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London Borough of Lambeth (202418701)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202418701

Lambeth Council

21 March 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 about repairs to the roof.
  2. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident has a secure tenancy for the property, a 2–bedroom house, which she has held since 2015.  The landlord is a local authority and confirmed that the resident has unspecified physical vulnerabilities.  As of the date of this report, the resident is awaiting an Occupational Therapist (OT) assessment for bathroom adaptations.
  2. On 21 February 2022 the resident contacted the landlord to report loose tiles on the roof, following a storm.  The landlord’s records show that a contractor was asked to attend.
  3. The landlord has provided information from October and November 2023, referring to contact with a neighbouring, private property about access to erect scaffolding linked to the repair.
  4. On 12 January 2024 the resident made a stage 1 complaint to the landlord.  The resident raised the following concerns:
    1. she had written about the roof previously and not received a reply
    2. the issues had been ongoing for some time and were affecting her health
    3. scaffolding was blocking out the light to the property, preventing use of the garden, and she had concerns about its stability in the wind
    4. contractors had attended without notice, wanting to access the roof, which she said was not acceptable given her ‘health and disability issues’
  5. On 23 February 2024, the landlord sent a stage 1 response to the complaint which said:
    1. it was sorry the resident had cause to complain about the outstanding roof work and apologised for any inconvenience experienced.
    2. the roof work was completed on 22 November 2023 and additional work was needed at a privately owned property, next door to the resident, that they were not responsible for.
    3. the complaint was not upheld.
  6. The resident emailed the landlord the same day to explain that she was dissatisfied with the response because:
    1. the roof work was still outstanding, and no repairs had taken place.
    2. scaffolding was still erected at the front and back of the property, which was an inconvenience.
    3. she felt was being accused of ‘fabricating’ her complaint, which was making her health worse.
    4. she was unable to use the garden at the front or back of the property because of the scaffolding.
  7. On 10 April 2024 the resident emailed the landlord and a local councillor to express concern about a lack of response to her previous message. She explained that she was unable to use her garden because of the scaffolding and felt it gave ‘easy access’ for burglars.  She said she was scared to open her windows and was concerned about being unable to use the garden when the weather was warmer.  She also explained that she had started daily radiotherapy and animals climbing on the scaffolding at night was disturbing her sleep.
  8. The resident emailed the landlord on 2 May 2024 to explain that she wanted the complaint to be escalated to stage 2.  She said she had not had a response from the landlord and the repairs were still outstanding.  The resident also referred to her previous contact, disagreeing with the landlord’s stage 1 response.
  9. The landlord emailed the resident on 3 May 2024 to acknowledge her email and apologise for the delay in responding.  It said it had received her previous email, explaining her dissatisfaction with the stage 1 response and, although it had engaged with the repairs team, it failed to respond to her.  The email confirmed the complaint had been escalated to stage 2.
  10. The landlord provided its stage 2 response on 24 June 2024, which:
    1. apologised for the inconvenience and ‘stress’ caused by the delay in resolving the roof repair
    2. apologised for the living conditions that the resident had to ‘endure’
    3. confirmed that it had erected scaffolding and expected its contractor to complete the work before 15 July 2024
  11. In her referral to us of 7 August 2024, the resident said she wanted the work to be completed and to be compensated for the inconvenience and stress caused.  During a telephone conversation with the resident on 11 March 2025, she confirmed that the scaffolding had been removed during summer 2024 but the roof repairs remained outstanding.   She also confirmed that the inside of the property had not been affected by the condition of the roof.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about repairs to the roof.

