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Peabody Trust (202312236)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202312236

Peabody Trust

31 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
  1. Reports of issues with the heating and hot water.
  2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant under an agreement dated June 2019. The landlord is a housing association. The property is a 1-bedroom first floor flat. The resident is vulnerable, which is known to the landlord.
  2. The resident reported a total loss of heating and hot water to the landlord on three separate occasions in 2022.
  3. The resident raised a complaint to the landlord on 9 December 2022. They complained about the ongoing lack of heating and hot water at the property. The also complained about the lack of communication from the contractors. The resident asked the landlord to complete the repairs to the heating and hot water. They also asked for an apology, compensation and for the landlord to cover the cost of the heaters.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 9 March 2023. It said:
  1. It apologised for the inconvenience caused by heating and hot water issue and the delay with the response.
  2. Its contractors installed a new boiler on 29 December 2022.
  3. It acknowledged there had been several missed appointments.
  4. A final appointment was scheduled for 16 March 2023 to replace the kitchen radiator.
  5. It would discuss compensation to bring the complaint to a close once it had completed all work.
  1. The resident said they were dissatisfied with the landlord’s response on 21 March 2023. They said the compensation did not reflect the stress and inconvenience caused.
  2. The landlord provided its final stage 2 response on 4 July 2023. It said:
  1. It apologised the resident found it difficult to engage with it about the installation of a new boiler. It also apologised for the experience while boiler repairs were ongoing.
  2. It explained its boiler repairs policy and that if a boiler was not deemed unsafe, it had no obligation to replace it. The boiler was not deemed unsafe or beyond economical repair until 8 December 2022.
  3. It replaced the boiler in December 2022 and finished replacing the radiators in March 2023.
  4. It opened the complaint on 9 December 2022 and sent the response on 9 March 2023, but the resident agreed to the delay.
  5. The resident asked to escalate their complaint on 21 March 2023, but it did not send the stage 2 response within 20 working days which was a failure.
  6. It partially upheld the complaint and offered £515 compensation. This consisted of £300 for time, trouble and inconvenience, £50 for complaint handling, £75 for heating loss from 5 December to 29 December 2022, £50 for no hot water from 5 December to 29 December 2022 and £40 for 4 missed appointments.
  1. When the resident contacted the Ombudsman, they were seeking an increase in compensation to £7,000 for the distress and inconvenience and to cover the costs of additional electricity incurred using fan heaters.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the heating and hot water

