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Camden Council (202304548)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202304548

Camden Council

12 December 2024


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 heating/hot water system.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord in a 2-bedroom flat, which he occupies with his wife and 2 young children. The tenancy commenced on 13 June 2022.
  2. Between 16 June 2022 to 10 November 2022 the resident reported various repair issues with the heating/hot water system, which the landlord’s contractor attended to on each occasion. On 18 November 2022, the resident complained to the landlord. He said he had received an electricity bill of over a thousand pounds which he felt was due to a faulty hot water cylinder and various issues with the boiler settings. He added that it had taken the landlord’s contractor nearly 4 months to resolve the issue.
  3. On 30 November 2022 the landlord responded to the complaint at stage 1 of its complaints process. It did not uphold the complaint. It said that its contractor had attended on a number of occasions over the last 6 months concerning heating matters and they had undertaken the required work and restored the service. The same day the resident escalated the complaint. He said the landlord’s contractor had not fixed the issue and instead told him to turn the electric water cylinder on, which the resident felt was the cause of his high electricity bill. He explained that his wife was seriously ill and that his boiler stopped working on 27 November 2022 but nobody had attended.
  4. On 16 March 2023 the landlord issued its stage 2 final response. It provided a timeline of its contractor’s attendance. In addition, it said:
    1. It apologised for the delayed stage 2 response.
    2. It acknowledged that due to household circumstances, this was a priority case when attending to repairs.
    3. It acknowledged there had been a number of issues with his heating and hot water system since June 2022.
    4. His reports were attended to by its contractor when access was possible.
    5. The faults were varied and apart from the ‘3 port valve’ issues in October 2022, were unconnected to previous work.
    6. It was concerned that following the resident’s last 3 reports its contractor was unable to access the property and advised him to report any continuing problems.
  5. In the resident’s referral to this Service, he said the landlord’s contractor had not resolved the issue and had instead put his ‘emergency’ water cylinder on which he felt caused his high electricity bills. He felt the landlord had not acknowledged the delay in resolving the issues with the boiler nor considered his wife’s poor health or his 2 young children. As an outcome, he wanted the problem fixed and compensation for his electricity bills.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the heating/hot water system

