The Guinness Partnership Limited (202310500)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202310500

The Guinness Partnership Limited

22 May 2024

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 refers to the landlord’s:
   1. Handling of a damp and mould in the property and water drainage in the shower.
   2. Complaint handling and compensation.

Background

2. The resident holds an assured tenancy with the landlord, which began on 31 May 2019. The resident lives in a 3 bed ground floor flat with his 3 children and his mother. The landlord has stated it has no vulnerabilities recorded. The evidence shows on 7 December 2022 the resident informed it of his mother’s breathing difficulties. The resident has informed this Service his 17 year old child has respiratory issues, and the resident has recently been diagnosed with apnoea for which he now has a machine to breathe at night.
3. The resident states he reported issues with the shower drainage from 2020. The evidence shows the damp and mould was reported on 16 November 2022 and he continues to report issues with his shower, and damp and mould.
4. The resident raised a complaint on 28 February 2023 due to the landlord’s poor communication around the repairs and delays around progressing repairs.
5. The landlord issued a stage 1 response on 2 May 2023 as follows:
   1. It upheld the complaint around repair delays for the shower drainage issue, the leak from the flat above and the damp and mould works. It said outstanding repairs were to be completed on 22 May 2023.
   2. It acknowledged its poor communication with the resident, who made numerous attempts to obtain updates from it. It accepted it failed to provide its response within its 10 day timeframe.
   3. It apologised for service failures and offered compensation of £250 (£125 for distress and inconvenience, £75 for poor communication and £50 for delays in the complaint response).
   4. It said it was working on a repairs service improvement plan to complete timely repairs and keep residents updated of repair progress.
6. The resident remained dissatisfied and escalated his complaint on 5 May 2023. The landlord issued a stage 2 response on 13 May 2023 as follows:
   1. It apologised for its stage 1 response being outside its 10 day timescale.
   2. It said reports from 2020 about the shower drain fell outside its investigation timeframe in line with its complaints policy. It apologised for the delays with the works and the inconvenience caused saying it was due to resolve the shower issues on 22 May 2023 after which it would check the works were completed. This complaint was upheld.
   3. It said it had not proactively addressed a leak which then delayed the damp and mould works. It completed mould treatment on 19 April 2023 and following a ventilation assessment on 5 May 2023, new bathroom and kitchen fans were due to be replaced on 12 June 2023. It apologised for repair delays and inconvenience caused and upheld this complaint.
   4. It apologised and upheld the complaint relating to its poor communication in providing updates and the delay with its stage 1 response. It said it had taken steps to improve its communication.
   5. It increased the compensation offer to £400 (£150 for repair delays, £100 for stress and inconvenience, £100 for its poor communication, and £50 for time and trouble).
   6. To help improve its service delivery and learn from its mistakes, it had fedback about the delays and poor communication.
7. The resident escalated his complaint to the Ombudsman on 23 June 2023 as he was dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the repairs, which he said were unresolved. He would like the landlord to resolve the repairs and to be compensated.
8. Since the involvement of this Service, the landlord wrote to the resident on 13 May 2024 saying it had further reviewed its handling of his complaint and identified failings in its service. It apologised and increased the compensation offer to £700 (£100 for complaint delays, £100 for its poor communication, and £500 for time, trouble, and inconvenience). It also set out the improvements it made to its complaints service.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

9. The resident stated in his complaint the issues which are the subject of his complaint go back a number of years (eg shower drainage since 2020). While neither this Service nor the landlord dispute that this may be the case, the scope of this investigation has been limited to considering matters raised in the 6 months prior to the resident making a formal complaint. This is in line with paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme and therefore this investigation will only consider matters since 27 August 2022 to the end of the landlord’s internal complaint process.  Relevant factors outside this period may however be referenced for contextual purposes. 

Damp and mould in the property and water drainage in the shower

10. The resident’s tenancy agreement obliges the landlord to maintain the property structure (eg internal walls, ceilings, and floors) and keep in repair and proper working order installations for sanitation.
11. The landlord’s responsive repairs policy reiterates its responsibility for maintaining the property structure and sets out 2 priorities for repairs:
    1. Emergency repairs (eg potential health and safety risk) within 24 hours.
    2. Routine repairs within 28 days (eg outside water affecting the “fabric of the building”)
12. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states it aims to resolve damp and mould in a “timely and effective way” and will maintain regular communication with residents including the “timetabling of works”. It states in some circumstances it will undertake a risk assessment which will support further action including the provision of dehumidifiers. It states it will make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.
13. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the landlord to keep in repair the structure of the property, including the internal walls, ceilings, and plasterwork. The landlord must complete repairs within a reasonable time.
14. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is concerned with avoiding or minimising potential hazards, which are a health and safety risk to residents. The landlord has a responsibility to keep a property free from category 1 hazards, which includes damp and mould. The possible health effects are identified as including breathing difficulties caused by mould and anxiety.

