Chelmer Housing Partnership Limited (202311228)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202311228

Chelmer Housing Partnership Limited

21 November 2024

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

1. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Communication about visitor car parking spaces at the development.
   2. Response to the resident’s request for it to compensate her friend for parking tickets received at the resident’s development.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

2. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
3. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

4. The resident is an assured tenant of a 1-bedroom fourth floor flat. The tenancy started in September 2022. The landlord is a housing association which owns the resident’s block. The landlord does not own or manage any of the external areas. This exclusion includes the car parking facilities. A managing agent and its appointed parking enforcement company have full control of the external areas.
5. During the tenancy sign up process on 13 September 2022, the landlord recorded that it had reminded the resident that the new build property had no allocated parking. It advised the resident that there would be limited visitor parking and provided her with information regarding the nearest pay and display car park. At this stage, the development remained in construction.
6. On 19 October 2022 residents with allocated parking as part of their tenancies received parking permits.
7. Between the 24 to 30 October 2022:
   1. The resident requested her own parking permit.
   2. The landlord reminded her that the property was not allocated a parking space. It suggested she speak to the local authority if a parking space was essential to her housing needs. It also encouraged her to speak to the developer/managing agent on site, as it owned the external areas.
   3. The managing agent informed the resident that it had marked 3 visitor parking bays with a ‘V.’
8. Between 3 to 4 November 2022 the resident queried the allocation of parking spaces to some properties. She felt, as she was one of the first residents to move into the block, she should have had an option if there were free spaces. The landlord reiterated that it did not own the land. It said the developer chose to allocate parking as it had. It reiterated that the managing agent had responsibility for the car park.
9. On 21 November 2022 the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns that someone had blocked her car in the car park. It reminded her that it did not own the external areas and it had no powers in which it could take enforcement action. It gave her the managing agents contact details. Its response reminded the resident that the area she had described was not a designated parking space. As she had no allocated parking, it warned her that the managing agent or their parking enforcement company may issue her a parking ticket.
10. On 1 December 2022 the landlord sent letters to all residents advising that the managing agent’s parking enforcement patrols would begin on 5 December 2022. The landlord advised that residents must display valid parking permits or they may be issued with a parking ticket. The landlord’s communication explained that it could not intervene if this happened.
11. On 29 March 2023 the resident contacted the landlord, managing agent, and parking enforcement company. She had paid the parking company £10 for a visitor’s parking permit but received a parking ticket. She said she had been unable to identify which spaces were for visitors. The managing agent informed the resident it had clearly marked visitor spaces with a ‘V.’ The landlord advised her that she would need to challenge the parking tickets via the parking enforcement company.
12. On 18 April 2023 the landlord wrote to all residents. It reminded them that a managing agent owned and managed the external areas of the property. It reiterated that a parking enforcement company was in place to patrol these areas. It encouraged residents to only use spaces allocated to them. It reminded residents there were only 3 visitor parking bays, marked with a ‘V’ which were not for permanent use. It repeated that it was unable to intervene if a resident received a parking ticket.
13. The resident raised a formal complaint on 21 April 2023. She said the landlord had not made it clear where visitor parking spaces were. As such, her friend had received parking fines totalling £200 while staying with her on 25 to 26 March 2023. She sought compensation from the landlord to reimburse her friend.
14. The landlord provided the resident with its stage 1 complaint response on 9 May 2023. The landlord acknowledged the distress that the parking tickets would cause. It reiterated that the resident’s property did not come with allocated parking. It encouraged the resident to appeal the charges with the parking enforcement company.
15. The resident asked to escalate her complaint the same day. She said the landlord did not communicate the location of the visitor parking spaces before its letter on 18 April 2023. She remained unhappy that she did not know that the managing agent had marked visitor parking spaces with a ‘V.’ She considered her friend would have avoided parking fines if she had known.
16. On 14 June 2023 the resident attended a stage 2 complaint panel meeting arranged by the landlord. The landlord then provided its stage 2 final response on 21 June 2023. In which, while sympathetic to the resident’s situation and its own attempts to speak to the parking enforcement company on her behalf, it advised the decision to issue the fines were outside of its control. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s situation, considered how it could itself communicate differently for future developments, and offered her a goodwill gesture of £25. However, it reiterated it neither owned or managed the car parking or permits.

Reasons

17. Paragraph 42.g. states that we cannot investigate a complaint that concern the terms and operation of commercial or contractual relationships not connected with the complainant’s application for, or occupation of, a property for residential purposes.
18. The evidence shows that the resident does not have the automatic right to a parking space, as there is no such provision in her tenancy agreement. Therefore, any matter relating to the provision of parking, parking changes, parking permits, or parking enforcement lies with the managing agent of the external parts of the property and its parking management agent.
19. The resident’s dissatisfaction regarding parking was not related to its functions as the resident’s landlord, and did not concern the resident’s occupation of her property. While the resident considered the landlord should have communicated more, it did not own the land or have responsibility for its management. The managing agent and its car parking enforcement company would be responsible for communicating about the car parking facilities. It is therefore not within our remit to consider its handling of this matter.
20. Paragraph 41.a. states the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion were not referred to us by one of the people who can use the Scheme under paragraph 25. That being, a person who is or has been in a landlord/tenant relationship with a member.
21. The resident’s correspondence explained that her friend incurred 2 parking tickets while visiting the resident’s property in March 2023. While we recognise the distress this would cause, as the resident’s friend is not a tenant of the landlord, there is no tenant and landlord relationship for us to consider. Therefore, they are unable to access our service and encouraged to raise this matter directly with the parking management agent.
22. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the managing agent and parking enforcement company’s response to her complaints, she may wish to seek independent advice through the Citizens Advice.