  1. The landlord’s guide states that it is responsible for repairing appliances installed to provide heating and hot water. It will attend to emergencies such as no heating or hot water the same day the issue is reported. It adds that that for routine repairs it will book an appointment for an engineer to visit at a date and time suitable for the resident. Its website adds that these repairs are usually carried out within 35 days.
  2. The landlord’s repair record showed its contractor first attended to problems with the hot water system on 16 June 2022. Upon attending they turned on the mains water supply to the hot water cylinder as there was ‘no flow’ to the hot taps. Its records said they were unable to check the system properly as the resident was in a ‘rush to go out’. They subsequently advised him to contact them if there were any issues. Given the circumstances, this was an appropriate initial step to take and resolved the resident’s immediate concerns.
  3. However, it is unclear why another appointment was not arranged to check the system shortly afterwards. Instead, the onus was put on the resident to contact them. This was inappropriate, particularly as the contractor knew it had only done a temporary fix, and the system needed investigation. Furthermore, it is unclear if the contractor turned the cylinder off after they fixed an airlock issue with the boiler on 28 June 2022. This was a minor failing on the landlord’s part and would have likely left the resident unsure whether the mains supply to the hot water cylinder needed to remain on or whether this could now be turned off following the boiler repair.
  4. On 13 October 2022 the landlord’s contractor identified a fault with the ‘3 port valve’ and subsequently repaired this on 18 October 2022. However, they found it faulty again shortly afterwards on 26 October 2022. While it is concerning that this issue arose again so soon after the original repair, the contractor promptly fixed the valve the next day. This was fair and demonstrated that it understood the urgency of the matter. On other occasions in October 2022, the landlord’s contractor attended promptly to reports of issues with the heating/hot water system. They were either unable to gain access or found that the summer valve and timer had been switched off and, on each occasion, left the system in working order.
  5. The landlord’s contractor attended again on 7 November 2022. They found a faulty Thermostatic Radiator Valve in the lounge and advised that a system drain down was required. The landlord again acted promptly and completed this work on 10 November 2022. The landlord’s records indicated another 3 reports of issues with the heating/hot water system in November 2022 and December 2022. The landlord’s repair records showed that the contractor attended to these reports but on each occasion was unable to gain access. While it is unclear if these were followed up, there was no evidence of further reports about the heating/hot water system between 11 December 2022 and the landlord’s 16 March 2023 final response.
  6. Overall, the landlord’s records showed that it handled repairs fairly and appeared to attend to reports within its emergency policy timescales. Further, where it found faults, it promptly repaired these, often the same day or when parts were needed, within its policy timescales. Its actions demonstrated that it had considered the household’s circumstances and took the resident’s reports seriously.
  7. However, while this Service appreciates that heating/hot water system issues were unconnected, it is concerning that various faults were identified over a relatively short period. Furthermore, the evidence showed that the resident reported further problems from May 2023 to at least March 2024 where an internal email said that the contractor was awaiting approval from the landlord for a new boiler. If the same issue keeps being reported, the Ombudsman would expect the landlord to carry out a more detailed technical inspection to identify the underlying issue, which would enable it to carry out a lasting repair. Given the consistent issues raised the landlord should consider this. In addition, it should also consider if a boiler replacement is appropriate in this case and a recommendation is made below.
  8. The Ombudsman recognises that the resident wanted compensation for his high electricity bills, which he asserted were caused by having the ‘emergency’ water cylinder on. While this Service cannot definitively say whether this would have caused his electricity bill to rise the landlord did not address this issue in its formal responses. Furthermore, we know that the landlord’s contractor switched on the hot water cylinder as early as June 2022 and there is no evidence if or when it was turned off. Moreover, it would seem likely that this was used as a temporary solution while the resident waited for repairs to be carried out. It would therefore be appropriate for the landlord to consider reimbursing the resident for any increased electricity usage during the period of the complaint and an order is made below for remedy.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will acknowledge complaints at all stages within 5 working days and will respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. It adds that exceptionally, it may extend the timescales to respond by a further 10 working days and will provide an explanation to the resident for the reasons for the extension and a clear timeframe for when the response will be received.
  2. The resident escalated the complaint on 30 November 2022. However, the landlord failed to respond. This would have caused time and trouble to the resident who chased the landlord for an update on 19 January 2023. Although the landlord responded promptly and explained the reasons for the delay it was unable to provide a timescale for its response. This was contrary to its policy and would have caused frustration to the resident.
  3. The landlord issued its final response on 16 March 2023 over 3 months after the resident’s escalation request. Although the landlord apologised for the delay it failed to offer any redress to put things right. Given the considerable delay, it should have done so. This Service’s remedies guidance suggests compensation of up to £100 should be considered where there was a failure that the landlord did not fully put right. The Ombudsman has therefore found service failure for the landlord’s complaint handling and an order of compensation is made below for remedy.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its handling of repairs to the heating/hot water system.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.

Orders

  1. The landlord must do the following within the next 4 weeks:
    1. Provide a written apology for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Consider reimbursing the resident for any increased electricity usage covering the period of June 2022 to March 2023. In doing so the landlord must invite the resident to provide a copy of his electric bills for this period. This will enable the landlord to identify any increased usage during the period the ‘emergency cylinder’ was used. Once this evidence is received the landlord must write to the resident and this Service with its decision.
    3. Pay the resident £100 for the complaint handling failures identified in this report.
  2. The landlord should provide this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescale set out above.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should consider a technical inspection of the heating/hot water system to identify if there are any underlying issues. In doing so it should consider if it would be appropriate to replace the boiler.