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Nottingham City Homes Limited (202316662)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202316662

Nottingham City Homes Limited

6 August 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 handling of repairs to the resident’s property including repairing kitchen floor tiles, installing an extractor fan in the kitchen, repairing a leak from the wet room into the kitchen and repairing a side-door into a lean-to.

Background

  1. The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord. The property is a semi-detached house which has a lean-to built onto the side.
  2. On 4 March 2020, the landlord raised a job to make good the kitchen floor tiles as these were lifting. The landlord raised 2 further jobs in relation to the kitchen tiles on 11 March 2020 and 24 June 2020. The repairs history for the property indicates that the landlord made an appointment for 28 and 29 June 2020 to screed and tile the kitchen floor.
  3. The landlord wrote to the resident on 20 December 2020. It said its surveyor had visited her property and had identified that extractor fans were needed in the kitchen and the bathroom and that there was mould in the bathroom.
  4. On 20 October 2021 the resident reported again that the kitchen tiles were lifting. The same day the landlord raised a job for a vent to be fitted in the kitchen.
  5. On 11 July 2022, the resident reported that an external door which provided access into a lean-to at the property, was rotten. A landlord’s operative attended the property on 11 August 2022 in relation to the side door, however the landlord’s records show the operative was not able to gain access to the property.
  6. It is not clear from the landlord’s records when the resident first reported that water from the wet room was leaking into the kitchen, however the repairs history for the property shows that it raised a job to repair the leak on 2 November 2022.
  7. On 29 November 2022, the resident complained to the landlord. She said it had told her it would fit a vent in the kitchen to prevent mould, but it had not done so. She had not heard anything further in relation to her report that the kitchen floor tiles were lifting. She said the side–door into the lean-to was rotten and there was a leak from the wet room into the kitchen. The landlord wrote to the resident on 9 December 2022, to say it needed more time to investigate her complaint and that it would respond to her by 23 December 2022.
  8. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 20 December 2022. It said it had repaired the leak from the wet room into the kitchen on 2 November 2022. It had arranged for a bricklayer to install an air brick in the kitchen on 20 December 2022 and had booked an appointment to inspect the side–door to the lean-to, for 2 February 2023. It had booked appointments for 22 and 23 March 2023 to lay new tiles in the kitchen. It said this was the earliest it could secure a joiner to carry out this work. It said this was due to the high volume of repairs reported to it.
  9. On 21 December 2022, the landlord raised a job for an electrician to fit an extractor fan in the kitchen.
  10. The resident reported on 10 March 2023 that there was a leak from the wet room into the kitchen again. She said the leak happened every time someone took a shower. On 30 March 2023, the landlord identified that there was a problem with the plastic window board in the wet room and repaired it.
  11. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint procedure on 22 June 2023. She said none of the repairs she had reported had been fixed. The landlord had booked several appointments, but no-one showed up for these. It had not repaired the kitchen floor tiles and had not installed the kitchen extractor fan. Nor had it repaired the leak from the wet room or the side-door to the lean-to. She said repairs were needed to her bedroom.
  12. On 22 June 2023, the landlord reinspected the wet room. It said the wet room floor was coming away under the tiles. It said previous repairs had not worked as the floor was not sticking due to the walls being wet. The same day, the landlord raised a job to inspect the external side door.
  13. On 6 July 2023, the landlord attended to lay new kitchen floor tiles, however the evidence the landlord has provided in relation to this repair, shows that the work was not completed until 11 September 2023. On 18 July 2023, the landlord painted the kitchen ceiling and treated the wet room for mould.
  14. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 19 July 2023. It apologised for the delays in it carrying out the repairs and acknowledged that the repairs it had carried out to the wet room thus far had not been successful. It said it had arranged for a specialist floor contractor to attend on 31 July 2023. It said it had not constructed the lean-to and was not therefore responsible for repairing the side–door. It offered to remove the side-door to the lean-to should the resident wish it to do so. It said it would respond separately to any repairs the resident had not raised previously as part of her stage 1 complaint.
  15. On 7 August 2023, the resident complained to the Ombudsman. She said:
    1. She had taken time off work for repairs appointments, but the landlord’s operatives had not attended.
    2. The landlord had not yet installed an extractor fan in her kitchen.
    3. The landlord had recently installed aqua board in the wet room, but it had done this 3 times previously and the issue kept coming back. She said the landlord had not investigated the issue fully and she was worried the leak would return. 
    4. The side-door was there when she moved into the property and the landlord had given her the keys to it.
  16. The landlord’s works order record of 24 November 2023, states that it was due to install non-slip flooring to a section of the wet room after the installation of a shower tray, but it had not been able to gain access to carry-out this work. It said that the suspected cause of the leak was an area of boxing and the wet room needed to be redesigned. It is unclear from these records whether the wet room had started leaking again.
  17. On 4 December 2023, the resident contacted the Ombudsman again. She said the landlord had only replaced some of the kitchen floor tiles and these were different colours to what was there originally. She said it had still not fitted an extractor fan in the kitchen.
  18. The landlord fitted an extractor fan in the resident’s kitchen on 2 April 2024.
  19. On 8 May 2024, the landlord told the Ombudsman it had not been able to replace the broken kitchen floor tiles with exact replacements as the tiles which had been installed originally, were no longer made, however it had replaced the tiles with the nearest colour it could find. It said the kitchen floor would not be fully replaced until the next planned works cycle for the property. It said that all the problems with the wet room floor had now been resolved. The main side-door to the property was a composite door which was functional and safe. It was waiting to hear from the resident as to whether she wanted it to remove the door to the lean-to.
  20. On 24 July 2024, the landlord told the Service that as a good will gesture it had agreed to fit new flooring in the wet room and this work would be carried out on 13 and 14 August 2024.
  21. The resident told the Service on 29 July 2024 that the leak to the wet room was ongoing, and she had reported this to the landlord several times via the telephone. The landlord has told the Ombudsman that holding repairs to the leak were completed in 2023 and the further works scheduled are cosmetic only. It said it will consider a redesign of the wet room when the wet room is due for renewal under its capital works programme.

