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Clarion Housing Association Limited (202318286)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202318286

Clarion Housing Association Limited

29 November 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 the resident’s:
    1. Reports of low water pressure and a lack of hot water in the property.
    2. Complaints.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. Her tenancy began in September 2012. The property is an end terrace bungalow. The resident’s complaint to the landlord stated she has a disability which affects her mobility, and this is noted in the landlord’s records.
  2. On 18 December 2022, the resident contacted the landlord’s contractor to report the water pressure in the property was low. She also said she had no hot water. A contractor visited the property on 19 December 2022, but it could not gain access as the resident was at work. Therefore, a contractor visited on 29 December 2022 and completed works to the boiler. They passed the resident’s concerns to the landlord regarding the low water pressure.
  3. Despite several visits to the property and investigations, the landlord was unable to permanently fix the low water pressure. The resident says she did not have access to hot water until a temporary repair carried out on 2 February 2023.
  4. On 2 January 2023, the resident contacted the landlord to complain about the service received. She said she had not had access to hot water or a shower since 14 December 2023. Further, after an inspection by a contractor, she was told that the main pipes required replacing from an internal to external stopcock. The resident said she contacted the landlord, who told her to boil a kettle. However, due to her disability, she was unable to carry a kettle.
  5. On 12 January 2023, the resident made another complaint to the landlord. She said the contractor attended and was unable to complete the repair to the pipe despite assurances. The resident said the landlord had not resolved the issue, which was causing her anxiety.
  6. On 17 January 2023, the resident made a third complaint to the landlord. Her complaint concerned the low water pressure and no hot water in property as identified by the contractor. The resident said there had been repeat visits to the property. She said the landlord contacted her at short notice asking her to be at the property. The resident was seeking compensation for the failed visits, discomfort, distress, and anxiety caused.
  7. On 6 February 2023, the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said:
    1. Its contractor attended on 19 December 2022, however, not was unable to gain access. The resident contacted the contractor on 24 December 2022 and rebooked an appointment for 29 December 2022.
    2. The resident first reported the issue to it directly on 29 December 2022. There was enough water in the property to drink and wash. It carried out an emergency repair on 29 December 2022 and the property had hot water when the operative left.
    3. It had attended again on 29 December 2022, 12 January 2023, and 20 January 2023. This was to try and find the suspected leak causing the low hot water pressure. It narrowed down the concern to an issue with the water main.
    4. On 2 February 2023, it fitted a temporary water supply. This was until the contractor could put in place a new water supply. The contractor would contact her to book a date for further repairs.
    5. The landlord had found a service failure about the service level agreement from the contractor. This was because she had to chase the contractor and had multiple visits to try and fix the issue.
    6. It apologised for the inconvenience caused and offered compensation of £150.
  8. On 19 February 2023, the resident escalated her complaint. She said she was not satisfied with the landlord’s stage 1 response as the compensation offered did not reflect the distress, discomfort, and inconvenience she had to endure. She disputed the landlord’s findings that on 29 December 2022 it stated that she had hot water following the contractor’s visit.
  9. On 1 August 2023, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response. The landlord said:
    1. It was not satisfied the stage 1 complaint response was fair and accurate. It also said that it had not taken appropriate action to resolve the issues raised by the resident.
    2. The stage 1 complaint response said it had completed temporary works to install a temporary water supply while it investigated the water mains. However, this was not the case. Rather, it replaced a section of pipe leading to the property. This did not however resolve the concerns due to issues further up in the water supply.
    3. There had been repeated attendances to the property to try and resolve the low water pressure and lack of hot water. However, the issue persisted which caused inconvenience to her. The contractor had tried to locate the source of the pressure issue and attributed it to the water mains.
    4. During a visit to the property on 9 March 2023, it confirmed she had access to hot water, but the pressure was low. It said this issue was affecting several properties in the area.
    5. On each inspection undertaken since she escalated her complaint to stage 2, it said that the water ran hot, but the pressure was lacking. Therefore, it could not find a service failure with regards to this issue.
    6. It was committed to completing the works. However, these were taking some time to arrange due to their complex nature and difficulties in locating a suitable contractor.
    7. It had provisionally scheduled to re-lay the water-mains and carry out internal works for 31 August 2023. However, this was subject to change and if possible, it would try and bring the date forward.
    8. It awarded compensation of £300. This was £150 for the delays to the water pressure works, £100 for its handling of the complaint, and £50 inaccuracies in its stage 1 response. This was in addition to the compensation of £150 offered in its stage 1 complaint.

