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Wandsworth Council (202127222)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202127222

Wandsworth Council

13 September 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 response to the resident’s concerns about the lift breaking down in the block of flats where he lives.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a flat on a higher floor within a block of flats. The landlord has told this Service it is not aware that the resident has any vulnerabilities
  2. On 7 August 2021 the resident raised a complaint as the lift in the building had been out of service for several days and contractors had left a note saying it should be back in service by 11 August 2021, by which time it would have been out of service for 12 days. He said he had not been able to go to work on Sunday as, he had back problems and without the lift, he was unable to transport the heavy bag required for his job. He said neither the landlord nor the contractor were communicating effectively with residents about the lift, and that he suspected his phone number had been blocked by the landlord. He said the lift had broken down often before.
  3. In its stage one complaint response on 6 September 2021, the landlord acknowledged that lift breakdowns cause inconvenience to residents and said that it did not pay compensation for them as they were “unfortunately inevitable at times” due to lifts’ complex mechanical nature. It said there had been five call outs in the preceding nine months for the lift, and that apart from the most recent 12–day breakdown, the lifts had been performing well over the last few months. with just a few short breakdowns. It said the most recent breakdown had been dealt with “as quickly as the contractor could, given the specialist nature of the work that needed to be carried out”. It apologised that its communication with residents was not up to the standards expected as it should have issued a specific lift breakdown letter to each household. It said in future it would provide residents with regular communication advising of lift shutdowns and ensure that contractor letters are displayed when the lift is initially shut down. It confirmed that the resident’s number had not been blocked and gave the relevant contact numbers for him to use to report lift issues.
  4. The resident escalated his complaint on 20 September 2021, as he said the lift had been out of service again since 16 September 2021. He said there were four disabled residents in the block and that without the lift they could not carry heavy items and some struggled to get to their homes. It is not clear from the correspondence if he was including himself as one of the four disabled residents. He also requested that the lift number be clearly displayed on the lift as it was required when reporting breakdowns.
  5. In its stage two complaint response on 29 October 2021 the landlord said that when the lift breakdown had been reported on 16 September 2021, it had booked a callout with the contractor for Friday 17 September 2021, but had then raised it again as a high priority callout for 18 September 2021 when it noticed there had been an error and the contractor had not attended. However, it said this did not affect the length of time it took to complete the repair as, the subsequent the investigation appointment would have been scheduled for Monday 20 September 2021, even if the first appointment had taken place on 17 September 2021.It apologised for the inconvenience caused to residents but said it has communicated with the residents effectively to keep them informed of the estimated time frame for repair. It reiterated that it did not pay compensation for lift breakdowns. It confirmed that it had ordered signs for the lift which would display the lift number.
  6. The resident contacted the Ombudsman on 25 March 2022 as he was unhappy that there had been further lift breakdowns. He raised a second complaint on 30 March 2022 to his landlord about further issues with the lift and his request to be rehoused.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. It is noted that the resident raised a second complaint to the landlord on 30 March 2022 about further issues with the lift and his request to be rehoused, which the Ombudsman believes completed the landlord’s internal complaints process on 25 May 2022. If the resident is unhappy with the landlord ‘s final response to that complaint he can contact this Service to request an investigation of that complaint. However, this assessment will focus on the complaint that the resident originally made to the landlord on 7 August 2021, which completed the landlord’s internal complaints process on 29 October 2021.

