for this to unblock the gutters again, as well as to inspect the external brickwork for mould that was now on the property’s damp walls. She also sought for it to resolve this structural problem in the long-term involving her, as well as to use a scaffold to complete the short-term repair.
  3. In April 2022, the landlord apologised for its repair delay, chased the scaffold to complete this, and agreed to update the resident on its progress, while she asked if it considered insulating her block as a permanent solution. Its April 2022 stage 1 complaint response also apologised for this and for her dissatisfaction with its service falling below expectations, having to complain, and her and her tenants’ inconvenience and frustration while it diagnosed and completed the repair. The landlord explained it awaited a pavement licence to put up the scaffold for the repair, which it agreed to complete urgently. It further agreed to then investigate preventative measures via a specialist, but it had no plans to insulate her block, offering £100 compensation for time and trouble.
  4. The resident subsequently noted the scaffold was put up at her block in April 2022, but she was unclear if repairs were completed, repeating her request for updates to contact her insurer to repair her property’s interior. She also asked for information as to how to seek a long-term solution from the landlord’s management and on its gutter cleaning schedule at her block for the next 2 years, declining its compensation as not reimbursing the property damage she was willing to discuss instead. It recorded it then cleared out and sealed the joints of the resident’s block’s gutters in April 2022, but she made a final stage complaint in May 2022 about water leaking into her property and wall again after heavy rain, and it not properly assessing or permanently resolving this.
  5. The resident subsequently chased the landlord in May and June 2022 for an urgent further scaffold, repair, and update for the recurring leak affecting her tenants and neighbours. It confirmed its contractor arranged the previous works at her block in dry weather, was unaware of any blockages, but would check the downpipe and brickwork pointing next to resolve the leak, which she asked it to survey and discuss with her. The landlord’s final stage complaint response in June 2022 apologised again for the resident’s dissatisfaction, the earlier works not resolving the recurring leak, and its repair delay. It confirmed the contractor would address the downpipe and brickwork pointing in July 2022, agreed to update her, and offered £150 for time, trouble, and inconvenience.
  6. The landlord then noted it had looked at and identified the cost and measures needed to reduce its properties’ carbon footprint about a year earlier, including insulation, which it was likely to do with window and roof replacements and ventilation works in the next few years. Its surveyor subsequently confirmed brick pointing and sealing works were completed at the resident’s block in July 2022, which it updated her on. However, she reported water leaking into her property and wall after heavy rain to the landlord once more in September 2022, seeking updates, a long-term solution, its experts’ reports, and its gutter, drainage, and brickwork maintenance plans for the block. It responded by asking for evidence to assess and update her on the new leak.
  7. The resident nevertheless told the landlord in November 2022 that the leak into her property had started again following recent heavy rain, which she asked it to assess and resolve via an experienced expert and provide her with its action plan for as soon as possible. It agreed to arrange to trace and advise about the latest leak under a new stage 1 complaint, and its contractor attended this, put up another scaffold, and inspected brickwork, windows, and guttering in February 2023. The landlord’s contractor then completed repairs to defective brickwork pointing and mastic to concrete and around windows in March 2023.
  8. The resident subsequently complained to the Ombudsman the recurring leaks after heavy rain caused damp and mould in her and her neighbours’ properties and uninsulated external walls via poorly sealed brickwork and unmaintained guttering for years. She described the landlord’s frequent patch repairs as not resolving this in the long-term as she repeatedly requested, with insulation, proper drainage, clear resident communication, and properly kept and shared reports to keep track of this. The resident explained it had since cleaned guttering and resealed brickwork without the long-term plan she asked for to permanently resolve the leaks, or the calendar of its planned roof, guttering, and brickwork maintenance and block insulation timeframe she requested.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident’s lease obliges the landlord to maintain and keep in good and substantial repair and condition her block’s main structure, including the external walls, roof, drainage, guttering, and rainwater pipes. Its responsive repairs policy requires it to complete routine non-emergency repairs to items including leaks, blocked drains and pipework, roofs, guttering, and downpipes within 20 working days, excluding the timescale for necessary pre-inspections for such works. The landlord is obliged to inform residents if longer timescales are needed to carry out repairs, including major works and cyclical or planned maintenance programmes.
