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London Borough of Tower Hamlets (202435924)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202435924

Tower Hamlets Homes

4 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 the resident’s:
    1. reports of heating and hot water issues at the property.
    2. complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of a 1-bedroom flat in a block of flats owned by the landlord. The landlord is a local authority. The resident lives with his wife who was pregnant at the time of the complaint and a young child.
  2. The landlord’s records show it raised multiple repair jobs to fix issues with the communal heating system between June and September 2024. The resident made 2 formal complaints about lack of hot water in the property, the first on 16 September 2024, and the second on 1 October 2024. He said he had a pregnant wife and a young son who had been ill due to the chilly weather. He asked the landlord to find a permanent solution to the faulty boiler.
  3. The landlord issued stage 1 complaint responses on 21 October 2024 and 6 November 2024. It upheld both complaints. It said it had restored the hot water supply and apologised for the delays in completing the works. It said it would complete further works to the boiler system and would keep the resident updated on the progress of these works. It offered £30 compensation for distress and inconvenience in its first response and increased this to £60 in its second response.
  4. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s responses and escalated both complaints on 22 August 2024 and 6 November 2024. He was unhappy with the compensation offered and requested a permanent solution to the ongoing hot water issues.
  5. The landlord gave its stage 2 complaint response on 16 December 2024. It said the resident had 2 complaints on the same subject matter and for clarity it would provide 1 response to the 2 complaints. It apologised for the confusion regarding its management of the complaints, its communication failures, and delays in completing the works. It offered £170 compensation in addition to the £30 it previously offered in its first stage 1 response bringing the total compensation to £200.
  6. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response and escalated his complaint to us. He said that the landlord has now resolved the hot water issues. However, he believes the compensation it offered was not sufficient redress for the distress and inconvenience it caused him and his family.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. In communication with this Service, the resident said this situation had a detrimental impact on his family’s health. The courts are the most effective place for disputes about personal injury and illness. This is largely because independent medical experts are appointed to give evidence. They have a duty to the court to provide unbiased insights on the diagnosis, prognosis, and cause of any illness or injury. When disputes arise over the cause of an injury, oral testimony can be examined in court. While the Ombudsman cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.
  2. The resident stated that he has reported ongoing issues in relation to intermittent lack of heating and hot water in the property for the past 8 years. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlord in a timely manner, which is normally within 12 months of the issue arising. This is so the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to investigate the issue while it is still ‘live’ and sufficient evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion. As issues become historical it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such as an Ombudsman to conduct an effective review of the actions taken.
  3. In view of the time periods involved in this case, considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment does not consider any specific events prior to 16 September 2023. This is 12 months prior to the resident’s complaint to the landlord and any reference made to events prior to this date is for context only.

Reports of heating and hot water issues at the property.

