Hyde Housing Association Limited (202125832)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202125832

Hyde Housing Association Limited

10 May 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:
1. Response to the resident’s report of a roof leak and other outstanding repairs.
2. Response to the resident’s rent query.
3. Complaint handling.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. She has lived in the 1-bedroom 1st floor flat since 2014. The resident has advised the landlord and the Ombudsman she has long term mental ill health.
The resident completed an online communal repair request on 24 November 2021 to advise the landlord there was “severe water damage from the roof and skylight leak”. On 2 February 2022 the resident completed an online form stating she wished to make a formal complaint concerning the communal roof leak. She stated the paintwork was lifting off and damaged, the ceiling was stained and when it rained there was a puddle on the carpet. The resident did not hear back and contacted the Ombudsman to see if we could help progress the repair.
The resident also invoked the help of local authority environmental health team (EHO), local councillors, and the Member of Parliament (MP). The resident advised the Ombudsman she telephoned the landlord to raise this issue again on 23 March 2022.
The resident received a letter from the landlord on 27 April 2022 about her rent. When the resident called the landlord about this, it advised she was in debt from a year ago. The resident advised this was too late for her to resolve with Housing Benefit.
The resident was not satisfied with the landlord’s stage 1 response and requested to escalate her complaint on 15 September, 9 October, and 7 December 2022. The landlord provided its final resolution letter on 16 January 2023 upholding the resident’s complaint, confirming its plan for the outstanding works to be completed, and offering her £500 compensation.
The resident remains dissatisfied, telling the Ombudsman she feels like she has been silenced for months on end, which has been very disempowering. The resident would like the landlord to acknowledge what she has been through; this situation has impacted on her mental health. The resident stated there exists a lack of trust between them, the only way to rebuild this would be for the landlord to do the things it says it will.

Assessment and findings

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 3 principles driving effective dispute resolution:
1. Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes.
1. Put things right.
2. 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’.

Scoping paragraph

The Ombudsman acknowledges the resident has raised previous concerns regarding these issues in this report to the landlord and Ombudsman. This investigation will acknowledge these but will not base the determination on this information. The investigation will focus on matters from November 2021 onwards. This is in line with paragraphs 42a and b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which are made prior to having exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure or were brought to the Ombudsman’s attention normally more than 12 months after they exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a roof leak and other outstanding repairs

