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Norwich City Council (202225439)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202225439

Norwich City Council

25 July 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:
    1. Issues with the gas meter at the resident’s property which resulted in no heating and hot water.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The resident has vulnerabilities, and the landlord is aware of this.
  2. On 17 September 2022, the resident contacted the landlord and submitted a complaint and reported issues with her gas meter. She stated the gas meter had been deemed unsafe for years, and she reported this on numerous occasions.
  3. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 18 November 2022. It explained that its contractor identified a fault with the gas meter, which resulted in the meter showing £4 emergency credit. However, the actual balance on the gas meter was over £300 in arrears. The landlord stated it offered to support the resident with clearing the debt on the meter and reinstating the gas. However, the resident declined the help.
  4. On 13 December 2022, the resident submitted a further complaint email to the landlord. She stated her gas meter was unsafe, and she could not top it up. She said she had no heating or hot water for several years and was a vulnerable adult.
  5. On 27 January 2023, the resident submitted a further complaint email to the landlord. She stated she had no gas, hot water and heating and explained she would be taking out a claim against the landlord.
  6. On 31 January 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. She explained she had no gas, heating, and hot water for several years and was advised to escalate the complaint to stage 2 of the complaints process.
  7. The landlord provided an additional stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 6 February 2023. It repeated the information explained in its previous stage 1 complaint response and stated the resident should contact the landlord if she had changed her mind about the landlord’s offer of support with clearing the debt on the meter.
  8. On 13 March 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. The resident stated she had no gas, heating, and hot water for several years and was advised to escalate the complaint to stage 2.
  9. On 23 March 2023, the landlord provided a copy of its stage 2 complaint response. However, the landlord has not provided evidence that it sent the stage 2 complaint response to the resident. The landlord repeated the same information it included in its stage 1 complaint response.
  10. On 10 August 2023, the landlord and its contractor visited the resident’s property to carry out a safety test on the boiler. During the visit, the contractor confirmed the boiler required replacement, and the resident explained she preferred an electrical system instead of a gas system and, in response to this, the landlord’s engineer proposed to install an electrical system.
  11. On 18 August 2023, the landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property and carried out a survey for the new electrical system.
  12. On 12 September 2023, the Ombudsman contacted the landlord and provided it with a copy of the resident’s escalation reasons and requested the landlord to provide its stage 2 complaint response by 17 October 2023.
  13. The landlord sent a copy of its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 19 October 2023. It explained it had agreed to install a new electrical system to replace the gas system and had completed the installation.
  14. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman. She stated she wanted the issues with the gas meter resolved so she could have heating and hot water.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident mentioned as part of her complaint that she has experienced issues with her gas meter and no heating and hot water for several years. Whilst this gives context to the current complaint, we have not included this in our investigation because this was several years before the events leading to the resident’s current complaint. In view of the time periods involved in this case and considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this report will not consider any specific events approximately more than 12 months prior to when the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord in September 2022. This is because paragraph 42.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (available on our website), explains that this service may not investigate complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within 12 months of the matters arising.
  2. As part of the resident’s complaint, it was identified that the resident’s pre-paid gas meter was displaying an incorrect balance, and the resident was in arrears with the energy supplier. While the landlord is responsible for installing and maintaining items that supply gas and electricity such as the pipework and boiler, the meter itself – used to charge for supply – falls under the responsibility of the energy company which supplies the gas. This aspect of the complaint therefore falls outside our jurisdiction. Under paragraph 42.j. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, states that the Ombudsman will not consider complaints which fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator, or complaint-handling body. The Energy Ombudsman and the resident’s energy provider are the appropriate bodies to consider this issue. We have not investigated this part of the complaint, and the resident may wish to pursue the matter further with the energy supplier.

Policies and procedures

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy explains that the landlord is responsible for the installations of the supply of water, gas, and electricity. The policy also states that the landlord is responsible for heating installations such as radiators, boilers, and water tanks.
  2. In addition, the repairs policy states that the landlord will respond to an emergency repair within 24 hours, an urgent repair within 5 working days and a routine repair within 60 working days. The landlord should review its routine repair timescale as good practice states that a routine repair should be attended to within 28 days.

Issues with the gas meter at the resident’s property which resulted in no heating and hot water.

