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Orbit Housing Association Limited (202324581)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202324581

Orbit Housing Association Limited

10 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:
    1. Heating and hot water issues and a leaking pipe at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident was an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. On 10 March 2023, the resident started his tenancy with the landlord and reported that he had issues with no heating and hot water as soon as he moved into the property on 13 March 2023.
  3. On 13 March 2023, the landlord’s contractor carried out a heating and gas turn–on test inspection. The inspection identified that the boiler was old and there were issues with the hot water loop system. It was also noted that the valves on some radiators required replacing. The landlord stated its contractor left the heating system in working order.
  4. The resident stated he stayed in a bed and breakfast between 13 March 2023 and 5 June 2023 due to the heating and hot water issues at the property.
  5. On 16 March 2023, the resident reported to the landlord a total loss of heating and hot water.
  6. The landlord’s contractor completed the last of the works to the heating system on 29 March 2023.
  7. On 10 May 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and reported that the condenser pipe connected to the boiler was leaking.
  8. The landlord’s contractor repaired the leaking condenser pipe on 18 May 2023.
  9. On 5 June 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. He stated when the landlord carried out a turn–on test of the heating and gas, multiple issues were identified which resulted in the heating not working. The resident also explained at a later point; a leak was located from the condenser pipe. He stated he felt that the property was not habitable, so he stayed at a bed and breakfast whilst the repairs were completed and left his belongings in storage.
  10. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 14 June 2023. It explained the boiler, heating system and gas had been turned off at the end of the previous tenancy for safety reasons whilst the property was in void status (whilst it was empty). The landlord stated it would not normally turn the gas on before a new tenant moves in, for safety reasons. Therefore, it explained no issues had been identified until the completion of the turn–on test. In addition, the landlord explained at a later point it had located a leak from the condenser pipe, and it ordered a part, which was required and completed the necessary repairs. It stated it could not identify any reasons to suggest the resident could not move into the property at the start of the tenancy.
  11. On 20 June 2023, the resident contacted the landlord and requested his complaint to be escalated to the next stage of its complaints process. He disagreed that he could live at the property with the outstanding repair issues. The resident stated that water had been flowing through his property for a while and the landlord did not update its systems to reflect this.
  12. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 21 August 2023. It apologised for the challenges and inconvenience the resident experienced due to issues with the heating system. The landlord acknowledged that there were delays in addressing the issues with the radiator and stated it was partially upholding his complaint. It also explained it had reviewed all the available evidence to determine the habitability of the property and stated it could not identify any sufficient evidence that the property was uninhabitable during the period the resident moved out. Therefore, it stated it could not reimburse the resident’s temporary accommodation and storage costs or clear his rent arrears. The landlord apologised for the delay in providing its stage 2 complaint response. It offered the resident £695 compensation. The offer included £195 offered during a previous service request. In relation to issues with the radiators, £300 for distress and inconvenience caused by the heating and leak repair issues and £200 for its complaint handling errors.
  13. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated his desired outcome was for the landlord to reimburse the costs he incurred from staying at a bed and breakfast and keeping his belongings in storage whilst the heating and leak issue were outstanding. In addition, the resident stated he would like his rent arrears cleared.
  14. The landlord has confirmed that the resident was evicted from the property on 11 December 2024.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. This report will consider the landlord’s handling of heating and hot water issues and a leaking pipe at the resident’s property. It will not consider the resident’s eviction from the property due to his rent arrears, as the resident’s eviction was agreed by the court. Paragraph 42.(e) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings. Therefore, the Ombudsman will not respond to the resident’s concerns about his eviction and rent arrears.

Policies and procedures

  1. The landlord’s repair responsibilities policy states that the landlord is responsible for making sure supplies for gas, water and electricity are in good working order. It also states that the landlord is responsible for pipework, including repairing leaks.
  2. The landlord’s repairs responsibilities policy includes the following response timescales for repair categories:
    1. Emergency repairs – the landlord will respond and carry out the repair within 24 hours.
    2. Essential repairs- the landlord will respond and aim to make safe the repair within 24 hours.
    3. Routine repairs – the landlord will respond and carry out the repair within 28 days.
  3. The repairs responsibility policy explains essential repairs are repairs where there is a risk to the resident or property if the repair is not dealt with quickly. The policy includes examples of essential repairs, which include total or partial loss of heating or hot water between November and April and a leak from a water or heating pipe, tank, or cistern.

