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Believe Housing Limited (202334553)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202334553

Believe Housing Limited

14 January 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:
  1. Requests for repairs to the resident’s kitchen.
  2. Concerns about the insulation at the property.
  1. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the property, a 3-bedroom house. The resident has a condition which affects her breathing, her son is autistic, and her daughter has learning difficulties and epilepsy.
  2. The resident first raised issues with the kitchen being cold and in disrepair on 17 April 2023. The landlord attended the property on 3 May 2023 and discussed repairs it could do to the kitchen and the installation of an insulation panel on the outside kitchen wall.
  3. Following the visit, the landlord took no action. The resident complained on 15 August 2023. A landlord operative attended the property on 1 September 2023, but did not have the materials to complete the required repairs in the kitchen. The landlord next attended the property on 11 September 2023 to record what repair work was needed.
  4. Planned works for 4 October 2023 did not take place. The resident complained to the landlord the same day about the kitchen not being repaired and the lack of insulation at the property. A landlord operative attended the property on 2 November 2023, but again did not have the materials to complete the kitchen repair.
  5. The landlord sent a stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 7 November 2023. It apologised for the lack of action regarding the kitchen repairs and offered £265 compensation. It said it would arrange for repairs to take place. The resident escalated her complaint on 17 November and 1 December 2023, but the landlord did not respond.
  6. The resident contacted the Ombudsman on 16 February 2024. This Service told the landlord to respond to the resident’s escalation. The landlord provided a second response at stage 1response on 28 February 2024. It offered £470 compensation and said it would upgrade the kitchen and contact her regarding replacing an external plastic insulation panel.
  7. The resident told this Service on 20 March 2024 that she wanted to escalate the complaint. The landlord subsequently sent a stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 19 April 2024. It offered a further £100 compensation.
  8. The resident contacted this Service on 24 April 2024. She said that the landlord was not completing the kitchen works as it had agreed, and the external plastic insulation panel had not been looked at.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident raised the issue of the impact of issue on her physical and mental health. Whilst this Service is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider any personal injury aspects of the resident’s complaint. Such a matter is likely better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury claim. However, where there is a failing by the landlord, this Service will consider the landlord’s handling of the issues and any distress and inconvenience this may have caused.

The landlords handling of requests for repairs to the resident’s kitchen.

  1. The resident reported that her kitchen was in poor condition to the landlord on 17 April 2023, specifically the cupboards. The landlord visited the property on 3 May 2023. The resident asked for a new kitchen to be installed and a cupboard and the boiler to be moved. The landlord said it would not move the cupboard or boiler. It said it would only do repair work to the kitchen cupboards, which were in a poor state. This was because the kitchen was due to be renewed in 2028, as part of planned improvement works to its stock.
  2. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that landlords have an obligation to carry out repairs where there is disrepair. The landlord’s repair policy states that it is responsible for repairing kitchen cupboards within 40 working days. The policy also outlines that the landlord is responsible for communicating the reasons for any delays regarding repairs and confirming an expected completion date.
  3. The landlord’s rationale to limit the extent of its work to repairs only was reasonable, because its response complied with both its statutory and policy service requirements. However, following its decision to limit its response to repairs only, the landlord did not take any immediate action or communicate its plan to repair the kitchen. The failure to meaningfully progress the repairs was unreasonable. The resident complained to the landlord about its lack of action on 15 August 2023.
  4. The landlord raised a repair order on 18 August 2023 and called the resident on 21 August 2023 to apologise for the delays. The landlord’s operative attended the property on 1 September 2023. They were unable to carry out the repairs as they did not have the required materials. The resident called the landlord that day and complained that she was unaware of the appointment. She said that when the operative arrived, she had to empty the kitchen cupboards to allow the work to take place, but the repairs were not done.
  5. The landlord’s poor communication regarding the appointment was unreasonable, as was the unnecessary inconvenience caused to the resident. On 4 September 2023 the landlord called the resident and apologised.
  6. The landlord attended the property on 11 September 2023 to check what work was needed. It recorded that the resident asked for extra kitchen cupboards. It declined the request and stated it was only repairing or replacing what was required. The resident told the landlord that she had children with disabilities in the property. The landlord’s records do not say if she said what the disabilities were, or if she said how the situation regarding the kitchen was affecting them. The landlord has told this Service that it was not aware of the vulnerabilities in the household prior to then.
