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Westminster Community Homes Limited (202207674)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202207674

Westminster Community Homes Limited

1 February 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 the resident’s request to renew her kitchen.

Scope of investigation

  1. In correspondence with this Service, the resident also made reference to the potential renewal of her bathroom and toilet, which she states has been agreed by the landlord. However, the original complaint only addressed her request to renew the kitchen. Therefore, this investigation will not consider the landlord’s handling of a bathroom renewal as there is no evidence the landlord has had the chance to address this via its complaints procedure. This is in accordance with paragraph 42 (a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which states the Ombudsman will not consider complaints which are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord and has resided in the property, a two-bedroom flat, since 2013.
  2. The resident’s property is owned by the landlord. The landlord is wholly owned by the local authority, and the landlord has commissioned the local authority to carry out functions such as tenancy management and repairs on its behalf. Therefore, the local authority acts as the managing agent for the property.
  3. The local authority carried out a survey of the resident’s kitchen in December 2020, following her reports about the condition of her kitchen. The local authority recommended to the landlord that all the kitchen units be replaced. However, since it was not its policy to carry out full replacements of kitchen units, the local authority asked whether the landlord could arrange for renewal works to be carried out, as the resident wanted a kitchen replacement rather than repairs.
  4. The resident continued to communicate with the local authority during 2021, and, in December 2021, she made a formal complaint to the landlord about the local authority’s decision not to renew her kitchen at that time, its overall customer service, and its delay in responding to her. The resolution that she sought was a renewal of her kitchen.
  5. In response, the landlord advised it would assess the resident’s kitchen for further issues and it would ascertain whether her kitchen would be eligible for its renewal project, due to carried out in 2023. In the meantime, the landlord agreed to repair the defected areas in her kitchen. It acknowledged that it had failed to initially advise her that it would not be renewing her kitchen at that time of her original request, which had led to a delay in repairs being agreed and carried out. It awarded her £180 compensation for this, which records show she accepted.
  6. The resident then contacted this Service as she was unhappy she would have to wait at least 18 months for her kitchen renewal. She believed her property was uninhabitable and her kitchen required an urgent renewal straight away.
  7. The local authority informed this Service that the landlord had carried out an assessment of the resident’s property, and had not found any immediate health and safety concerns that would render her property uninhabitable. The local authority also advised this Service that the reason it had refused her original kitchen renewal request was because the landlord had indicated to it that it would be renewing her kitchen. The landlord had now included her kitchen in a renewal programme to start in 2023, and therefore it would not be cost effective to renew one property in isolation when an entire renewal project was in place.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s request to renew her kitchen

  1. The landlord does not dispute that the resident’s kitchen had met its conditions to be accepted under its renewal programme; the dispute is about the timescale for the renewal. The local authority carried out surveys of the resident’s property in February and March 2022, and the landlord carried out a further survey in July 2022. None of the surveys found any immediate health and safety concerns. The surveys of her kitchen did find 24 minor problems relating to kitchen cupboards and tiles behind the sink, but nothing that rendered her property uninhabitable.
  2. As a result of the survey in July 2022, the landlord determined the resident’s kitchen was eligible for renewal under its refresh programme, due to begin during the summer of 2023. As a result, it determined it would not be cost effective for it to renew her kitchen before that date as there was a wider renewal project already in place and there were no immediate health and safety concerns.
  3. The landlord acted appropriately by adding her kitchen to its refresh programme in light of the issues it found during its survey as, while there was no immediate health and safety concerns regarding its condition, it following its more recent assessment, it had determined that it now warranted inclusion into its next upcoming refresh programme.
  4. The landlord’s void standard policy, under section 7.1, states that in order for the resident’s kitchen to be in line with the with Decent Homes Standard, the kitchen should be reasonably modern or 20 years old or less.
  5. According to the Decent Home Standard, a kitchen should be renewed if either of two conditions are present:
    1. The kitchen is in “poor condition”, which is defined under Annex A as, where a kitchen needs major repair or replacement of three out of six of the following:
      1. Cold water drinking supply.
      2. Hot water.
      3. Sink.
      4. Cooking provision.
      5. Cupboards.
      6. Worktop.
    2. The kitchen is not reasonably moder. Reasonably modern is defined as 20 years old or less, under section 5.17 of the Decent Homes Standard.
  6. The local authority has stated that its surveyor had assessed that minor repairs were needed in the resident’s kitchen, and the kitchen was also less than 20 years old. Therefore, its decision not to renew the resident’s kitchen, before the landlord’s refresh programme in 2023, was reasonable, because the kitchen was not in poor condition and was reasonably modern under the Decent Home Standard, and also in line with the landlord’s voids standard policy.
  7. The local authority also acted appropriately when it decided to carry out repairs to the kitchen where it had identified defects, in order to maintain her kitchen to a reasonable condition and allow her to use it appropriately until the renewal could be carried out by the landlord.
  8. The landlord, in its complaint response to the resident, appropriately acknowledged it had initially failed to advise the resident that her kitchen was not eligible for renewal at the time of her request and it acted reasonably by apologising for this. It acknowledged that had it initially given her the correct advise, the process of carrying out repairs would have been undertaken more promptly, rather than the situation being delayed until she felt she needed to make a formal complaint. In recognition of this failing, it awarded her £180 compensation. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, this was an appropriate response by the landlord and, along with the apology and offer to carry out kitchen repairs ahead of a full renewal, constituted reasonable redress in the circumstances. 

Determination

  1. Under paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about its handling of the resident’s request to renew her kitchen satisfactorily.

Reasons

  1. The landlord acted reasonably by carrying out a new survey of the kitchen following the resident’s complaint and agreeing to include her property in its upcoming renewal programme. Although it acknowledged the resident’s desire for the kitchen to be renewed sooner, it acted reasonably by recommending repairs to the defects it identified ahead of the planned renewal. It also acted reasonably by acknowledging the fact it initially gave inaccurate advice that would have delayed potential repairs. It acted appropriately by offering an apology and a reasonable level of compensation for the failings it identified.