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Leeds City Council (202304762)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202304762

Leeds City Council

20 November 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s decision to charge the resident rent for a new tenancy during the period the property was uninhabitable although:
    1. Adaptations were not complete.
    2. It had no hot water or gas supply or gas safety certificate.

Background

  1. The resident had been a tenant of the landlord for about 7 years. She has disabilities and has support from a mental health team, and was offered a new property, a 1 bedroom house.
  2. On 23 August 2022, an occupational assessment was carried out which recommended the resident decline the property as it needed adaptations and was not a suitable property to adapt. If the resident proceeded, the front access could not be levelled for a ramp, so shallow steps would be needed along with handrails, but this would take 4 to 6 months and be major work. An over bath shower was also needed.
  3. In the short-term, the landlord could request a grab rail be installed at the front and rear accesses and a second banister rail be installed, which were minor works and would usually take 28 days. However, it explained that minor works were taking longer than that at the time.
  4. The resident decided to proceed and signed an introductory tenancy on 1 September 2022, which became a secure tenancy after 12 months.
  5. The resident complained to the landlord on 14 November 2022 that she had been unable to move in until 31 October 2022 as immediate adaptations had not been completed. She had been told she was in rent arrears when she was not, and she wanted confirmation that was the case. In addition, the property did not have the required gas safety check and there was no hot water.
  6. The landlord responded at stage 1 on 22 November 2022 and did not uphold the complaint. It said the resident had decided to sign up to the property as she could manage the access in an around it despite the occupational health recommendation. Once she had signed up, she was aware the adaptations would take approximately 4 to 6 months to complete and she was required to pay rent straight away. A final fix was due to be completed on 1 September 2022 but was not done until 26 October 2022. A gas safety certificate was also issued that day. At that time the meter was in credit, and this enabled the gas engineer to carry out the relevant checks.
  7. The landlord went on to say that the resident later asked for a gas engineer to return on 2 November 2022 as there was no heating or hot water. This was due to there being no credit on the meter, which she was responsible for.
  8. The landlord explained that, once the resident signed the tenancy agreement, she was required to pay rent from the tenancy commencement date. It noted she had applied for a discretionary housing payment in the hope of having her rent paid for the property, whilst she continued to pay rent on her previous property. The claim was declined, as she was deemed to have sufficient savings to cover the rent.
  9. On 7 December 2022, the resident told the landlord she no longer wanted it to carry out the adaptations to the front of the property, as it did not reflect her health needs.
  10. The resident escalated her complaint on 13 December 2022. She explained that the gas safety certificate was only issued on 26 October 2022 after she got the energy supplier to replace the meters. She accepted some adaptations were long term but there was a delay to the immediate adaptations, so she had to remain in her previous property until 31 October 2022. She felt she should not, therefore, pay rent at the new property. The landlord acknowledged her request the same day and said it would respond by 10 January 2023 due to being closed over the holiday period.
  11. The landlord’s stage 2 response was issued on 10 January 2023, when it reiterated that she had been told the front access adaptation and bathroom work would take 4 to 6 months. A grab rail at the accesses and fitting of a second banister would usually take 28 days but minor works were taking longer. It had been explained to her that if it was to delay the adaptations and her moving in then she would be waiting about 4 to 6 months until they were completed. If she were to decline the property and could wait that time, she may have been considered for, and offered a more suitable property in the meantime. She chose to accept the property and wait for the adaptations so was liable for rent from the time of sign up.
  12. The landlord went on to say that, when the Voids team handed the property back, there was no debt on the meter. However, because of the backlog of properties and the increase in energy prices, the meter quickly accrued a large debt leading to it becoming unusable, and this was not discovered until the viewing and sign up. The moment a property is tenanted, an energy supplier will not speak to the landlord about it, so it fell to the resident to contact the supplier and inform them of when she took the tenancy. It accepted from her perspective that she should not have had a debt on the meter, so it adjusted the rent from the tenancy commencement up until the point of the gas safety certificate, which was 26 October 2022. That resulted in a credit to the rent account of £553.51.
  13. The resident acknowledged the landlord’s response on 30 January 2023. She commented that she did not think it had considered her mental health and reiterated her complaint about rent. She said the landlord had known she was disputing the rent as the property was not ready, but it told Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was in arrears and rent was taken from her benefits. She wanted the landlord to ensure the DWP made no more deductions and refunded her for any “wrongful rent deductions”.
  14. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s request the same day but explained on 3 February 2023 that as she had exhausted its 2 stage complaints process, so the next step would be to refer the complaint to this Service.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In her correspondence, the resident has also commented that she has not received a credit from her previous rent account. However, this issue did not form part of the complaint that was put to the landlord. Therefore, it has not been considered as part of this investigation (reflected at paragraph 42.a of the Scheme). The Ombudsman would encourage the parties to liaise on this point in order to find an amicable solution but, if the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s response, she may wish to raise a new complaint in that regard. 

The landlord’s decision to charge the resident rent for a new tenancy during the period the property was uninhabitable although adaptations were not complete.