Post Complaint Process

  1. On 24 August 2023, as the resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response, she referred her complaint to this service to investigate. The resident advised:
    1. The landlord had failed to acknowledge her shower had stopped working. After approximately 2 minutes, she had no hot water from the kitchen and bathroom taps from 18 December 2022 to 2 February 2022.
    2. She disagreed with the stage 2 response and said she did not have access to hot water until 2 February 2023. She felt the landlord had not taken in account her correspondence and the visits to her property prior to the temporary repair on 2 February 2023.
    3. There were further repairs booked for the 30 August, 31 August, and 1 September 2023. It had booked another repair to replace her shower as the landlord said the current shower would not be able to cope with the new water pressure.
  2. On 25 November 2024, the resident informed this service that the landlord had completed all repairs in September 2023.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident said that the landlord’s handling of the low water pressure and lack of hot water negatively impacted her health. While the Ombudsman does not dispute the resident’s concerns, it is beyond the ability of this service to determine a causal link between the landlord’s actions (or inaction) and the impact on the resident’s health. These matters are more suited to consideration via the courts or a personal injury claim. Nonetheless, the Ombudsman has considered the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident.
  2. The resident has reported outstanding ground works previously agreed to by the landlord. This report has not considered this matter as it occurred after her complaint had completed the landlord’s internal complaint process. Paragraph 42.a. of the Scheme says that the Ombudsman cannot consider matters which have not exhausted the landlord’s complaint process. The resident may wish to raise these matters as a further complaint with the landlord if she has not done so already. Should the resident remain dissatisfied following the completion of the landlord’s complaint process, she is able to refer it to the Ombudsman for a separate investigation.

The landlord’s obligations

  1. The landlord’s online repair guidance states it is responsible for the water mains, pipes, and waste pipes.
  2. The landlord’s repair policy says it should attend any emergency repairs within 24 hours. It should complete works to make safe or temporarily repair at this visit. Further repairs may be completed as a follow-on appointment.
  3. At the time the resident made her complaint, the landlord operated a 2 stage complaints procedure. Its complaints policy said it would log a stage 1 complaint within 10 working days and provide a response with 20 working days. The landlord aims to log a stage 2 complaint within 10 working days and aimed to resolve within 40 working days.
  4. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) at the time of this complaint said that landlords should respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. Where there is likely to be a delay at either stage, the Code states landlords should contact the resident, explain the reason for the delay, and provide a new response time, which should not exceed a further 10 working days without good reason.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of low water pressure and lack of hot water

  1. The landlord’s records state it became aware of the resident’s concerns on 29 December 2022. The reports and appointments prior to this were made directly with its contractor without the landlord’s involvement. The landlord raised an emergency repair once it was aware of the low water pressure and lack of hot water. It attended within 24 hours in keeping with its repair policy and recorded that the hot water was working when it left. It was entitled to believe the information provided by its contractor.
  2. The Ombudsman understands that it can take a landlord multiple visits to resolve an issue when it involves issues with pipework which are not easily accessible or visible. The resident reported the same issue again and upon further inspection, the landlord identified required repairs to the water mains. She accepts it restored the hot water to the property on 2 February 2023. The landlord was reasonable in completing a temporary repair to restore hot water in the property. However, the low water pressure remained following the temporary repair. Due to the repairs needed, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider the impact and risks to the resident due to the delays or incomplete repairs. This may also allow it to identify if it needed to take any further actions to support this resident. The landlord has not demonstrated it did this. Further, the Ombudsman would expect the landlord to consider how it could mitigate or reduce the impact to the resident considering her disabilities and vulnerabilities. Its failure to make these considerations was inappropriate and showed a lack of customer focus.
  3. The landlord was aware following the resident’s complaint dated 2 January 2023, that she was unable to use the shower. Due to the delay in restoring the water pressure and hot water, the landlord could have considered a temporary decant or other alternative bathing provisions to support the resident. It has not evidence it considered this. Additionally, the resident said the low water pressure and lack of hot water had a negative impact on her mental health. The landlord acknowledged the inconvenience caused during its stage 1 complaint. However, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider whether there was any support it could offer or refer her to.
  4. It is not disputed by the landlord or resident that she had access to hot water following the temporary repair on 2 February 2023, but the water pressure was low. Additionally, the landlord does not dispute that on 15 July 2023, the resident did not have access to any water in the property. The landlord has not demonstrated during its complaint responses that it considered the resident did not have access to hot water for 46 days prior to 2 February 2023 or the impact this would have had on the resident. The landlord could have considered awarding the resident compensation to reflect this.
  5. The resident’s initial complaint stated there were multiple missed appointments/visits to her property. This service has not seen evidence to show that the landlord investigated and responded to the resident claims. The contractor’s records show she contacted it on 18 December 2022 and 4 January 2023. These do not appear in the landlord’s repair records. Therefore, there was an issue regarding communication between the landlord and its contractor regarding repairs raised and actions taken. Having reviewed its records, some of the repairs raised did not show which contractors works were allocated to, nor the service notes of when repairs were carried out.
  6. Due to the repairs needed, it is reasonable for a landlord to request a contractor to inspect the property and advise of the repairs required. Further, it is reasonable for a landlord to consider alternative contractors to avoid delays to the repairs as long as it updates the resident. Having reviewed the landlord’s records, it did provide updates to the resident after the resident escalated her complaint. In an email dated 12 April 2023, the landlord confirmed the issue was affecting more than one property. It confirmed on 26 April 2023 a contractor had attended the property and completed a survey and provide a quote which would be reviewed. On 25 July 2023, the landlord informed the resident it was having difficulty in allocating the works to a contractor. While this service acknowledges the complexity of the works required, this was not due to the actions of the resident. The repairs needed were first identified in January 2023 but were not completed until September 2023. This meant the resident continued to have difficulties with low water pressure and difficulty in bathing for more than 8 months which is unreasonable.
  7. The landlord states the repair to restore the water pressure were provisionally scheduled for 30 August 2023. However, the resident states this was cancelled, and she was not notified until the day of the repair. The resident said no reason was given for the cancellation and she did not receive the arranged callback from the landlord. It was unreasonable not to provide advance notice of repairs not being able to take place.
  8. The landlord has acknowledged its failings and offered compensation totalling £350 for its handling of the low water pressure and lack of hot water in the property. This would be in line with its compensation policy which says compensation between £250 to £750 should be awarded where it finds considerable failure but there may be no permanent impact on the resident. However, upon review, the Ombudsman determines the landlord should pay a further £300 in compensation to the resident. This is due to the lack of hot water in the property. Additionally, the landlord has not demonstrated it considered the resident’s disability or vulnerabilities in its response to the matters reported by the resident. Further, it did not offer or refer the resident to support regarding the physical and mental health issues she faced. Therefore, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of low water pressure and lack of hot water in the property.