Assessment

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident reported the lifting kitchen floor tiles dating back to 2020 and a surveyor identified that extractor fans were needed in the kitchen and bathroom the same year. There is no indication that the resident made a formal complaint about these issues at that time however (the Ombudsman would usually expect such issues to be brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within 12 months of the matters arising). The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner, so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and whilst the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. As the substantive issues become historic it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such as the Ombudsman, to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address those issues. Therefore, although the historic events give context to the more recent issues, this investigation focuses on the events in the 12 month-period leading up to the resident’s stage 1 complaint of 29 November 2022, starting with the resident’s report of 21 October 2021 that her kitchen tiles were lifting.

Policies and procedures

  1. Under the resident’s tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior of the property. The tenancy agreement states that the landlord is not responsible for repairs to any shed, garage, greenhouse, or anything else put up by residents during their tenancy.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it aims to attend to non-emergency repairs within 30 working days of the repairs being reported to it. The landlord’s ‘new home standard’ guidance states that it will complete remedial works to remedy damp and mould within 3 months of a resident reporting the issue.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s property

  1. The resident reported in March 2020 and in June 2020 that some of her kitchen floor tiles were lifting. The resident reported again that the kitchen tiles were lifting on 21 October 2021 and submitted a complaint about the issue on 29 November 2022. In its stage 1 complaint response of 20 December 2022, the landlord said it would lay new floor tiles in the kitchen in March 2023. It is acknowledged that the landlord explained to the resident that it had a high volume of repairs, and that March 2023 was the earliest it could secure a joiner to carry out the work. However, it is clear from the evidence that the work was not carried out at that time, as in its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord said that it had arranged to lay the new kitchen floor tiles on 6 July 2023. Furthermore, a work order report relating to the laying of the kitchen tiles, states that the work was not completed until 11 September 2023, nearly 2 years after the resident’s stage 1 complaint about the issue. This was an unreasonable delay which will likely have caused the resident considerable time, trouble, and inconvenience.
  2. The resident told the landlord she was unhappy that it had not matched the new tiles in the kitchen with the original ones. The landlord told the Ombudsman that it could no longer source the original tiles therefore it had matched the tiles as closely as it was able to. It said that a full-scale replacement of the kitchen floor tiles would take place during its next planned–works cycle. Whilst landlords should endeavour to replace like–for–like wherever possible, it was reasonable that it decided to replace only the floor tiles which were lifting rather than replace the entire floor. Landlords are not obliged to replace entire floors if they can resolve the issue by completing repairs to smaller areas as this ensures value for money and reduces costs which would otherwise be passed on to residents through their rent. It is recommended that the landlord write to the resident to let her know when all the kitchen floor tiles are likely to be replaced via its planned–works programme.
  3. In her stage 1 complaint of 29 November 2022, the resident said that the landlord had not yet installed any ventilation in the kitchen. In her stage 2 complaint of 22 June 2023, the resident said that a vent was yet to be installed. The landlord did not respond to this aspect of the resident’s complaint in its stage 2 complaint response. The landlord’s ‘new home standard’ guidance, set out above, states that it will carry-out remedial works to remedy mould within 3 months of the issue being reported to it. The landlord installed an extractor fan in the kitchen on 2 April 2024. This was over a year outside of its timescales for remedying damp and mould and the landlord has not provided any explanation for this delay to either the resident or the Ombudsman, which is not acceptable. Furthermore, whilst it is accepted that on occasion major works to remedy damp and mould may be needed, installing an extractor fan, should be treated as a routine repair and completed within the landlord’s 30-working day timescale for completing non-emergency repairs. It is recommended that the landlord review its approach to addressing reports of damp and mould to ensure that where no major works are required, the issue is remedied within its timescales for completing routine repairs.
  4. As noted above, it is not clear from the landlord’s records when the resident first reported that there was a leak from the wet room into the kitchen. The landlord attempted several repairs to remedy the issue including on 2 November 2022, 30 March 2023, 22 June 2023, and 10 July 2023. It is accepted that it can take more than one attempt to resolve issues such as leaks as it can be difficult to identify the cause of the issue at the outset and in some cases different repairs may need to be attempted before the matter is resolved. This would not necessarily constitute a service failure by the landlord provided it was making reasonable efforts to identify the cause and carry out repairs.
