Great Places Housing Association (202313033)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202313033

Great Places Housing Association

31 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the property condition and associated repairs.
The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. The property is a 4-bedroom house. The tenancy commenced in April 2014. The resident lives at the property with her children. The resident told this Service she has a respiratory condition. The landlord holds no record of vulnerabilities on its information systems for the resident.
The resident submitted her complaint to the landlord on 16 June 2021. The resident said she was dissatisfied that the landlord had not addressed disrepair in the property. She told the landlord the disrepair was affecting her family’s mental health.
The landlord identified the following repairs required in multiple areas of the resident’s property after an inspection on 9 July 2021:

The front door.
Internal door hinges.
Windows.
Water ingress, damp, and mould.
Bathroom.
Floor coverings.
Decoration and re-plastering.
Tiles.
Kitchen.
Garden.
Fence panels.
Loft insulation.
Back plates (front extension bedroom and main bedroom).
Replace existing electric fire.

The landlord further identified areas of repair by 5 October 2022, which were as follows:

Gas meter cupboard.
The mesh on the front door and adjustments to internal door.
The trim to rear patio doors and offside door.
External brickwork to storeroom.
Kitchen extractor vent.
Skirting to bath panel.
Toilet.
Shower tiles.
Sheet board to bedroom floor.
Window restrictor.

On 5 October 2022 the landlord sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response. The landlord acknowledged delays and said the resident had been dealing with family matters. It also said COVID-19 was affecting its service delivery. It noted the resident’s dishwasher was damaged. It said once all work was completed, the resident would have regular contact with its staff member. It made a payment of £425.85 towards decoration in August 2021 and would pay a further £390 towards beds and mattresses. The resident said she wanted to wait until all works were completed before accepting the remedy offered.
The resident emailed the landlord on 9 February 2023. On the same day, the landlord told the resident that it was obtaining a quote for roof repairs. It would also inspect the front door and go through internal works. It said once it had completed the external works, it would then carry out internal works. It then followed up on 16 February 2023 confirming the roof works were awaiting approval. It called the resident on 1 March 2023 and assisted the resident in escalating her complaint to stage 2 of its internal complaint procedure.
The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 21 March 2023. It outlined a timeline of events and said it faced access issues. Additionally, the resident was reporting repairs to its staff member directly and its repairs system was not being updated. It recommended the resident log repairs through its system. The landlord committed to completing further repairs, which included:
1. Repairs to the presence of mould or water marks in the property.
2. The front door not was not closing or locking. It was also allowing leaks into the property.
3. The shower was leaking into the hallway.
4. Mould was growing in the kitchen cupboards and bay window ceiling.
5. Roof replacement.
In the landlord’s final response, it noted the resident was happy with the proposed completion of repairs. The resident wanted to wait until all repairs were completed, for the landlord to then complete an inventory for quantifiable loss and revise its compensation offer. It said this would be 3 months after repairs were completed. It committed to revising its compensation once repairs were completed. It also took learning from the complaint. This included the following:
1. A 3-month cyclical property inspection.
2. Improvement to internal reporting for “continuity”.
3. Oversee the remaining works while maintaining contact with the resident and its contractors.
4. Review the management of contractor work so that repairs do not invalidate warranties.
5. Review the scope of roof inspections to extend beyond a visual inspection.
The resident first contacted this Service on 11 July 2023. She wanted us to investigate her concerns as she remained unhappy that repairs were outstanding, and she had not been compensated for quantifiable loss and her experience.
By 19 April 2024 the resident had accepted £9,329.80 in compensation offered by the landlord, following completion of repairs. This was made up of:
1. £4,390.87 made up of 25% of the rent from June 2021 to March 2024 for the impact the repairs had on the resident.
2. £609.13 for distress and inconvenience.
3. £4,329.80 for quantifiable loss (replacements, contributions, and damages).

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

It is noted the resident said that the disrepair in the property was affecting her and her family’s wellbeing. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s concerns, but this Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, effects on health and wellbeing. This element of the complaint may perhaps be better suited for the courts.

Property condition and associated repairs.

