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Southern Housing (202325589)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202325589

Southern Housing

23 July 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 handling of:
    1. Repairs to the door intercom system at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of the property, and the landlord is the freeholder. The resident’s property is a second-floor flat.
  2. The landlord’s records from January 2022 state that the door intercom system at the property was not working.
  3. In May 2022, the landlord told the resident that it would carry out a consultation, as it planned to upgrade the intercom system for all the flats on the estate.
  4. In December 2022, the resident contacted the landlord for an update on the intercom system repair, and he was told the landlord had made no progress with the consultation or replacing the intercom system.
  5. On 5 January 2023, the landlord contacted the resident and explained it planned to send out the section 20 consultation notice within the next 10 working days.
  6. On 4 February 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and submitted his complaint. He stated the intercom system at his flat had not been working for over a year. The resident explained the landlord confirmed it would start the section 20 consultation process to replace the intercom system but did not follow through with this.
  7. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 29 March 2023. It explained the door intercom system was not repairable due to the required components being obsolete. The landlord stated it had agreed to replace the entire door intercom system at a substantial cost, and due to this, it was required to complete a section 20 consultation. It acknowledged there was a delay with the section 20 notice and, to avoid any further delays, it had fast–tracked the order for the new intercom system. The landlord confirmed it planned to install the new door intercom system by 14 April 2023.
  8. On 25 April 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of its complaints process. He stated the landlord did not resolve the door intercom system issue within the timescale it agreed, and he explained the door intercom system was still not working.
  9. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 21 June 2023. It apologised for the time taken to repair the faulty intercom system and acknowledged there were several delays. The landlord stated its contractor attended to complete works on the intercom system. The landlord offered the resident £645 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in repairing the intercom system. It also confirmed it would not charge any service charges for the door intercom works from 5 June 2022 onwards.

 

  1. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated he would like the intercom system fixed and for the landlord to evidence that it had completed learnings from its delay in repairing the intercom system.
  2. The resident informed the Ombudsman in April 2025 that the door intercom system had been fixed in March 2025.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident mentioned as part of his complaint that the issue with the door intercom system had been ongoing for several years. Whilst this gives context to the current complaint, we have not included this in our investigation because this was several years before the events leading to the resident’s current complaint. In view of the time periods involved in this case and considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this report will not consider any specific events approximately more than 12 months prior to when the resident submitted his complaint to the landlord in February 2023. This is because paragraph 42.C. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (available on our website), explains that this service may not investigate complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within 12 months of the matters arising.

Repairs to the door intercom system at the resident’s property.