  2. It is of concern the resident reported she asked the landlord to inspect the rainwater leaking into her property again in 2021 that its repairs team attended on 24 January 2022, but no evidence was provided of events in her case until her 30 March 2022 stage 1 complaint. This was despite such evidence of her and its reports, communications, and actions previously being requested from it by the Ombudsman. This suggested poor record keeping by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, damp, mould, and associated repairs following several other investigations with similar complaints and findings by us, which was inappropriate. This is therefore addressed at the end of this assessment in light of our earlier investigations.
  3. The resident also explained that the landlord’s repairs team’s 24 January 2022 inspection found a scaffold was needed to unblock the guttering at her block, as well as to investigate the external brickwork for her property’s damp and mouldy external wall. It was therefore unsuitable she had to complain to it 47 working days later on 30 March 2022 that it neither did so nor updated her on this or any long-term plan to resolve this structural problem. This is because this was contrary to the landlord’s responsive repairs policy’s 20-working-day timescale for such works, and the policy’s obligation for the landlord to inform the resident if these needed to take longer than its timescales.
  4. It was therefore reasonable the landlord apologised to the resident for its repair delay, and chased its scaffold contractor to put up a scaffold for it to update her and arrange the repair as soon as this was done, on 5 April 2022. Following her 9 April 2022 query about permanently resolving the issues at her block, including whether it was considering thermal insulation, its 11 April 2022 stage 1 complaint response explained its 11 January 2022 work order for the above actions awaited a pavement licence for the scaffold. The landlord therefore agreed to complete the above guttering repair and brickwork investigation shortly after it received the licence, which was appropriate and suggested it was not entirely responsible for their delay, as it was waiting for the licence.
  5. The landlord also suitably apologised to the resident for the repair delay again, her dissatisfaction with its service falling below expectations, having to complain, and her and her tenants’ inconvenience and frustration while it diagnosed and completed the repair. It additionally responded about resolving her block’s issues by agreeing to inspect from the scaffold whether such preventative measures were available, including via specialist sub-contractor for the brickwork after guttering repairs, which was reasonable. However, the landlord explained it currently had no plans to thermally insulate the resident’s block. It is concerning it did not at least consider this possible resolution at that time, but it was appropriate to await expert evidence on permanent solutions.
  6. It is nevertheless of concern the landlord took 63 working days from its 24 January 2022 inspection to clear out and seal the joints of the resident’s block’s gutters on 25 April 2022 after the scaffold was put up the day before. This was 43 working days later than its responsive repairs policy’s 20-working-day repair timescale, excluding the timescale for the necessary pre-inspection after its 11 January 2022 work order for this, which was unsuitable. It was also unreasonable no evidence was provided that the landlord gave the resident any further progress updates for its repairs after its 11 April 2022 stage 1 complaint response. She instead chased it for updates on these to contact her insurer for her property’s internal works, and for a permanent solution, on 24 April 2022.
  7. It is additionally concerning the resident’s 16 and 20 May 2022 final stage complaint and call with the landlord reported water leaked into her property again after heavy rain, and sought further repair updates and a lasting resolution. This was despite its above guttering works, but it is noted it had still not attended the property’s external brickwork as recommended by its 24 January 2022 inspection 81 working days before the call, which was inappropriate. However, the landlord still only contacted its contractor to investigate the downpipe and brickwork repointing after another unsuitable delay of 9 working days on 6 and 7 June 2022. The resident therefore understandably chased it for repair updates again on 7 and 10 June 2022.
  8. This meant it was reasonable the landlord’s 13 June 2022 final stage complaint response apologised again for the resident’s dissatisfaction, its previous works not resolving the recurring leak, and its repair delay, agreeing to update her on its 15 July 2022 downpipe and brickwork pointing works. It was nevertheless inappropriate that, while it considered the permanent solution she requested on 14 June 2022 by confirming insulation, window, roof, and ventilation works were likely in the next few years, it did not inform her of this. Moreover, although the landlord told the resident on 20 July 2022 its surveyor confirmed brickwork pointing and sealing works were completed on 15 July 2022, these were still 42 working days after she reported the leak returned on 16 May 2022, and 119 working days after its 24 January 2022 brickwork recommendation.
