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Karbon Homes Limited (202234018)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202234018

Karbon Homes Limited

20 June 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 response to the resident’s:
    1. concerns about the property being cold.
    2. complaint.

Background

  1. The resident occupies a 2 bedroom house under an assured shorthold tenancy with the landlord, which is a housing association. The landlord has recorded that the resident has a chronic lung condition as well as chronic autoimmune conditions.
  2. In early 2022 the resident reported extreme cold which she believed was coming through the gable wall of her bedroom. She said that her property would heat up however the bedroom would not, and this had been a problem for the past 3 to 4 years
  3. On 13 November 2022 the resident requested an inspection as the extreme cold continued to affect the property. The resident also reported that the exterior wall was extremely cold.  In February 2023 the resident told the landlord that she believed the cold was due to the cracked brickwork. She also asked about the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating. The resident then made a formal complaint to the landlord on 16 February 2023.  She said it was taking 12 hours to heat up the bedroom due to the extremely cold walls and that her monthly gas bills were £240 to £260. She also complained that the only work booked in by the landlord was for the loft which she did not believe was the cause of the cold wall. She added the cold caused her to have medical issues including chest problems.
  4. In its stage 1 complaint response on 2 March 2023, the landlord said its surveyor provided photos of the bedroom wall from its thermal imaging camera which were taken in January 2022. It said these showed the wall as being okay. The surveyor also confirmed that it had no concern over the cavity insulation, however it would look at the thermostat. No further detail was mentioned beyond this. The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s response and escalated the complaint.
  5. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 18 April 2023. The main points were:
    1. It had visited the property on 17 April 2023. The external temperature was around 12 degrees and as the heating was not on (and not required because of the temperature), it was not able to identify any noticeable temperature difference between the bedroom and other rooms.
    2. It had been unable to identify, through visual inspection, any defects in the brickwork or insulation, and the thermal images it had taken reinforced that.
    3. It acknowledged the resident’s concerns about the heat loss in the bedroom and would visit the property in September 2023 to carry out a further inspection.
    4. It believed the bedroom would benefit from a blind or curtain on the small window and this it would reduce heat loss.
    5. It would arrange for an EPC assessment to take place as the certificate had expired.
    6. It confirmed that the thermostat was functioning correctly and it would not therefore consider changing this to a battery version.
  6. When responding to a different complaint from the resident (concerning a leak in the bathroom) the landlord included further information about the resident’s concerns about the cold. It mentioned re-pointing works which were required to the gable wall and asked the resident to contact it about this work. It also said a larger radiator in the bedroom would improve the temperature of that room and asked the resident to allow it to install one. It said it would then monitor the situation further.
  7. The landlord arranged for a EPC assessment to take place on 29 February 2024. This recommended that it install party wall insulation.
  8. By the 24 March 2024, the resident contacted this service saying that the wall was still cold and she had found further hairline cracks in the wall. She said the landlord had been advised the walls needed insulation however it had refused to do it due to the EPC rating. As the matter had not been resolved, she was seeking compensation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has raised concerns about the impact of the issue on her health. Whilst this Service acknowledges the seriousness of these concerns, matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim. However we can consider any distress and inconvenience the resident may have experienced as a result of errors by the landlord as well as the way it responded to his/her concerns about his/her health.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the property being cold