The landlord has responsibility to keep the structure and installations of the property and the communal areas, structure, and exterior in good repair in line with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The landlord confirms this in its repairs and responsive repairs policies, and the tenancy agreement.
The landlord’s repairs policy says it has objectives to provide an efficient, prompt, transparent, and customer focused repairs service ensuring high customer satisfaction. It will ensure it achieves value for money in the delivery of works both it and its contractors undertake. It will comply with its regulatory and statutory obligations, including ensuring it investigates and completes repair requests according to its timescales.
The landlord categorises responsive repairs as either emergency, anytime or major. Emergency repairs, which would include an immediate health and safety issue or something which would adversely affect the structure of the building, the landlord will address them within 4 hours, and make safe within 24. Anytime repairs are any repair not classified as an emergency and the landlord will complete them within 20 working days. The landlord also has a category for major repairs which are for non-emergency or complex work, and it would undertake these as per stock investment procedures.
Although the Ombudsman has not seen the repairs classification, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to assess them as ‘anytime’ and complete them in 20 working days. The roof leak was reported twice in late November 2021, once by a member of the landlord’s staff and once by the resident. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence of the resident’s initial reports of vent and damp and mould issues. As the landlord referenced the resident reported these issues in November 2021 in its stage 1 response, we will use this as the date the resident first reported them.
In accordance with the landlord’s timeframes, it should have completed the repairs by 23 December 2021. The Ombudsman has seen evidence the landlord completed the roof repair and the associated remedial work on 10 November 2022. The landlord completed the vent, damp, and mould repairs by 12 January 2023.
The Ombudsman has not seen any evidence the landlord acted on the initial repair requests. The landlord believed its contractor resolved the roof leak at the end of March 2022. The landlord postponed the remedial work to the communal areas when it was informed the wall was still damp, so further work was needed. The landlord’s contractor completed the work on 28 July 2022. Following the landlord’s post inspection, it arranged for a water test. The landlord confirmed it was watertight on 21 October 2022 and no remedial works were needed. Following the EHO’s involvement the landlord acknowledged the remedial work was needed and this was completed on 10 November 2022.
The resident informed the landlord the communal roof leak was causing or contributing to her damp and mould issues as the wall is shared with the communal areas. The resident further advised the landlord the vents were not working sufficiently to resolve the issue.
The landlord’s contractor visited the resident on 9 August 2022, it brought forward the appointment by a day. The resident reported being frustrated with the communication failures which led to the work not being carried out that day. The contractor did not have the correct colour paint, it did not have the photos the landlord had previously taken, and there was confusion over the area the contractor was to repaint.
The landlord visited the resident on 31 August 2022. It agreed it would investigate whether to remove a vent and block the hole it would leave. The landlord agreed the bathroom would be stain blocked, and it would chase the contractor to complete works. The landlord contacted the resident to check the contractor had visited and completed the works in September 2022, the resident advised it had not. In an email to the resident dated 23 December 2022 the landlord said it installed the hit and miss vent on the 14th and confirmed the dates for the additional repairs.
The Ombudsman has seen evidence the resident and her representatives had to repeatedly contact the landlord to get the repairs progressed and resolved. The Ombudsman would like to note the MP contacted the landlord on 8 July, 17 August, and 5 September 2022 before she received a response on 8 September 2022. The MP then asked the landlord for further information on 12 September. After not receiving a response the MP chased the landlord on 3 October, 17 October, 7 November 2022, and 5 January 2023 before receiving a reply later that same day. The MP experienced the same level of customer service that the resident did. In the MP’s responses you can see the polite frustration coming through. Given the MP was only advocating on behalf of the resident who was living with the outstanding repairs, this reinforces the levels of frustration which the resident advised the Ombudsman she experienced.
The resident expressed her frustration to the Ombudsman by the lack of communication between the landlord and contractor. The resident advised the contractor would turn up without an appointment and then the landlord would blame her for not being in to give access. The contractor would not have the correct information, equipment, or there would be confusion over what work would be taking place. The resident advised the landlord asked her whether the contractor had kept its appointment, which she believes the landlord should be aware of.
The resident highlighted in conversation with the Ombudsman she has the additional problem of the vents letting street-noise in. The road has a pub which creates late-night noise, and the resident finds it difficult to sleep which exacerbates her mental health condition. The Ombudsman has seen evidence the resident has raised this with the landlord, the resident believes the landlord has not taken this issue seriously.
The landlord stated it completed the roof repair in March and July 2022, on both occasions this was not the case. While the Ombudsman recognises roof leaks can be difficult to resolve, it was the resident or the EHO who prompted the landlord to progress the repair. In emails provided to the Ombudsman, on 21 October 2022 the landlord advised the EHO it had completed the roof repair and there were no remedial works needed. The EHO visited the building and questioned the landlord to get the remedial works completed.
The landlord did not meet its published timeframes in taking over 10 months to complete the roof repair and over 12 months for the vent, damp, and mould issues. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence the landlord’s repair handling was efficient, prompt, or customer focused. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence the landlord kept the resident informed of developments or managed the repairs to minimise disruption to the resident.
The Ombudsman finds maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the roof leak and the outstanding repairs.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s rent query