  7. The landlord’s operative was due to attend the property on 4 October 2023 to start repairs to the kitchen cupboards. They did not do so, nor did the landlord tell the resident they could not attend. The failure to contact the resident was unreasonable. The resident complained to the landlord about the lack of action on 4 October 2023. It spoke to the resident on 16 October 2023. She said she was unhappy that she had emptied the kitchen prior to 4 October 2023, in expectation of works being completed. She told the landlord that her son is autistic, and her daughter has uncontrolled epilepsy and learning difficulties. It is reasonable to assume that the landlord’s inaction would have caused distress to the family, which because of the required repairs and subsequent delay, did not have normal use of the kitchen.
  8. The landlord’s operative attended the property on 2 November 2023. The records show again that they did not have the materials to complete the repairs to the kitchen cupboards. The resident emailed the landlord the same day and said she had been promised brown cupboards to match the rest of the kitchen when the landlord attended on 11 September 2023, but the operative brought white cupboard doors and black worktops.
  9. There is nothing in the landlord’s records about there being an agreement between the parties regarding the colour of the kitchen cabinets or worktop. The resident said she had to store her kitchen items in her living room while waiting for the repairs to be done. She said it was not safe for her family as she had children with disabilities, and her husband was waiting for a hip replacement operation.
  10. The landlord sent a stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 7 November 2023. It upheld her complaint about the kitchen repair delays. It apologised for not telling her the appointment was cancelled on 4 October 2023. The landlord said that it was only able to provide white kitchen units and black worktops, which were standard in its properties. It apologised for the miscommunication. The landlord said it could arrange to send operatives to repair the kitchen the week commencing 4 December 2023.
  11. In recognition of the delays in not repairing the kitchen the landlord offered £240 compensation, which comprised of:
    1. £50 for distress and inconvenience.
    2. £180 for not taking action from 3 May to 15 August 2023.
    3. £10 for postponing the appointment of 4 October 2023 without telling the resident.
  12. The landlord said the resident could ask for a review of the complaint decision if she remained dissatisfied.
  13. The landlord’s response recognised its delays in repairing the kitchen. It offered compensation for the lack of action taken between 3 May and 15 August 2023, and for the distress and inconvenience that had caused. However, the landlord did not offer further redress for there being a further 3 months that had elapsed and the required repairs had still not been completed. The failure to acknowledge or compensate for this additional delay was unreasonable.
  14. The landlord’s offer of compensation for the missed appointment of 4 October 2024 was in line with its compensation guidance for missed appointments.
  15. The resident emailed the landlord on 16 November 2023. She said she did not want the kitchen units the landlord had offered as they were poor quality. She said she was unhappy with the compensation offer.
  16. The landlord failed to respond to the email, or to escalate the resident’s complaint to stage 2 of its complaint process. She emailed again on 30 November 2023. She asked the landlord when it would make the kitchen repairs. The resident told the landlord she had arranged for decorators to strip the wallpaper in the kitchen to prepare for the necessary works. The landlord did not respond.
  17. On 16 February 2024 the resident emailed the Ombudsman as the landlord had not replied to her escalated complaints. She said that her son had previously cut his hand on a kitchen cupboard door as it was in poor condition. The resident did not specify when that happened, or if she had told the landlord this information. This Service forwarded the complaint to the landlord.
  18. The landlord spoke to the resident about her complaint on 23, 27 and 28 February 2024. The resident said she had removed the kitchen cupboard doors which were in poor condition due to her son cutting his hand on one of them.
  19. The landlord sent a second stage 1 response to the resident on 28 February 2024. The landlord did not uphold her complaint. It said with regard to the cupboard doors, it used a standard kitchen range for all its properties. The landlord said it would not replace the base units in the kitchen as they were not damaged. It added that it was not able to provide an extra kitchen cupboard as requested, but the resident could contact its kitchen supplier to see if she could buy one herself. As part of its response the landlord also told the resident that it had decided to bring forward its planned improvements and install a new kitchen in the property in 2024. The landlord told her that it would contact her about starting work on the kitchen.
