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London Borough of Islington (202327101)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202327101

Islington Council

16 May 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 repairs to the resident’s boiler and heating system.

Background

  1. The resident’s tenancy began on 6 February 2023. The property is a 2-bedroom flat. She lives there alone with her 2 children. At the time of the complaint, her eldest child was 6 years old and the youngest was 5 months.
  2. The resident reported that she had hot water, but no heating on her first day in the property. The landlord attended on the same day to investigate but could not resolve the issue. The operative left a fan heater to assist the resident. The following day, an operative attended to fix the issue, but noted 2 radiators may need further inspection due to a delay in them heating up.
  3. Following these initial repairs, the resident raised a further 2 repairs before logging a complaint on 27 September 2023. These were both due to a pressure release valve (PRV) leaking, causing the boiler to lose pressure.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 12 October 2023, upholding the resident’s complaint and acknowledging the following repair visits and actions had taken place:
    1. 10 March 2023 – PRV was leaking and needed replacing.
    2. 6 June 2023 – an electrician attended to assess the PRV to be replaced and noted a leaking pipe.
    3. 4 July 2023 – a plumber attended and advised that a supervisor was required to assess for a new boiler.
    4. 20 and 25 September 2023 – operatives advised that if the PRV continued to leak, it would need changing.
    5. 5 October 2023 – the resident made a request for fan heaters.
    6. 9 October 2023 – the repairs team noted parts had arrived and an appointment should be raised as soon as possible.

The landlord noted in the response that this appointment had been chased and a request to contact the resident made. It also acknowledged there had been a service failure.

  1. The landlord offered an apology for the delays in repairing the boiler and acknowledged the resident’s comments regarding the health impact to her and her children. It also acknowledged there had been historical issues with the boiler prior to the resident moving in. It awarded compensation of £300 for distress, inconvenience, time and effort.
  2. The landlord’s complaints team also forwarded the complaint to its homes and communities team for them to consider compensation due for the loss of usage of the boiler.
  3. The resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint on 12 October 2023 as it had not completed the repairs and the fan heaters were expensive to run. When engineers did attend, she said they had not been informed of what parts were needed, leading to further delays. Due to the winter months, she raised the impact this was having on her and her children’s health.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 8 November 2023, upholding the complaint. It offered an apology for the fault originally being identified in March 2023 but not repaired until September 2023. It acknowledged that, despite repairs, the heating problem continued with a further repair required on 2 November 2023. On 6 November 2023, it was determined a new heating system would be needed. After this, the following reports and works took place:
    1. 16 November 2023 – a new boiler was installed.
    2. 9 January 2024 – the property had hot water but no heating.
    3. 10 January 2024 – the thermostat was turned on due to being left off at the boiler installation.
    4. 25 April 2024 – the property had hot water but no heating.
    5. 20 May 2024 – a new element was fitted for the heating system.
  5. Due to the continued issues, the landlord amended the compensation offer to £3,234. This was increased to reflect distress, inconvenience, time and effort, repair delays, loss of heating, higher electric bills and a failure to process the loss of heating payment at stage 1.
  6. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s responses due to the time taken for the new boiler to be authorised and the level of compensation offered. She said that by the time the work was complete, her electric bill had increased significantly. The complaint was escalated to the Ombudsman on 8 November 2023.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation 

  1. In her communication with the landlord, the resident has referenced how the situation impacted both her and her children’s health. While we do not doubt the resident’s comments, it is beyond our remit to draw conclusions on the cause of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is more appropriate to be dealt with through the courts as a personal injury claim. Nonetheless, we have considered the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident.

Policy and Procedures

  1. The landlord’s repair service standards set out timescales in which it will attend repairs depending on severity. It will attend urgent repairs within 24 hours and routine repairs within 20 working days. Where a previous repair does not resolve the problem for a 12 month period, it would recall the original contractor and attend within 5 working days.
  2. If an inspection is required, the landlord will attempt to complete the survey within 10 working days. Post inspections may be carried out up to 20 working days following completion of repairs or servicing works.
  3. The landlord is also responsible for the repair and keeping in working order room and water heating systems fitted by it. Sections 11 and 9a of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 require the structure and exterior of the property to be in good repair. It must ensure the property remains fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy
  4. The landlord’s compensation policy shows repairs compensation ranges between £500 to £2,500, time and effort is between £100 to £300 and the same range is applied for distress.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s boiler and heating system

