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Clarion Housing Association Limited (202316257)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202316257

Clarion Housing Association Limited

18 July 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 is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s property following the landlord’s attempts to locate the source of a leak.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord of a flat. He has lived in the property since March 2014. The resident reported that he has some vulnerabilities including physical health conditions and depression and anxiety.
  2. Shortly after the resident moved into the property in 2014, there were reports of a leak in the flat underneath the resident’s property. The landlord attended the resident’s property on several occasions to investigate the source of the leak and in 2021, it carried out remedial works required as a result of damage caused by these investigations.
  3. The resident raised a complaint with the landlord on 27 February 2023. He stated that the landlord had caused damage to his property when trying to locate the source of a leak into the downstairs flat. He said that the damage had not been put right by the landlord. The resident said that the landlord had removed the living room radiator and a hole had been left in the wall where operatives had removed the faceplate for satellite, neither of which had been replaced. The resident stated he had been left with no proper heating since 2017 and no heating at all from the radiators since June 2019, and that he was using portable heaters.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 9 May 2023. It stated that there was no evidence of the resident contacting it to chase any outstanding repairs within the last few years. The landlord therefore concluded that there was no service failure and advised the resident to contact the repairs team to schedule any outstanding works. The landlord acknowledged the delay in providing the complaint response and offered the resident £50 compensation in recognition of this.
  5. The resident contacted the landlord on 15 May 2023 and the landlord treated this communication as his complaint escalation. The resident raised issues regarding poor workmanship during works which took place in June 2019 to find the source of the leak, and in relation to further works to make good the damage caused in 2021. The resident stated that he was still using portable heaters. He said that the £50 offered was insufficient to compensate him for the distress and decline in his health caused by the works.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 21 June 2023. The landlord again stated that it was unable to identify any outstanding repairs and that it had no records of the resident raising issues about repairs or poor workmanship prior to his complaint. The landlord said it had arranged an appointment to attend on 27 June 2023 to assess any required repairs. The landlord offered an additional £50 compensation for the delay in providing the stage 2 response.
  7. The resident raised his complaint with the Ombudsman on 3 August 2023. The resident stated that the landlord removed a radiator on 3 occasions and that it had been off the wall since 2019. The resident stated that he had paid to repair damage that had been caused by the landlord, which included replacing the radiator, only for the landlord to return and cause further damage. The resident stated that the issue had caused mental and emotional distress and that he had experienced financial loss.
  8. In June 2024 the resident told the Ombudsman that a suitable resolution would be for the repairs to be completed and to be compensated for costs he had incurred, including for portable heaters, the cost of energy bills which he had paid despite not using any heating for several years and the cost associated with replacing the radiator on 2 occasions before it was removed again. The resident said that he should also be compensated for the significant distress and inconvenience that the issue had caused him.
  9. Within a further update to the Ombudsman the resident confirmed that the landlord had re-hung the radiator and fitted an expansion vessel in July 2024. He said that while most of the work had now been completed, there were still some outstanding issues regarding how the pipe housing was left, cable management and the communal satellite services. 

 

Assessment and findings

Scope

  1. Paragraph 42(c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 12 months of matters arising.
  2. The resident has referred to matters dating back several years, including that he has been without heating for a number of years. Repair records from May 2021 indicate that the landlord responded to the resident’s reports that there were large holes in the wall near to the boiler that had been caused during the investigations to identify the leak. However, there is no evidence to indicate that further issues were reported, that the landlord was advised that there was no heating at the property, or that the landlord undertook any further related repairs until after the resident had raised his complaint in February 2023.
  3. The resident informed the Ombudsman that he had contacted the landlord during 2022 to chase up the outstanding repairs. However, in its complaint responses the landlord stated that it had no records that any repairs were outstanding or that the resident had raised the repairs with the landlord in the 6 months prior to the complaint. While the Ombudsman acknowledges the resident’s account that he did raise repairs with the landlord in 2022, no documentary evidence has been provided to reflect that the issues were raised with the landlord prior to February 2023.
  4. In light of the above, and in accordance with paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme, this investigation will focus on the landlord’s handling of issues from the February 2023 formal complaint. While the Ombudsman acknowledges that the resident may be dissatisfied with the scope of this investigation, this Service must take an impartial approach, that is based on the available evidence.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s property following the landlord’s attempts to locate the source of a leak.