  1. The resident’s lease agreement states that the landlord is responsible for the structure of the building. The landlord is responsible for repairing the door intercom system and accepted responsibility for this.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy explains when it is responsible for repairs to communal areas and facilities, it will aim to complete these repairs as quickly as possible. The policy states communal repairs include repairs to entrances, halls, lifts and passageways.
  3. In addition, the landlord’s repairs policy states it will respond to an emergency repair within 6 hours and for a non-emergency repair it will arrange an appointment as soon as possible.
  4. The Ombudsman has noted from the landlord’s records for contextual reasons that the landlord previously carried out repairs to the intercom system in the year 2020 and 2021. However, the repairs did not permanently fix the intercom system. 
  5. In January 2022, the landlord’s contractor confirmed that the door intercom system was not working. The notes from the landlord’s repair log state that there was no audio or speech from the intercom and the resident could not buzz anyone in the building. There was a delay in the landlord carrying out any works to the intercom system due to the landlord’s contractor recommending that the intercom system be replaced, as previous repairs carried out to the intercom did not resolve the issue.
  6. We acknowledge the landlord explained to the resident that part of the delay was due to the landlord being required to issue a section 20 notice to leaseholders of the building due to the expected value of the intercom replacement. We recognise the landlord was required to follow this process. However, we would have expected the landlord to carry out the section 20 consultation within a reasonable timeframe and keep the resident updated on this.
  7. In May 2022, the landlord told the resident it planned to conclude the section 20 process by the end of July 2022. However, the section 20 consultation process remained outstanding after this date and the landlord failed to keep the resident updated and provide reasons for the delay, which was unreasonable.
  8. The resident contacted the landlord in December 2022 and January 2023 for an update on the section 20 consultation and intercom replacement. Initially, the resident’s repair contractor stated a work order had been raised to replace the intercom system. However, shortly after, the landlord explained this was incorrect and on 5 January 2023 stated it would send out a section 20 notice to leaseholders within the next 10 working days. The landlord failed to do this, and, due to this, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord.
  9. It is positive that the landlord acknowledged in its stage 1 complaint response that there had been delays in completing the section 20 consultation and replacing the intercom system. Due to the delays, the landlord confirmed it would fast track the order for intercom parts and confirmed it planned to install the new intercom system by 14 April 2023. However, the landlord failed to replace the intercom system as agreed. The Ombudsman recognises it would have been frustrating for the resident to have the intercom system repair outstanding for such a considerable period of time.
  10. The landlord took appropriate steps by apologising for the delays in repairing the intercom system in its stage 2 complaint sent to the resident in June 2023. Also, it offered the resident £645 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays. The amount of compensation offered by the landlord complies with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance (published on our website), which sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation. The remedies guidance suggests awards of £600 to £1000 where there has been a serious failure by the landlord, which had a significant impact on the resident. In addition to the compensation offered for distress and inconvenience, the landlord explained it would not charge any service charges for the door intercom works from 5 June 2022 onwards until the intercom had been repaired. This was a reasonable step by the landlord.
  11. The landlord also confirmed in its stage 2 complaint response that the door intercom system had been fixed. However, shortly after, the resident contacted the landlord explaining the intercom had been replaced, but the remaining works to connect it to the properties were outstanding, so the intercom was still not working. The landlord’s failure to complete all the required works to get the intercom system working was unreasonable.
  12. The landlord’s contractor carried out works on the intercom system between August 2023 and February 2024. However, the works did not resolve the repair issue with the intercom system. The landlord’s contractor completed a survey of the door intercom system in April 2024 and recommended a part replacement and system upgrade. At the end of April 2024, the landlord’s contractor carried out further works on the intercom system. However, its contractor required access to all properties within the block to replace handsets connected to the intercom. We recognise, it may have been difficult for the landlord to access all the properties in the block to carry out this work. However, we would have expected the landlord to keep the resident updated with the progress of the works and the reasons for the delay. There is no evidence the landlord did this.
  13. The resident confirmed the intercom system was repaired and in working order at the end of March 2024. Overall, the length of time it took the landlord to repair the intercom system and its lack of communication with the resident was unreasonable. However, the overall compensation offered by the landlord to the resident, which included £645 compensation for distress and inconvenience and confirmation that it would not charge any service charges for the door intercom works from 5 June 2022 onwards until the intercom had been repaired, was sufficient. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the delay and distress and inconvenience on the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress in this case. However, we recommend the landlord reviews the resident’s case to identify any areas for improvement with a focus on its delay in its completion of repairs to the door intercom system and lack of communication with the resident.

The associated complaint.

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales referenced in the Code.
  2. The resident submitted his complaint to the landlord on 4 February 2023. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 29 March 2023. It took the landlord around 37 working days to provide its stage 1 complaint response. The response was late and not compliant with the 10-working day timescale referenced within the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. On 25 April 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. There was a delay in the landlord providing its stage 2 complaint response. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 21 June 2023, which was approximately 19 working days late. This would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as he was delayed in progressing his complaint to the Ombudsman because he needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service.
  4. Although there were delays by the landlord in providing its complaint responses. The overall compensation offered in the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response, which included £645 compensation and not to charge any service charges for the door entry works from 5 June 2022 onwards, was sufficient to recognise the complaint handling delays. In addition, the compensation offered complies with the Ombudsman’s Remedies guidance referenced above. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the delay on the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress for this aspect of the complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the concerns about repairs to the door intercom system at the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the concerns about the landlord’s complaint handling satisfactorily.

Recommendations

  1. We recommend the landlord pay the resident its original offer of £645 compensation offered during its complaint process and as previously agreed, ensure no service charges were charged for the door intercom works from 5 June 2022 up to the completion of the repair, if it has not already done so. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress is based on the understanding that the compensation will be paid and no service charges for door intercom works will be charged.
  2. We recommend that the landlord review the resident’s case and identify any areas for improvement with a focus on its delays with the completion of repairs to the door intercom system. In addition, it should also focus on its lack of communication with the resident about the repairs and look at ways of preventing similar situations from occurring in the future.