The tenancy agreement permits the landlord to increase the rent. If a resident receives Housing Benefit, they are responsible for communicating rent changes to ensure their benefit award reflects this change. Section 3 part 12 of the tenancy agreement states the resident should regularly check that both the local authority pays, and the landlord receives, the benefit payments.
The tenancy agreement states the resident agrees to pay the total rent on the first day of each period it is due. This will mean that if Housing Benefits pays in arrears the resident is responsible for ensuring the account does not go below £0. This may mean resident’s need to contribute an amount to the rent (normally 4 weeks).
The tenancy agreement and the Housing Act 1988 states the landlord can increase the rent by giving the resident at least 28 days’ notice and by giving the date of the increase.
The resident advised the Ombudsman she had missed a call from the landlord in March 2022. The landlord’s voicemail asked the resident to call the income team back but did not expand on the reasons. The resident advised the Ombudsman she received a rent change letter from the landlord on 27 April 2022 which was dated February 2022. The resident called the landlord the same day she got the letter and she spoke with someone who informed her she had a debt from over a year ago. This panicked the resident as she could not request any alterations to her Housing Benefit claim dating back a year, leaving her with the debt.
In its acknowledgement letter dated 27 June 2022 the landlord stated it would ask the income team to investigate. The Ombudsman has seen the landlord tried to call the resident on 1 July 2022 and sent her an email asking for contact. It tried again on 6 September 2022, when it left the resident a voicemail. The landlord also sent an email advising that her rent account was well managed as there was enough credit to cover the weekly charges until the next benefit payment came in. The landlord asked if the resident was happy for it to close the rent element of the complaint. The resident responded that she did not want this closing and there should be notes on the system explaining the issues further.
In the landlord’s stage 1 response it acknowledged the information provided to the resident was incorrect, that she was paying correctly and in line with her tenancy agreement. The resident stated she wanted to escalate this, but the landlord did not include it in its final resolution. This element will be addressed in the complaint handling section below.
The resident referred to having lost £434 which the Ombudsman believes refers to the money she paid the landlord to ensure her account does not go below £0 when the benefit payment is due. This means she was paying in line with her tenancy agreement and when she ends her tenancy, as long as the current rent continues to be paid correctly this credit should be available for her to receive.
The resident was further frustrated by the landlord’s lack of research into the notes she believed it had taken during her telephone call. The resident maintains she did not receive the rent increase letter dated February until April 2022 and did not think she received the 2021 letter at all. This will be addressed as a recommendation of this report.
The Ombudsman finds no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the residents rent query.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The landlord’s complaint policy states it is open to receiving complaints. It will say sorry when it got things wrong. The policy states objectives, 2 of which state it will:
1. Deal with customer complaints, promptly, politely, and fairly.
1. Provide a complaints handling approach focused on putting things right for customers.
The landlord’s complaints policy states it distinguishes between service requests and complaints. The landlord treats these as a complaint if it fails to deal with the service request appropriately.
Once a resident makes a complaint, the landlord will acknowledge it within 5 working days. The landlord will provide a stage 1 response 10 working days after this. The landlord can extend this, but by no longer than 10 working days. If the resident remains dissatisfied, they can ask to escalate the complaint. If accepted, the landlord will provide the final resolution letter within 20 working days. In exceptional circumstances the landlord may take a further 10 working days to conclude its response, but it will inform the resident of this.
Complaint responses may include next steps with commitments to actions, for example, follow on repairs, which may require a reasonable amount of time to be completed. These commitments fall outside the complaint response times and will be managed separately to the complaints process. If the landlord fails to deliver against these commitments, it will reopen or escalate the complaint.
The resident first raised the repair request on 24 November 2021. According to the landlord’s complaints policy it would not classify this as a complaint, rather, as a service request. The resident raised a complaint on 2 February 2022, 23 March 2022, and again on 23 May 2022. The Ombudsman has not seen any evidence that the landlord enacted its complaints policy after these contacts. It was following the Ombudsman’s letter requesting that the landlord responds to the resident by 22 June 2022 which formally started the complaint process.