Heating and hot water issues and a leaking pipe at the resident’s property.

  1. On 13 March 2023, the landlord’s contractor carried out a heating and gas turn–on test inspection. Due to the property previously being empty, the gas at the property was switched off prior to the resident starting his tenancy for safety reasons. This was reasonable and in line with the landlord’s policy. In addition, the landlord responded promptly and in line with its repairs policy once the resident reported that there was a heating issue after he moved in and carried out the necessary temporary repairs.
  2. Shortly after the completion of the initial repairs to the heating system, the resident contacted the landlord on 16 March 2023 and reported a total loss of heating and hot water. The landlord took appropriate steps by arranging for its contractor to attend the property on the same day the issue was reported. However, the landlord’s contractor could not carry out any repairs as they were still awaiting to receive the ordered parts. The Ombudsman recognises this delay would have been outside the landlord’s control. However, we would have expected the landlord to offer temporary heaters to the resident and access to alternative shower facilities such as at a local gym, which is in line with our spotlight report on complaints about heating and hot water and energy, published on our website. The landlord confirmed it did not offer the resident temporary heaters and there is no evidence it offered alternative shower facilities, which was unreasonable and a failing by the landlord.
  3. The landlord acted appropriately by arranging its contractor to carry out the necessary repairs to fix the heating system in line with its timescales for routine repairs.
  4. Although the heating and hot water issues were resolved, the resident continued to stay at a bed and breakfast. However, on 10 May 2023, he contacted the landlord and reported a leak from the condenser pipe connected to the boiler. The landlord responded promptly to the report and its contractor carried out an inspection on 11 May 2023 and identified that the boiler overflow had been disconnected. The landlord’s contractor had to order a part to carry out the repair, and the repair was completed on 18 May 2023, which resolved the leak. The Ombudsman recognises the delay in completing the repair due to the ordered boiler part would have been outside the landlord’s control.
  5. The resident moved back into the property on 6 June 2023. We recognise it would have been difficult for the resident to move into a property with no heating or hot water and a leak. However, we have not seen any evidence to show that the resident told the landlord in advance that he would be staying in alternative temporary accommodation. Therefore, the landlord would not have had an opportunity to assess whether the property was habitable or if it could be made habitable, nor to look at alternative accommodation, if appropriate. Generally speaking, a property would only be considered uninhabitable if it was unsafe to enter/stay in or if it lacked basic facilities for washing or sleeping. A property would not generally be considered uninhabitable because it had no heating and hot water, although as explained above landlords are expected to provide temporary heating due to outages during the colder months. We have not been provided with evidence that the property was uninhabitable, and the landlord also explained in its stage 2 complaint response that it had seen no evidence that the property was uninhabitable. Therefore, we would not expect the landlord to reimburse the residents rent or storage costs for the period he was not living at the property.
  6. The landlord apologised in its stage 2 complaint response for the distress and inconvenience caused by the heating system issues. It offered the resident £495 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused. The amount of compensation offered by the landlord was reasonable to recognise the delays, distress, and inconvenience caused. In addition, it was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (published on our website), which sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation.
  7. 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 heating system and leak was eventually resolved, although there was distress and inconvenience for the resident before the repairs were completed. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the landlord’s poor communication to the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress for this aspect of the complaint.

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 referenced in the Code.
  2. On 5 June 2023, the resident submitted his initial complaint to the landlord. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 14 June 2023. The response was on time and compliant with the 10-working day timescale referenced in the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. On 20 June 2023, the resident requested his complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint process. There was a delay in the landlord providing its stage 2 complaint response to the resident, which was provided on 21 August 2023. The response was approximately 23 working days late and not compliant with the timescales referenced in the Code or the landlord’s own complaints policy. This would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as he was delayed in progressing his complaint to the Ombudsman because he needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service.
  4. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 2 complaint response that there were delays with its complaint handling and offered the resident £200 compensation for its complaint handling error. The compensation offered to the resident complies with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the delay on the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress for this aspect of the complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves the resident’s concerns about:
    1. Heating and hot water issues and a leaking pipe at the resident’s property.
    2. The landlord’s complaint handling.

 

Recommendations

  1. We recommend that the landlord pay the resident its original offer of £695 compensation offered during its complaint process if it has not already done so. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress is based on the understanding that this compensation will be paid.