Aster Group Limited (202329810)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202329810

Aster Group Limited

28 March 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 handling of concerns regarding items being stored in a communal cupboard.
The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaints handling.

Background

The resident is a leaseholder through a shared ownership scheme and has held the lease since 2018, the landlord is a housing association. The landlord does not hold a record of the resident having any vulnerabilities.
The property is a 2-bedroom first floor flat within a wider block.
On 22 November 2022 the resident told the landlord one of their neighbours was storing personal items in a communal electrical cupboard. The resident said they had previously reported this, but the personal items had not been removed. The resident highlighted this was a potential fire hazard, and that all residents had been told in 2018 that personal items could not be stored in communal areas of the block.
On 23 August 2023 the resident complained to the landlord. In their complaint, the resident said:
1. A neighbour had been storing personal items in a communal cupboard. The items remained in the cupboard despite the landlord sending a letter in March 2022 telling residents to remove personal items from communal areas.
2. This issue had previously been brought to the attention of housing officers, and it should have also been identified during building inspections.
3. Housing officers had previously said the items would be removed and they knew who owned the items.
4. As the cupboard was an electrical cupboard, storing personal items within the cupboard was a fire risk. It was also an obstruction should someone need to access the electrical cables within the cupboard.
5. They wanted the landlord to remove the items and install a lock on the door within 30 days.
In its stage 1 response dated 11 September 2023 the landlord said:
1. The owner of the items had previously been asked to remove their property, but the landlord had not followed this up.
2. This issue had been raised with the landlord’s housing officer so they could learn from this oversight.
3. It offered the resident £100 in compensation.
On 22 September 2023 the resident escalated their complaint for the following reasons:
1. The landlord had not addressed their request to install a lock on the cupboard.
2. They felt the landlord should abide by its own policies and take fire safety seriously.
3. They had received an abusive email from a neighbour after making their complaint to the landlord.
In its stage 2 response dated 27 October 2023 the landlord said:
1. It apologised for how long it had taken to resolve this incident.
2. It would arrange for a lock to be installed.
3. The resident’s block should be inspected quarterly, and the landlord had reviewed its records and identified the block was not being regularly inspected. It apologised for this.
4. The latest inspection had occurred in June 2023, and prior to that, the block had been inspected in December 2022. The landlord committed to bringing forward the next planned inspection date due to of the lack of regular inspections.
5. The landlord had assigned a new housing officer to the building.
6. The landlord apologised for the resident receiving an abusive email. It said its housing officer had told the owner of the belongings that a complaint had been made. It said although it hadn’t named the resident, it should not have said a complaint had been made.
7. The landlord offered the resident an additional £250 in compensation.
On 24 November 2023 the resident brought their complaint to this Service. The resident felt the landlord needed to be accountable for its failings and offer compensation which reflected the time it had taken to resolve the matter.

