London Borough of Camden Council (202227296)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202227296

Camden Council

18 December 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 reports of the slow flow of hot water.
2. The complaint is also about the landlord’s handling of the complaint and resolution offered.

Background

3. The resident has a tenancy with the landlord, which began on 5 April 1993. The landlord is a local authority. The resident lives on the top floor of a maisonette.
4. On 23 August 2022, the resident reported an issue with the constant slow flow of hot water that prevented the use of the shower. The landlord arranged a visit that took place the same day but did not resolve the issue. Several further visits by the landlord and contractor between August 2022 and November 2022 failed to fix the problem.
5. The resident complained to the landlord on 24 November 2022. The resident was unhappy about the landlord’s handling of the issue and repeat visits by the landlord and contractor. The issue with the slow flow of hot water remained.
6. The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 30 January 2023, in which it documented the interactions and visits that had taken place. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint. It acknowledged the resident’s dissatisfaction about its failure to resolve the slow flow of hot water and offered £100 compensation for the 5 months that the matter had been ongoing.
7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the complaint response due to the issue remaining. The resident considered the offer of £100 inadequate due to the distress and inconvenience caused. The resident requested escalation of the complaint on 21 February 2023. The landlord acknowledged this on 22 February 2023 and issued its stage 2 response on 3 May 2023.
8. The landlord acknowledged and recapped the resident’s complaint issues. It detailed a history of the problems reported and actions taken to resolve them. The landlord offered an increased level of compensation to £200, comprised as follows:
   1. £100 for distress and inconvenience
   2. £100 for time and trouble
9. The landlord considered the matter resolved but invited the resident to contact it further if necessary and signposted the resident to the Ombudsman if they remained unhappy. The resident did not contact the landlord following its stage 2 response.
10. The resident referred their complaint to the Ombudsman on 10 May 2023. The resident requested that the landlord fix the issue with the slow flow of hot water and provide “an appropriate gesture” to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. The complaint became one that this Service could consider on 4 April 2024.

Events Post Internal Complaints Process

11. The resident says the issue regarding the slow flow of hot water has remained ongoing. The resident says they have had no further contact with the landlord about this issue since the landlord issued its stage 2 response.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

12. This investigation will consider events beyond the time that the resident completed the landlord’s internal complaints process, as they relate to the same issue that the resident raised.
13. The resident says they had a bicycle accident due to the worry caused by this matter. The Ombudsman cannot conclude the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is outside our jurisdiction, but consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience that may have been caused to the resident.

Landlord’s obligations, policies and procedures

14. Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord is obliged to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water to the property. It is also obliged to complete repairs within a reasonable timeframe.
15. The landlord’s tenants’ guide confirms that the landlord is responsible for the water supply from the meter or stopcock outside the home, to fittings that use water inside the home.
16. The landlord’s repairs policy states it usually carries out repairs within 35 days but that it sometimes needs to book a second visit if it needs to order special parts. The policy explains that problems that need fixing but are not causing serious discomfort or inconvenience may take longer.
17. The landlord’s repairs policy directs residents to contact a contractor about hot water issues.

Landlord’s handling of reports of the slow flow of hot water

18. The landlord does not dispute that there were failings in its handling of this matter. Where the landlord admits failings, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether it resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances and offered appropriate redress. In considering this, this Service assesses whether the landlord’s actions were in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: Be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
19. The resident and the landlord have provided details of the interactions and visits that took place in response to the resident reporting the slow flow (not a total loss) of hot water in the property.
20. The resident initially reported on 23 August 2022 that they had no hot water due to the boiler pressure being too low. The landlord raised a job, which a contractor attended the same day. This action was reasonable in response to the resident’s report.
21. Between August 2022 and January 2023, the landlord and the contractor attended the property on at least 9 occasions to try to identify the cause of the slow flow of hot water. During the visits, the landlord and contractor checked the boiler and tested the water flow from the taps in the property.
22. The landlord and contractor reported different issues as possible causes of the slow flow of hot water, including issues with the boiler and with the water pressure coming into the property. To try to resolve this, the contractor identified a need to replace parts of the boiler. The landlord replaced the bath mixer tap with a new one, before refitting the original mixer due to this not being faulty and identifying that the slow flow of hot water was from other taps in the property, too.
23. Whilst it was reasonable for the landlord to rely on their professional personnel and contractors’ assessments of the reported issue, that the landlord and contractor visited at least 9 times and still did not manage to establish the cause of the issue or the work required to remedy the issue was not reasonable.
24. In its stage 1 response, the landlord acknowledged that a problem with the resident’s combi-boiler should have been identified during one of the contractor’s earlier visits. The landlord acknowledged that this caused unnecessary delay and some confusion for the resident, as the job passed between the landlord and the contractor. The landlord explained that it had brought this to the attention of the relevant department manager to take appropriate action to prevent this from happening again, which demonstrates that the landlord took action to prevent similar situations from reoccurring.
25. The resident says engineers contradicted each other. The resident has explained that no one visited since 29 November 2022, despite the contractor informing the landlord otherwise. This investigation does not doubt the resident’s account but, in the absence of independent evidence to corroborate this, it is not possible for this investigation to make a determination on this particular point.
26. As noted above, the resident first raised the issue with the slow flow of hot water in the property on 23 August 2022. The resident states the last visit that took place was approximately two years ago, on 29 November 2022. By then, the length of time taken to address the issue had gone well beyond the usual 35-day timeframe detailed in the landlord’s repairs policy, which represents a failing by the landlord.
27. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response dated 3 May 2023 expressed that it hoped further attendance from the contractor in March 2023 and April 2023 had resolved the issue. The landlord asked that the resident inform it if the issue remained unresolved. The resident has confirmed they had no further contact with the landlord after this communication. Instead, the resident escalated the complaint to the Ombudsman.
28. Whilst we note the resident could have continued to raise the issue with the landlord, the landlord did not contact the resident to check whether the hot water issue remained. That it did not contact the resident was a failing considering that the landlord did not appear to have fully diagnosed or remedied the problem.
29. Overall, the landlord has acknowledged that it repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to diagnose and remedy the cause of the slow flow of hot water. The landlord has also demonstrated that it took action to prevent such a situation from reoccurring. However, the repeated failure to diagnose and remedy the slow flow of hot water represents maladministration and an order has been made below for remedy.

