Leeds City Council (202313924)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202313924

Leeds City Council

30 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

1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. A blocked drain which resulted in sewage overspill in the garden at the resident’s property and a broken drain cover.
   2. The associated complaint.

Background

2. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord.
3. On 31 May 2023, the resident reported his kitchen sink would not drain, and the drain was blocked.
4. On 2 June 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. He explained that the landlord’s contractor attended his property to unblock the outside drain, but whilst completing the work, they sprayed raw sewage over the pavement and next to the bins. He also stated that the sewage water had damaged all his plants and requested that someone attend his property as soon as possible to clean the sewage overspill.
5. The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint by telephone call on 8 June 2023. It has confirmed with the Ombudsman that it did not issue a stage 1 complaint response letter. During the telephone call, the landlord informed the resident that its contractor would be returning to his property on 8 June 2023 to clean up the sewage overspill.

6. On 9 June 2023, the resident requested for his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. He stated that the landlord’s contractor attended his property on 8 June 2023 but did not clean up all the sewage overspill and explained that there was still raw sewage in his garden, and he could not use it. The resident also stated that the contractor broke the drain cover in the garden.
7. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response letter to the resident on 7 July 2023. It explained that its contractor attended the resident’s property several times to disinfect and clean the sewage in his garden. It also confirmed that the broken drain cover was replaced on 14 July 2023. The landlord apologised for the damage caused to his plants whilst the drain was being unblocked and offered £50 compensation as a gesture of goodwill.
8. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated that his desired outcome was for the landlord to relay the concrete and grass in the garden. The resident also stated that he would like the compensation offer to be revised as he does not have a bank account so he would need the payment by alternative means such as a voucher, instead.

Assessment and findings

A blocked drain which resulted in sewage overspill in the garden at the resident’s property and a broken drain cover.

Policies and Procedures

9. The landlord’s repairs and maintenance handbook states that the landlord is responsible for keeping the main structure and outside of resident’s property in good repair. The handbook also states that the landlord is responsible for carrying out essential repairs, such as to blocked drains and burst pipes.
10.  The repairs handbook also includes information on the landlord’s repairs timescales. It states that the landlord will respond to an emergency repair within 24 hours, a priority repair within 3 working days and a general repair within 20 working days.

Assessment

11. On 31 May 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and reported that his kitchen sink would not drain, and the drain was blocked. The landlord responded promptly to the resident’s report and the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property on 1 June 2023 and unblocked the drain. The landlord repaired the drain quickly and in line with the repair timescales referenced within its repairs and maintenance handbook.
12. Although the drain was unblocked promptly, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 2 June 2023 and stated that whilst the contractor was unblocking the drain, sewage overspilled in the resident’s garden and damaged the resident’s plants. The resident requested the landlord arrange for a contractor to attend as soon as possible to clean the sewage overspill.
13. In response to the resident’s concerns, the landlord arranged for its contractor to attend on 8 June 2023 to clean up the sewage overspill in the garden. The landlord responded appropriately by arranging its contractor to attend the resident’s property to clean up the sewage. The landlord’s contractor attended as agreed. However, the resident was unhappy with the standard of the cleaning and stated that there was still sewage remaining in his garden. He also stated that the landlord’s contractor broke the drain cover.
14. Following the resident’s concerns that there was still sewage remaining in the garden. The landlord arranged for its contractor to revisit the resident’s property to carry out further cleaning in the garden. The landlord’s contractor attended on 13 and 16 June 2023 to disinfect and clean the garden. The landlord confirmed that the work to clean the garden was completed by 21 June 2023. The landlord responded reasonably to the resident’s concerns and took the appropriate steps to resolve the issue and clean up the sewage in the garden. The resident expressed that his desired outcome was for the landlord to relay the concrete and grass in the garden. The Ombudsman acknowledges it must have been difficult and distressing for the resident dealing with the sewage overspill in the garden. However, the Ombudsman would not expect the landlord to re-lay new grass and concrete in the garden, as the garden was not beyond repair and the landlord resolved the sewage health and safety issue by cleaning and disinfecting the garden. Residents are responsible for garden maintenance, in line with the tenancy agreement so the landlord is not responsible for the grass and concrete in the garden provided the garden is safe to use and free from hazards.
15. In addition, in response to the issue raised about the broken drain cover. The landlord also responded to this appropriately by arranging its contractor to replace the drain cover on 14 July 2023. The repair was resolved in line with the timescales referenced in the landlord’s repairs policy.
16. The landlord also apologised for the damage which was caused to the resident’s plants from the sewage overspill and offered the resident £50 compensation to recognise the inconvenience caused. This was an appropriate offer.
17. Overall, the landlord responded appropriately to resolve the issue with block drain and sewage overspill. It also offered the resident £50 compensation to recognise inconvenience caused due to his plants getting damaged. The compensation offered to the resident is compliant with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance (published on our website), which sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation. The remedies guidance suggests awards of £50 to £100, where there was a minor failure by the landlord in the service it provided, and it did not appropriately acknowledge these and/or fully put them right. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the distress and inconvenience on the resident from the landlord’s errors, and it amounts to reasonable redress in this case. The resident has informed the Ombudsman that he does not have a bank account, therefore the landlord should consider alternative options to pay the compensation to the resident such as a gift voucher.

The associated complaint.

18. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales as referenced in the Code.
19. The Code also states that a landlord must provide a response in writing to the resident at the completion of stage 1 in clear, plain language. The Code explains that the stage 1 response should include the following:
    1. The complaint stage.
    2. The complaint definition.
    3. The decision on the complaint.
    4. The reasons for any decisions made.
    5. The details of any remedy offered to put things right.
    6. Details of any outstanding actions.
    7. Details of how to escalate the matter to stage 2 if the resident is not satisfied with the answer.
20. The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord about sewage overspill in his garden from a blocked drain on 2 June 2023. The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint by telephone on 8 June 2023. It is acknowledged that the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint promptly, however; the landlord failed to follow up the telephone call in writing with a stage 1 complaint response letter. The landlord, not issuing a stage 1 complaint response in writing to the resident, was not compliant with the Code. The landlord should ensure it provides written responses at both stages of its complaints process going forward so residents have a written record of the landlord’s decisions and explanations.
21. On 9 June 2023, the resident requested for his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. The landlord responded with its stage 2 complaint response on 7 July 2023, which was within 20 working days and compliant with the Code and the landlord’s own complaints policy.
22. Overall, there has been an error by the landlord failing to provide a stage 1 complaint response in writing. However, there was limited impact from the error, as the landlord did provide a response via phone call and the error did not delay or prevent the resident from escalating his complaint to stage 2. Therefore, there has been no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. However, the landlord should ensure it provides written responses at both stages of its complaints process going forward, in line with the Code.

Determination (decision)

23. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about a blocked drain which resulted in sewage overspill in the garden at the resident’s property and a broken drain cover.
24. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was a no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Recommendations

25. It is recommended that the landlord pay the resident its original offer of £50 compensation made in its stage 2 complaint response, within 4 weeks if it has not already done so. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress is based on the understanding that this compensation will be paid. As referenced above, the landlord should consider alternative options of paying the compensation such as a gift voucher due to the resident not having a bank account.