The landlord has accepted that it failed in its service delivery to the resident. It is not disputed by either party that the property was in disrepair and the repairs agreed were incomplete. Therefore, this report will consider whether the landlord has done enough to put things right. This Service will consider whether the landlord’s actions were in line with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles and remedies guidance. The principles of effective dispute resolution are:
1. Be fair, treat people fairly, and follow fair processes.
2. Put things right.
3. Learn from outcomes.
It is unclear from the evidence provided the completion dates for the areas of repair. However, the landlord has accepted the resident was affected from 16 June 2021 until the end of March 2024. The landlord told this Service that it faced challenges with access to the property, contractor availability and COVID-19. Ultimately, there was a long delay between when the landlord was put on notice of the resident’s concerns and when repairs were completed (31 March 2024). This was inappropriate as the landlord’s responsive repairs policy states it would ensure that the property is maintained to a high standard and the resident can live in safety, comfort, and warmth.
The landlord’s remedies and resolution policy sets out that the remedies offered should reflect the extent of any and all service failures, and the level of detriment caused to the resident. For financial compensation it takes into consideration quantifiable losses, as well as discretionary payments. It states an offer in excess of £700 will be considered for delays of 6 months or more.
Under this Service’s remedies guidance, consideration is also given for distress and inconvenience caused to a resident by a particular service failure, considering the severity of the situation and the length of time involved. In the landlord’s final response, it committed to making an offer 3 months after it had completed all the repairs, as suggested by the resident. In April 2024 the resident accepted the landlord’s revised offer of £9,329.80. This level of award is in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies for severe failings where there has been multiple errors and a detrimental effect on the resident.
The award is also reflective of the landlord’s remedies and resolutions policy. It used its discretion to provide a 25% rent refund from June 2021 to March 2024 which totalled £4,390.87. The landlord added further discretionary payment towards the inconvenience experienced during this period. The landlord also demonstrated it considered quantifiable loss, with payments towards repainting costs, a replacement dishwasher, replacement flooring, beds, and mattresses. The landlord also paid towards the resident’s childcare costs. This was appropriate action by the landlord and in line with its own remedies and resolutions policy.
In the landlord’s final response, it also identified learning from outcomes. It aimed to improve its communication standards so there is continuity in what is reported by residents between staff members. It would provide oversight of the agreed works, maintaining contact with the resident and its contractors. It would also resume a periodic cycle of property inspections where extensive work is required to a property (every 3 months with the resident). It also said it would review the management of contractor works, to ensure any repairs do not invalidate warranties. Further, it would consider a review for full property inspections, to identify defects beyond visual inspection of a roof.
It was positive the landlord said it would proactively revise its compensation offer. However, this Service is unable to conclude it would have completed all the repairs required prior to our involvement. The landlord had not committed to timescales for when repairs would be completed in its final response. It said it would look at revising its compensation offer after 3 months of completing repairs.
We asked the landlord to provide evidence in March 2024, and it proposed a revised compensation offer to the resident in April 2024. This was the following month after it completed repairs. The level of compensation was in line with what we would order under our guidance on remedies. Although the landlord told this Service it faced challenges with access and re-arranging appointments, delays to complete repairs and offer the compensation were unreasonable. This is because the resident had to wait in excess of a year since she exhausted the landlord’s internal complaints procedure on 21 March 2023. We likely would have found reasonable redress had the landlord actioned repairs and revised its compensation sooner than it did.
Additionally, the landlord did not evidence it kept the resident updated and provided expected completion dates. Therefore, it had not managed her expectations which was evidenced by her referral to this Service.
When the resident contacted this Service, she also told us that she was diagnosed with a respiratory condition. The landlord’s responsive repairs policy states it would ensure vulnerable customers receive a service which is tailored to their needs. The landlord has confirmed that it has no record of vulnerability in respect of the resident. However, there is no evidence the resident made the landlord aware of her vulnerabilities. A recommendation has been made for it to contact the resident to record household vulnerabilities.
This Service acknowledges that the landlord had attempted to put things right and identified learnings from the complaint. In considering all the above, a finding of service failure will be made for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the property’s condition and associated repairs. However, no additional financial order will be made. This is because its revised compensation offer was proportionate to the events, but there were further delays in completing repairs and managing the resident’s expectations about when repairs would be completed. The revised offer of £9,329.80 has been made an order, if not paid already.

Complaint handling

The resident’s complaint was submitted on 16 June 2021. This Service has not been provided with evidence the complaint was acknowledged prior to issuing its stage 1 complaint response. This differs to the landlord’s customer feedback policy, which states complaints would be acknowledged. It also says the landlord would confirm its understanding of the complaint and the outcomes being sought. Following acknowledgment, a response would be provided in 10-working days, unless an extension was agreed.
The landlord did not issue its stage 1 complaint response until 5 October 2022, nearly 16 months since the resident complained. This was inappropriate action by the landlord. By not adhering to its policy, it caused the resident inconvenience and delays. There was no evidence provided by the landlord that it had communicated clearly to the resident regarding timeframes of its initial complaint response, or agreed extensions.
Throughout the landlord’s internal complaints procedure, it provided no commentary to the resident regarding delays in its complaint handling. Therefore, it did not acknowledge any of its complaint handling errors.
As such, the Ombudsman finds service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) is now statutory, so no orders will be made in relation to the timeliness of the landlord’s responses. However, the resident’s complaint journey was inconvenienced and prolonged by the actions of the landlord. An order of an apology has been made in this regard.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about the property’s condition and associated repairs.
In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendation

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Apologise to the resident in writing for its complaint handling failings.
2. Pay compensation totalling £9,329.80 to the resident, for its handling of her reports about the property’s condition and associated repairs. If any of the £9,329.80 offered in April 2024 has already been paid to the resident, it can be deducted from this total.
The landlord must provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to this Service.

Recommendation

The landlord is also recommended to contact the resident to record any household vulnerabilities.