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London Borough of Barnet (202437630)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202437630

London Borough of Barnet

24 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 handling of leaks from the property above the resident’s.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of a 1-bedroom flat. She acquired the property by mutual exchange on 5 September 2011. The resident has disclosed to us she has some vulnerabilities, and the landlord has noted she has a ‘mobility issue’.
  2. The resident said she experienced leaks coming into her property from the property above her for over 3 years. She reported leaks to the landlord in 2023. The resident complained about these on 26 July 2024, and the landlord provided its stage 1 response on 12 August 2024. In its response the landlord:
    1. upheld the complaint and said it had raised concerns with the repair supervisor.
    2. explained the steps it took to deal with reports of leaks between 9 November 2023 and 30 July 2024.
    3. apologised for not resolving the leak and asked the resident to contact it again to raise any repairs.
    4. agreed to escalate any repairs to its repair supervisor.
  3. The resident escalated her complaint on 30 November 2024 as she felt the landlord was not doing enough to resolve the leaks into her property. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 6 January 2025 and it:
    1. upheld the complaint.
    2. explained what action it took between 30 November 2024 and 31 December 2024 to deal with the reported leaks.
    3. agreed to treat the non-attendance to a report of a leak on 22 December 2024 as a missed appointment.
    4. acknowledged a delay in repairing the resident’s vinyl bathroom floor and a delay in restoring the bathroom lighting in December 2024.
    5. raised a job to repair the damaged plaster and painting for 13 January 2025.
    6. acknowledged there were delays due to it being unable to access both the resident and her neighbour’s property on the same day.
    7. discussed the case with its housing management team and said it wanted to find a permanent solution to the leaks. 
    8. raised a job to attend the property above to check the bathroom flooring and pump following a report of a leak on 31 December 2024.
    9. offered the resident £100, including £80 as a good will gesture and £20 for 2 missed appointments.
  4. The resident told this Service she has not accepted the compensation offer and that the landlord rehoused the tenant in the property above 6 weeks ago leaving the property empty. The resident told us she experienced leaks up until their departure and is concerned about ongoing leaks once new tenants move in. The resident also told us the landlord completed the plastering and painting of her bathroom ceiling in May 2025 and is currently refurbishing the property above. The resident wants the landlord to identify and resolve the cause of the leaks and pay compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the situation.

Assessment and findings

The scope of investigation

  1. The resident said she experienced leaks from the property above for the “past few years”. She specifically referred to leaks in July 2024 in the complaint she raised with the landlord on 26 July 2024. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues while they are still ‘live’, and while the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. This Service may not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable time, which would normally be within 12 months of matters arising. Therefore, this assessment does not consider any specific reports of leaks older than 12 months before the resident made a formal complaint. This is also in line with the period the landlord considered in its complaint responses. We have considered the landlord’s actions up until its final response, including any actions agreed in this.