  1. In September 2022, the resident contacted the landlord and complained about issues with her gas meter, which resulted in no heating or hot water. There was a delay by the landlord responding to the resident’s report, and it failed to attend the resident’s property until 1 November 2022. The Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to have attended the resident’s property urgently to inspect the gas and the gas meter at the property.
  2. From the inspection, the landlord’s contractor identified a fault with the gas meter. The meter was displaying £4 of emergency credit. However, the actual balance on the gas meter was over £300 in arrears, which resulted in no gas supply to the property. The landlord offered to support the resident with clearing the arrears on the gas meter. However, the resident declined the support and explained she did not want to use the gas. The landlord acted appropriately by offering to help the resident clear her arrears on her gas meter, and it is acknowledged that it was the resident’s choice whether she wanted to accept the landlord’s support.
  3. As the resident declined the landlord’s support to clear the arrears on the gas meter, she was left with no heating and hot water. Therefore, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to consider other options to support the resident, particularly as she was vulnerable. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to offer temporary heaters and if possible, access to alternative shower facilities, such as at a local gym or a portable electric shower, to the resident. In addition, the landlord could have contacted external support agencies. There is no evidence that the landlord carried out these steps or acknowledged this failing, which was unreasonable.
  4. The resident continued to report the issues to the landlord about her gas meter and no heating and hot water. She also reported concerns about the safety of the gas. In response to the resident’s reports, the landlord re–offered to support the resident with clearing the debt on the gas meter in its complaint responses sent in February and March 2023. It was positive that the landlord re–offered to help the resident. However, it failed to offer the resident other alternatives to provide her with heating and hot water, which was unreasonable. The Ombudsman recognises it would have been difficult for the resident having no heating or hot water for a considerable period of time.
  5. In July 2023, the landlord contacted the resident and explained it had previously provided details of the gas safety certificates for the last 3 to 4 years. The landlord has provided us with a copy of the gas safety certificates for the last 4 years which were sent to the resident. The certificates state there was no gas at the property to test at the time of the visits, which was due to the gas meter being capped by the gas supplier due to outstanding payment arrears. Therefore, from the information provided, there were no safety concerns identified with the gas. The landlord also stated it could arrange for its contractor to visit the resident’s property to check the safety of the gas, which the resident agreed to. The landlord acted appropriately by arranging an appointment for 10 August 2023 to inspect the gas at the resident’s property and discuss heating options. However, we would have expected the visit to take place much sooner than it did.
  6. The landlord’s contractor attended the resident’s property on 10 August 2023, as agreed. They reconfirmed that there was debt arrears on the gas meter and the contractor identified the boiler required replacing. It offered the resident the option of replacing the boiler or alternatively installing an electrical heating system. The landlord took appropriate steps by providing the resident with the options to resolve the issues with the gas, heating, and hot water.
  7. The resident requested for the landlord to install an electrical heating system at the resident’s property. The landlord’s contractor completed the installation of the new heating system in September 2023 and October 2023. Following the installation, the landlord offered to support the resident with the arrears on her gas meter and the removal of the gas meter. However, the resident explained she did not want to talk to the gas company and confirmed she did not want the gas meter removed. The landlord acted reasonably by installing the new heating system to provide the resident with heating and hot water. It was also positive that it re–offered to help with the arrears on the gas meter.
  8. However, the landlord was aware of the resident’s vulnerability, and it took the landlord around 11 months to offer the resident the option of installing an electrical heating system, and it failed to offer the resident temporary heaters or access to alternative shower facilities prior to this. It also failed to acknowledge these failings in its stage 2 complaint response. Therefore, there has been maladministration by the landlord in its handling of issues with the gas meter at the resident’s property, which resulted in no heating and hot water. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £250 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused.
  9. The compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation, which is set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure by the landlord, which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact. In this case, there was no permanent impact as the issue with the gas meter and no heating and hot water was eventually resolved, although there was distress and inconvenience for the resident before the installation of the new electrical heating system.

The associated complaint.

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales as referenced in the Code.
  2. The landlord’s complaints policy also states it will escalate a complaint to stage 2 if it has been responded to as part of its stage 1 complaint response.
  3. On 17 September 2022, the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord about issues with the gas meter. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 18 November 2022. The response was late and not compliant with the 10-working day timescale referenced in the Code or the landlord’s complaints policy.
  4. The resident sent further emails on 13 December 2022, 27 January 2023, and 31 January 2023, stating that she had no gas, hot water, and heating. The landlord failed to log these emails as an escalation request and provided the resident with another stage 1 complaint response on 6 February 2023 instead of a stage 2 complaint response. The Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to comply with its own complaints policy and the Code and issue a stage 2 complaint response. This was unreasonable and delayed the resident in bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman.
  5. On 13 March 2023, the resident sent a further complaint email to the landlord explaining she had no gas, heating, and hot water. Following this, the landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 23 March 2023. However, the contents of the response letter included the same information as it stage 1 response. Also, the resident contacted us in September 2023 stating she had not received a stage 2 complaint response from the landlord, but we cannot confirm whether the landlord sent the response. However, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to resend the stage 2 complaint response to the resident.
  6. On 12 September 2023, the Ombudsman contacted the landlord and asked it to provide the resident with a stage 2 complaint response by 17 October 2023. The landlord sent its stage 2 response 2 days late on 19 October 2023 and included different information to its previous stage 2 complaint response. The landlord’s multiple complaint responses were not compliant with the landlord’s own complaints policy and delayed the resident in bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman.
  7. Given the landlord’s complaint handling errors. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £150 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the errors. The amount of compensation awarded is in line with the Ombudsman remedies guidance referenced above.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of issues with the gas meter at the resident’s property which resulted in no heating and hot water.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £250 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of issues with the gas meter at the resident’s property which resulted in no heating and hot water.
    2. Pay the resident £150 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling errors.
  2. In line with our service’s established approach, the compensation awarded by the Ombudsman should not be credited to the resident’s rent account and should instead be paid to her directly.
  3. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report, providing evidence to the Ombudsman that it has done so by the same date.