East Midlands Housing Group Limited (202346240)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202346240

East Midlands Housing Group Limited

20 May 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:
   1. Handling of a boiler repair.
   2. Associated complaint handling.

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The property is a 2-bedroom house.
3. The resident reported an issue with the boiler to the landlord on 18 and 19 December 2023. On 20 December 2023, an engineer visited the property but they were unable to access the property and therefore the landlord raised a further repair request.
4. The resident made a formal complaint to the landlord on 21 December 2023. He was dissatisfied that the engineer had not waited for him or returned on the day during the first visit. He reported that he had been without hot water and heating downstairs for 4 days. He raised concerns about the landlord’s handling of a cavity wall insulation request and lack of any update. He reported the house was “freezing” and this affected his 6-months old daughter.
5. An engineer inspected the boiler on 22 December 2023 and identified a part was needed for the repair. The part was not available and had to be ordered. The landlord provided heaters to the resident as a temporary measure.
6. The resident chased for an update on 2 January 2024 and the landlord explained it would chase its contractor. After the part was delivered, the landlord booked the repair for 16 January 2024 based on the resident’s availability. The repair was completed on this date. On 23 January 2024, the resident was offered vouchers totalling to £140 for the increased electricity bill resulting from the use of temporary heaters.
7. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 22 January 2024. It acknowledged the delay in the boiler repair. It upheld the complaint and offered £50 compensation. It also explained lessons learnt, introduced improvements, and reinforced service expectations with its operatives.
8. The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s complaint response and requested the escalation of his complaint on 28 January 2024. He explained the response lacked empathy, misunderstood his concerns and negatively impacted his mental health. He requested rehousing and sought clarity on the repair delay and cavity insulation.
9. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 14 March 2024. It acknowledged the delay in repairs and explained reasons for the delay which included no access to the property, the need to order a part and the Christmas period. It admitted communication and coordination should have been better and committed to preventing future issues. The landlord provided advice regarding re-housing after consultation with a housing officer. It apologised for the impact on the resident’s mental health and offered a total of £150 compensation in recognition of the time and trouble in pursuing this matter as well as distress and inconvenience caused.
10. The resident was not satisfied with the landlord’s response. He referred the complaint to the Ombudsman. He explained that there was no hot water and heating downstairs. The resident explained that his young children were cold and there had been no heating down stairs for 26 days. The resident stated that he felt the landlord did not take concerns of its tenants seriously.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

11. In accordance with paragraph 42.a. of the Scheme, the Ombudsman may not investigate complaints which have not been through or exhausted the landlord’s complaints process. The resident requested as an outcome to be rehoused in his escalation request, which was not part of his original complaint. While the landlord appropriately provided rehousing advice at stage 2, this issue has not been fully through the landlord’s internal complaints procedure and therefore beyond the scope of this investigation. If the resident is dissatisfied with the landlord’s rehousing advice, he can address this directly with the landlord and progress as a new formal complaint if required.