  1. It is not disputed that the resident experienced intermittent issues with the heating in the property from February 2023 and that these remained unresolved at the time of the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response on 8 November 2023.
  2. The landlord has acknowledged in its complaint responses that these were a constant since the start of the resident’s tenancy and led to increased electric bills due to usage of fan heaters. It acknowledged delays occurred in providing a permanent resolution to the issue. This was partly caused by the wrong part being ordered in the first instance. It offered compensation for this in its stage 2 resolution which we have considered below.
  3. The Ombudsman acknowledges it can take more than one attempt to resolve heating repairs as it can be difficult to identify the cause at the outset and, in some cases, different repairs may need to be attempted before the matter is resolved. This would not necessarily constitute a service failure by the landlord. However, in this case, it is evident that there was a significant delay in ordering and installing the required part. The landlord acknowledges that this was a service failure.
  4. As such, the resident raised a complaint regarding the landlord’s handling of the repairs during this time. We can see that the landlord attended each urgent report within its 24–hour timescale. It first identified that the pressure release valve needed replacing on 10 March 2023, but failed to action this until 2 November 2023. Multiple visits took place in-between, which caused a significant disruption to the resident before a permanent solution was applied.
  5. Once the correct part was installed, the landlord identified that the bedroom radiators were still not working. This prompted it to raise an order for a new boiler and installation. The forecasted installation date for this was 4 December 2023.
  6. The resident said that the previous tenants had told her they reported issues with the heating system to the landlord before her tenancy began. She feels that it should have repaired this before letting the property to her. The landlord is expected to identify repair issues during the void period and is obliged to ensure that when a tenancy commences, it is ‘fit for human habitation’ and free from issues, including excess cold. It should complete any necessary repairs before the tenant moves in unless otherwise agreed.
  7. We have not seen the repair history for the property prior to the resident’s tenancy to confirm how long the problem with the heating may have been ongoing before 6 February 2023, or whether the landlord previously attempted any repairs. However, the landlord has not disputed that it was previously aware of the issue and acknowledged the inconvenience and delays as part of its overall offer of compensation to the resident.
  8. The landlord indicated that it did not resolve known heating problems during the void period and has not set out how it would prevent similar failings in future. As such, we have made a recommendation below.
  9. In line with the landlord’s stage 2 response, a new boiler was installed on 16 November 2023 which was earlier than the original forecast. However, this did not fully resolve the situation as several further repairs followed, culminating in the replacement of a heater element in April 2024.
  10. As it is unclear from the information whether the element forms part of the boiler or is a separate unit, it is not possible to determine if the landlord could have identified this any earlier in the process. It did however identify the issue and apply a permanent resolution within a 48-hour period of the new report. As such, this would not constitute a service failure.
  11. Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether its offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
  12. In this case, the landlord reconsidered its position following the stage 1 resolution and recalculated its offer to accommodate the additional time taken to repair the boiler and the winter months the resident was without heating. This is shown in the compensation breakdown:
    1. Compensation for loss of heating from February 2023 to December 2023 less the period May to August 2023 £8.84 per day x 214 days (7 months) = £1,891.76 rounded up to £1,892.00.
    2. Delay in carrying out the repair February 2023 – December 2023. 10 months at £41.66 = £416.60 rounded up to £417.00.
  13. This forecast was calculated up to the original planned installation. We acknowledge the fact the landlord also recalculated its redress for the overall resident’s distress and inconvenience, along with the time and effort incurred. Both of these were increased to £300 as it recognised there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. The award apparently did not take into account the total cost of the resident’s actual increased electricity bill, leaving her dissatisfied with the final amount.
  14. In line with our remedies guidance, £1,000 plus is the recommended figure for landlords to consider in cases where there was a severe long-term impact to a resident. The landlord’s offer of £2,934 (excluding the amount towards the electricity bill) was significant and within this range.
  15. Given the delays over around 9 months had a major impact on the household conditions, it was suitable for the landlord to award this level of compensation. The landlord’s offer of redress alongside its apology was proportionate. It was appropriate for the landlord to consider the impact the summer months would have had on the resident’s need for heating.
  16. The landlord has acknowledged the resident’s concerns relating to her higher electric bills and compensated a further £300 for this. It has not demonstrated any request it made for evidence of the cost of her additional energy consumption in the form of a bill to ensure this amount is adequate. We appreciate that it may not have been possible to calculate the specific extra electricity usage at the time the resident experienced problems and it was positive for the landlord to award £300 in recognition of the likelihood of increased charges. We now recommend that it offers to review her current energy usage alongside the usage at the time and considers additional compensation.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress by the landlord in its handling of repairs to the resident’s boiler and heating system.

Recommendations

  1. If it has not already done so, the landlord should pay the resident the £3,234 compensation it offered through the complaints process. Our finding of reasonable redress is made on the basis that this amount is paid.
  2. The landlord should write to the resident within 4 weeks of the date of this report to request evidence of her increased electricity bills during 2023. It should advise what evidence it needs and confirm how long it will take to make a decision once the evidence is received.
  3. The landlord should review how its voids team uses previous repair records to identify works that need to be completed during the void period.
  4. The landlord should reply to this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this report to confirm its intentions in regard to these recommendations.