Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (202319777)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202319777

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

07 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of issues with her heating and hot water.
The Ombudsman has also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident has been a secure tenant of the landlord, a local authority, since 2015. The property is a 1–bedroom, second floor flat. The landlord has no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
On 31 October 2022 the landlord raised a works order to replace the taps on the basin, bath and kitchen in the resident’s property. The resident had reported issues with her hot water cutting out when she turned the cold-water tap on. Between this date and 8 December 2022, the landlord’s operatives attended the property on at least 4 occasions to investigate the issue and attempt to make some repairs.
On 8 December 2022 the resident raised a complaint. She said the landlord’s operatives had cancelled several appointments. She said she had taken time off work to stay in for the appointments and the issue with her hot water remained unresolved.
On the same date the resident reported that the radiator in her bedroom was not generating enough heat for the room. Over the next 2 weeks she continued to report both issues. The landlord attended the property on at least 2 further occasions to investigate.
On 21 December 2022 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said:
1. it understood that the resident had wanted her heating and hot water repaired. She had raised the complaint due to this and several cancelled appointments.
2. it acknowledged that the issue had taken too long to resolve but it had now completed repairs.
3. the contractor service was new. The landlord was trying to find the best ways of working to manage issues better in future.
4. it offered the resident £200 compensation for delays and cancelled appointments, in line with its compensation policy.
The resident continued to report hot water and heating problems. On 2 February 2023 the resident told the landlord she had not received a stage 1 complaint response. In response, the landlord re-sent this. Between February 2023 and June 2023 several appointments took place in which the landlord continued to try to resolve the issue. In June 2023 the landlord installed a new boiler, re-wired the thermostat and renewed the taps in the property.
On 19 July 2023 the resident escalated her complaint. She said although the issue had now been resolved, she felt the landlord had not fully considered the impact of the disruption on her life, including the fact she had taken time off work.
The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 28 July 2023. It upheld her complaint. It said:
1. it had successfully completed repairs in June 2023, 6 months from the stage 1 complaint response. It acknowledged this was a long amount of time to complete repairs and apologised that the resident felt it necessary to escalate the complaint.
2. the reason for the delay was that it took a long time to establish what underlying problem was causing the issue. This meant the repairs were passed between the contractor and the responsive repair team.
3. there was also a delay between when it conducted a survey into the heating issues in March 2023 and when it installed the new boiler. This was due to challenges getting permission from neighbours to erect scaffolding.
4. in June 2023, after it had installed a new boiler, it had identified the problem as a water flow issue. This was an unusual fault, which contributed to the delay.
5. it agreed with the resident that the £200 offered at stage 1 was not proportionate to the distress caused. It offered an increased compensation amount of £455 in recognition of this.
The resident contacted this Service in September 2023. She said that she had to sleep in the living room for a period because her bedroom was so cold. She said she had to miss work to stay in for multiple appointments and the issue took a long time to resolve. To resolve her complaint, she is seeking a higher amount of compensation.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of issues with her heating and hot water