Handling of the boiler repair

12. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance policy sets out that emergency repairs are defined as posing a health and safety hazard or potential serious detriment risk is identified. The landlord will complete the repair or carry out a temporary repair to make the property safe by a maximum of 24 hours of the repair being reported. The full repair will then be completed within a reasonable time.
13. The tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for the supply of water, gas and electricity, space heating and heating water.
14. The compensation policy states that the landlord will pay compensation to residents if there has been a service failure.
15. The resident reported an issue with the boiler to the landlord on 18 December 2023 using its online portal. However, the landlord told the resident to report the issue by phone instead due to the nature of the emergency repair. The resident did so the following day. When the resident reported the issue at the property using the correct method on 19 December 2023, the landlord treated this as an emergency repair. This was reasonable and appropriate considering the nature of the issue and that there was no heating or hot water at the property. Furthermore, this showed that the landlord took the matter seriously.
16. An engineer attended the property on 20 December 2023 within the timeframes of the landlord’s repairs policy. However they were unable to access the property. The timing of the visit and school run coincided and there was no one at the property. The engineer could not wait or come back and he explained to the resident that tenants were advised to be in the property for 24 hours from point of the initial call. The resident had to raise a further repair request on 21 December 2023 and an engineer attended the property the following day. Due to the wrong method used for raising the repair request and no access to the property on the first visit, the first inspection of the boiler was completed 4 days after the issue was identified. This was unfortunate however beyond the landlord’s control.
17. During the inspection on 22 December 2023, the engineer identified that a part was needed which was not available and had to be ordered. The part was ordered on the same day. The contractor informed the resident of the delay and managed expectations by predicting that repairs are likely to be completed in the new year. It is unclear why the part was not in stock and unfortunate that delivery coincided with the Christmas period. However, the engineer provided information about when the repair was likely to take place and it was proportionate and appropriate to manage the resident’s expectations in the circumstances.
18. The repairs and maintenance policy states that where a repair cannot be completed, the landlord must complete a temporary repair to make the situation safe and then complete the repair within a reasonable time. This was carried out as temporary heaters were provided when it was confirmed that the repair would be delayed. This was reasonable and appropriate as the landlord tried to mitigate any loss of heating in the property. During this period, the resident only had warm water downstairs. The heating and water was working without an issue upstairs. While we appreciate the inconvenience caused, there was no full loss of amenities.
19. On 2 January 2024, the resident chased for an update. The landlord explained it would chase the contractor for an update. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to provide an update on estimated timeframe as at this stage it was aware that the part had not been delivered yet.
20. We have seen evidence that as soon as the part was available, the landlord booked an appointment for the repair. However, the repair was postponed to 16 January 2024 based on the resident’s availability. The repair was completed on 16 January 2024. On 23 January 2024, the resident was offered vouchers totalling to £140 for the increased electricity bill resulting from use of temporary heaters. These were given to the resident on 14 March 2024. This was appropriate as the landlord tried to mitigate any financial impact of using the temporary heaters through these vouchers.
21. In relation to the delay, while there were events outside of the landlord’s control, it was not reasonable to expect the resident to not have a properly functioning boiler during the winter months for 26 days. The resident informed both the landlord and the Service of the significant impact of this delay on his family, particularly due to their circumstances with young children. The repair part was ordered on 22 December 2023 and chased 5 days later. Repair parts should be delivered promptly or the landlord should ensure it has them in stock. This is particularly important for an emergency repair of a boiler in the winter months for a household with young children.
22. The landlord acknowledged this failure in its stage 1 complaint response and offered £50 compensation for time and trouble caused by the delay. While the landlord provided temporary heaters, managed the resident’s expectations by providing timescales, swiftly ordered the part on the day of the visit and issued vouchers for the increase in electricity bills to take to the mitigate impact, the level of compensation offered was not sufficient given the significant delay in repair.
23. In its stage 2 response, the landlord explained reasons for the length of time taken to fully resolve the repair. It explained that a part needed to be ordered which was done on the same day as the visit and chased 5 days later. It explained that the suppliers were partially closed during the Christmas holiday period and this contributed to the delay in delivery. The landlord recognised it should have addressed these issues to avoid a reoccurrence. The landlord also accepted that communication and coordination of the works could have been better. The landlord also explained the learning taken from this situation and apologised for the negative impact on the resident’s mental health.
24.  The landlord further acknowledged the resident’s time, trouble, and inconvenience by offering him a total of £150 compensation for this. The landlord appropriately acknowledged all the failings identified in this report. The offer of compensation at stage 2 and the electricity vouchers were proportionate remedy to the failings and the inconvenience caused to the resident. This compensation is within the range of compensation recommended in our remedies guidance. Therefore, the landlord made reasonable redress to the resident for its failings.

Complaint handling

25. The landlord’s complaints policy states that the landlord operates a 2–stage process. At stage 1 it will respond within 10 working days and at stage 2 within 20. At any stage, if it needs further time will agree it with the resident.
26. The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code states that “landlords must address all points raised in a complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.”
27. The landlord responded within the timeframes of its complaint policy at stage 1. When it needed an extension (on 28 February 2024) at stage 2 it agreed it with the resident and responded within the agreed timeframe (13 March 2024). This was appropriate. However, the landlord did not at stage 1 fully addressed the resident’s concerns.
28. The resident complained about the landlord’s handling of his application for a cavity wall insulation in his first complaint from 21 December 2023. The stage 1 complaint response failed to address this point. In the escalated complaint made on 28 January 2024, the resident explained there were outstanding concerns about the cavity insulation, which the landlord had not addressed. On 31 January 2024, the landlord asked for more information about the cavity wall insulation so that it can look in to it. It also stated that it had not received this complaint previously at stage 1. The landlord queried whether the resident would like to raise it as an issue then it would have to be a separate complaint. While there is no evidence of follow up by neither the resident nor the landlord, the landlord’s records show that this aspect of the complaint was raised in the resident’s original complaint.  
29. The landlord should have addressed this point in its stage 1 and 2 response as per our Code and it was not done. This amounts to a service failure. The resident told the Service that this query had been addressed at a later stage but it is unclear of whether he still wanted to raise a complaint.

Determination

30. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about the repair delay satisfactorily.
31. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

32. Within 4 weeks from the date of this report, the Ombudsman orders the landlord to:
    1. Provide a written apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report related to its complaint handling.
    2. Pay £100 compensation to the resident in recognition of the time and trouble caused by the landlord’s complaint handling failure.
    3. Contact the resident and identify whether a new complaint for the cavity insulation concern should be raised.
    4. Contact the Service and provide evidence of compliance with the above orders.

Recommendations

33. The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord:
    1. Pays £150 compensation (if not paid already) directly to the resident offered during its complaints process for the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by its handling of the boiler repair.