  1. Under the tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for, among other things, keeping in good repair the structure and exterior of the property including the exterior and interior walls, the roof and any installations for space heating. This reflects its obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  2. The landlord’s Repairs and Maintenance policy states that standard repairs are those that cannot be defined as an emergency and are of a routine nature, e.g. non-emergency plumbing works where a leak is contained, easing internal doors, refixing kitchen cupboard doors, etc. The timescale for these types of repairs is 20 working days. Major repairs are generally disruptive or intrusive pieces of work that require careful planning and consideration of our customers’ requirements prior to works commencing, e.g. damp proofing works, full room plastering, repairing/replacing large fences, major component replacement, etc. The timescale for these types of repairs is 60 working days.
  3. The resident first reported the issue with the cold bedroom in early 2022. In response to this, the landlord arranged a thermal imaging survey. At this this stage, this was an appropriate response and a reasonable initial action to take.
  4. The resident reported the issue again in November 2022. At this point, the landlord did not take any substantive action. This was not reasonable. It should have arranged a visit to the property to investigate the ongoing concerns, particularly in light of the earlier report and the resident’s continued discomfort. The landlord did not attend the property until a few months after and this delay fell short of what we would deem to be a reasonable response from the landlord.
  5. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord acknowledged the resident’s ongoing reports and suggested action the resident could take to manage the cold. It also stated that it would investigate further at the end of the summer, which was a reasonable approach to take given that the inspection in April 2023 was unable to identify any issues.
  6. By February 2024, the landlord was aware of several potential actions it could take to mitigate the cold including installing party wall insulation, repointing the gable wall and fitting a double radiator in the bedroom. These recommendations suggest that some further investigation may have occurred, but the landlord has not clearly communicated the basis or timescales for this work.
  7. We acknowledge that resolving issues relating to cold rooms can be complex and may involve a process of elimination to identify the cause. It is therefore reasonable for a landlord to trial different types of interventions. In these circumstances, it was particularly important for the landlord to maintain clear and regular communication with the resident, providing updates and managing her expectations. In the resident’s case, the communication was not consistent or transparent which then contributed to her feelings of dissatisfaction.
  8. Our role is to provide fair and proportionate remedies where we have identified maladministration or service failure by the landlord. In considering this we take into account our Dispute Resolution Principles: Be Fair, Put Things Right and Learn from Outcomes as well as our own guidance on remedies.
  9. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident compensation of £200 for the frustration and inconvenience caused by its lack of action between November 2022 and April 2023 and by its poor communication with the resident about her concerns about the cold in the property.
  10. We have also made a recommendation for the landlord to write to the resident with timescales to complete the outstanding repairs (installation of the double radiator and repointing of the gable wall).  The landlord should also write to the resident to explain what action it will take in response to the EPC assessor’s recommendation for party wall insulation. If it decides not to take action, it should outline its reasons for that decision. 

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

  1. At the time of the events complained about, the landlord operated a 2-stage complaints procedure which said it was to provide a stage 1 response within 5 working days of a complaint being raised, and to provide a stage 2 response within 5 working days of the complaint being escalated. We note the landlord has now updated its complaint procedure.
  2. In its separate stage 2 response on 26 February 2024, the landlord refused to conduct a further investigation into the residents complaint on the grounds that the issue had been investigated previously. Instead, the landlord referred the resident to the findings of the earlier investigation which were detailed in the stage 2 complaint response dated 18 April 2023. The landlord should have ensured that complaints are handled individually and not combined across different complaint processes. Each complaint should be clearly identified, acknowledged and responded to in line with the Code, with specific reference to the issues raised and the outcomes sought. This approach helps to maintain transparency, avoid miscommunication and ensure that each concern is properly addressed within the appropriate timescales.
  3. While landlords are not required to repeatedly investigate the same issues where no new evidence or developments have come to light, landlords are expected to fully engage with the concerns raised in a new complaint. It is also expected that landlords clearly explain how the previous findings remain applicable especially when some time has passed. In the resident’s case, the landlord did not demonstrate that it had properly reviewed whether the resident’s complaint warranted a new or different investigation and complaint response. This was despite the fact the resident had reported the issue was ongoing for a number of years.
  4. We also acknowledge that the resident also raised concerns about the cost of the thermostat and the impact of the cold bedroom on her heating bills. Despite the concerns being clearly communicated, there is no evidence that the landlord addressed these concerns (although we can see it assured the resident that the thermostat was working correctly). Given the resident had raised these matters she had a right to expect the landlord to respond to them. By not investigating these concerns, the landlord missed a chance to identify and fix issues at an earlier stage.
  5. These failings evidently caused some frustration and inconvenience to the resident. In line with our remedies guidance as referenced above, financial compensation of £100 is appropriate for that impact.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s concerns about the property being cold.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to, within 4 weeks of the date of this determination:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident the £200 compensation for the impact of its handling of the resident’s concerns about the property being cold.
    3. Pay the resident the £100 compensation for the impact of its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Recommendations

  1. We recommend the landlord takes the following action:
    1. Write to the resident:
      1. with timescales to complete the outstanding repairs (installation of the double radiator and repointing of the gable wall). 
      2. to explain what action it will take in response to the EPC assessor’s recommendation for party wall insulation. If it decides not to take action, it should outline its reasons for that decision.