The landlord’s handling of leaks from the property above

  1. Under both its tenancy conditions and its responsive repairs policy the landlord is responsible for keeping in repair drains, sinks, basins and toilets. It is also responsible for showers under these as they are installations which supply water. In contrast the landlord’s responsive repairs policy states residents are responsible for dealing with waste blockages, including those affecting basins and sinks. The landlord’s responsive repairs policy has 5 priority categories where repairs are dependent on the risk to the resident or their property. Under this policy the landlord had to deal with:
    1. emergencies where there is an immediate risk to a resident, or risk of severe damage to the structure or security of the property, by making safe any damage within 4 hours, and completing repairs within 24 hours, under priority 1 and 2
    2. responsive repairs where there is no immediate risk, within 15 working days of it raising the job, under priority 3
    3. programmed works that require a pre–inspection, within 25 working days under priority 4, and larger complex works within 60 working days under priority 5.
  2. The resident reported 11 leaks from the property above her between 9 November 2023 and 31 December 2024. Following a report of a leak on 9 November 2023 the landlord attended a blocked toilet in the property above on that day. It cleared the blockage within 24 hours in line with its responsive repairs policy. When the resident reported another leak on 12 November 2023 the landlord attended on 13 November 2023 but found the toilet above functioning. The resident told the landlord water had gone into the electrics in her property, but the landlord checked these and found the resident’s bathroom light was safe. The landlord said on 13 November 2023 it booked a job to replace the toilet in the property above and it overhauled this toilet on 19 November 2023. The landlord replaced this toilet on 12 December 2023 which was 21 working days from when it booked the job to replace it. This was within the 25-working day timeframe for programmed works. Therefore, its response to the reports of leaks in November 2023 were in line with its responsive repairs policy.  
  3. The landlord attended another report of a leak on 5 December 2023. There was a delay between 5 December 2023 and 7 December 2023 in the landlord reinstating the bathroom light fitting and replacing the faulty lamp, in addition to making safe the bathroom ceiling. Therefore, we cannot be certain that the electrics and ceiling were safe during this period, and we note damage to either could amount to an emergency. The landlord failed to complete these jobs within 24 hours in line with its responsive repairs policy. It took the landlord 38 working days to complete the follow-on work to the bathroom ceiling (5 December 2023 to 31 January 2024), against a target of 25 working days for programmed work.
  4. The resident did not report any other leaks until 19 May 2024 when she reported a leak affecting her bedroom. The landlord responded on 20 May 2024 in line with its responsive repairs policy. The landlord noted a blockage issue relating to the drainage pump and observed the shower room in the property above had flooded. It overhauled and repaired this pump on 10 June 2024. The landlord completed this job in 15 working days which was in line with its responsive repairs policy.
  5. The resident reported a ‘severe leak’ on 12 July 2024 affecting her electrics, but the leak stopped by 14 July 2024. The landlord made the electrics safe on 12 July 2024 and installed a ‘bulkhead light’ in the bathroom on 15 July 2024. Both actions were in line with its responsive repairs policy. The resident reported another leak affecting her bathroom ceiling on 21 July 2024. The landlord noted the cause of the leak was an unsealed wet room in the property above which needed repair and replacement. While the landlord said on 12 August 2024 that it would arrange for this it is unclear from its records when or if it completed this. There was also a delay in the landlord repairing the resident’s bathroom floor between 12 August 2024, when it said it would, and 2 January 2025. It took the landlord 99 working days to complete this repair, against a target of 25 working days for programmed work.
  6. When the resident reported a serious leak on 17 October 2024 coming into her property affecting the lights the landlord removed the bathroom light fitting on the same day. It booked a follow-on appointment for 28 October 2024 to reinstate the light, we have seen no evidence this went ahead. The landlord noted there was mould at the property in November 2024. It inspected the property on 26 November 2024 and recommended a mould wash and painting. The landlord told the resident that it would complete the remedial work (plastering and painting) to the bathroom on 13 January 2025, but the resident told us the landlord did not complete this until May 2025. We have seen no evidence to confirm when the landlord completed the remedial work. Therefore, we cannot be satisfied the landlord acted reasonably or in line with its responsive repairs policy.
  7. The resident told the landlord on 30 November 2024 that the fire service had turned her lights off following a report of a leak on that day. The landlord said on 2 December 2024 it would inspect the resident’s lights, but it is unclear what the outcome of this was, and this was 2 days after the resident reported the leak. Therefore, the landlord did not respond to this in line with its repair policy as damage to electrics can be an emergency. It tested the shower pump in the property above on 2 December 2024 and found no fault. It concluded the cause of the leaks was the neighbour leaving a shower valve on. While the landlord drew this conclusion based on its test, it became aware on 24 December 2024 that the pump sometimes failed to activate and caused leaking into the resident’s property. It also told the resident in its stage 2 response it would check the pump. It checked the pump and replaced it on 11 March 2025, 52 working days after it became aware that the pump was the likely the cause of the leaks and 46 working days after telling the resident it would check the pump. This was an unreasonable delay.
  8. The landlord raised another job on 20 December 2024 following another report of a leak affecting the resident’s ceiling on that day. It reinstated a light on 21 December 2024. After the leak affected the light again on 23 December 2024 it removed the light to make it safe. While it did not reinstate the light until 31 December 2024 the landlord explained in its final response that it needed to wait for the electrics to dry out, which was reasonable. The landlord responded to the leak report on 31 December 2024 and reinstated the resident’s lights again in line with its responsive repairs policy.
  9. Therefore, the landlord acted reasonably in responding to the reported leaks on 9 November 2023, 12 November 2023, 19 May 2024, 12 July 2024, 20 December 2024 and 31 December 2024. It replaced the toilet in the property above in December 2023 and overhauled and repaired the drainage pump in this property in June 2024. However, we have identified the following failures:
    1. there were delays in the landlord repairing the lighting and bathroom ceiling after the reported leak on 5 December 2023 because the landlord did not resolve these within 24 hours.
    2. following the report of a leak on 21 July 2024 we cannot be satisfied it addressed the cause of the leak (unsealed wet room in property above) in line with its responsive repairs policy.
    3. there was an unreasonable delay in the landlord repairing the resident’s bathroom flooring after the leak of 21 July 2024 (99 working days between 12 August 2024 and 2 January 2025).
    4. the landlord failed to show it acted reasonably in dealing with the leaks of 17 October 2024 and 30 November 2024, including completing the repairs to the bathroom ceiling in line with its responsive repairs policy.
    5. it took 52 working days (against a target of 25 working days) to replace the shower pump in the property above the resident.
  10. These failures amounted to maladministration which caused the resident significant distress and inconvenience. When there are failings by a landlord, as is the case here, the Ombudsman will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. When considering this we have regard to whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with our dispute resolution principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. The landlord apologised for delays in effecting the repairs and said it raised this with its housing management team. It told the resident it raised a job to check the bathroom flooring and pump in the property above. It also raised a job to plaster and paint the resident’s bathroom ceiling. This showed a willingness to learn and put things right. It offered the resident £100 compensation.
  11. While the landlord acknowledged overall delays and failings and made some attempt to put things right the offer of compensation was not proportionate to the impact of the failings we have found. In concluding this we are mindful that while the landlord said in its final response it would repair the bathroom ceiling on 13 January 2025 the landlord has not confirmed this happened and the resident said it completed this in May 2025, over 3 months after the landlord said it would and without explanation. We are also aware that while the landlord promised to check the pump in the property above in its final response it did not replace this until 11 March 2025, over 2 months later. These delays post complaint likely caused the resident additional distress and inconvenience. The resident told us that the leaks made it harder for her to use the bathroom because of her mobility issues and trying to avoid the leaks with limited space. We have therefore ordered an additional compensation payment of £150 in line with our remedies guidance. This allows for awards of this amount for situations like this where the failings adversely affected the resident without having a permanent effect. As it is unclear if the landlord has resolved the cause of the leak we have made an order in relation to this.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of leaks from the property above.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. complete an intrusive plumbing survey of the property above if it has not completed one within the last 6 weeks, to identify any faults and outline when it expects to resolve these by.
    2. pay the resident total compensation of £250, made up as follows:
      1. £100 previously offered if not already paid.
      2. An additional £150 for the likely distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of reports of leaks from the property above.
    3. The compensation should be paid direct to the resident and not used to offset any monies that she may owe the landlord.
  2. The landlord must provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.