  9. The landlord was therefore responsible for a further unsuitable 99-working-day repair delay in the resident’s case contrary to its responsive repairs policy’s 20-working-day repair timescale, which she also had to chase it to progress and receive updates on contrary to the policy. It is additionally of concern that, while it noted it had looked at and identified the cost and measures needed to reduce its properties’ carbon footprint about a year earlier, it did not confirm the specific measures it would take or the timescale for completing them for a lasting resolution of the issues at her block. This was further contrary to the landlord’s policy, which obliged it to inform the resident of longer timescales needed to carry out such major works or cyclical or planned maintenance.
  10. Moreover, it is concerning the resident reported on 6 September and 8 November 2022 that water leaked into her property once more after heavy rain. However, the landlord only recorded a 3 February 2023 inspection, scaffolding and a re-inspection on 23 and 27 February 2023, and repairs to defective brickwork pointing and concrete and window mastic on 17 March 2023. This was up to 134 working days later, and 114 working days after its responsive repairs policy’s 20-working-day repair timescale. The resident suggested the landlord may have done more gutter cleaning and brickwork resealing, but the leaks showed it was unsuccessful in preventing these. This was emphasised by its lack of the long-term plan or regular maintenance schedule she requested.
  11. It was therefore reasonable the landlord sought to follow the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principle to put things right with its above apologies, and by its complaint responses offering £150 compensation for the resident’s time, trouble, and inconvenience from pursuing repairs and its delays. Its redress and compensation policy nevertheless recommends up to £250 for such time and trouble, as well from £200 for inconvenience, frustration and distress, which accords with the up to £600 recommended by our remedies guidance for failures adversely affecting her. As the resident experienced the landlord’s total repair delays of between at least 142 and 256 working days, its above offer was not proportionate to recognise these in line with its policy and our guidance.
  12. The landlord has therefore been ordered below to pay the resident £600 compensation in recognition of the further failings identified by this investigation, broken down into the £150 it previously offered her plus £450 additional compensation for time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience. It has also been ordered to write to apologise to, accept responsibility for, and acknowledge the impact on her from its leak, damp, mould, and associated repair delays and lack of updates or permanent solution. The landlord has additionally been ordered to provide the resident with a long-term plan and regular maintenance schedule to resolve her property’s issues, as well as details for her to claim the property damages she reported from it or its insurer.
  13. The Ombudsman has found maladministration (including severe maladministration) following several investigations into complaints raised with the landlord involving leaks, damp, mould, associated repairs, and record keeping. As a result of these, the Ombudsman issued a wider order to the landlord under paragraph 54f of the Scheme. This is for the landlord to review its policy or practice in relation to the service failures identified, which may give rise to further complaints about the matter.
  14. The Ombudsman ordered the landlord to carry out a review of its processes and practices relating to its handling of reports of damp, mould, and record keeping. Some of the issues identified in this case are similar to the previous cases, and so we have ordered the landlord below to incorporate the learning from this complaint into the wider review, ordered as part of case 202320700. In addition to this, we have not made any orders or recommendations as part of this case that would duplicate those already made to landlord as part of the wider order.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s reports of recurring leaks, damp, mould, and associated repairs at her property.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £600 total compensation within 4 weeks in recognition of the further failings identified by this investigation, which is broken down into:
      1. £150 it previously offered her, if she has not received this already.
      2. £450 additional compensation for her time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience from its further failings.
    2. Write to the resident within 4 weeks to apologise to, accept responsibility for, and acknowledge the impact on her from its leak, damp, mould, and associated repair delays and lack of updates or permanent solution.
    3. Contact the resident within 4 weeks to provide her with a long-term plan and regular maintenance schedule to resolve her property’s recurring leak, damp, mould, and associated repair issues, including details of the specific measures it will take and its timescale for completing them.
    4. Send the resident within 4 weeks details to allow her to make a liability claim to it or its insurer to seek to be reimbursed for the cost to her of the property damages she reported.
    5. Incorporate the learning from this complaint into the wider review, ordered as part of case 202320700, of its processes and practices relating to its handling of reports of damp, mould, and record keeping due within 3 weeks.
  2. The landlord shall contact the Ombudsman within 3 and 4 weeks to confirm that it has complied with the above orders.