  5. The landlord has told the Service that the leak has been repaired and that a redesign of the bathroom will be considered under its planned works programme. However, its works order of 24 November 2023 suggests an area of boxing in the wet room was the suspected cause of the leak and that a redesign was needed. The resident has said that the leak is ongoing, and that she has continued to report the issue to the landlord. The landlord has told the Ombudsman it is due to install new flooring in the wet room on 13 and 14 of August 2024. It is recommended that the landlord monitor the leaks from the wet room after the installation of the new flooring. If the resident reports any further leaks from the wet room, it should consider commissioning an independent survey to identify the cause of the leaks and carry-out any recommendations to remedy the issue within its timescales for completing routine repairs of 30 working days. If a longer timescale is required, the landlord should write to the resident to confirm when the repairs will be completed and explain the reason for the delay.
  6. The evidence the landlord has provided to the Ombudsman in relation to the repairs in this case consists of a repair history and work order reports. Neither the repair history nor the work order reports make it clear the date the resident reported repairs. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Knowledge and Information Management highlights the importance of landlords keeping clear, specific and unambiguous records. The landlord is recommended to review its record-keeping practices to ensure that it clearly records the dates residents report repairs.
  7. The landlord told the resident that it was not responsible for any repairs to the side-door into her lean-to. It said that this was because it had no records to show that it had erected the lean-to. The resident’s tenancy agreement, set out above, states that the landlord is not responsible for any shed, garage, greenhouse, or anything else put up by residents during their tenancy. However, the resident told the landlord that the lean-to was there when she moved into the property and that the landlord gave her keys to it when she moved in. It is accepted that the door provides access to the lean-to and is not a door into the property itself. However, as the lean-to was in existence when the resident moved in, it would be the landlord’s responsibility to maintain. The landlord is therefore ordered to repair the side–door into the lean-to.
  8. In her stage 2 complaint of 22 June 2023, the resident told the landlord that there had been several missed appointments in relation to the repairs she had reported. The resident has told the Ombudsman that she did not make a note of the dates of these missed appointments as she did not know that she would need to submit a complaint. The landlord has provided evidence to the Ombudsman to show that on 11 August 2022 and 24 November 2023, it was not able to gain access for repair appointments. However, without the dates of the appointments the resident says were missed, it may have been difficult for the landlord to investigate this aspect of her complaint.
  9. Overall, the landlord’s errors in this case amount to maladministration. The landlord should compensate the resident for distress and inconvenience caused by these errors. The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, published on our website, sets out our approach to compensation. The remedies guidance states that where maladministration has been identified which adversely affected the resident, £100-£600 compensation should be considered. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £400 compensation for the time, trouble and inconvenience caused to her by its failures in its handling of the repairs to her property.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the repairs to the resident’s property including repairing kitchen floor tiles, installing an extractor fan in the kitchen, repairing a leak from the wet room into the kitchen and repairing a side-door into a lean-to.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to do the following within 4 weeks of the date of this report, ensuring that it provides the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance by the same date:
    1. Repair the side-door to the lean-to at the resident’s property.
    2. Pay the resident £400 compensation for the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by its failures in its handling of the repairs to the kitchen floor tiles, installing an extractor fan in the kitchen, repairing a leak from the wet room into the kitchen and repairing a side-door into a lean-to.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Writes to the resident to let her know when her kitchen floor is likely to be replaced via its planned works programme.
    2. Review its approach to addressing reports of damp and mould to ensure that where no major works are required, issues are remedied within its timescales for completing routine repairs of 30 working days.
    3. Review its record–keeping practices to ensure the dates residents report repairs are clearly recorded.
    4. Commission an independent surveyor to identify the cause of the leaks from the wet room and carry-out any repairs recommended, within its timescales for completing routine repairs of 30 working days, should the resident report any further leaks from the wet room into the kitchen. If a longer timescale is required, the landlord should write to the resident to confirm when the repairs will be completed and explain the reason for the delay.