  1. The landlord’s repairs manual states that its response times for repairs are:
    1. routine repairs, within 3 or 7-days (depending if Right to Repair regulations apply)
    2. other routine repairs within 28 working days.
    3. planned works within 90 days.
  2. The repairs manual also states that contractors work Monday to Friday, 8am until 8pm (except public holidays).  It also states that they offer morning, afternoon, or evening appointments, between those times and appointments on a Saturday morning.
  3. The landlord’s responsibility to repair the roof is not disputed. This is in accordance with section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant act 1985, which states the landlord’s repairing obligations include ‘to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house…’.
  4. Following the resident’s initial report in February 2022, information provided by the landlord refers to an order being issued to a contractor.  However, the landlord has not provided any evidence that the resident received contact until November 2023. 
  5. This was an email dated 14 November 2023 between the landlord and contractor, referring to an appointment scheduled at the property for ‘next week’.  This is a period of 440 working days, without any record of contact to the resident about the repair.  This is a failure and deviates significantly from the timescales in the landlord’s repair manual.   
  6. When the resident complained on 12 January 2024, she confirmed that scaffolding was erected (understood to be at the rear of the property).  The resident also said that she had been told in a visit from the ‘Repairs Manager’ in November 2023, that it was going to be extended, and work would start around Christmas 2023.  The landlord has failed to provide any evidence confirming when the scaffolding was originally erected, but it is reasonable to conclude that it happened at some point between February 2022 and November 2023.
  7. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response was inaccurate.  It stated that the work had been completed on 22 November 2023, and the landlord has not provided any evidence that supports how it reached that conclusion.  As confirmed in our Spotlight report on repairs, published in March 2019, it is vital that landlords keep clear, accurate and easily accessible records to provide an audit trail.  The landlord failed to do this and the confusion this caused was demonstrated in the stage 1 response.
  8. The landlord provided information to show that between the resident’s report in February 2022 and the stage 1 complaint made in January 2024, it was communicating with the private neighbour about permission to erect scaffolding, at the side of her property.  However, there is no evidence that the landlord attempted to communicate with the resident effectively about the repair during this time.  This is a failure, and the resident described within her complaint how this caused her to ‘suffer’.
  9. For context, the landlord received an email from its contractor on 15 May 2024, stating that scaffolding was not required at the neighbouring property to complete an effective repair to the roof at the resident’s home.
  10. The landlord’s repair manual is clear that it will make appointments with residents when contractors need to visit.  Part of the resident’s complaint was about contractors attending on multiple occasions without appointments, which she described as ‘distressing’.  The landlord provided limited information about visits to the property, but emails between the landlord and contractor in April 2024 refer to the contractor ‘having been to site’.  There is no record of contact to the resident before the site visit and this supports her account about visits without appointments.
  11. This was evident again in a note documented by the landlord on 19 June 2024, stating that the resident had called to complain that operatives had attended with no communication.  This was not appropriate and does not adhere to the landlord’s commitments around appointments in the repair manual.
  12. The contractor emailed the landlord on 24 June 2024, to say it had erected scaffolding (understood to be at the front of the property) and was expecting to complete the repairs to the roof before 6 July 2024.  The landlord’s final response to the complaint sent on 24 June 2024, stated that the repairs would be complete before 15 July 2024.
  13. The contractor emailed the landlord on 24 July 2024, to say they would not be able to carry out the work at the property because of limited time.  The landlord told us that they began using a new contractor on 1 August 2024 and their relationship with the original contractor ended at that point. 
  14. However, the landlord has not provided any evidence to show that it informed the resident about the impact this would have on the completion of the repairs.  This was a further failure and did not demonstrate that it had learnt from the themes within the resident’s complaint.
  15. As per our Spotlight report on knowledge and information management, published in May 2023, we expect landlords to maintain a robust record of contacts and repairs. The failure to create and record information accurately can result in landlords not taking appropriate and timely action, which was evident in this case.
  16. The resident has confirmed that, as of the date of this report, the repairs to the roof remain outstanding.  The landlord also confirmed to us on 23 January 2025, that ‘The notes show that the job was passed to [contractor] but there are no further notes and the repairs log does not show any new job raised for this address’.  This is a further failure by the landlord to effectively progress the repair, which has been outstanding for over 3-years.
  17. Within the resident’s complaint, she referred to her ‘health and disability’ issues.  The landlord has also provided records to us, showing that it has a note on its system about the resident stating ‘Vulnerable-Physical Disabilities’.  In April 2024 the resident emailed the landlord to confirm she was having daily radiotherapy.
  18. Our Spotlight report on Attitudes, respect and rights published in January 2024, refers to the need for landlords to recognise, adjust and respond to their residents’ individual circumstances and recommends that close attention must be given to the particular circumstances of the individual.  The evidence shows that the landlord was fully aware of the resident’s health needs and there is no evidence to suggest this was considered in the landlord’s management of the repair.  This is a significant failure and contributed to a vulnerable resident being worried about the safety of her home, reporting disturbed sleep and being unable to fully use the garden or enjoy her home.
  19. In summary, we have found maladministration in this case.  This is because:
    1. The landlord failed to communicate effectively with or consider the needs of a resident, it had identified as vulnerable, who had reported significant ongoing health concerns. 
    2. the repair to the resident’s roof is outstanding, after being reported over 3 years ago.
    3. the landlord failed to respond appropriately to the resident’s concerns about the impact of scaffolding erected for an extended length of time, including the impact on the light and garden.
    4. the landlord has failed to follow its guidelines around arranging appointments with residents.
    5. the landlord did not respond to the resident’s concerns about the increased cleaning she reported having to do because of contractors entering her home, without using dust sheets or floor coverings.
  20. We have ordered the landlord to write to the resident to apologise for its failings as identified by this investigation. 
  21. Based on the significant failures in this case and considering our remedies guidance, we order the landlord to pay compensation of £680.  This is to reflect the distress, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of the property, experienced by the resident.  This is equivalent to 3% of the current monthly rent between May 2022, 90 days after the repair was reported, and March 2025.  Given the scaffolding requirement, we have used 90 days to align with the landlord’s timescales for ‘planned works’. This is a period of 34 months, and the amount has been rounded up.
  22. We have also ordered the landlord to compensate the resident using the above methodology for each month, until the repair is complete. For the landlord’s ease, this is £20 per month.

