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Orbit Housing Association Limited (202401168)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401168

Orbit Housing Association Limited

31 October 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:
    1. The landlord’s handling of requests to repair the resident’s back door.
    2. The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured shorthold tenant of the landlord. The landlord is a housing association.
  2. On 19 September 2024 the resident raised a stage 1 complaint. They said it was the fourth time they had asked why they still had a back door that did not fit. They wanted to know why they had to live with the cold, damp, and water coming in through the ill–fitting door.
  3. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 19 February 2024. It said:
    1. The resident had reported damp and mould in February 2023, September 2023, and January 2024.
    2. It had inspected the property on 25 January 2024 and identified remedial works. It had scheduled the works to be completed on 28 February 2024.
    3. It had no record of any repair requests for the back door since 23 June 2023. It had attended and completed that repair.
    4. It upheld the complaint in relation to delays in resolving the damp and mould. It offered £533 in compensation.
  4. The resident escalated their complaint to stage 2 of the process on 19 February 2024.
  5. The landlord issued its final response on 13 March 2024. It said:
    1. Since the 25 January 2024 inspection, the resident had cancelled damp and mould treatments. It had booked the remaining remedial works for 19 April 2024.
    2. It had been unable to speak to the resident about the issues with the back door and therefore could not investigate that part of the complaint.
    3. It partially upheld the complaint due to the time taken to resolve the issues. It increased the offered compensation to £952.
  6. The resident referred their complaint to this service on 9 April 2024 as they remained unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the reported matters.

Assessment and findings

  1. Paragraph 53.c of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states:

“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. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.

  1. This service contacted the resident on 8 October 2024 to discuss their complaint. The resident advised that they would like the landlord to:
    1. Replace their back door.
    2. Instruct an independent survey of their windows and complete any identified repairs.
    3. Inspect their front door, which the landlord had previously replaced, to determine why it no longer correctly fit. They wanted the landlord to complete any required adjustments and/or repairs.
  2. This service approached the landlord on the same day to propose the resident’s requests as a resolution to the complaint. We also requested the landlord pay the compensation it had offered in its complaint responses.
  3. The landlord confirmed on 18 October 2024 that it agreed to the proposed redress. It also advised it was reviewing whether to increase the offered compensation. It said it now considered it should have previously upheld the resident’s complaint about repairs to their back door.
  4. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, the redress now agreed between the resident and landlord is sufficient to satisfactorily resolve the complaint.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.c of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord’s handling of requests to repair the resident’s back door has been resolved with intervention.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53.c of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould has been resolved with intervention.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman recommends that the landlord completes the agreed actions:
    1. Paying the £952 offered compensation.
    2. Replacing the resident’s back door.
    3. Instructing an independent survey of the resident’s windows and completing any required repairs.
    4. Inspecting the resident’s front door and completing any required repairs.
  2. The Ombudsman also recommends that, within 28 days of the date of this determination, the landlord provides the resident with a decision (if it has not already done so) on whether it intends to pay any additional compensation. Any additional offered compensation should be promptly paid to the resident.