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REPORT COMPLAINT 202204415 London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) 13 February 2025 Our approach The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the […]
The complaint is about: The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of roof leaks affecting her loft and kitchen ceiling, including the landlord’s communication. The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.
The resident’s complaint was about: The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of issues in relation to her heating and hot water systems in terms of and including the resident’s distress and inconvenience, missed appointments delays, and the vulnerability of the household. The landlord’s complaint handling. On 17 January 2023, according to the landlord’s internal records, the resident reported that it was an “old school boiler system”. She had been without heating and hot water since the 25 December 2022. Repairs had been attempted. She had been provided with electrical heaters but was unable to use the gas cooker as well. This was incurring additional energy costs. The contractor was due to attend on 18 January 2023 with parts. The landlord logged this email as a complaint. The landlord acknowledged the complaint of the same day and described it as regarding no heating or hot water. On 22 February 2023, the landlord replied with its Stage 1 response as follows: t set out the repairs from the records: It had offered £90 for the missed appointments of 25, 26 and 28 December 2022 and the contractor would compensate for the cancelled appointment on 15 February 2023. It also offered £392.48 as follows: No heating and hot water for 38 days from 25 December 2022 to 31 January 2023 - £152. No hot water for 20 days from 1 February 2023 to 20 February 2023 - £40 Inconvenience and distress - £50. Electric reimbursement for 38 days from 25 December 2022 to 31 January 2023 - £150.48. On 14 April 2023, the resident’s solicitors wrote to the landlord with a pre-action protocol letter for disrepair. This set out a number of issues of disrepair and included: The boiler leak of 25 December 2022. The resident had had had no heating or hot water from 25 December 2022 to 21 February 2023. The immersion heater was repaired on Monday 20 February 2023. Until then, the immersion heater never worked at all. The resident had “only been able to use” the immersion heater since that date. A non-working radiator in one of the bedrooms. There was damp and mould in an attic area containing the water tank. The disrepair/housing conditions were causing a significant and imminent risk to the resident and her family’s health and safety. The resident’s expert surveyor inspected the property 6 June 2023. The report dated 13 September 2023 included the following repairs: The hallway radiator was working. A leak from the hot water cylinder/immersion heater. On the balance of probabilities, the radiator was not reaching the correct temperature as the room thermostat within the hallway was missing at the time of inspection. The boiler was repaired in March 2023 and was working correctly. Water pressure was dictated by the head of water above the highest point of the shower head which, in this instance, was the cold water storage tank which was located in an eaves storage cupboard on the floor above and was not considered to be a defect. A bedroom radiator was working. On 19 October 2023, the parties agreed the following: The landlord to pay the resident £3,250 in compensation in full and final settlement of disrepair/defects at the property to date. The landlord to complete all works set out in the report of 23 September 2023 within 90 days of the date of the agreement. On 7 February 2024, the landlord wrote to the resident as follows: It referred to the resident to this service, her solicitor and advice agency. It referred her to insurers to claim on health grounds or for damaged personal items. It referred her to her solicitors to address the central heating thermostat not having been replaced. The leak had stopped on the hot water cylinder. It would decorate where the plumber had sprayed dirty water up the wall. The plumber was going to return to the depot and state that you needed a new hot water cylinder. It awarded an additional £100 in vouchers. On 24 February 2024, the landlord replied with its Stage 2 response as follows: The issues were summarised as that it had taken “too long” to fix the issue which affected the resident’s heating and hot water. She was provided with temporary heaters but could not use the cooker, compensation was requested for the increase in electricity usage during the period the boiler was malfunctioning. It would consider the complaint handling, her time and effort in getting the repairs fixed, the inconvenience, distress, and any relevant service failure. It accepted that she had to wait a long time for the repairs to be completed in March 2023. Engineers attended up to October 2023 to complete follow-on works although some works were unrelated to this case, regarding the power to the cooker and no water pressure. However, some of these issues could have been caused by plumbing, leaks and faults to the electricity supply to the kitchen, boiler, thermostat, and hot water cylinder. Its Stage 2 response had been delayed due to a backlog. The contractors had confirmed that on 6 November 2023, the missing thermostat was replaced and the leak on the hot water cylinder was repaired and “possible replacement of vent valve”. There was no confirmation that the contractors installed a lid on the cold water tank in the loft. The resident would have been frustrated with missed appointments. It noted the impact of no hot water and heating and lack of bathing facilities. It had estimated running costs of temporary heaters for a period and the usage of extra utilities including water. It had suggested training to prevent similar service failures in the future. It referred her to advice for a move. It referred her to the report of 13 September 2023 in relation to the hallway radiator and other issues. In relation to use of personal items, such as towels to mop up leaks, it added compensation for loss of any items. It referred her to its insurers for larger items. It offered £2,334 consisting of: No hot water £124. No heating £90. Distress for failure to recognise the impact due to vulnerabilities £220. Inconvenience for failure to recognise the impact due to vulnerabilities £220. Time and effort getting the complaint resolved £220. Poor complaint handling £480. Missed appointments £80. Increase in electricity and water costs from December 2022 to February 2023 £200. Delay on repairs £600. Loss of personal items due to leaks £100. Leading up to this Second Stage response, the complaints officer had carried out a detailed investigation of the complaint, including with its legal team, and the contractors. The outcomes of those investigations were largely reflected in the Stage 2 response so are set out below. The internal emails at that period showed that the landlord’s compensation calculation took into account that there were children under 11 years of age in the home, that there were leaks and repairs not fixed for almost a year, and that the works were not completed from December 2022 to October 2023. It also noted that while the contractors had compensated for some missed appointments, over the period of the complaint and legal case, there were others.
The complaint is about the landlord’s: Response to the resident’s concerns in respect of moving to the property and the handling of repairs. Response to the resident’s reports of issues with the boiler. Knowledge and information management. Complaint handing.
The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of: Damp and mould. Repairs to a storage heater. Overcrowding in the property. His complaint.
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of: reports of anti-social behaviour, including noise nuisance and noise transference. the resident’s request for rehousing on medical grounds. the associated complaint.
The complaint is about the landlord’s: Handling of the resident’s transfer application. Complaint handling.
The complaint is about the landlord’s: Response to the resident’s concerns in respect of his rent arrears, including the support offered by the landlord and his concerns of discrimination. Complaint handling.
The complaint is about: The landlord’s response to the resident’s re-housing request. The landlord’s handling of repairs in the resident’s property. The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould. The landlord’s handling of reports of a silverfish infestation. The communication from the resident’s housing officer and general treatment by the landlord. The landlord’s handling of reports of discrimination by people in the local area. The landlord’s handling of complaints. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s record keeping.
The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of a reported leak from the roof and damage to his property from historic leaks.