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a duty on landlords to make full, effective and lasting repairs once it is given notice of disrepair. They must keep in repair and working order, the installations for the supply of gas and electricity, water and sanitation and space heating and heating water.
The landlord’s repairs policy states that, on first contact, a resident will be given an appointment slot and a completion date. For more complex or specialist repairs, a surveyor may need to visit the property. It says it will provide updates to residents, including copies of survey reports. It states that, if it is running late, it will phone ahead and let the resident know and that it will honour appointments made with residents. Its repair timescales are outlined as follows:
1. critical – 4 hours
2. emergency – 24 hours
3. urgent – within 5 working days
4. routine – within 20 working days
5. planned – within 90 working days.
The landlord’s compensation policy in place from April 2023 states that the compensation award range for high impact to a resident is between £374.50 to £535. This is where there is a serious failure in service standards. This could include the severity of an event, a persistent failure over a long period, or an unacceptable number of attempts to resolve and address a complaint.
The compensation policy also states that, barring exceptional circumstances, a flat payment of £21.40 per appointment will be paid where its operatives or contractors fail to attend an agreed appointment, arrive late to an appointment by two hours or more, or cancel an appointment giving less than 24 hours’ notice. Where there are multiple missed appointments in relation to the same repair, the flat payment will be increased to £42.80 with respect to the 2nd and subsequent missed appointments.
An initial service request was raised on 31 October 2022 to replace the taps on the resident’s basin, baths and kitchen. On 2 November 2022 a plumber attended the property and found no issues with her taps or the water pressure and concluded that the problem of inconsistent hot water must be due to a fault with the resident’s boiler. A second contractor attended on 4 November 2022 and found no problems with the boiler. It was reasonable that the landlord sent different specialist contractors to try to diagnose the reported issue.
Between 7 November 2022 and 8 December 2022, 4 further inspections took place in which engineers and plumbers attended to investigate the hot water. Contractors completed some minor repairs and issued advice to the resident. Although the cause was not correctly identified at this stage, the landlord went to lengths throughout this period to try to put things right for the resident, which was in line with its repair obligations.
On 8 December 2022 the resident raised a complaint. She said the landlord had not resolved the problem. On this date, she also raised a service request in relation to the radiator in her bedroom not generating enough heat. In response, the landlord phoned her to clarify the complaint aspects and raised further inspections of both the hot water and the heating in her bedroom. This was an appropriate response.
It is important to note that accurate record keeping is essential and helps ensure landlords meet their repair obligations. It ensures residents receive accurate information. As a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord also has an obligation to provide this Service with sufficient information to enable a thorough investigation.
The landlord has provided this Service with records of jobs raised, appointments attended and some communication with the resident. However, the records do not show how it categorised repairs, when it confirmed appointment times to the resident, nor whether any of the these were missed or late, with any associated reasoning.
Given that a central aspect of the resident’s complaint is about the impact of missed appointments, the limited records provided by the landlord has made it difficult to determine whether its actions were fair and reasonable in the circumstances. Additionally, without evidence of categorisation of its repairs, we cannot assess whether it adhered to the time limits set out in its repairs policy. These are record keeping failures by the landlord.
In December 2022 the resident twice raised the same repairs after the landlord’s operatives had attended and found no problems with her heating and hot water. It is fair for a landlord to rely on the advice of a contractor or specialist in deciding whether to close a repair. However, the level of disruption for the resident since she first reported the repairs was significant and beyond the routine 20 days for a repair completion outlined in the repairs policy. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have considered a full survey or whether further works, such as a replacement of the boiler/tap system, was required to try to make a final and lasting repair to put things right for the resident at this stage.
On 21 December 2022 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It acknowledged that it had delayed in completing the repairs and said it had now resolved the issue. In recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by delays and missed appointments, it offered the resident £200 compensation. It was reasonable that the landlord accepted responsibility, apologised to the resident and offered financial redress to try to put things right for her.
It also explained that the delays were in part due to a new working relationship between the contractor and the landlord. It said it would consider her complaint as part of their feedback in trying to improve the working relationship in future. This was in keeping with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principle to learn from outcomes.
However, the resident had already raised another service request in respect of her inconsistent hot water in the days before the stage 1 response was issued. This meant the landlord had not put things right for the resident, despite its assertion that the repairs were completed in the stage 1 response. This reflects poor record keeping by the landlord and likely led to frustration for the resident, who had to keep reporting repair issues.
In response to the resident’s service request in December 2022, an engineer attended the property on 10 January 2023. They found no problem with the radiator, hot water or the boiler. The operative found that heat loss in the bedroom was likely caused by single panel doors and windows. The operative also repaired the seals around the windows. The poor record keeping has limited this Service’s ability to assess whether the landlord acted in accordance with the timelines provided in its repairs policy. However, it was appropriate and in line with its repair obligations that the landlord assessed the heat retention in the bedroom to address the reported heat loss.
There is no evidence that the landlord raised follow-on works as a result of this visit. The resident had to chase the landlord on 16 February 2023 for clarity on when she would be issued with a new boiler and larger radiator. She said she had been promised these in January 2023. That the resident had to contact the landlord to request a repair plan was unreasonable.
The landlord responded on the same day to apologise for its poor communication and said it would provide clarity on its repair actions. This was a timely and appropriate response in the circumstances.
A visit was booked with the resident, and an operative attended the property as planned on 21 February 2023. The outcome of the visit was that a new radiator would be ordered, and the landlord would confirm with the resident whether she would be provided with an updated boiler. The resident had a single point of contact with the landlord and communication around this visit was clear, which was reasonable.
However, there was then a further unexplained gap in the landlord taking action between 21 February 2023 and 23 March 2023. On 23 March 2023 a job was raised for a survey to be undertaken at the property. On 24 March 2023 a survey was completed. There is no evidence of the survey report, or any specific follow-on works within the landlord’s records. Additionally, there is no evidence the resident was provided with a copy of the survey report, which was a failing when assessed against the repairs policy.
Sometime in April 2023, the landlord decided it would install a new boiler at the property. The records do not show when this decision was communicated to the resident, and she was not at this stage given a date for installation. This was unreasonable.
A further delay of over 5 weeks took place after the survey. The landlord installed the new boiler and replaced the bedroom radiator on 2 June 2023. Throughout April and May 2023 the resident asked for clarification on timescales for completion of the repairs at least 3 times. During this period the landlord was responsive to the resident and would often agree to update her within set timescales.
However, the records show that internal communication between the landlord’s teams and contractors was disorganised and the responsibility for updating the resident was often unclear. This meant the landlord would often fail to update the resident within the timescales agreed. This led to frustration for the resident and was a failing when assessed against the landlord’s repairs policy.
The records show that the delay between March and June 2023 was due to the landlord having to negotiate with the resident’s neighbours to erect required scaffolding. This delay was unavoidable and cannot be attributed to the landlord. However, the landlord could have been clearer with the resident at an earlier date about the reason for the delay, as this would have better managed her expectations.
On 9 June 2023 after the installation of the new boiler, the resident reported the same issue with the hot water tap. The landlord raised a works order on the same day. It contacted the resident on 13 June 2023 to apologise that she was still having issues and arranged an appointment for 16 June 2023 to inspect the issue. This was a reasonable response from the landlord.
On 16 June 2023 operatives could not source the problem. On 21 June 2023 a plumber identified the cause of the hot water problem as a pressure flow issue with the cold tap. On 28 June 2023 the landlord repaired the pressure issue and on 30 June 2023 the taps were renewed. It took 8 months to satisfactorily complete the repair. This was outside the timescales for repairs set out in the landlord’s repairs policy.
This Service acknowledges that it can sometimes take several visits to establish the cause of an issue. However, 8 months was a substantial delay when assessed against the landlord’s policies. While the resident still had access to heating and hot water, she reported significant impact from the disruption caused by the number of repair requests raised, the frequency of appointments and the time she had to take off work.
The resident escalated her complaint in July 2023. In the stage 2 response, the landlord provided a clear and accountable explanation for the delays. It upheld the resident’s complaint and offered her a ‘high impact’ compensation payment of £455 in line with its compensation policy. This was a reasonable attempt at being fair and putting things right for the resident.
Though the compensation offer was in recognition of the resident’s time and trouble, the landlord did not specifically mention the impact of the number of appointments on the resident, nor the time she had to take off work. Had it done this, the resident may not have felt it necessary to escalate her complaint to this Service.
In conclusion we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of issues with her heating and hot water. This is because:
1. its record keeping was poor in relation to:
  1. the resident’s service requests.
  2. the categorisation of repairs and agreed timescales.
  3. missed appointments.
2. of its failure to pro-actively monitor the effectiveness of repair attempts, to reduce the burden of re-raising the repair on the resident.
3. the compensation offered to the resident was not quite proportionate to the impact caused by the failings identified in our investigation.
We have ordered the landlord to apologise to the resident and to pay a further £150. This is in addition to the £455 offered within the internal complaints procedure in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the failings identified. We also recommend the landlord review its record keeping in this case to see how it might prevent similar failings happening in future.