  1. Under the resident’s occupancy agreement, the landlord is required to keep any heating and water heating it provides repaired and working. The landlord was therefore under a duty to repair the boiler within a reasonable time of being given notice that it was not in working order. This is also set out in the implied terms in s.11(1)(c) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  2. What is a reasonable time will depend on all the circumstances of a case. The landlord’s repairs policy says:
    1. emergency repairs are repairs that need a rapid response to safeguard the wellbeing of residents, the structural stability and integrity of properties and/or the health and safety of people using the affected area. The landlord is to attend and complete the repair within 4 hours.
    2. non-urgent repairs are required to rectify a fault. Works are to be scheduled to the next available resource. The landlord is to attend and complete the repair within 28 calendar days.
  3. According to the landlord’s compensation policy, it awards £3 per day for a total loss of heating in the winter months to help towards the cost of temporary heating. It awards £1 per day for each person on the tenancy agreement for a loss of hot water. It also awards £10 for each missed appointment by its contractors.
  4. When the resident reported a total loss of heating and hot water to the landlord on 22 February 2022, it attended the same day and completed a repair. As the contractor repaired the boiler and left it working on 22 February 2022, that was appropriate.
  5. The contractor suggested the landlord should conduct a survey of the boiler and heating system with a view to upgrading it. That was a recommendation. The landlord is not obligated to act on the recommendation. However, when a landlord completes a repair, it should be lasting and effective. The contractor said the boiler was very old and likely to continue giving problems, which it did. The Ombudsman therefore cannot consider the repair the landlord completed to be lasting nor effective, which is unreasonable. It is the Ombudsman’s view the landlord should have considered the recommendation and recorded the reasons it did not conduct a survey. There is no evidence it did so, which is unreasonable.
  6. When the resident reported a total loss of heating and hot water to the landlord again on 15 August 2022, the contractor attended on 22 August 2022. The contractor repaired the boiler and left it working, which was in line with the landlord’s policy and was appropriate. They also recorded the boiler was old and in poor condition and advised the landlord an upgrade was due.
  7. The landlord started an application for a new boiler the next day. However, it did not complete the process. There are no records to show why it did not complete the process to order a new boiler, which is not appropriate. In the absence of any evidence to show why the landlord did not continue the process, the Ombudsman cannot say the landlord acted reasonably. This was a failure by the landlord. Had the landlord continued with the boiler renewal process, it could have prevented the resident experiencing further loss of heating and hot water.
  8. When the resident reported a further total loss of heating and hot water to the landlord again on 5 December 2022, the landlord provided fan heaters the same day, which was appropriate. The landlord also authorised a boiler replacement, which was reasonable.
  9. There were however some delays in arranging the new boiler installation including the contractor cancelling an appointment on the day it was due to take place (19 December 2022), which was not reasonable. The contractor did not replace the boiler until 29 December 2022. Although the resident had fan heaters to use, they were left without hot water and central heating for 24 days in winter, which was inappropriate.
  10. Although the landlord’s contractor replaced the boiler on 29 December 2022, it did not fully replace all the radiators. Further appointments were required to complete all necessary works. The contractor then missed or cancelled a further 4 appointments on 6, 9, 20 and 26 January 2023, which was not appropriate.
  11. The landlord has acknowledged 4 missed appointments in its final complaint response. It has recognised its contractor failed to attend on 19 December 2022, 6 January 2023, 9 January 2023 and 26 January 2023. It has therefore not recognised 20 January 2023 as a failed appointment.
  12. With regards to the appointment of 20 January 2023, the evidence shows the contractor should have attended a morning appointment. However, they attended at 2pm. The resident’s daughter had been at the property for the morning appointment but needed to pick their children up from school in the afternoon. As the contractor failed to attend at the correct time, the Ombudsman does not agree the resident was not available. The Ombudsman therefore considers this to be a failed appointment.
  13. The contractor attended on 3 February 2023 and carried out work. However, a quality inspector attended the same day and said the works carried out were not to the expected standard. They said valves had not been changed for the radiators and piping work in the boiler was twisted, which is not appropriate.
  14. A further appointment then took place on 16 March 2023 to complete all work and replace the kitchen radiator. This appointment went ahead, and the contractor completed all remaining work. The Ombudsman considers the overall time taken to complete all necessary work to be unreasonable.
  15. In summary, the Ombudsman finds maladministration by the landlord in its handling of reports of issues with the heating and hot water. The landlord did not appropriately assess and give consideration to its contractor’s recommendation to complete a survey for a new boiler and radiators. It also delayed arranging and completing the appropriate repair works with its contractor, including several missed appointments. We understand the effect and detriment this had on the resident who is vulnerable. They had no central heating and no hot water at a time when it was very cold.
  16. In its final complaint response, the landlord offered compensation that included £300 for time, trouble and inconvenience, £75 for heating loss from 5 December to 29 December 2022, £50 for no hot water from 5 December to 29 December 2022 and £40 for 4 missed appointments. However, the Ombudsman considers it missed 5 appointments in total rather than 4. In addition, the landlord did not acknowledge its failure to give full consideration to its contractor’s recommendation to complete a survey for a new boiler and radiators. It also did not acknowledge it failed to record why it did not continue the application for a new boiler that it started in August 2022.
  17. Therefore, we are ordering the landlord to apologise to and pay the resident £645 compensation. This includes the compensation the landlord already offered as detailed in its complaint response. Plus, an additional £10 for the additional missed appointment, and £150 for not giving due consideration to, or recording its view on why it would not, complete a survey as its contractor recommended. This is also within the bracket the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance would award for failures of this nature resulting in maladministration that adversely affected the resident.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. Under the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) landlords must ensure they acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days. They must respond to the complaint within 10 working days of the acknowledgment at stage 1. They must also acknowledge an escalation request within 5 working days and provide a final response within 20 working days of the date of acknowledging the escalation request.
  2. The landlord’s complaints policy follows the above requirements of the Code.
  3. The resident initially complained on 9 December 2022. The landlord created a complaint case the same day. There is evidence the landlord contacted the resident by telephone and email on 15 December 2022 to discuss matters. That was reasonable and in line with the Code and the landlord’s own policy.
  4. The landlord did not issue its stage 1 complaint response until 9 March 2023. This is significantly outside of the 10 working day timescale in the Code and the landlord’s own complaint policy, which is not appropriate. The landlord has stated the resident agreed to delay a complaint until after works were completed. However, according to section 6.6 of the Code, the landlord must provide a complaint response to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. This is therefore a failure in complaint handling.
  5. The resident asked to escalate the complaint on 21 March 2023. They said the compensation did not reflect the stress and inconvenience caused. However, the landlord did not send an acknowledgement of this until 15 June 2023. That is significantly outside of the 5 working day timescale in the Code, which is inappropriate.
  6. The landlord then issued its final stage 2 complaint response on 4 July 2023. Although that was within 20 working days of acknowledging the complaint, it was significantly outside 20 working days from the resident’s request to escalate, which is a failure.
  7. In summary, landlords must have an effective complaint process to provide a good service to its residents. An effective complaint process means landlords can fix problems quickly, learn from their mistakes and build good relationships with residents. In this case there were significant delays in the landlord providing its stage 1 response. There were also significant delays in acknowledging the escalation request and issuing the stage 2 response. The Ombudsman therefore finds maladministration for the failures identified in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.
  8. The landlord offered £50 for its complaint handling failures in its stage 2 complaint response. However, it is the Ombudsman’s view that is not sufficient to acknowledge the delays identified. Therefore, we are ordering the landlord to pay the resident £100 for the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling failures. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance’s recommendations of compensation in this bracket for such failings resulting in service failure that delayed getting matters resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the heating and hot water.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord must within 28 days of the date of this determination:
    1. Provide the resident with an apology for the failings outlined in this report.
    2. Pay the resident total compensation of £725, which is made up of:
      1. £450 in recognition of the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused by its failures to appropriately handle repairs to the heating system.
      2. £75 for the loss of heating between 5 and 29 December 2022.
      3. £50 for the loss of hot water between 5 and 29 December 2022.
      4. £50 to acknowledge 5 missed appointments.
      5. £100 for the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s complaint handling failures.
    3. This award replaces any offer made to date by the landlord through its internal complaints process. The landlord is entitled to offset against this sum any payments already made to the resident. All payments must be paid directly to the resident and not credited to the rent account unless otherwise agreed by the resident.