Complaint Handling

  1. In January, the resident made three formal complaints. These were on 2 January 2023, 12 January 2023, and 17 January 2023. The landlord could have acted reasonably in treating all 3 complaints as a single complaint and provided a single complaint response. However, it should have logged the resident’s first complaint submitted on 2 January 2023. The landlord however logged a complaint following the resident’s complaint dated 17 January 2023. The landlord responded on 19 January 2023 and said it would provide a response with 10 working days. A stage 1 complaint response was issued on 6 February 2023; however, it failed to acknowledge or address the complaints dated 2 January and 12 January 2023 which amounts to a failing.
  2. The resident escalated her complaint on 19 February 2023. On 21 February 2023, the landlord issued an acknowledgment email advising it would contact her within 20 working days regarding her complaint. However, the landlord did not issue a stage 2 complaint response until 1 August 2023. This is a delay of 112 working days from the date the resident requested to escalate her complaint. This was an unreasonable delay from the landlord. This was a considerable time following the complaint escalation and unreasonably extended the overall time of the complaint. It also meant that the resident needed to spend additional time and trouble pursuing a formal response.
  3. The landlord was fair and reasonable in contacting the resident on several occasions (29 March 2023, 12 April 2023. 26 April 2024, 12 May 2023, 26 May 2023, 13 June 2023, 27 June 2023, 11 July 2023, and 25 July 2023) to advise it was unable to provide a response to her complaint. While the landlord apologised for the delay it did also provide updates to the resident regarding inspections and current position of works to the property.
  4. The landlord was reasonable in acknowledging and apologising for the incorrect information provided in its stage 1 response. The landlord offered compensation of £50 for the incorrect information provided in the stage 1 response. Further, it apologised and offered £100 for the delay in providing the stage 2 complaint response. Having considered the evidence, the landlord should have offered further compensation as the delay in providing a response was more than 5 months. Therefore, the Ombudsman finds there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s associated complaint.
  5. The Ombudsman determines a further £100 compensation should be awarded to the resident. This is because the landlord did not acknowledge the complaints dated 2 January and 12 January 2023, and the delay was more that 4-months following the expiry of the 20 working days reply to the resident’s stage 2 complaint per the code. This amount is in addition to the £100 compensation it awarded in its stage 2 response.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of low water pressure and a lack of hot water in the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaints.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 6 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must:
    1. Pay the resident a total of £850 in compensation, composed of:
      1. £450 offered during its internal complaint process.
      2. £300 to reflect its handling of the resident’s reports of low water pressure and a lack of hot water in the property.
      3. A further £100 for its handling of the resident’s complaint.
  2. The landlord is to contact the resident to arrange an inspection the property. Within 6 weeks of this visit, the landlord is to write to the resident with outcome and advise whether the water pressure is normal and there is hot water in the property. The landlord is to provide a copy of the letter to this service.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord if it has not already done so, contact the resident to discuss any outstanding repairs required to the garden.