The landlord’s handling of the complaint

The landlord’s complaints policy states it will respond at stage 1 of its complaints process within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20 working days. The policy is compliant with the Complaints Handling Code (the Code).
The resident raised her complaint on 8 December 2022 in person. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response less than 10 working days later, which was appropriate and in line with the timescales outlined in the policy.
On 16 February 2023 the resident told the landlord she had not received the stage 1 response. Though it is possible that the resident may not have received the email, having reviewed the records, it is clear that the landlord did send the stage 1 complaint response in December 2022 to the resident’s correct email address. This was not a failing when assessed against its policy.
The landlord re-sent the stage 1 complaint response in February 2023 and checked with the resident to ensure it had her correct contact details and that she received it. It acted appropriately in response to her request.
On 19 July 2023 the resident escalated her complaint. The landlord acknowledged her escalation request and issued its final stage 2 response within the timescales outlined in the code. This was reasonable.
This Service has therefore found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlords handling of the resident’s reports of issues with her heating and hot water.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was no maladministration the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

Within 28 days of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. provide a written apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
2. pay the resident compensation of £605 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident from the failures identified. The landlord can deduct the £455 offered within the internal complaints procedure if it can evidence that this has already been paid.
3. provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the landlord review its record keeping in this case, with a focus on service requests and missed appointments. It should reflect on how to reduce the likelihood of similar failings happening in the future.