  20. The landlord’s obligation was to repair the kitchen cupboards, and not to complete major works in moving a boiler or extra units. Its offer to replace the kitchen ahead of its planned schedule was reasonable, as it was not obliged to do so and was a proactive measure to take to resolve the resident’s initial request to replace the kitchen. However, the process of repairing the kitchen cupboards had at this stage taken 10 months, which was far outside of the landlord’s repair policy timescale of 40 working days. The landlord did not acknowledge or offer further compensation for the delays since its last complaint response from November 2023. The failure to repair the kitchen cupboards meant that at times the resident had to store goods in her living room. Furthermore, the resident had to remove doors from the kitchen cupboards due to safety concerns. The landlord’s failure to acknowledge the impact the delays had on the resident and her family was inappropriate.
  21. Following the second stage 1 response, the landlord did not contact the resident about the kitchen work, so the resident emailed the Ombudsman on 20 March 2024. This Service forwarded the complaint to the landlord. The landlord’s records show that it spoke to the resident regarding her complaint on 16 April 2024.
  22. The landlord sent a stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 19 April 2024. It apologised for not giving updates on the kitchen repairs. It offered an additional £50 compensation for the distress and inconvenience the resident had suffered. It said she could complain to this Service if she remained dissatisfied.
  23. The landlord’s response recognised it had failed to repair the kitchen as per its repairs policy. The landlord’s additional compensation offer was for the distress and inconvenience the resident had suffered since its last complaint response. However, it did not follow those same principles it had previously used regarding the delays in repairing the kitchen cupboards since August 2023. The failure to offer further redress for these delays was unreasonable.
  24. It is not clear from the landlord’s records when it attended the property to discuss the new kitchen with the resident. Records show the resident called the landlord on 24 April 2024. She stated she was not happy with the proposed new kitchen design. The resident conveyed she was unhappy that the landlord refused to remove an existing cupboard. The landlord recorded that the resident told it she would refuse the works to install a new kitchen if the cupboard was not moved.
  25. The landlord told this Service on 22 November 2024 that it did not install a new kitchen in the resident’s property, and the resident installed her own kitchen instead. The resident told this Service that the kitchen offered by the landlord was of a very poor quality, so she paid for a different one to be installed herself. This Service is not the arbiter as to the quality of the materials provided by the landlord. In offering to install a new kitchen at the premises, the landlord acted reasonably and appropriately in accordance with its responsibilities to the resident.
  26. In summary, the landlord did not complete the required repairs within the timescales set out in its policy. Its poor communication throughout added to the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident and her family, who were vulnerable.
  27. When a failure is identified, as in this case, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, the Ombudsman takes into account whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be Fair, Put Things Right, and Learn from Outcomes, as well as our own guidance on remedies.
  28. In its complaint responses the landlord admitted failing to complete the kitchen repairs. It apologised and offered £100 overall compensation to the resident for the distress and inconvenience she had suffered. The landlord also offered £180 compensation for the delays in completing the kitchen repairs up to August 2023. The landlord did not offer any further redress for delays despite its stage 2 response being 6 months later and the repairs remained incomplete.
  29. The landlord’s compensation offers regarding the delays in repairing the kitchen and the delays and distress that caused were not reasonable. They did not reflect the full period of the delay, or how it had affected the resident and her family over a period of 10 months.
  30. This failure to provide appropriate redress for the inaction and delays sustained by the resident and to put things right leads to a determination of maladministration. An order for increased compensation has been made below.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about insulation at the property.

  1. The Decent Homes Standard is a government target that sets the minimum standard for social housing. As part of the standard, the landlord is obliged to provide the resident with a reasonable degree of thermal comfort at the property. The landlord is responsible for ensuring that there were no repair issues which meant that the Decent Homes Standard was not being met.
  2. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a risk-based evaluation tool used by local authorities to assess dwellings and identify potential hazards that could harm the health, safety, or lives of occupants.
  3. Landlords have a responsibility to keep properties free from category 1 hazards, which includes excess cold. Guidance for the HHSRS sets out that a healthy indoor temperature is approximately 21°C and that temperatures below 16°C, may pose serious health risks.
  4. The landlord visited the property on 3 May 2023 and the resident said she was unhappy that the kitchen felt cold. The landlord said the kitchen had a single skin wall with an insulated plastic panel on the outside. The landlord said it could replace that panel with a new one.
