Eastbourne Borough Council (202330568)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202330568

Eastbourne Borough Council

28 May 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 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 regarding the maintenance of shrubs and a wall at the side of his property.

Background

2. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, a council. The property is a one-bedroom maisonette. Records provided by the landlord show the resident’s tenancy started in 2015. The landlord has provided a template introductory/secure tenancy agreement that states an introductory tenancy becomes a secure tenancy after one year.
3. During a call with the landlord on 30 August 2022 the resident raised a formal complaint about its maintenance of shrubs in the communal area (at the side of the property). The resident said:
   1. Ever since the landlord replaced the wall (to the side of the property) with a lower one, the shrubs grow over it and cause issues.
   2. He had regularly called the landlord asking for the shrubs to be pruned. He was “not getting anywhere” when he called and felt he had not been treated respectfully.
   3. He had not had a call from anyone despite the landlord being aware he was dyslexic and could not read and write.
   4. He asked for the landlord to maintain or remove the shrubs. If it could not do this, he asked for it to restore the wall to the original height.
4. In the landlord’s stage 1 response of 6 September 2022 it upheld the complaint and:
   1. Acknowledged the resident had made a report relating to the shrubs at the side of his garden needing pruning as they had grown over the wall. It had misunderstood his request to be related to an issue affecting the pavements which it had passed to the council to deal with and closed his report.
   2. Apologised and said it had now asked for the shrubs to be cut back as soon as possible.
   3. Confirmed there was an alert on his contact record to say he preferred telephone communication (as a result of his learning disability).
   4. Offered £50 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.
5. The resident complained again on 22 September 2023, saying the landlord had previously told him when it reduced the height of the wall (in 2018) that it would maintain the shrubs twice a year. He asked the landlord to keep to its promise or, if that was not possible, to rebuild the wall. He also raised an issue concerning growth from a tree stump next to his path which he said was a health and safety concern.
6. Following a surveyor’s visit on 11 October 2023 the landlord provided a stage 2 response on 19 October 2023. This stated:
   1. The surveyor found that, while the height of the wall was reduced when it was rebuilt 5 years ago, there were no safety concerns with the wall.
   2. The shrubs adjacent to the wall at the side of the property were inspected in August 2023 and trimmed back.
   3. Its maintenance team had advised that shrubs/hedges were cut back once a year and this was explained to the resident on 20 September 2023. The maintenance for all types of shrubs across its land had been changed, predominantly due to concerns about nesting birds. 
   4. The surveyor had also inspected the tree stump due to the resident’s concerns about regrowth, and had arranged for it to be removed completely. This should therefore no longer be causing any concerns.
   5. Under the tenancy agreement, the resident had a duty to maintain his garden.
7. The resident told us in November 2023 that he was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of his reports about maintenance of shrubs and a wall at the side of the property.

