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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) (202320201)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202320201

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

30 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. This complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s wet room.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. She has lived at the property, which is a 3 bedroom house, since 2001.
  2. The resident had a previous complaint with the landlord regarding a broken shower in her wet room in August 2022. The landlord fixed this issue at this time, and she accepted its offer of compensation to resolve the complaint. She reported a new fault with her shower in June 2023, and the landlord replaced it.
  3. The resident complained to the landlord on 12 July 2023. She said the new shower had broken within days. She complained that her family was without bathing facilities. She also complained that she had been waiting for it to fix her disabled son’s closomat toilet for 12 months (a closomat toilet combines the functions of a standard toilet, bidet and dryer into one, offering benefits to users with limited mobility).
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 18 July 2023. It said it had attended on 17 July 2023 and completed a repair to the shower on 18 July 2023. It explained that it had raised a repair for the toilet and wet room flooring. It offered compensation of £200 for the time taken to complete the repairs so far..
  5. The resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and escalated the complaint on 19 July 2023. She explained that she did not consider it had understood the impact this issue had on her family. She said previous poor repairs were causing issues to reoccur. The resident continued to chase the landlord regarding it arranging repairs in August 2023. In September 2023, she reported a leak from the wet room and asked it to arrange a decant while it completed repairs to the wet room.
  6. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 19 September 2023. It said that it would start repair work to the wet room on 21 September 2023 with repairs taking up to 10 working days. It explained that due to the short notice it would not be able to arrange suitable accommodation for a decant. However, its contractor would ensure that the family had access to toilet and washing facilities. It acknowledged and apologised for its failures. It offered compensation of £1,047.75, which included £100 for its complaint handling delays.
  7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and its handling of the repairs. She asked us to investigate her complaint and said that the landlord did not leave her with a wash basin or inside toilet.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation.

  1. The resident made a previous complaint to the landlord about the wet room, in 2022. The landlord responded, and the resident had the opportunity to bring the complaint to the Ombudsman within 12 months. We have no record of her doing so. Because of that, this investigation centres on the complaint made to the landlord in 2023, which the resident brought to the Service soon after the landlord’s final response.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s wet room.

  1. The landlord’s repair policy states that it aims to complete routine repairs in an average of 25 days. In line with general practice, the nature and scope of the works required in the resident’s wet room would not typically be classed as routine repairs, with standard timescales. Nonetheless, despite the absence of specific timescales, landlords are expected to act diligently, maintain clear communication with residents, and ensure that necessary repairs are completed as promptly as possible.
  2. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman must first consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred and, if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes.’
  3. The evidence shows the resident reported on 16 June 2023 that the wet room shower was not turning on. The landlord promptly completed a repair on 19 June 2023, the resident then reported that her shower pump was not draining on 8 July 2023. The landlord completed a repair on 18 July 2023.
  4. The resident complained that she had been waiting for the landlord to complete repairs to her closomat toilet within her wet room for over 12 months. We have seen no evidence of a report of a fault with the toilet in 2022 or that any such issues were chased with the landlord. The first reference to an outstanding repair with the toilet was included in the resident’s stage 1 complaint in July 2023.
  5. In response to this, the landlord completed an inspection when it repaired the shower on 18 July 2023 and identified that the toilet required a repair. It also confirmed that repairs were required to the wet room flooring. It confirmed in its stage 1 complaint response that it had raised a repair with its contractor, who would contact her to book an appointment. Accordingly, given that the issue had only just been reported to it, the landlord’s initial response was reasonable.
  6. The evidence shows that the resident had to chase the landlord in August and September 2023 for a date to complete the repairs. During this time, further issues occurred within the wet room, such as a leak through the floor into the kitchen below. The landlord did not keep the resident updated or arrange repairs promptly, and it only obtained a quote for repairs in September 2023. Nothing in the evidence explains the lack of action since July.
  7. In its stage 2 response, the landlord confirmed that it would start repairs to the wet room on 21 September 2023, with this taking up to 10 working days. It said that it would ensure there was access to toilet and wash facilities. However, the wet room facilities would be out of use during repairs. It also said that its contractor would arrange a date to complete the repairs reported to it in September 2023.
  8. In her complaint to us, the resident said that the landlord did not provide a wash basin or inside toilet. We have seen no evidence that the resident raised this with the landlord. The evidence shows that the resident had a working outside toilet and continued access to hot water for bathing. While not in any way ideal, nothing in the landlord’s policies indicates it should have delayed the repair to arrange a decant in the circumstances of the work needed and the time it would take, or that the facilities available to the family were unsuitable for the period needed to complete the wet room repairs.
  9. The landlord’s repair log show that it completed repairs to the wet room on 25 September 2023, with it completing repairs caused by the leak in October 2023. Due to this, on the evidence provided, the landlord’s follow-up actions were in line with the assurances it gave in its stage 2 response. It was also appropriate for the landlord to then complete the repairs within the timescales promised.
  10. In its final complaint response, the landlord acknowledged failures in its repair handling and the impact this had on the resident’s family. It accepted that it should have arranged and completed repairs sooner, as well as improving its communication. It said it had provided feedback and training to those involved and apologised for its failures. It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge and apologise for its failures, and for it to identify what it could learn from the complaint to improve its services.
  11. The landlord offered the resident compensation totalling £1,047.75 in its final complaint response. This amount is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for complaints such as this where there have been significant failings, which have had a significant impact on the resident. It reasonably reflects the length of time the repair issues had continued unresolved and shows the landlord’s appreciation of the scale of its failings and their effect. The £100 compensation included within the above amount was a fair resolution for its complaint handling failures and was also in line with our remedies guidance.
  12. Overall, the landlord has taken appropriate steps to acknowledge, apologise and put things right. The landlord’s recognition of the impact its failings had on the resident, along with its apology and financial redress, were reasonable resolutions to the complaint.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord made an offer of redress which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion satisfactorily resolves the resident’s complaint about its handling of repairs to the wet room.

Recommendations

  1. If it has not done so already the landlord should now pay the resident the £1,047.75 it previously offered. The finding of reasonable redress has been based on the landlord making this payment to the resident.