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A2Dominion Housing Group Limited (202321836)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202321836

A2Dominion Housing Group Limited

18 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 repairs to the bathroom.

Background

  1. The resident lives in a ground-floor, three-bedroom flat under an assured tenancy. The property has one bathroom.
  2. On 17 March 2023 the resident reported that the button for the toilet flush was not working but the toilet was still able to be flushed. She also reported that the sealant round the bath had come off and needed resealing.
  3. The landlord completed a repair to the toilet flush on an unknown date and followed up with a full inspection of the bathroom on 31 March 2023. The inspection noted that a “substantial amount of work” was needed in the bathroom. The landlord asked a sub-contractor to reinspect the bathroom, get a full list of the repairs needed and provide a quote for the works for approval.
  4. On 22 June 2023 the resident raised a stage 1 complaint with the landlord. She said she was unhappy with the repair issues in the bathroom and with its lack of communication and accountability.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 30 June 2023. It said that it was waiting for the bathroom replacement quote to be approved but was committed to getting works completed by 8 September 2023. It acknowledged there had been delays, apologised and offered £110 compensation for its poor of communication and the “length of time and trouble”.
  6. The resident remained unhappy and escalated her complaint to Stage 2. She said the bathroom works had been delayed, and the contractor had recently missed an appointment. She said communication from the landlord continued to be poor. She wanted works to be completed and the landlord to recognise its failings.
  7. The landlord provided its Stage 2 response on 21 September 2023. It admitted there had been delays to the bathroom works but confirmed they had now been completed. It apologised for the delays and the lack of communication. It offered £345 in compensation. This was for poor communication, delays to works, a missed appointment and the inconvenience caused.
  8. The resident raised new repairs for the bathroom to the landlord on 21 September 2023. She reported there was water leaking out of the sink when in use. She also reported that the toilet bowl moved every time it was flushed and the toilet seat had not been correctly fitted. The landlord completed repairs to the toilet on 3 October 2023.
  9. The resident remained unhappy and escalated her complaint to the Service.

Assessment and findings

  1. The resident raised a repair for a faulty toilet flush on 17 March 2023. The evidence shows it was still usable despite the fault. She also said the sealant round the bath needed replacing. The landlord completed repairs within 10 working days, which was appropriate to the nature of the repairs and in line with its 20-day repair timescale.
  2. The landlord’s records show that more works were needed in the resident’s bathroom than originally thought. It started the process of getting the bathroom reinspected and a quote raised. This was appropriate to do and shows the landlord was being proactive by addressing further issues than were originally reported.
  3. In its responses to the resident’s complaints the landlord acknowledged the delays that had occurred resolving the bathroom repairs, and that its communication with the resident about the repairs had at times been poor. It recognised the impact the delays and lack of communication had had on the resident and her representative. It explained how it would learn from the failings and the steps it had already taken to improve its service. The total compensation of £505 was reasonable redress for the level of service failure, in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for the level of failure caused and the impact caused. The landlord’s other remedies met the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles of putting things right and learning from outcomes.
  4. On the same day the landlord issued its Stage 2 response saying the bathroom works had been completed, the resident raised further repairs. She reported there was water leaking out of the bathroom sink when used and the toilet bowl was not attached to the floor correctly.
  5. The landlord completed these further repairs within 8 working days on 3 October 2023. This was reasonable and well within its repair timescales.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.