Damp and mould

15. The evidence shows delays addressing the damp and mould from the outset. The resident made his first report of damp and mould on 16 November 2022, but due to 2 missed appointments by the landlord on 22 November and 2 December 2022, the report was only first investigated on 5 December 2022. The missed visits built in a 9 day delay into the repair resolution.
16. Opportunities to take proactive action were missed. On 5 December 2022, it identified a leak from the flat above his, albeit not ongoing, and the bathroom ventilation needed to be investigated by a specialist contractor. While the leak was not continuing at the initial visit, the resident reported it again on 19 January 2023 and a plasterer visit on 23 January 2023 was cancelled due to the damp walls. The resident rang the landlord 3 more times about it before his formal complaint on 28 January 2023. The evidence shows it contacted him about the leak on 23 March 2023 and arranged to investigate the leak in the flat above his on 6 April 2023. This meant it was 9 weeks before the landlord responded to his January 2023 report and 11 weeks before it acted to investigate the source of the leak, which was outside its routine repairs timeframe and caused avoidable delays to the resolution of the damp and mould.
17. After, the source of the leak was not traced on the visit of 6 April, a mould wash took place on 19 April 2023.  This was some 5 months after the resident’s initial report.
18. Following the December 2022 visit, a works order was raised for a ventilation contractor on 7 December 2022. Following the resident’s complaint, it was re-raised on 28 April 2023 to consider the damp and mould along with ventilation fans. The evidence does not show the contractors visited the resident’s property prior to the work order being re-raised. The contractors visited on 5 May 2023 and while the evidence of the visit has not been provided, the wider correspondence shows there was no evidence of mould found at the time of the visit as the landlord had arranged a mould wash on 19 April 2023. The contractor recommended replacement bathroom and kitchen fans. Works were booked to replace the fans on 12 June 2023, however the works did not take place until 18 August 2023. There was a clear lack of repairs management oversight as shown by the original work order not being monitored to completion by the landlord. This then created unnecessary delays in addressing the issue. Overall, the damp and mould works were completed 9 months after the resident’s original report, which was significantly outside its policy timeframe. This was also not in line with its section 11 duty.
19. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states it may provide and fund dehumidifiers. The resident advised the landlord on 7 December 2022 that his mother had respiratory difficulties and was vulnerable. Despite this the evidence provided to this service does not show that a dehumidifier was considered. While the provision of a dehumidifier would not have resolved the underlying cause of the damp and mould, an opportunity to mitigate the impact on vulnerable household members was missed.
20. While it is accepted the evidence does not show a medical diagnosis of a disability for the resident’s mother, the information should have prompted the landlord to proactively consider prioritising the repairs given its policy statement to provide “healthy and safe homes”. The evidence does not show it considered expediting the repair.
21. The evidence shows the resident continues to report damp and mould issues and has informed this Service it is unresolved. The landlord in its letter of 13 May 2024 to the resident has said the damp and mould issue is the subject of a separate complaint.

Shower drainage

22. The resident reported issues with drainage in his shower on 16 December 2022. An inspection visit on 10 January 2023 by the landlord recommended contractors be engaged to renew the shower tray and cubical. Unacceptable delays arose after this recommendation with the works to resolve the drainage eventually taking place on 28 June 2023, which was 6 months after the resident’s initial report.
23. The landlord’s letter of 13 May 2023 stated the shower issues would be resolved at the next contractor’s visit, initially booked on 22 May 2023, but which took place on 28 June 2023. The contractor’s notes from the works conducted on 28 June 2023 indicate, “the vinyl will need to be replaced because I cannot put the plastic trim around the bottom of the shower tray as it is not meeting up correctly with it”. The evidence seen by this Service does not show the landlord addressed this defect in the shower installation works after its contractors note but does show the resident reporting leaks from the shower tray from July 2023 onwards. This Service has not been provided with the relevant evidence to confirm the shower repairs, including the identified defect, have been fully resolved. The lack of timely follow on action after the need to replace the vinyl was highlighted was a further missed opportunity to fully address the defect in a timely manner and rebuild trust with the resident.

Final assessment

24. The landlord’s communication with the resident was poor. The evidence shows while the resident requested updates, he was not responded to by the landlord. For example, there were at least 7 occasions after the December 2022 visit to the date of his formal complaint, when he requested updates. While there is evidence of an attempted call back on 9 February 2023, the evidence does not show the resident being updated by phone or in writing during this time. The landlord failed to act in line with its damp and mould policy commitment to “communicate with our residents clearly and regularly regarding any actions we plan to take”.
25. It is acknowledged at both complaint stages and the letter of 13 May 2024, the landlord has appropriately acknowledged failings, apologised for the impact on the resident, offered compensation and set out improvements to its service. However, it has failed to properly address or offer a remedy proportionate to the significant impact to the resident and his household, and the apology offered was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation examples of which include:
    1. Missed appointments at the end of 2022 by the landlord.
    2. The failure to follow up the ventilation contractor works order in December 2022.
    3. Not considering household vulnerabilities and mitigation actions.
    4. Absence of adequate oversight to ensure the effective and timely delivery of an enduring resolutions to the damp and mould and shower repairs.
26. The resident has told this Service he felt ignored, his mental health was impacted, and the landlord was “unhelpful” in its handling of his reports. The landlord’s failures extended over an unduly lengthy period. This was non-compliant with its own policies and its section 11 duty and resulted in avoidable detriment to the resident. The evidence provided indicates the resident reported damp and mould in his living room, toilet, bathroom, and a bedroom. The landlord has informed this Service the damp and mould issues are the subject of a current complaint. Overall, there was maladministration by the landlord.

