Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council (202308651)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202308651

Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

12 July 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the toilet and to the kitchen threshold.

Background

The resident holds a secure tenancy for a bungalow.
On 23 February 2023 a routine repair was raised for a loose toilet.
On 22 March 2022 an order was raised for a broken threshold.
On 30 March 2023 a toilet repair was completed. It is believed that the toilet was replaced.
On 31 March 2023 a repair was raised due to the resident reporting that the new toilet had been fitted incorrectly and the screws had become loose. On 19 April 2023 the repair was completed, but it was reported that the toilet pan was not level.
On 20 April 2023 the contractor visited the resident’s property and said that the toilet had been fitted correctly but there was a manufacturer’s fault with the shape and a new toilet needed to be fitted. On 2 May 2023 a new toilet was fitted.
On 9 May 2023 a repair was raised as the toilet was rocking side to side when in use. On 16 May 2023 the repair was completed. It was recorded that no further repairs should be raised for this issue as the toilet had been replaced and was useable.
On 30 May 2023 the resident wrote to the landlord to make a formal complaint. The resident said that he was unhappy about the way in which the repairs to his toilet had been handled. He said that the bathroom floor was uneven and the toilet moved when he sat on it. The resident also said that he had an outstanding appointment for his kitchen threshold and that despite waiting in twice, the repair had not been completed. The resident said that in order to resolve his complaint he wanted the floor to be levelled and a new toilet to be fitted.
On 14 June 2023 the landlord sent the resident a stage 2 complaint response. The landlord said that the toilet was functioning as it should and therefore would not be replacing it for a third time. In relation to the kitchen threshold, it acknowledged that it did not attend 2 appointments due to the availability of materials and apologised. It confirmed that it had rebooked an appointment and would ensure that the materials were available.
On 19 June 2023 the resident wrote to the landlord and escalated his complaint. The resident said that the toilet remained misshapen and wanted his bathroom floor to be levelled and a new toilet to be installed. He confirmed he had rescheduled the appointment for the threshold, but wanted the landlord to ensure the parts were available. The resident said that he wanted compensation for time, trouble, distress and inconvenience.
On 19 July 2023 the landlord provided a stage 3 complaint response. The landlord said that it had arranged for the toilet to be replaced for a third time and that the repair to the threshold had been completed on 14 July 2023. The landlord offered the resident £50 compensation for the inconvenience caused while the landlord rectified the issues.
On 24 July 2023 the resident contacted the Ombudsman and confirmed that he remained dissatisfied with the complaint response as the landlord had not addressed the issue with the bathroom flooring.
On 28 July 2023, 19 September 2023, 3 October 2023 and 20 December 2023 further repairs were raised for a broken threshold.
On 2 January 2024 the landlord provided the Ombudsman with an update. The landlord confirmed that despite carrying out multiple repairs, the issue with the threshold remained outstanding. An order had been raised and had a target date of 22 January 2024. In relation to the bathroom flooring, the landlord said that this was not addressed as did not form part of the resident’s original complaint.
As of July 2024, it is not clear from the information provided whether the repairs have been completed.

Assessment and findings

The Ombudsman’s approach.

The Ombudsman’s role is to determine complaints by reference to what is fair in all the circumstances and decide if the landlord is responsible for maladministration or service failure.
When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its dispute resolution principles. These are high level good practice guidance developed from the Ombudsman’s experience of resolving disputes, for use by everyone involved in the complaints process. There are only three principles driving effective dispute resolution:
1. Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes.
2. Put things right, and
3. Learn from outcomes.
The Ombudsman must first consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred and, if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the toilet and the kitchen threshold.