Assessment and findings

8. Under the tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for maintaining communal areas. This is echoed in the landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy which confirms it is responsible for communal spaces and gardens.
9. The resident called the landlord several times in the 5 months prior to his formal complaint of August 2022 to report overgrown vegetation in and around the property. However, the landlord’s records show most of these were recorded as relating to cracks in the pavement and an overgrown grass area in front of the property. The landlord passed these reports to its ground maintenance team to action or to the council (in relation to cracks on the pavement). It explained this to the resident in its stage 1 response, apologising for any “misunderstanding” regarding reports being about shrubs it was responsible for. It said the officer who was responsible for managing its contractors had asked for the shrubs to be cut back “as soon as possible”.
10. Its response and promise to action the resident’s report about overgrown shrubs, was reasonable. Particularly as its records show the resident only reported overgrown shrubs during the week or so before his formal complaint. The landlord also offered the resident £50 compensation for any inconvenience or distress the situation had caused him. This is evidence of the landlord acting in accordance with our dispute resolution principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
11. At this stage, the landlord should also have provided the resident with a timeframe for when the work would be completed and the substantive issues resolved. It did not do this, which meant it did not effectively manage the resident’s expectations or resolve the issues at the earliest opportunity.  
12. The landlord raised a job for the pruning of the shrubs at the time of its complaint response although it is unclear from its records when this job was completed. However, there is no evidence of any further reports from the resident over the next few months. This indicates the landlord kept its promise to cut back the shrubs within a reasonable timeframe.
13. According to the landlord’s records, the resident next reported overgrown shrubs on 26 July 2023. Following this the landlord’s neighbourhood first operational manager (NM) visited the property on 10 August 2023 to inspect the shrubs. The shrubs were considered “fine” although during this visit they cut away “a bit of” shrubbery that was hanging over the path. The landlord also inspected a stump from a tree that had previously been chopped down due to roots causing a hazard on the resident’s pathway. As the resident was now concerned about regrowth from the stump causing a trip hazard, the landlord arranged for its removal (carried out in September 2023).
14. By carrying out this inspection and taking action to address the resident’s concerns about overgrown shrubs and a resprouting tree trump, the landlord’s approach was reasonable. It shows it took the resident’s concerns seriously and was proactive about finding a satisfactory resolution.
15. However, the resident called again on 8 and 31 August 2023 and 15 September 2023 to report shrubs were now hanging over the wall onto the pathway to his property. He mentioned he was previously told by the landlord (in 2018 when it rebuilt the wall) that these shrubs would be maintained/trimmed every 6 months.
16. The NM called the resident on 20 September 2023 to advise the contract for maintaining shrubs and hedges was for them to be cut back once a year. Two days later, the resident raised a complaint about the landlord’s insufficient maintenance of the shrubs and explained his desired outcomes. In response, the surveyor attended in October 2023 and found there to be no issues.
17. In the landlord’s stage 2 response, it explained that, while the wall was lower (by 3 courses of bricks), it was still in good condition with no defects. Therefore, it said it would be unable to rebuild the wall to a higher level as per his request. As there were no issues with the wall, and the resident’s request stemmed only from his belief that a higher wall would stop the shrubs growing over it, the landlord’s response was reasonable.
18. Regarding the shrubs adjacent to the wall, the landlord reiterated that these were cut back once a year. It explained that previously it had been twice a year but this had recently changed for “all types of shrubs” predominantly due to concerns about nesting birds.
19. During its investigation of the complaint, the landlord confirmed shrubs were now maintained once a year. However, it has not provided us with any clear policies or procedures around estate management, which confirm this is the expected level of maintenance. It also failed to reference the relevant policy in its complaint response or signpost the resident to information in support of its reasons for maintaining shrubs less frequently. This would have been appropriate and may have enabled it to better manage the resident’s expectations around the issue. Therefore, while we recognise that it may be appropriate for the landlord to limit its pruning schedule in this way, it was a failing that it did not adequately justify this position to the resident, or us.
20. In identifying whether there has been maladministration, we consider both the events which initially prompted a complaint and the landlord’s response to those events. The extent to which a landlord has recognised and addressed any shortcomings and the appropriateness of any steps taken to offer redress are therefore as relevant as the original mistake or service failure. We will not make a finding of maladministration where the landlord has fully acknowledged any failings and taken reasonable steps to resolve them.
21. Considering the full circumstances of the case, and in consultation with our remedies guidance, the landlord’s apology, compensation offer, and specific action taken are considered reasonable. Therefore, the landlord has offered reasonable redress to the resident for its response to his reports about the maintenance of shrubs. A recommendation is made for the landlord to pay the resident the £50 compensation, if not done so already. The reasonable redress finding is made on the basis of this sum being paid, as it recognised genuine elements of service failure by the landlord. 
22. We note the landlord confirmed to the resident during the complaints process that it had an alert on his contact record stating his preferred method of contact was telephone communication (due to his learning disability). This is in line with its duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments and was, therefore, appropriate. However, in its stage 2 response the landlord did not confirm, as it had in its previous responses, that it would call the resident to explain the findings of its investigation. Therefore, we recommend that the landlord should ensure when writing to the resident, that it also phones him to verbally inform him of the contents of any written communication. 
23. Further, the landlord recently told us on 22 May 2025 that the shrubs that were the subject of the resident’s complaint were considered ‘medium-frequency’. It said they were checked for maintenance twice a year so weeds were kept under control but they usually only needed pruning once a year. As this appears to adopt a different position to the one advised in the stage 2 response, a recommendation is made for the landlord to provide an update to the resident regarding the frequency of checks to maintain the shrubs.

Determination

24. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, the landlord offered reasonable redress in its response to the resident’s reports regarding the maintenance of shrubs and a wall at the side of the property.

Recommendations

25. We recommend that the landlord:
    1. If not already done so, pays the resident the £50 compensation offered during the complaints process.
    2. Ensures that it always confirms when writing to the resident, that it also phones him to verbally inform him of the contents of its written communication. 
    3. Provide an update to the resident regarding the frequency of checks to maintain the shrubs.