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Orbit Housing Association Limited (202330066)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202330066

Orbit Housing Association Limited

30 May 2025


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s property.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.c of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress, following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. The property is a ground floor bedsit.
  2. On 13 February 2023 the resident reported to the landlord that water was coming out of the drain in their kitchen sink and causing it to overflow. On 1 March 2023 the resident reported that a leak from above their property had caused damage to their bathroom ceiling and walls, as well as their kitchen ceiling.
  3. The resident made a complaint to the landlord. They were unhappy about the landlord’s handling of the leaks and the workmanship of the repairs it had carried out.
  4. The landlord issued its final response on 27 November 2023. It said it had resolved the reported leaks within its repair policy timescales. It also said that it had carried out the repair work to a satisfactory level with only some small touch up jobs required. It agreed to attend the resident’s property to complete these. It offered £300 compensation for delays in its complaint handling.
  5. The resident referred their complaint to us. They remained unhappy about the landlord’s handling of repairs.
  6. We spoke to the resident on 13 May 2025. They confirmed that the issue with the kitchen sink and leak from above had been resolved. They explained that the leak from above had been ongoing after the final response and the landlord had only resolved it after further inspections in February 2024. They also explained that they had carried out works to the bathroom walls to rectify their concerns with the landlord’s workmanship.
  7. The resident confirmed there were no outstanding works or repairs with the landlord. However, they advised that they had recently noticed there were hairline cracks in the plaster on the bathroom ceiling. They did not indicate they had reported this to the landlord.
  8. The resident advised that, to resolve their complaint, they would like the landlord to reconsider its compensation offer. They wanted the landlord to recognise the additional delay in resolving the leak from above their property, as well as their time and effort in rectifying the landlord’s repairs. They also wanted the landlord to agree to inspect the cracks in the ceiling.
  9. On 20 May 2025 the landlord confirmed it had reviewed its compensation offer and had increased it to £1,250. This comprised:
    1. £300 originally offered for complaint handling.
    2. £50 for 2 repairs that had been outside its service level agreement.
    3. £450 for time, trouble, and inconvenience for delays and initial poor quality of work.
    4. £450 for the impact of this case and the delays on the resident’s wellbeing.
  10. The landlord had also identified that the resident had mentioned they had struggled to pay costs for a dehumidifier the landlord had placed in the property. The landlord was willing to consider reimbursement from when it had delivered dehumidifier on 7 March 2023 and when it had collected it on 21 July 2023. It said this was £363.12 for the costs incurred during the period.
  11. The landlord arranged an appointment to inspect the cracks on 22 May 2025. The landlord should produce a written report to confirm the findings. If it is responsible for repairs then the report should include timeframes to complete these. If it is not responsible it should clearly explain why.
  12. We spoke to the resident on 22 May 2025 and they confirmed they were happy to accept the landlord’s offers of increased compensation and reimbursement for the dehumidifier costs. They also confirmed the landlord had inspected the ceiling and were happy with findings that had been reached.
  13. Paragraph 53.c of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:

“The Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily”

  1. I am therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this Service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord completes the agreed actions:
    1. Pay the resident £1,250 compensation and £363.12 reimbursement for dehumidifier costs (a total of £1,613.12)
    2. Provide a written inspection report. This should contain the information set out above in paragraph 13.

A finding of resolved with intervention has been made based on the landlord complying with these recommendations.