West Kent Housing Association (202317695)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317695

West Kent Housing Association

27 February 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

1. The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of a leak.

Background

2. The resident lives in a 1-bedroom bungalow. He has an assured tenancy with a housing association landlord. The tenancy started on 2 May 2022. The landlord is aware of the resident’s mental health issues.
3. The resident reported a leak from his dishwasher on 26 June 2023, and at the same time submitted a complaint. He told the landlord it was caused by the waste pipe not having been connected properly. The landlord attended the property on 28 June 2023. It replaced the curved pipe (also known as a trap), which it said was loose, and secured it to the bracket.
4. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 27 June 2023 and responded to it at stage 1 of the complaints process on 6 July 2023. In its response the landlord set out the action it had taken to reconnect the dishwasher pipe. It did not uphold the residents complaint. It said that it was not unusual for the trap to loosen over time.
5. The resident escalated the complaint. He said that the landlord was at fault as it had failed to secure the dishwasher pipe onto the main waste pipe and also failed to secure it to the wall during the voids checks.
6. In the landlord’s stage 2 response on 11 August 2023 it set out its understanding of the resident’s complaint and his desired resolution. The landlord explained that the waste connection it provided was for a washing machine. It said it understood the resident chose to install a dishwasher when he moved into the property. The landlord confirmed that following the leak it promptly visited the property and re-installed the dishwasher as a gesture of goodwill. This included fixing the bracket for the waste pipe to the wall. The landlord did not uphold the resident’s complaint that it was responsible for causing the leak from the dishwasher. It said it could not confirm the leak from the dishwasher was caused by the pipe not being secured to the wall. Additionally, it said that although during its visit to repair the leak it had secured the pipe to the wall, the landlord was not required to do this.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

7. In his complaint the resident said the landlord was liable for the leak as the dishwasher waste pipe was not secured to the wall. He believed this was the cause of the leak. We are unable to decide if a landlord is liable for the leak as liability is a legal issue. We do not act as a court. It is not our role to decide who is right or wrong. This investigation will focus on how the landlord handled the report of the leak and whether its response was reasonable and fair in the circumstances. We will, however, consider if the landlord’s actions were in line with its policies and procedures.

The landlord’s handling of the cause of the leak

8. Within its general needs home standard document the landlord sets out the safety checks and work completed while a property is void. It says that it will fix any water leaks and complete a visual check on the plumbing system.
9. Additionally, it says that it can be difficult to identify small leaks before a resident moves into the property, and it is the resident’s responsibility to report these to the landlord after they move in.
10. The landlord’s repairs policy sets out the repairs the landlord and resident are responsible for. It states that residents are responsible for any individual appliances they own, which includes the fitting and plumbing of appliances.
11. The landlord’s repairs policy categorises different types of repairs as:
    1. Emergency
    2. Urgent
    3. Routine
    4. Planned
12. It states that the landlord will deal with urgent repairs within 3 working days, and plumbing repairs and day to day replacements within 21 days.
13. The resident reported a leak from his dishwasher on 26 June 2023. The landlord attended the property on 28 June, replaced the trap and secured it to a bracket on the wall. This was an appropriate response.
14. Evidence provided by the landlord showed that it acknowledged the resident’s vulnerabilities and classified the repair as urgent. The landlord responded within the timescale set out for an urgent repair. This was appropriate.
15. Additionally, the landlord was aware that the resident preferred afternoon appointments and attended at his preferred time. The landlord responded to the report of a leak promptly and in line with its vulnerability policy, which states that it will respond flexibly to vulnerable residents. This was appropriate.
16. When investigating the resident’s complaint the landlord sought advice from relevant staff members. It demonstrated that it considered the resident’s concerns regarding the fitting of the pipe. Its response to the complaint was reasonable.
17. Having carefully considered all evidence available we find no maladministration of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of a leak.

Determination

18. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme we find no maladministration of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of a leak.