The resident’s tenancy agreement confirms that the landlord will arrange to repair and keep in proper working order any installations within a property for sanitation, and for the supply of water, which includes the toilet. It will also arrange to repair the doors, door frames and floors.
The landlord’s website states that it has a number of timescales for completing repairs depending on the urgency. Routine repairs will be attended to within 20 working days and planned repairs within 40 working days.
When the Ombudsman is investigating a complaint of any category, the Service asks the landlord to provide full and comprehensive records to evidence what has happened. The Ombudsman asks the landlord to provide information such as copies of repair logs, contractor worksheets, copies of phone logs and any other relevant correspondence.
It is of great concern that the landlord has only been able to provide copies of its repair records, which confirm when a repair was raised and completed. It has not been able to provide any communication records, copies of emails, job inspection sheets or other relevant material. This is not in line with the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on knowledge and information management which states that “good knowledge and information management is crucial to any organisation’s ability to perform and achieve its mission.
The landlord’s repair records are limited and it is therefore difficult to ascertain whether the action the landlord took was reasonable.
Based on the landlord’s repair timescales, the repairs to the toilet and kitchen threshold should have been completed within a maximum of 40 working days. However, based on the information provided by the landlord, as of January 2024 both repairs remained outstanding which it partly due to access, although no information has been provided to evidence the steps the landlord has taken in order to gain access. Therefore, the Ombudsman cannot conclude it took reasonable steps to gain access.
In relation to the resident’s toilet, which was first reported on 23 February 2023, it is acknowledged that the landlord did identify that the first replacement toilet had a manufacturing fault and arranged for it to be replaced. However, there is no evidence to show that it investigated the resident’s claims that the flooring remained unlevel and the toilet continued to move when he was sat on it. This was a failing and may have led to the resident feeling unsafe when he was using is toilet and anxious as to whether he may fall.
While the landlord was responsible for ensuring the toilet was functional, it was also responsible for ensuring it was safe to use, including being securely fixed in place. The Ombudsman has not been provided with evidence to demonstrate the landlord fulfilled this responsibility, which meant the resident may have been left with a toilet not fixed to their bathroom floor. This understandably left the resident feeling unsafe and at risk of injury each time they used their toilet.
In relation to the outstanding repair to the kitchen threshold, due to the sparse repair records it is difficult for the Ombudsman to determine whether the actions the landlord took were sufficient. The repair was first reported on 22 March 2023 and despite the landlord’s final complaint response stating that the repair had been completed, and a further 3 orders being raised, the landlord stated that it remained outstanding in January 2024.
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a legal duty on landlords to make full, effective and lasting repairs once it is given notice of disrepair. Given that the landlord attended the resident’s property on multiple occasions and the repair remained outstanding, meant that the landlord failed in its obligations to make a full and lasting repair. This was a failing and led to the resident having to report the repair multiple times and unnecessary inconvenience. On 2 occasions the repair was cancelled because the landlord did not have the right materials. The landlord should have inspected the repair to confirm what materials were needed and ensure that these were available when needed. This failing caused delays and may have undermined the resident’s trust in the landlord.
In relation to the failures identified 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.
The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will make payments of £50 to £250 for instances of service failure where the impact on a resident was of short duration and may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the complainant.
As part of its final complaint response the landlord offered £50 compensation for inconvenience caused. While this amount was within the landlord’s compensation guidelines, it does not fairly reflect the extensive period of time that the repairs remained outstanding and the inconvenience experienced by the resident.
As previously detailed, while the landlord has not provided any communication records, it is clear that the resident reported the repairs of multiple occasions and the landlord failed to complete a full and effective repair within its published timescales.
In line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, where there have been failures which adversely affected the resident and the landlord’s offer of compensation does not fairly reflect the detriment caused, payments of over £100 are appropriate. Therefore, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident an additional £250, which does not include the £50 offered in its final complaint response, bringing the total compensation to £300 for this issue.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in relation the landlord’s handling of repairs to the toilet and kitchen threshold.

Orders

The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £300 within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, which includes the £50 it offered as part of its final complaint response.
The landlord is ordered to inspect the property within 4 weeks of the date of this determination to confirm that the toilet is stable and the kitchen threshold has been repaired. Any remedial repairs should be completed within 2 weeks of the date of the inspection.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the landlord review its record keeping practices in relation to complaint handling and communication records, in light of the findings of this report and the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on knowledge and information management.