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy states it will maintain heating and hot water installations. It says it will complete emergency repairs such as reports of no heating or hot water within 24 hours and other non-emergency routine repairs within 20 working days.
  2. The landlord’s records show the resident reported lack of heating and hot water on several occasions between June 2024 and August 2024. Its records show there were delays in acquiring a part that was necessary for the boiler repairs. It is unclear from its records what other actions it completed during this period to resolve the hot water issues or if it informed the resident of the delays in acquiring the required parts.
  3. It is best practice for landlords to appropriately record information including any reports of repairs, agreed actions or further issues raised by the resident. The failure to create and record information accurately can result in landlords not taking appropriate and timely action, missing opportunities to identify that actions were wrong, and contributing to inadequate communication and redress.
  4. The landlord’s record-keeping has impacted this service’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation, as highlighted at various points throughout this report. This was a failure by the landlord and likely contributed to the other failures identified in this report.
  5. The resident subsequently reported a lack of heating and hot water in the property on 2, 4 and 11 September 2024. He said he had been without heating and hot water for 4 days. The landlord’s records show it raised a repair job on 13 September 2024 to attend and rectify the issue. It is unclear from its record if it attended the property on 13 September 2024.
  6. The landlord’s records show it did not complete repairs to restore hot water until 15 September 2024, when it completed temporary repairs.
  7. The resident was without hot water for a period of approximately 14 days. During this time, the resident informed the landlord that he had purchased a portable water pump to deal with the lack of hot water and requested compensation for this expense.
  8. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will complete emergency repairs such as reports of no heating or hot water within 24 hours. It did not respond to the resident’s reports within its policy time frame. This was a failing. Furthermore, the landlord did not respond to the resident’s requests for a refund of the costs of the portable pump. It would have been reasonable of the landlord to have considered a refund.
  9. The resident reported again on 1 October 2024 that he did not have hot water in the property. He mentioned that it had only been 2 weeks since his previous reports and that the issue had returned. He expressed concern for his pregnant wife and their son, who had been unwell due to the cold.
  10. The landlord’s records show that it attended the property on 3 October 2024, replaced parts, and completed additional works on 8 October 2024. The records indicate that the resident was without hot water until the landlord completed the repair on 3 October 2024, totalling 3 days. Once again, the landlord did not complete this repair within its emergency repair time limit, which was a significant failure, especially since the resident had explained how the lack of hot water affected his family’s well-being. The landlord should have prioritised these repairs given the circumstances.
  11. In the landlord’s first stage 1 complaint response on 21 October 2024, it stated that it had renewed the valves in the water tank and these works had restored the hot water in the property. It said it was exploring further improvements to the boiler systems and would inform the resident once it decided about the improvement works.
  12. The landlord acted reasonably by acknowledging and apologising for the delays in its complaint responses. It also promised to keep the resident updated on plans to improve the boiler and prevent future issues.
  13. The resident reported a lack of hot water again on 13 November 2024. The landlord attended on 14 November 2024 and identified faulty shunt pumps in the boiler, stating it needed to install three new pumps. On 25 November 2024, the landlord confirmed the hot water was working but noted that the heating was lukewarm. After returning on 29 November 2024 to replace the pumps, it scheduled a follow-up job to finish the boiler repairs. Although it is unclear from the landlord’s records, it is reasonable to assume the resident was without hot water for about 12 days while the landlord worked to restore service.
  14. On 6 December 2024 the resident reported again that there was no heating or hot water. The landlord attended on 7 December 2024, provided temporary heaters, and completed repairs on 9 December 2024. This resulted in a total of a further 4 days without heating and hot water. Considering the resident first reported lack of hot water and heating on 19 June 2024. The landlord did not fully resolve the issue until 9 December 2024.This was more than 5 months from when he raised his initial reports. We acknowledge that resolving problems with communal heating can be complex and take time particularly when parts are no longer available. In these circumstances it is important for the landlord to provide clear and effective communication to the resident giving regular updates and setting out its expectations. In this case, the landlord’s communication with the resident was not reasonable; there were few updates and he had to regularly chase it chase for updates and raise multiple concerns.
  15. Where there are failings by a landlord, as is the case here, we will consider whether the redress offered by it (including an apology and compensation) put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, we consider whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with our dispute resolution principles to be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
  16. In its stage 2 complaint response on 16 December 2024 the landlord apologised for delays in restoring heating, failing to keep the resident updated on progress, and poor record-keeping. While the landlord noted it ordered parts in October 2024, it did not install them until 9 December 2024. The landlord offered a total of £200 in compensation, which included £30 from its initial stage 1 complaint response and an additional £170.
  17. In conclusion, although the landlord made some attempts to put things right for the resident, its actions do not amount to reasonable redress. The landlord consistently failed to follow its policies and maintained poor communication throughout the process. It did not consider compensating the resident for the cost of the portable water pump, nor did it adequately explain why the heating and hot water issues persisted or how it would permanently resolve it.
  18. This lack of action resulted in the resident being intermittently without heating and hot water for approximately 33 days, understandably causing significant distress for him and his family. To address this, we have ordered the landlord to pay an additional £150 compensation. This amount is within the range of awards set out in our remedies guidance for situations where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. This sum also reflects the specific impact on the resident and his household some of whom were vulnerable during that period.

Complaint handling

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy outlines that it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. In more complex cases, it will extend the response by a further 20 working days in agreement with the resident.
  2. The resident made an initial complaint about lack of hot water on 16 September 2024, and a second complaint about the same issue on 1 October 2024.
  3. The landlord responded on 21 October 2024 and 6 November 2024, respectively.
  4. The first stage 1 complaint response was 15 days out of time and the second stage 1 response was 16 days out of time. This delay would have caused the resident unnecessary distress and inconvenience. This was a failing and not in line with the landlord’s policy. Furthermore, there was no explanation or request for an extension from the landlord.
  5. The landlord acknowledged and apologised for this delay in its stage 1 complaint response on 6 November 2024. It would have been reasonable to have offered some compensation for this delay in its stage 1 or stage 2 complaint responses.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 16 December 2024. This was 8 days out of time; however, it informed the resident that its response would be delayed and it requested an extension, this was reasonable.
  7. In its stage 2 complaint response, it was reasonable of the landlord to acknowledge and apologise for the confusion caused by its creation of multiple complaints for the same issue. It would also have been appropriate to have offered compensation for the delays in its stage 1 complaint response.
  8. In conclusion, the landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response within its extended time limit. However, it did not consider the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in its stage 1 response or offer compensation towards this. There was service failure in its complaint handling. We have ordered the landlord to pay £50 compensation to reflect the impact on the resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlords handling of reports of heating and hot water issues at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in respect of the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord must complete the following orders and provide evidence of compliance to us:
    1. Apologise in writing to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Consider reimbursing the resident for the cost of the portable water pump in line with its compensation guidance.
    3. Pay the resident the total sum of £400 compensation broken down as:
      1. The £200 previously offered if not already paid.
      2. Additional £150 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures in its handling of reports of heating and hot water issues.
      3. Additional £50 for the inconvenience caused by the failures in its complaint handling.
      4. This money should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against his rent account.