MHS Homes Ltd (202311782)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202311782

MHS Homes Ltd

31 July 2024

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:
   1. Decision to charge the resident a higher rent at the property than at her previous accommodation.
   2. Handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required when she moved into the property.

Jurisdiction

2. What the Ombudsman can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). When a complaint is brought to this service, the Ombudsman must consider all the circumstances of the case, as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.

Decision to charge higher rent at the property

3. Paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not normally consider a complaint which is made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure.
4. The resident says she previously lived at another of the landlord’s properties which she had to leave because of antisocial behaviour (ASB) by a neighbour. She moved out in April 2022 and went to live with a family member. She asked the landlord to rehouse her elsewhere which it did in November 2022. She was concerned that the rent was much higher than her previous rent. She says the landlord told her that it would not negotiate on the rent which was £300 per month more than her previous rent. The resident says this was unfair as she only left the previous property because of the landlord’s failure to address the ASB at that property.
5. The resident complained about the landlord’s handling of her reports of ASB in April 2022 and says the landlord accepted that it had been responsible for poor service. She raised the issue of the rent at the property being too high in an email to the landlord on 9 November 2022. It said that it could not lower the rent as it was fixed at 74% of the market rental value. This Service has seen no evidence that she followed the landlord’s response up with a formal complaint about the matter. For that reason, in line with paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme, we may not look at this element of the complaint. Any reference to the rent in this report is for context only. Further, according to paragraph 42(d) of the Scheme, this Service may not consider complaints which are about the level of rent or the amount of a rent increase.

Background

6. The resident signed a secure tenancy agreement for the property, a 3-bedroom house which is owned by the landlord, in November 2022.
7. The resident took possession of the property in December 2022 and said she spent 13 days cleaning it with friends and family before moving in.
8. The resident complained formally to the landlord on 16 January 2023 about the state of the property when she moved in. She said there was damp and mould and cracks in the wall. Doors did not close properly; doorframes were damaged, and some floorboards were in poor condition.
9. In its stage 1 complaint response, provided on 18 January 2023, the landlord accepted that it had failed to fill large cracks in the wall or deal with damp and mould as it had not been aware of the problems. It agreed to deal with these problems within days and to remove a disused gas pipe in the lounge. It awarded the resident £50 in compensation.
10. The resident asked to escalate her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s internal complaint process the next day. She said that the landlord had failed to compensate her for the fact that she had not been able to move into the property for 13 days and so had had to pay 2 sets of rent. She asked for a 1-month rent rebate. In its stage 2 complaint response of 22 February 2023, it maintained its offer of £50 compensation but offered her a rent credit to recognise the fact that she had had to pay rent on 2 properties for 13 days.
11. The resident asked this Service to investigate in July 2023. She said she believed the compensation offered by the landlord during the complaint process had not been fair given the impact the landlord’s failings had on her.

Assessment and findings

Handling of reports of repairs required on moving into the property

12. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 says that rented properties must be “fit for human habitation” before they can be let. This means they must be safe, healthy and free from things that could cause harm. This includes ensuring that the property is not in a bad condition, is not damp or mouldy and is structurally sound.
13. Social landlords inspect properties during the ‘void period’ – the period when a property is empty before a new tenant moves in – to identify any repairs that are required to make the property fit for habitation.
14. The landlord arranged for a void inspection in November 2022 which recommended various actions such as clearing the property, cleaning throughout and various other works such as the removal of asbestos tiles. In her initial complaint of 16 January 2023, the resident said that the property had been ‘filthy’ when she took possession on 28 December 2022. She said there was an ‘endless’ list of problems and that “walls not ready to decorate, mould, large cracks when the wallpaper was taken off” as well as problems with doors and doorframes. She also reported a gas pipe protruding from the wall in the front room. She said it took her 12 days, cleaning 10 hours a day, before she felt able to move in.
15. In its complaint response the landlord said that the property had received a “standard post void clean”. However, it accepted that it had not met the handover standard in some regards as there were cracks in the walls and areas of mould which it had not noticed as it had not stripped wallpaper. It said it would arrange for the works to be done in a few days. It apologised for its failure and offered the resident £50 in compensation.
16. The landlord’s compensation policy (the policy) says that, if the landlord accepts it is at fault, but its failures have had a ‘low impact’ on the resident, it should pay the resident up to £50. Where its failures have caused a ‘medium impact’, it should pay up to £250 and where there has been a ‘high impact’, it should pay up to £500.
17. The resident was not happy with the offer of £50 in compensation as she had had to pay rent on 2 properties while she was cleaning up the property in December 2022 and January 2023. In its stage 2 response, the landlord said, “I note that you were delayed moving into the property by 13 days having to undertake some work on the property and that you were paying rent at another property during this time. I am therefore, prepared to authorise a 13-day credit to your rent account to cover the period when you paid two rents”. From this, it is clear that the landlord accepted that the resident had not been able to move in because the property was not habitable. It was, therefore, appropriate that it offered her a rent credit. However, £50 in compensation was insufficient to recognise the extent of the landlord’s failure in this case as we consider additional issues below.
18. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 5 working days and standard, non-urgent repairs within 20 working days. The repairs in this case were not urgent and should, therefore, have been carried out within 20 working days.
19. The landlord has not provided evidence that it carried out the works that it committed to complete in its complaint responses. However, on the evidence, it seems likely that it completed most of the works in line with its commitments in January 2023. However, the resident wrote to the landlord in May 2023 saying the gas pipe in the front room was still there.
20. The landlord made enquiries in May 2023 and found that its contractor had not carried out that job. The pipe had not been removed since January 2023 and there is no evidence of the landlord offering further redress for this delay. This was then, a failure to abide by its own policy and therefore an inappropriate response to the resident’s concerns.
21. We have ordered an increased amount of compensation payment in recognition of the failures identified above. These are with respect to the inadequacy of the landlord’s offer of compensation and further delays to completing the works which it had committed to do. 
22. The landlord’s compensation policy (the policy) says that it will make discretionary ‘goodwill’ payments when there has been a failure of service which has caused delay, distress and inconvenience. The Ombudsman’s view is that, where there has been a service failure which has caused delay, distress or inconvenience, it is right that landlords should offer compensation to the affected resident but that this should not be labelled a ‘goodwill’ payment as this label indicates that it is entirely voluntary and discretionary rather than a recognition of adverse impacts on a resident. The landlord should consider changing the wording of its policy and in future offers of compensation.

Determination

23. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required on moving into the property.

Orders and recommendations

24. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the following order:
    1. Pay the resident £300 inclusive of the £50 it offered her in its complaint responses and exclusive of the rent credit.