Complaint handling

30. The resident logged a formal complaint with the landlord on 24 November 2022.
31. The landlord has not provided the complaints policy it had in place at the time, but the timeframes detailed in its complaint responses appear to mirror its present process, which is in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
32. The landlord’s complaints process and the Code confirm the landlord will acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days and issue a stage 1 response within 10 working days. These confirm the landlord should not exceed this timeframe without good reason and without providing the resident/s with an explanation.
33. The landlord issued its stage 1 response to the complaint apologising for the delay on 30 January 2023, 53 days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints policy. The landlord failed to inform the resident of the delay or provide an explanation for this.
34. In its stage 1 response, the landlord apologised for the delay in responding to the resident’s complaint. It acknowledged that the issue regarding the slow flow of hot water in the property had passed back and forth between the landlord and contractor, with each stating the other was responsible to resolve. The landlord explained that the contractor should have identified a fault with the combi boiler sooner. It apologised for the inconvenience caused by the confusing communications and updates provided and offered £100 compensation for the 5 months the issue had been ongoing.
35. On 9 February 2023, the resident responded to disagree with the landlord’s findings and express their dissatisfaction with the £100 compensation offered.
36. The landlord took this response as being a new complaint that had raised the same issues. It informed the resident on 10 February 2023 how to request escalation of the complaint, which it had explained in its stage 1 response.
37. The resident asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 on 21 February 2023. The landlord acknowledged this on 22 February 2023, within the 5 working days outlined in its complaints policy.
38. The landlord’s complaints process and the Code confirm the landlord should issue a stage 2 response complaint within 20 working days. These confirm the landlord should not exceed this timeframe without good reason and without providing the resident/s with an explanation.
39. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s escalation request on 22 February 2023. It was not until 3 May 2023 that the landlord issued its stage 2 response, 42 days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints policy, and only after the Ombudsman chased a response on 24 April 2023.
40. In its stage 2 response, the landlord detailed further efforts made to resolve the issue. It apologised for the distress and inconvenience caused due to the hot water flow issue and numerous visits. The landlord expressed regret that the contractor had not previously been able to correctly diagnose the issue. It invited the resident to inform it if the issue remained and, if so, it would escalate the issue. The landlord explained that its delayed complaint responses were due to a high volume of contacts received by its complaints team.
41. In consideration of the complaint, the landlord offered £200 compensation, comprised as follows:
    • £100 for distress and inconvenience
    • £100 for time and trouble
42. The landlord also signposted the resident back to the Ombudsman if they remained unhappy.
43. Although the complaint responses were delayed, the landlord appears to have completed a thorough investigation at both stages 1 and 2 in which it identified and apologised for its failings. It also asked the resident to let it know it if there was still an issue with the flow of hot water. Therefore, we consider the landlord’s offer of £200 compensation is reasonable redress for the time and trouble caused by its delayed complaint responses and lack of updates in between.

Determination

44. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s handling of reports of the slow flow of hot water.
45. In accordance with paragraph 53 of the Scheme, there was reasonable redress regarding the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

46. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must contact the resident to ascertain whether the issue is still ongoing and establish an action plan aimed at resolving the issue.
47. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must provide a written apology to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
48. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must pay £200 compensation to the resident for its failure to diagnose and remedy the slow flow of hot water.
49. The landlord is to pay this amount directly to the resident less any amount previously paid. The landlord must not offset this compensation against any rent or service charge arrears that the resident may have accrued.
50. The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders within the timeframes set out above.

Recommendations

51. The reasonable redress finding is dependent on the landlord paying the resident £200 as offered in its stage 2 response, if it has not already done so.