The landlord sent the resident an acknowledgement letter on 27 June 2022, telling her to expect a reply by 12 July 2022. The letter defined the complaint as concerning the roof leak, the mould in the resident’s property, the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen vents not being sufficient to remove this mould, and that the resident had not received prior communication about being in arrears. The landlord asked a surveyor to arrange the repairs and would investigate the rent query.
Following this the landlord sent holding letters to the resident on 19 July saying she can expect a response by 3 August, it sent another one on 10 August saying she can expect a response by 18 August, then another one on 23 August saying she can expect a response by 8 September. The Ombudsman sent the landlord another letter on 6 September 2022 asking for it to send the resident a response by 8 September 2022.
The resident received the stage 1 response on 7 September 2022. The landlord upheld the complaint and offered £350 in compensation.
As the landlord’s response did not satisfy the resident, she requested to escalate her complaint on 15 September and 9 October 2022. The resident did not receive a response to these queries. On 15 November 2022, the Ombudsman asked the landlord to escalate the resident’s complaint, giving a deadline of 23 November 2022. The landlord accepted the escalation request on 7 December 2022, following the resident’s request to a member of the landlord’s staff, when the staff member sent an internal email requesting the resident receive a response. The landlord sent its final resolution letter on 16 January 2023. It had sent the resident an email on 23 December 2022 giving her an update and saying sorry for the delay, but it had hoped to have the repairs resolved by the time the stage 2 was issued.
The landlord did not include the resident’s rent complaint in the final resolution response. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence the landlord advised it would not include this in the final resolution. This would have compounded the resident’s feelings of the landlord not listening to her.
The resident had involved other agencies to try to get the issues resolved. Except for the EHO, these agencies did not seem able to resolve the issues any faster. As highlighted earlier in the report the MP’s experience was particularly frustrating. The MP did not allow the lack of response to discourage contact, she continued to try to seek a response despite not hearing back. This must have been frustrating for the MP and shows a lack of professionalism on the landlord’s behalf. The landlord stated it would hold a detailed review into the reasons why the MP did not receive responses.
In addition, the resident also reached out to the Survivors of Suicide service as she was suffering from increased anxiety due to this process. The Survivors of Suicide service wrote to the landlord on 26 October 2022 to try to speed up the repairs and complaints process, it is concerning this measure did not achieve its aim.
Despite the landlord’s complaint responses being empathetic and understanding of the resident’s frustrations, it kept apologising for the situation she was in, rather than providing a resolution for this.
The landlord did not adhere to its complaint policy as it repeatedly delayed dealing with the resident’s request to make or escalate her complaint. This does not align with the landlord’s commitment to being open to receiving complaints, or dealing with them promptly and fairly, or to it being focused on putting things right for the resident. The landlord’s failure to enact and work within its complaint process exacerbated the situation and further undermined the resident and landlord relationship. This had a direct impact on the resident feeling disempowered and like her voice had been taken away. This represents the opposite of what a complaints process should be there for. The Ombudsman finds this amounts to maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was:
1. Maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a roof leak and other outstanding repairs.
1. No maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s rent query.
2. Maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

The landlord to issue a written apology to the resident for the service failures identified in this report.
The landlord to offer a meeting with the resident, with the opportunity for third party mediation if desired. The purpose of the meeting is to re-establish the relationship between the landlord and resident. The resident can use this opportunity to discuss any other outstanding issues, such as the noise levels coming through the vents or any issues with the rent account. The resident is not obliged to attend if she does not wish to.
The landlord is to pay the resident compensation totalling £650. This is based on the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance and represents the significant impact the landlord’s actions had on the resident. This is inclusive of any previous compensation award made to the resident. This comprises of:
1. £400 for the landlord’s failure to respond to the repairs.
1. £250 for the landlord’s failure to handle the complaints appropriately.
The landlord is to share with the Ombudsman the findings from the review it conducted into its lack of response to the MP.
The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders to the Ombudsman within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendation

The landlord is to consider checking whether its residents receive the rent increase letters in a timely manner, this is a legal duty, and it needs to be satisfied residents are receiving them on time. One way of doing this could be to review previous complaints on the subject.