Southwark Council (202222451)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202222451

Southwark Council

16 September 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. This complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of water coming up from the toilet and the bath.
2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Background

3. The resident is a leaseholder. The freeholder is the landlord – a local authority.
4. On 15 August 2022, the resident flushed the toilet, and the water started to rise. It flooded the bathroom floor. The resident called the landlord. He explained water was coming up from the toilet and bath.
5. The landlord asked him if there was a blockage and whether he had tried using a plunger.
6. The resident explained he had been away for 2 months and had just returned to the property. He did not know if there was a blockage.
7. The landlord advised the resident to source his own plumber to identify whether it was an internal issue or a problem with a communal pipe.
8. The resident arranged his own plumber who charged him over £6000.
9. The landlord’s drainage team attended on 16 August 2022. It reported that it cleared the blocked stack and left it clear and free flowing.
10. On 22 August 2022, records show the leaseholder reported a further back surge to the toilet and bath. The landlord arranged for an emergency out of hours appointment the same day with a drainage specialist.
11. The drainage specialist cut a rodding point into the stack and cleared it going into the main drain. It marked the job as complete and did not identify any follow-on work.
12. The resident made a complaint on 7 September 2022. He said:
    1. He believed the leak was caused by unresolved issues from his upstairs neighbour’s flat. He said the upstairs neighbour was a tenant of the landlord.
    2. Following the landlord’s advice to source his own plumber, he contacted the fire service who turned off the water to his property.
    3. The fire service gave him the details of a plumber who charged him over £6000 for attending the property.
    4. He feels the landlord ought to have provided him with a list of trusted tradespeople.
    5. English was not his first language, and he felt disadvantaged.
    6. The toilet flush was broken by workmen.
13. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 6 October 2022. It said:
    1. Leaseholders need to arrange their own contractor for blockages. If it was found to be a communal problem, it would refund reasonable costs.
    2. On 16 August 2022 after the resident confirmed it was a communal problem, the landlord took action, and again when the problem reoccurred a few days later.
    3. It had not seen any information to say the problem was caused by the flat above. Rather, it was a communal blockage.
    4. It would not consider reimbursement of the resident’s plumbing costs as they were excessive and did not resolve the problem.
    5. It would not give recommendations for specific contractors as it cannot guarantee the work or costs. If problems arose, residents may consider the landlord liable.
    6. In future, the resident could seek contractors online. It suggested a website the resident could use.
14. The resident escalated the complaint to stage 2 on 14 January 2023. He said the landlord’s complaint response did not address whether it gave him the correct information when he initially reported the drainage problem.
15. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 30 May 2023. It said:
    1. It apologised for the delay in responding to the resident’s complaint.
    2. It listened to the call recording in which the resident initially reported a plumbing issue within his home. The resident was told he needed to obtain a report from a plumber to confirm it was a communal problem before the landlord would instruct its own contractors.
    3. It consulted with a repair manager and reviewed the leaseholder handbook. It identified internal plumbing issues were the responsibility of the leaseholder.
    4. The information provided to the resident on the call was correct. However, it recognised the call handler did not fully attempt to understand the nature of the problem or ensure the resident was clear about the process for leaseholders.
    5. The landlord provided feedback to the relevant service area.
    6. It awarded £75 compensation to the resident for the delay responding to his complaint and the time and trouble experienced.

Assessment and findings

16. Where a landlord admits failings, the Ombudsman’s role is to assess whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. The Ombudsman also considers whether the landlord acted in line with our Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of water coming up from the toilet and the bath

17. The landlord’s guide for leaseholders sets out that leaseholders are responsible for internal plumbing. The landlord is responsible for drains, sewers and repairs to communal areas and the structure of the building.
18. The leaseholder guide explains the landlord only conducts repairs for which it is responsible. If a leaseholder is responsible for a repair, they need to find a reputable contractor.
19. The landlord’s repair guide sets out that emergency repairs will be attended to within 24 hours and urgent repairs within 3 working days.
20. The Ombudsman has listened to the call recording where the resident initially reported water rising in the toilet and bath. During this call, it was not clear what the cause of the problem was.
21. In the circumstances, it was reasonable for the landlord to ask the resident to arrange his own plumber to identify the problem in the first instance.
22. While the Ombudsman strongly empathises with the resident’s situation, the evidence available demonstrates the landlord did not recommend nor hire the contractor appointed by the resident. Therefore, the landlord is not liable for the actions or omissions of said contractor.
23. When the issue was found to be with the communal stack, the landlord acted appropriately by arranging for contractors to attended in line with the timescales set out in its repair guide.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

24. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (“the Code”) is applicable to all member landlords. It specifies a stage 1 complaint should be finalised in 10 working days from the acknowledgement of the complaint, with no more than a further extension of 10 days. A stage 2 complaint should be finalised within 20 working days from the acknowledgement of the complaint escalation, with a further extension of 10 days if required. A landlord should not exceed these timescales without good reason.
25. The resident initially complained on 7 September 2022. The stage 1 response was issued 20 working days later. The resident escalated the complaint on 14 January 2023. The landlord issued its stage 2 response 92 working days later.
26. The Code serves to illustrate that the complaint was kept open for an unreasonable period at stage 2. The landlord recognised and apologised for its delays in managing the complaint within its final complaint response and offered compensation. This is what the Ombudsman would reasonably expect in the circumstances.
27. The Ombudsman notes that the landlord’s acknowledgement of the resident’s complaint and its stage 1 response does not contain information about this Service.
28. The Code states landlords must provide early advice to residents regarding their right to access the Housing Ombudsman Service throughout their complaint, not only when the landlord’s complaints process is exhausted. This affords the resident the opportunity to engage with the Ombudsman’s dispute support advisors for impartial advice.
29. The landlord’s failure to tell the resident about this Service at the earliest opportunity was a failing on its part. However, this did not impact the overall outcome as records show the resident obtained support from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and received referral rights for this Service in the landlord’s final complaint response.
30. In the Ombudsman’s view, overall, the landlord acted appropriately in its handling of the complaint by listening to the call recording, reviewing its policies, setting out its position to the resident and identifying learning points for service improvement.
31. Part of the resident’s complaint was about a contractor breaking the flush on his toilet. It is unclear from the information provided whether the resident was referring to the landlord’s contractors or his own. A recommendation has been made for the landlord to respond to the resident regarding this aspect of his complaint.
32. The £75 compensation offered by the landlord is in line with our remedies guidance (available on our website) for when there has been a failure in service which does not significantly affect the overall outcome for the resident. Therefore, the Ombudsman considers this to be reasonable redress in the circumstances.
33. The Ombudsman requires all landlords to self-assess against the updated Code which came into force in April 2024. As such, the Ombudsman has not made any orders or recommendations related to complaint handling improvements within this report. Nonetheless, the Ombudsman expects the landlord to take relevant learning from this case into account going forwards.

Determination

34. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of water coming up from the toilet and the bath.
35. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Recommendations

36. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord pays the resident the £75 compensation it offered in its final complaint response. The finding of reasonable redress is contingent on the resident receiving this sum.
37. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord contacts the resident directly to discuss his concern about a contractor breaking a toilet flush.