Assessment and findings

Items stored in communal cupboard

The landlord’s neighbourhood management policy says it takes a zero-tolerance approach to personal items being left in communal areas of flats. If items are identified, the landlord will put resident’s on notice that items are to be removed. If the items are not removed, the landlord will remove them.
The landlord’s neighbourhood management policy says it will carry out regular inspections to maintain clean and well cared for neighbourhoods. Where there are concerns about standards during an inspection, this will be recorded, and its progress will be checked at the next inspection.
The Fire Safety Act 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023. Under the Act, responsible persons (which includes landlords) for multiple occupancy residential buildings are responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent building safety risks. This includes taking reasonable action to prevent fires, and to limit the severity of a potential fire.
The resident has said the landlord first told residents of the building that they were rolling out a clear communal area policy at an in person meeting in 2018.
On 7 March 2022 the landlord inspected the resident’s building. Notes from this inspection said tort notices needed to be sent to residents. A tort notice is a legal document issued under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. They warn that personal property must be removed from a communal area. The notice will include a specific timeframe for removal, and if this is not met, the landlord can remove and dispose of items.
On 9 March 2022 the landlord sent residents of the building a formal letter. This letter said the landlord had recently inspected the building and located multiple personal items in communal areas. The landlord said it had a zero-tolerance policy to ensure communal areas were kept clear of personal items. The landlord said this policy had been made with resident safety in mind, as it wanted to ensure the building was free from combustible material, ignition sources and potential obstructions.
The letter also included a tort notice which said items must be removed by 21 March 2022. This was appropriate, as the landlord was following up on matters identified during its recent inspection, and it was acting in-line with its neighbourhood management policy. However, after 21 March 2022 the landlord did not action its tort notice and the personal items stored in the electrical cupboard remained there. This was inappropriate.
The landlord’s next inspection occurred on 27 June 2022. Notes from the inspection said “electric cupboards follow up”. However, steps were not taken to remove the items from the electrical cupboard or to remind residents of the landlord’s clear communal area policy. This was again inappropriate.
An inspection also occurred on 28 September 2022. Notes from this inspection contained the comments from the previous inspection about the electrical cupboard. Again, the items were not removed, and no notices or communications were circulated to residents of the building. This was a further failing considering the landlord’s neighbourhood management policy says it will track the progress of issues identified in previous inspections.
On 22 November 2022 the resident contacted the landlord about the personal items stored in the electrical cupboard. The resident said this was a fire hazard, and they had previously raised the issue with the landlord. The landlord’s housing officer responded to this email on 5 December 2022. The housing officer said the next time they attended the building they would remove the items.
The next inspection occurred on 9 December 2022, the inspection notes include that there were items in the electrical cupboard. The items were not removed after this inspection, nor did the landlord make arrangements to remove the items. This both contradicted the expectations raised by the housing officer and was not in line with the landlord’s policy, which would have been frustrating for the resident.
On 23 August 2023 the resident complained to the landlord about the items in the electrical cupboard and asked if a lock could be installed. This was 533 days after the tort notice was sent, and 275 days after the resident raised the issue with the landlord. It was unreasonable that the items remained in the cupboard considering the length of time the landlord had been aware of the items, and the multiple opportunities it had to address the issue.
The landlord’s letter dated 9 March 2022 specifically said items needed to be cleared due to fire safety concerns. The resident also cited their concerns around the risk of fire when they emailed the landlord on 22 November 2022. As such the landlord should have acted within a reasonable timeframe to remove the items considering:
1. It was aware of the risks associated with personal items being stored in communal areas, and it had adopted a zero-tolerance policy to address this.
2. The items were stored in an electrical cupboard, this was a higher risk area given the presence of electrical wiring.
3. After 23 January 2023 the landlord had an obligation under the Fire Safety Act 2022 to take reasonable steps to prevent fires from occurring, and to limit the severity of a potential fire.
In its stage 1 response, the landlord apologised for not following up on removing the items. It offered the resident £100 in compensation and said it had raised the matter with its housing officer. However, the landlord did not address the resident’s request for a lock to be installed. The Ombudsman expects the landlord to use the stage 1 response as an opportunity to address all of the matters raised. Its failure to do so caused the resident to have to expend additional time and effort pursuing this concern.
After the resident made their complaint, the housing officer emailed the owner of the items. In this email, they asked for the items to be removed from the electrical cupboard as a complaint had been made. The knowledge that a complaint had been made resulted in the owner of the items sending an abusive email to residents of the building. In its stage 2 response the landlord said the fact a complaint had been made should have been kept confidential, and it apologised for any distress and concern the resident experienced. This was appropriate.
In its stage 2 response dated 27 October 2023 the landlord also apologised for the time it had taken to resolve the matter. It offered the resident an additional £250 in compensation for the distress and inconvenience they experienced. The landlord also agreed to install a lock on the cupboard door, and it committed to assigning a new housing officer to the building. This was appropriate and demonstrated it was taking the resident’s concerns seriously.
In its stage 2 response, the landlord said the building should be inspected quarterly, but the most recent inspections had occurred in June 2023 and December 2022. As such, the landlord had not met its quarterly inspections obligation. The landlord apologised for this and committed to bringing forward its next planned inspection. This further demonstrated it was seeking to learn from the failings it had identified.
To conclude the resident’s complaint, the landlord apologised and offered compensation of £350 for the distress and inconvenience the resident experienced. The landlord also demonstrated it had learnt from the resident’s complaint as it conducted the following actions:
1. It cleared the items from the cupboard and placed a lock on the cupboard as per the residents request.
2. It put in place a new housing officer after reviewing the resident’s complaint.
3. It identified regular inspections had not been occurring. It apologised for this and committed to bringing forward the next planned inspection.
4. It apologised for how long it had taken to resolve this incident.
The harm the resident would have experienced in this instance would be limited as the complaint related to a singular issue which concerned a secluded communal area. When considering the harm experienced, the circumstances of the complaint and the landlord’s offer of redress, the Ombudsman finds the landlord offered the resident reasonable redress.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The landlords complaints policy says it will acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days. It will then provide its stage 1 response within 10 working days of the acknowledgement. It will provide its stage 2 response 20 working days after a resident escalates their complaint.
The resident made their complaint on 23 August 2023, and the landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint 2 days later. This was within the timescales outlined in the landlord’s policy. The landlord provided its stage 1 response 12 working days later on 11 September 2023, this was outside of the timescales within the landlord’s complaints policy.
The resident escalated their complaint on 22 September 2023 and the landlord provided its stage 2 response 26 working days later, on 27 October 2023. This was again outside of the timescales outlined in the landlord’s complaints policy.
The landlord did not acknowledge that its stage one or stage 2 complaint responses were late, which was inappropriate. Sometimes complaint handling delays can be reasonable, but when this occurs the Ombudsman expects delays to be fully explained to the resident. It is not evident, however, that the landlord contacted the resident at any time to advise of a delay.
While the landlord’s complaint handling would have been frustrating for the resident, the landlord’s actions would not have caused them permanent or significant harm. In the circumstances, the Ombudsman has determined a service failure occurred as the landlord did not provide its complaint responses in-line with its complaints policy.
The Ombudsman has made an order for the landlord to pay compensation of £50 for its complaint handling failures to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, the landlord offered the resident reasonable redress for the landlord’s handling of personal items stored in communal areas.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was a service failure in relation to the landlord’s complaints handling.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of this determination, the landlord is ordered to pay compensation of £50 to the resident for its complaints handling failures.
The landlord is to provide this service with evidence of compliance with this order within 4 weeks of the determination date.

Recommendation

The determination of reasonable redress is made on the understanding that the compensation previously offered of £350 is paid to the resident if the landlord has not yet paid this amount.
The landlord should take steps to ensure its staff are aware of its neighbourhood management policy and their responsibilities under this policy.