Assessment

  1. When a lift breakdown is reported to a landlord, it would be expected to respond to the report and complete the necessary repairs within a reasonable timeframe and to communicate effectively with any affected residents if the lift is likely to be out of service for any length of time whilst awaiting repair. The landlord has provided this Service with a its lift guidance document, that says it is ““committed to the safety of all its lifts including a quick response rate to breakdowns and lift emergencies”. But it does not give any specific timeframes for repairs to be completed. However, the industry standard timeframe for repairs in general is 24-48 hours for emergency repairs (to either resolve or make safe) and 28 days for routine or standard repairs.
  2. When the lift breakdown was reported late in the evening on 29 July 2021 the landlord took appropriate steps for the lift contractor to inspect the lift on 30 July 2021, which was within 24 hours of the repair request. However, on arrival the lift was inspected and found to be in working order so it was appropriate that no repairs were carried out at that point.  When the landlord received a further report that the lift was making loud noises on 31 July 2021 the landlord acted appropriately by arranging for the lift contractor to inspect the lift that day. As the contractor identified that repairs were needed, it acted appropriately by shutting the lift down and placing breakdown tape on each floor button.
  3. When, during further investigations into the cause of the repair on 3 August 2021, the contractor identified that a specialist team was needed, it acted appropriately by posting a letter on each floor to inform residents of the breakdown and expected repair completion date. As it acknowledged in its stage one complaint response, it would also have been helpful if the landlord had issued a specific information letter to each household, so it was appropriate that it apologised for not having done so. The repairs were completed on10 August 2021, which although inconvenient for residents, was well within the 28–day timeframe that is considered reasonable for routine repairs. This Service believes that given the specialist nature of the work, the repair was completed by the contractor as soon as was reasonably possible. The landlord also acted appropriately by agreeing to improve communication with residents in future.
  4. When the landlord received reports that the lift had broken down on 16 September 2021 it acted appropriately by arranging for the lift contractor to inspect the lift on 17 September 2021, which would have been within 24 hours of the issue being reported. However due to an error, the request was not actioned on the 17 September so had to be re-requested for 18 September 2021. On 18 September 2021 the potential problem was identified and the contractor took appropriate steps to place out of service tape in each lift lobby and to arrange for the issue to be further investigated on Monday 20 August 2021. When the contractor found that replacement parts were needed during its inspection on 20 September 2021, it took appropriate steps to display an explanatory letter near the lift for residents. The landlord then acted reasonably by sending individual hand delivered letters to all residents on 21 September confirming the issue with the lift, and a follow–on letter on 23 September confirming that parts had been ordered and that it hoped to complete the repair on 28 September 2021.
  5. Although fuel shortages meant that the repair was completed on 30 September 2021, this two-day delay was beyond the landlord’s control. However, it would have been helpful to have updated the residents that there were going to be delays and it is not clear if the landlord did so. The landlord has explained that the one–day delay in initially inspecting the lift on 17 September 2021, did not delay the repair, as the follow–on appointment would have been made for Monday 20 September 2021 in any case. Although it is not possible for this Service to confirm if that is the case, the Ombudsman considers that even with the additional two day delay caused by the fuel shortage, the repair was still completed within a reasonable timeframe, as it was completed in 14 days, which is well within the 28–day timeframe that is accepted as the industry standard for routine repairs, and the landlord’s had appropriately communicated with the residents.
  6. Although the landlord acknowledged in its stage one complaint response that its communication with residents following the July 2021 lift breakdown could have been improved by sending individual letters to residents about any lift breakdowns, this Service is satisfied that the landlord took appropriate steps to improve this aspect of its communication. This was demonstrated during the September breakdown when it hand delivered individual to residents to keep them updated. It also took appropriate action to ensure that signs with lift numbers were ordered, following the resident’s comments on the lack of lift numbers. Therefore, although lift breakdowns are an inconvenience to residents, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s concerns about the lift breaking down, in the block of flats where the resident lives
  7. The resident also mentioned in his complaint that he needed the lift as he had “back problems” and was unable to carry his heavy work bag down the stairs. He also made reference to the effect the lack of lift was having on disabled people in the building, though it is not clear if he was including himself in that description. Although the landlord did address this aspect of the complaint by apologising for the inconvenience caused to the residents. it would have been helpful if it had also confirmed whether or not it was able to offer any assistance to disabled residents, whilst the lift was out of service, and asked the resident to clarify whether he himself had a disability which meant he needed additional support during lift repairs. The landlord would not be expected to share information about other residents with the resident or this Service and therefore we cannot assess whether the landlord should have done more to assist other residents with disabilities during the lift repairs. Our investigation is focused on the landlord’s handling of the lift repairs and the effect this had on the resident as an individual, although it is acknowledged that all the occupants of the building would have been inconvenienced by the lift breakdowns. If any other residents in the building are dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the lift repairs they can raise their own complaints about this either individually or as a group through the landlord’s complaints process.
  8.  It is not clear whether the landlord discussed with the resident, assistance for those with disabilities, outside of its complaint responses but the landlord has told this Service that it is not aware of the resident having any vulnerabilities, yet the resident has referred to back problems and has possibly referred to himself as disabled in his complaint escalation. Therefore, the Ombudsman will be recommending that the landlord contact the resident to confirm that it has accurate up to date information about any vulnerabilities including disabilities, that the resident may have. Although this report has only assessed whether the landlord’s actions impacted the resident, (as other residents are able to raise their own concerns with the landlord) this Service will also be recommending that the landlord make all residents of the building aware of what, if any, assistance it can provide to help disabled residents in future, if the lift is out of service. Examples of the types of assistance which landlords can sometimes provide includes members of staff made available at busy times to help carry objects up and down the stairs and/or temporary accommodation for disabled residents who are unable to go in or out of their properties during lift breakdowns.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s concerns about the lift breaking down in the block of flats where he lives.

Recommendations

  1. Within four weeks of the date of this letter the landlord is recommended to:
    1. Contact the resident to confirm what, if any, vulnerabilities, including disabilities, he or his household may have.
    2. Write to all residents of the building to confirm what, if any, assistance it can provide to help disabled residents if the lift is out of service in future.