  5. The landlord’s repairs policy states that non-emergency repairs should be completed within 20 working days. The landlord is responsible for communicating the reasons for any delays regarding repairs and confirming an expected completion date to manage a resident’s expectations.
  6. No action was taken by the landlord following the visit on 3 May 2023. The resident complained to the landlord on 15 August 2023. The landlord attended the property on 11 September 2023 to check what work was needed. Its records show the resident told the landlord she had children with disabilities, although it did not say if she said if the cold affected those disabilities.
  7. The landlord records do not state the outcome of its inspection regarding the level of insulation following the visit. The landlord sent internal emails regarding the insulation at the property on 18 and 22 September 2023. The emails said that an energy performance rating survey of the property was conducted on 9 March 2022. The notes state the insulation was very poor. This finding was based on the assumption there was no insulating material present. The notes said the energy performance certificate completed following the survey was valid for 10 years, and it was not a priority to resurvey.
  8. The landlord also said in its emails that its budget did not have funding to do one-off works insulating properties at that time. However, it recorded that it would look into gaining funding for insulation, and the resident was on a waiting list. There is no evidence that the resident was informed of this information.
  9. The failure to provide the resident with the relevant details about the landlord’s future plans to resolve an issue she complained about was an example of poor communication. As such, the landlord’s failure to keep the resident informed of this information was unreasonable. It is also unreasonable that following the landlord’s inspection of 11 September 2023 there was no record of it checking if any repairs or interim measures it could have been provided that could have improved the resident’s situation. This was an example of poor case handling by the landlord.
  10. The landlord spoke to the resident on 16 October 2023. The resident reiterated that she was worried about the lack of insulation at the property.
  11. On 7 November 2023 the landlord sent a stage 1 complaint response. The landlord did not refer to the complaint about the insulation of the property, or the work to be done on the outside kitchen wall.
  12. The resident sent a further complaint to the landlord on 1 December 2023. She said she had previously spoken to it about the poor insulation at the property, and her monthly energy bill was £324. The landlord did not reply.
  13. The landlord’s website provides energy saving information. It tells residents to contact the landlord if they are struggling with energy bills. Despite the resident contacting the landlord about those matters it did not offer advice on energy efficiency, usage and costs, or consider carrying out investigative works to see if repairs would improve the situation. This was a failing on the landlord’s part to provide wider support to the resident and her vulnerable family through its service provision.
  14. On 16 February 2024 the resident emailed this Service as the landlord had still not acted regarding the insulation panel on the kitchen wall. She said the cold made her daughter’s epilepsy worse. The landlord’s records do not show she had told the landlord this previously. This Service forwarded the complaint to the landlord.
  15. The landlord sent a further stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 28 February 2024. It said that it did not uphold her complaint about the insulation of the property, as it was working towards upgrading properties by 2030. The landlord said at that time it did not have any investment schemes for external or internal wall insulation, but it was looking into securing future funding.
  16. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint about not replacing the insulation panel on the outside kitchen wall and apologised. It said that its repairs team would contact her about the work needed. It offered £420 compensation for its failure to carry out the repair and £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused.
  17. It was reasonable for the landlord to explain the reasons why it was unable to provide new and additional insulation at the property. However, this information was available when it first considered the resident’s complaint in September 2023, around 5 months previously. There is no evidence to explain the delay in providing this information.
  18. Given the long-term expected wait to provide insulation at the property, it would be reasonable to assume that the landlord would seek advise, inform and signpost the resident towards interim measures to improve thermal efficiency at the property and offer advice about her energy bills, as per its website’s direction. The failure to take such proactive measures was inappropriate and unfair in the circumstances, particularly given the vulnerabilities present in the resident’s household.
  19. The resident told this Service on 9 December 2024 that the landlord had yet to take any action regarding the insulation panel on the kitchen wall.
  20. In summary, despite the resident raising concerns on several occasions about the insulation at the property, and particularly the outside kitchen wall, the landlord has failed to take sufficient steps to provide a meaningful resolution to her complaint. The landlord considered the resident’s concerns about the property being cold in September 2023, but it did not respond to the resident until February 2024, where it set out the limitations to provide additional insulation. The landlord failed to provide any additional support to improve the situation experienced by the resident.