  1. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy states that non-emergency repairs appointments will be offered to residents within 28 calendar days of the repair being reported.
  2. The landlord acted appropriately by providing advice to the resident on how to raise a repair in its stage 1 response, given it had no record of a repair having been previously raised, and by arranging an appointment to visit the resident’s property as part of its stage 2 outcome.
  3. The landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property on 5 June 2023 following reports from the resident’s energy provider that he had no heating. It was identified that a new thermostat was required, and this work was carried out on 21 June 2023. The contractor noted that the heating and hot water was working correctly following this visit. However, these appointments did not address repairs required to the living room radiator.
  4. While the stage 2 response stated that the landlord would attend on 27 June 2023, there is no evidence to show that it attempted to attend on this day. The evidence reflects that a repairs appointment took place on 19 July 2023, a month after the landlord’s stage 2 response, and so a failing on the part of the landlord. The notes of this visit state that the resident had reported that contractors had removed the radiator and not reinstated it, and that the job would require 2 operatives to re-fit the radiator. As such, the landlord was aware that this work needed to be carried out and should have ensured this took place in a reasonable time frame. An appointment took place on 20 August 2023 however, it was noted that the radiator could not be hung as the wall needed to be strengthened first.
  5. The evidence indicates that contractors attended twice following this but were unable to gain access to the resident’s property. It is also noted that there was some difficulty making contact with the resident by phone to arrange an appointment. The evidence reflects that a repairs appointment took place on 21 December 2023 however, the works were not completed on this occasion. A further repairs appointment took place on 25 March 2024, following which a works order was raised for the wall to be reinforced, which was carried out on 19 April 2024. This represents a long and unreasonable delay in completing these works. The records suggest that the landlord found it difficult to get in touch with the resident by telephone to arrange appointments. If this was the case it would have been appropriate to make contact by email, however there is no indication that it did so.
  6. The evidence suggests that further works to the wall were required following the April 2024 appointment, and the landlord’s emails dated 4 June 2024 reflect that these works had been completed and that the radiator would be re-hung once the resident had painted the wall. The resident informed the Ombudsman that the radiator had been re-hung on 4 July 2024.
  7. The Ombudsman acknowledges the landlord’s comments that there was some difficulty making contact with the resident and gaining access to the property on 2 occasions. However, there appears to have been a lack of urgency by the landlord to carry out the outstanding repairs, which has led to an unreasonable delay of over a year in the work being completed. The landlord did not act in line with the timeframes set out in its repairs policy and a finding of maladministration has therefore been made.
  8. Where there are failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider suitable remedies in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
  9. The resident reported that he had been without heating in his property due to the radiator being left off the wall. The June 2023 repairs notes indicate that the heating was left in working order, and it would therefore not be reasonable for the Ombudsman to reach a finding that the delay in fixing the living room radiator resulted in a lack of heating in the whole property.
  10. However, it is clear that the delays meant that there was no working radiator in the living room, which has caused the resident distress and inconvenience for more than a year. The resident reported that he had been unable to use his living room due to this, which is likely to have caused significant frustration and impacted on the enjoyment of his home. The landlord ought to have fixed the radiator soon after the stage 2 complaint response.
  11. Orders are made below, in line with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’. Compensation is ordered in line with this Service’s remedies guidance which suggests amounts of £100 to £600 when there has been a failure which adversely affected the resident, but there has been no permanent impact.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord regarding its handling of repairs to the resident’s property following attempts to locate the source of a leak.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total of £600 for the impact that the delays in completing the repair have had on the resident.
  2. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to confirm to the resident and the Ombudsman whether any repairs are outstanding and complete any remaining repairs, ensuring that the radiator is in working order. The landlord should provide confirmation to the Ombudsman that the repairs have been completed.
  3. Within 4-8 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to review its handling of the repairs following the stage 2 complaint outcome and identify the reasons for the delays and any measures that can be put in place to ensure the timely completion of such repairs in future. The outcome of this review should be provided to the Ombudsman.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should also pay the £100 offered at stages 1 and 2, if this has not already been paid.