Complaint handling and compensation

Complaint handling

27. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it operates a two-stage complaint process with responses being issued within 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2.
28. After acknowledging the resident’s complaint on 1 March 2023, the landlord’s stage 1 response was issued after 42 working days which was outside its policy timescales.
29. The landlord appropriately acknowledged the resident’s complaint by phone on 1 March 2023 when he was told to expect a response within 10 working days. His next contact about the complaint was another call on 23 March 2023 and then 4 further calls before the stage 1 response was issued and during which time he was not provided with or asked to agree a varied timeframe for the response. This was not in compliance with its complaints policy which states the original timeframe will only be exceeded by a further 10 days unless an additional extension is agreed.
30. The resident stated the issue with the shower dated back to 2020. The evidence does show a report made on 22 July 2020 which was remedied on 28 July 2020. The next report about the shower was on 16 December 2022. It was reasonable for the landlord to exclude matters over 6 months old from its stage 2 response in line with its policy as the passage of time means parties may not be able to recall events and relevant information may no longer be available to allow a comprehensive investigation.

Compensation

31. The landlord’s compensation policy sets out when it will pay compensation to a resident. Payments can be made as goodwill gestures for loss and damage as well as distress and inconvenience to recognise service delivery shortcomings. The guidance includes a table for payments for service failure with banded values from £250 to £700 upwards based on the impact on the resident.
32. The landlord appropriately reviewed and increased its compensation offer at various stages (eg stage 2 outcome and 13 May 2024) for its poor communication; complaint handling; time and trouble; and inconvenience. However, the evidence shows missed appointments (eg 22 November and 2 December 2022) but does not show it considered compensating the resident in line with its policy for them.
33. It is acknowledged the landlord’s actions in revising the offer to £700 was appropriate. However, the delay at stage 1 prevented the resident being able to exhaust its complaints process and refer to this Service. We have not seen evidence of the resident being provided with a varied stage 1 timeframe or explanations around the delays, which was unreasonable and unfair to him. While it apologised and offered compensation at both stage 1 and 2 for the delays and most recently in its letter of 13 May 2024, this has not been proportionate to the distress caused to the resident and its failure to proactively put him in the position he would have been in had the service failure not occurred. The resident has said he felt ignored and his mental health was impacted. Therefore, the Ombudsman finds maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling along with its response to his request for compensation.

Determination

34. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there has been:
35. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a damp and mould in the property and water drainage in the shower.
36. Maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling and the associated compensation offer.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

37. The landlord is ordered to take the following action within 4 weeks of the date of this report. The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence that it has complied with these orders:
    1. Pay the resident a total of £1250. The compensation must be paid to the resident and not offset against any debts owed to the landlord. This figure includes the landlord’s redress offer of £700 if it has not made this payment already. The compensation comprises:
       1. £1000 for its handling of damp and mould in the property and water drainage in the shower. This reflects the detriment to the resident in the form of frustration, distress, time and trouble, and inconvenience.
       2. £250 for its complaint handling and compensation offer. This reflects the detriment to the resident in the form of distress, time and trouble, and inconvenience.
    2. A senior officer, director level or above, to meet with the resident to apologise for the failures in its service. The landlord’s apology should:
       1. Acknowledge the failings identified.
       2. Accept responsibility for it.
       3. Where appropriate, include assurances that the same failings should not occur again and set out what steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence.
    3. Update its records to reflect the vulnerabilities in the resident’s household.
38. In accordance with paragraph 54(g) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord should undertake a senior management review of case and present the findings to its senior leadership team and this Service within 8 weeks. The review should consider:
    1. The learning from this case to ensure adequate management and oversight systems are in place and that any identified improvements are implemented, in its day to day operations, to include:
       1. Adherence to response timescales and the use of agreed extensions in line with its complaints policy.
       2. Review its damp and mould operational practices to ensure the offer and supply of dehumidifiers to residents in cases such as this.
    2. Inspect the property to:
       1. Ensure the shower drainage issue has been fully resolved and complete any identified works.
       2. Undertake a damp survey and ensure the completion of any works required to address any residual damp and mould issues.

Recommendation

39. Undertake and complete a strategic review of this case to identify and incorporate improvements in its operations against this Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould. The report provides recommendations, which if it has not done so already, the landlord must incorporate, as appropriate, into its relevant policies and practices to ensure a robust and empathic framework for its approach to damp and mould from diagnosis, taking appropriate steps, and mitigation, through to after care.