  21. The landlord offered compensation of £470 for the delays to replace the external insulation panel and the inconvenience that caused. This amount would have been in line with an award which the Ombudsman would make in these circumstances, and when considering the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. However, that would be on the basis that the landlord had taken action to subsequently undertake the required works.
  22. Due to the outstanding actions to replace the external insulation panel, and the landlord’s failure to provide the support it offered regarding the residents reports of high energy costs, the Ombudsman finds that there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s concerns about the insulation. An order for additional compensation to reflect this failing is set out below.

Complaint handling

  1. In August 2023 the landlord’s complaint process stated that it should attempt to resolve a complaint informally at the first point of contact without need for a formal investigation. If the complaint could not be resolved informally it should be moved to the landlord’s 2 stage formal process. At stage 1 the landlord should respond within 10 working days. If the resident remained dissatisfied, they could escalate their complaint to stage 2. At stage 2 the landlord should respond within 20 working days. If there are delays at any stage, the landlord would be expected to contact the resident, explain the delay and provide a timescale for replying. 
  2. The resident first made a complaint to the landlord on 15 August 2023. The landlord attended the property on 11 September 2023 to check the matters raised. The resident complained again on 1 September 2023, however, the landlord took no action. The landlord’s failure to acknowledge the complaint in accordance with its policy was inappropriate.
  3. On 4 October 2023 the resident sent a further complaint to the landlord. The landlord sent a response at stage 1 of its process to the resident on 7 November 2023, which was outside of its 10-working day timescale. It offered £25 for its complaint handling failure in not acknowledging her complaints. This offer was in accordance with its compensation policy. The landlord’s complaint response did not acknowledge the resident’s complaint about the insulation panel.
  4. Paragraph 5.6 of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states landlords must address all points raised in the complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate. 
  5. The landlord’s failure to address the resident’s complaint about the insulation panel was inappropriate.
  6. The resident tried to escalate the complaint to the landlord on 17 November and 1 December 2023, but the landlord did not reply. The resident contacted the Ombudsman on 16 February 2024. This Service forwarded the complaint to the landlord on 20 February 2023.
  7. Paragraph 5.9 of the Code states if all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction at stage one it must be progressed to stage two.
  8. The landlord did not set out a rationale for its refusal to escalate the complaint to stage 2. The failure to escalate the complaint upon the resident’s request was inappropriate.
  9. The landlord sent another stage 1 complaint to the resident on 28 February 2024. The decision to send another stage 1 complaint and not escalate not only was not in accordance with its own complaint handling policy. It denied the opportunity for her complaint to be reviewed by a different member of the landlord’s complaint handling team. The landlord’s failure to recognise this failing was inappropriate. The resident contacted the Ombudsman again on 20 March 2024 and the complaint was forwarded to the landlord on 22 March 2024.
  10. The landlord sent a stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 19 April 2024. The landlord offered £50 compensation for its complaint handling failure in not escalating the complaint in November 2023. However, the landlord did not recognise that its complaint response from February 2024 was not in accordance with its complaint handling policy. That failure to identify and acknowledge this within its response was unreasonable.
  11. In summary, the landlord offered compensation payments totalling £75 for its complaint handling failures. This did not fairly reflect all of the outlined failures, or the inconvenience the prolonged process caused to the resident. These failures, together with the redress offered being insufficient to put things right for the resident, leads to a determination of maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. An order for increased compensation has been made below.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the requests for repairs to the resident’s kitchen.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s concerns about the insulation at the property.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident in writing for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Pay £950 compensation to the resident (the landlord can deduct from this total any amount it has previously paid to the resident as part of its internal complaints process). The compensation must be paid directly to the resident. The balance of the compensation due must be paid directly to the resident and not offset against a rent or service charge account. It is broken down as follows:
      1. £250 for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for repairs to her kitchen.
      2. £550 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the insulation at the property.
      3. £150 in for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s complaint handling.
    3. Produce a schedule works to replace the insulation panel on the outside kitchen wall at the property as was previously committed to on previous inspections.
    4. Contact the resident to confirm whether she is still experiencing cold temperatures in the property. The landlord will conduct an inspection and identify if any interim measures are reasonably available to improve the situation for the resident. The landlord will provide signposting and advice to assist the resident with her energy bills and usage.
  2. The landlord should reply to this Service with evidence of compliance of these orders within the timescales set above.