  1. The evidence shows the landlord was aware of the resident’s vulnerabilities and, prior to her being considered for a move, it appropriately arranged for an occupational health assessment to take place, to ensure the property was suitable for her needs. The assessment raised concerns about the property but suggested that appropriate adaptations could be made. It noted that information on the time frames for these adaptations was given to the resident. 
  2. The occupational health advisers’ view was that the resident should decline the property. If she did decline it, they would support her decision, her priority would not be affected, and they would support with updating her housing application by providing a housing recommendation. The report said the resident would be better with a property that had easy access and with all facilities on one level such as a bungalow, ground floor flat, properties with stairlifts in situ or potential to adapt with a stairlift. Having this housing recommendation would enable her to be considered for a wider variety of properties.
  3. If the resident chose to accept the property, the report set out the major and minor works it would need:
    1. Major works – create shallow steps to the front access with a handrail and an over the bath shower.
    2. Minor works – a grab rail at the front access and one at the back access. In addition, an additional banister fitted.
  4. The resident has said she understood some adaptations would take several months, but that the minor works were delayed and this prevented her from moving in. However, the evidence shows that she was made aware that if she chose to accept the tenancy, no adaptations would not be done straight away, so she was able to make an informed decision on how she wished to proceed. The resident chose to accept the property and signed for the new tenancy to start on 1 September 2022. She was therefore liable to pay rent from that date, irrespective of whether she chose to move in.
  5. The Ombudsman notes the resident raised concerns over the DWP making deductions from her benefits because she appeared to be in arrears, but this came about due to her being liable for the rents on 2 properties at the same time. The tenant’s handbook says, “If you are claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit and have more than one home, please seek advice from your Housing Office on payment of rent as you may only be entitled to rent paid on one property.” As the resident chose to stay at the other property after 1 September 2022, she had an obligation to notify the DWP that she had signed a new tenancy, so it was aware she was responsible for paying 2 rents.
  6. The landlord’s records show that the minor works were completed on 5 October 2022, 5 weeks after the tenancy started, in line with the timescales provided in the occupational therapist report. The Ombudsman is satisfied that the resident had sufficient information to decide whether to move in to the property and that she was responsible for paying rent from 1 September 2022 and notifying the DWP of her position. She was also told what adaptations would be done, and when and the minor works were completed in a timely way. Therefore, her expectations were properly managed and there was no maladministration by the landlord on this point.

The landlord’s decision to charge the resident rent for a new tenancy during the period the property was uninhabitable as it had no hot water or gas supply or gas safety certificate

  1. The tenant handbook says “the final fix is where we may do a final electric check, make sure the gas is connected and finish off any small jobs”. The landlord arranged for this to take place on 1 September 2022, the first day of the tenancy. However, the landlord has accepted that it had not noted that the property had accrued a large utility debt by this date due to an increase in energy costs. Therefore, as the account was not in credit, the gas safety check could not be completed.
  2. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, section 36, paragraph 3b, says a landlord shall ensure “each appliance and flue to which the duty extends has been checked for safety within a period of 12 months before the lease commences”. The landlord’s Gas Safety Policy also says appliances and flues relevant to those appliances in premises which are let shall be checked for safety at intervals of no more than 12 months. A certificate (referred to as the Landlord’s Gas Safety Record) confirming the findings must be given to the tenant or responsible occupier.
  3. The tenancy commenced on 1 September 2022 and although a gas safety check took place on 19 May 2022, it did not check each appliance as there was no gas at the property at that time. Therefore, a gas safety check did need to take place before the resident moved in, in order to check the appliances.
  4. The gas safety check was not completed on 1 September 2022 and the landlord has accepted that the debt on the utility account on that date led to a delay in the final fix being carried out. Therefore, it did not comply with its obligations and the property was without heating and hot water until 26 October 2022.
  5. The Guide for Landlords: Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 says one of the criteria for checking whether a property is fit for human habitation is whether there is a problem with the supply of hot and cold water; which in this case there was. The resident has vulnerabilities and with the property having no heat or hot water from 1 September to 26 October 2022, it is reasonable to conclude the property was not fit for habitation during that time. Having said that, it is important to note that the resident had continued to live in her previous property, as she was waiting for the minor work adaptations to be completed. Therefore, she suffered no detriment, as she did not move in until 31 October 2022 and the property had gas by then and a gas safety check had been carried out. Although the resident reported not having hot water a few days later, that was because the account was not in credit; not as a result of anything the landlord had done wrong.
  6. The resident has said she is unhappy the housing officer did not inform her that the energy supplier had allocated a debt to her which predated the date of the tenancy. She has explained she had to contact the energy supplier, and it arranged to replace the meters. Her gas supply was then reinstated from 26 October 2022.
  7. There was an oversight on the landlord’s part, but as the tenancy had started, as per page 7 of the tenant’s handbook, as well as notifying the DWP of any move, it was the resident’s responsibility to contact the energy suppliers. It would have then ensured the utility accounts were put in her name and the landlord would have been billed up to the point of tenancy starting, meaning her account would have no longer been in debt. It was then the resident’s responsibility to ensure the account was in credit going forward.
  8. To remedy matters, the landlord agreed to credit the resident £553.51 by way of a rent adjustment for the period 1 September to 26 October 2022, during which time the gas supply was not connected. This addressed the rent arrears that had accrued as a result of her having 2 properties over that period.
  9. Consideration has been given to whether the landlord went far enough by way of remedy, and the Ombudsman is satisfied that it did. As explained, it was for the resident to notify the DWP and the energy suppliers that she had signed a new tenancy agreement. The landlord did overlook that the energy account was in debt on 1 September 2022, and this delayed the final fix and issuing of the gas safety certificate. However, it caused no inconvenience to the resident as she had not moved in for other reasons, and the arrears that accrued were addressed by it crediting the rent account with £553.51. Therefore, the redress already offered by the landlord to resolve this part of the complaint was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in relation to the landlord’s decision to charge the resident rent for a new tenancy during the period the property was uninhabitable because adaptations were not complete.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaints about its decision to charge the resident rent for a new tenancy during the period the property was uninhabitable when it had no hot water or gas supply or gas safety certificate.

Recommendation

  1. If it has not already done so, credit the resident’s rent account with £553.51. This offer recognised genuine elements of service failure and the reasonable redress finding is made on that basis.