Complaint handling

  1. Our Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’) states landlords must respond to complaints at stage 1 within 10 working days of it acknowledging the complaint. Landlords should respond to escalation requests at stage 2 within 20 working days of it acknowledging the complaint. The landlord’s Corporate Complaint Policy aligns with the Code.
  2. The landlord’s Compensation Policy states that ‘The investigating officer should consider applying a remedy when, after investigating the complaint, they find that a service failure has occurred that has had an adverse effect on the complainant’.  It also lists service failures which include ‘unjustified delays, failure to follow Lambeth policies, rules or procedures and providing inaccurate or misleading advice’.
  3. The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 12 January 2024.  The landlord acknowledged the complaint, on an unspecified date, confirming that it would respond by 9 February 2024.  The stage 1 response was sent on 23 February 2024, and the landlord has not provided any evidence that it informed the resident about the delay.  This was a failure, and the landlord provided the stage 1 response 30 working days after the resident made the complaint.
  4. The stage 1 response also contained inaccuracies about the status of the repair and failed to respond to all the concerns raised by the resident.
  5. The resident emailed the landlord twice (23 February 2024 and 10 April 2024) to express dissatisfaction with the landlord’s response, before it escalated the complaint to stage 2 on 3 May 2024, following a third email from the resident that it received on 2 May 2024.  This delay in escalating the complaint was a further failure and the landlord provided the final response on 24 June 2024, 34 working days later, outside of the timescales within the Code.
  6. Again, the landlord’s response failed to respond to all of the concerns raised by the resident, and it missed an opportunity to put things right.  It also failed to offer redress in line with its Compensation Policy, which would have been appropriate based on the delays involved with the repair management alone. 
  7. In its management of this case, the landlord failed to demonstrate a culture of effective complaint handling and did not demonstrate our dispute resolution principles – be fair, learn from outcomes and put things right, when managing the complaint or communicating with the resident.
  8. We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.  Considering our remedies guidance, we order the landlord to pay £100 to recognise the inconvenience and increased time and trouble pursuing the complaint, caused by the failures identified in this report.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about repairs to the roof.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders and recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must provide evidence that it has:
    1. Provided a full written apology to the resident for the errors identified in this report. A senior director must make the apology, and the landlord must provide a copy to this Service.
    2. Paid compensation to the resident of £780 broken down as follows:
      1. £680 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of repairs to the roof and the loss of enjoyment of the property.
      2. £100 for the increased time, trouble and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
      3. The landlord must pay the compensation directly to the resident and must not deduct it from any amount owed.
    3. On completion of the roof repair, the landlord must pay the resident £20 for each month that the repair was outstanding – from April 2025 until the month of completion.
    4. If a further inspection of the roof is required, this must take place within 4 weeks and the landlord must provide the following in writing to the resident and us within 10 working days of the inspection. 
    5. If an inspection is not required, the landlord must provide the following in writing to the resident and us within 4 weeks:
      1. a schedule of works, together with indicative timescales for scaffolding to be erected and the expected duration it will be at the property.
      2. a confirmed timescale to complete the roof repairs.