London Borough of Islington (202333554)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202333554

Islington Council

17 April 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 the resident’s reports of dumped rubbish in communal areas of the building and gardens.

Background

2. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, which is a local authority. The building is a 2-bedroom basement flat. The tenancy started in October 2014.

Summary of events

3. The resident contacted the landlord on 2 September 2023. She reported that there was an object in her garden which needed to be removed by the landlord. The resident said it may have come from another flat in the building who had repair works done. Also, debris and dust had been left on the stairs and in the basement. The resident contacted the landlord on 27 September 2023 and reported that there were boards in the gardens outside of her kitchen window.
4. The resident complained to the landlord on 10 October 2023. She said she was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response as she disagreed that the boards had blown into the garden. Also, she did not agree that someone would go out of their way to dump the boards outside of her kitchen window. The resident said it was not her responsibility to clear dumped rubbish. She said following another resident in the building having repair works done debris and dust was left on the stairs. Also, pieces of brick had been left in the basement and piping in the garden.
5. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 23 October 2023. The landlord said:
   1. It found that rubbish had not been dumped in the resident’s garden, but it was rubbish that had been blown into the garden following high winds. That it was the resident’s responsibility to remove rubbish in the communal gardens and building.
   2. It did not agree that rubbish had been left by its repair contractors. Therefore, it was outside of the remit of the repair team’s responsibility to remove the rubbish.
6. The resident contacted the landlord and requested it escalate the complaint to stage 2 on 25 October 2023. She said she disagreed with the landlord’s findings and said that it was piping left in the garden. Also, there were bricks, dirt and debris left in the basement and items in the hallway. The resident said it was not her responsibility to clean other peoples rubbish who live in the building.
7. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 16 November 2023. The landlord said:
   1. The walls surrounding the resident’s building were low and not fenced off. Therefore, the building is prone to people dropping litter when they walk past. Additionally, due to the low wall, litter and debris can drift into the garden from the street.
   2. It confirmed in the past that it had found an increase in fly tipping and littered streets which resulted in rubbish ending up in personal gardens. It had previously contacted residents to advise them to discard their rubbish properly. It agreed to send a further letter if appropriate.
   3. It reviewed its stage 1 complaint response and found the findings to be accurate as there were high winds in the previous weeks. Therefore, it could not find that the rubbish or debris was purposely left.

Assessment and findings

8. The Ombudsman’s Dispute resolution principles are to be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. This Service will apply these principles when considering whether any redress is appropriate and proportionate for any maladministration or service failure identified.

Scope of investigation

9. The landlord’s internal complaint procedure investigated and responded to several issues. However, the resident has subsequently confirmed to this Service that they only consider the issue defined above to be outstanding and that the matter concerning damp and mould of the complaint have been resolved. Accordingly, this investigation has focussed on and assessed the circumstances of the one issue that remains outstanding.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of dumped rubbish in the communal areas of the building and gardens

10. Section 10 of the resident’s tenancy agreement states that residents must put household rubbish into the containers provided. Also, they must not dump rubbish on any area of the building or estate. Additionally, residents must dispose of all large items of rubbish or household waste in a safe and appropriate way.
11. The landlord’s estate management policy states that all communal gardens are cut and pruned by its ground maintenance service. The residents of the building are responsible for maintaining the communal grounds. The landlord has confirmed that there is no caretaking or communal maintenance services for the resident’s building.
12. In this case, the resident raised reports on 2 September 2023 of rubbish that had been dumped in the communal garden area. Also, debris and dust had been left on the communal stairs and in the basement following another resident having repair works completed. The landlord responded on 18 September 2023 and said it was unaware who had dumped the rubbish. It advised the resident to dispose of the piping in her bin. The resident raised further reports of white boards being dumped in the communal gardens on 21 September 2023.
13. The landlord emailed the resident on 5 October 2023 and said it believed the rubbish had blown into the garden. It provided a link to a weather report confirming high winds. However, the landlord has not provided any evidence to support why it reached this conclusion. While this is one possibility of the cause of the rubbish the landlord failed to consider other causes for the rubbish. This was not reasonable as the landlord should have investigated the matter and provided a response.
14. As such, the resident in her email of 6 October 2023 said she disagreed that the weather had blown the boards in as they were heavy. In its response dated 9 October 2023 the landlord said it had found no evidence that debris or dust had been left by its contractors. While its email was clear on the responsibility of residents to maintain the front garden. Also, that its repair team would not attend, it failed to consider the obligations it did have. This included that it should ensure that residents are aware to dispose of their rubbish.
15. The landlord has not provided any evidence that it made enquiries into where the rubbish came from. This could have included checking its repair records to see if residents in the building had previously had repairs completed. Had the landlord have done so, it could have established whether another resident in the building was responsible for the rubbish or its contractors. This was not reasonable as the landlord should demonstrate solution focused approaches.
16. In its stage 2 complaint response dated 16 November 2023 it said it had previously contacted residents to remind them to not discard rubbish. However, the evidence provided by the landlord does not confirm when it previously contacted residents. It went onto state that it did not feel that it needed to on this occasion. Given the resident’s reports of dumped rubbish, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to contact the residents in the building at this time and provided education on disposing off rubbish. This may have prevented further rubbish being dumped and debris being left on the stairs and in the basement. This was not reasonable as the landlord missed opportunities to show that it was taking the matters seriously.
17. In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord said it did not uphold the complaint. It provided clear explanations why it was not within its responsibilities to remove dumped rubbish. Whilst the landlord was proactive in responding to the resident’s concerns, it missed opportunities to show the resident it was taking the matters seriously. This included that it missed an opportunity to contact and remind the residents in the building to dispose of their own rubbish. Additionally, it failed to investigate whether any residents had repair works completed which may have resulted in the rubbish the resident complained about. This amounts to a service failure.
18. Considering the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance an award of £50 has been ordered in compensation for its service failure.

Determination

19. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was a service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of dumped rubbish in the communal areas of the building and gardens.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

20. Within 4 weeks of the date of this decision, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident for its handling of the resident’s reports of the resident’s reports of dumped rubbish in the communal areas of the building and gardens.
    2. Pay the resident £50 compensation in addition to what has already been offered by its contractors. This comprises of:
       1. £50 for any distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble that the resident experienced from its handling of her reports of dumped rubbish in the communal areas and gardens.
    3. Provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders.

Recommendations

21. It is recommended that the landlord contact the residents in the building to provided education on disposing of rubbish.