Applications are open to join the next Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel – find out more Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel.

Peabody Trust (202233466)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202233466

Peabody Trust

11 March 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 response to the resident’s request to repair a gate to the communal bin area.
  2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling as part of the assessment.

Background

  1. The resident is the tenant of the property which the complaint concerns.  The landlord owns the property.  The resident’s tenancy started in 1999.
  2. The property is a 3 bedroom flat.
  3. On 4 July 2022 the resident submitted a complaint about the newly installed gate to the communal bin area.  She advised that the “installation was not done properly” and despite reporting it to the landlord no action had been taken to make good the gate.  The Ombudsman has not identified a response to the complaint under the landlord’s complaint procedure. 
  4. In March 2023 the resident contacted this Service.  She advised that despite raising a complaint about the gate the landlord had not responded or taken action to repair it. 
  5. At the end of May 2023 this Service contacted the landlord to share details of the resident’s complaint.  We asked the landlord to respond to the complaint if it had not already done so.
  6. On 12 June 2023 the landlord agreed an extension with the resident for its stage 1 response, until 26 June 2023, as it required more time to investigate the issue.
  7. On 26 June 2023 the landlord provided its stage 1 response.  In summary the landlord said:
    1. The initial repair to the gate was raised in February 2022.  The repair was completed in April 2022 following several visits by the contractor to identify the underlying problem and the best way to fix it.
    2. On 3 May 2022 the resident informed it that the repair had not been completed satisfactorily.  It therefore contacted the contractor to request that it reattend.
    3. On 20 June 2022 the resident contacted it again as no repairs had been carried out.  It contacted the contractor again who attended on 22 June 2022 to carry out works. 
    4. In December 2022 it contacted the contractor to inform it that the repair it had completed had not resolved the issue with the gate as it was not closing properly.  In response the contractor confirmed that it would return to rectify the problem on 16 January 2023, however it failed to do so. 
    5. As the contractor did not respond to its requests to reattend it had raised a new work order to address the problem.  The contractor attended on 23 June 2023 to try and rectify the problem.  The contractor had reported back that it had eliminated the gap between the 2 gate doors.  The contractor also recommended that the gate be replaced.  The recommendation had been referred to management for a decision.
    6. It had no record of a previous complaint about the gate.  However it was aware that the resident had made several contacts about the status of the gate.
    7. It would like to offer the resident £150 compensation in recognition of the time and effort chasing the repair. 
  8. On the same day the resident requested to escalate the complaint.  In summary the resident said:
    1. She was not satisfied with the quality of the gate installed in April 2022.
    2. She did not believe that any remedial works had been completed since the gate was installed as it “remained in the same state as when [it was] installed”.
    3. The contractor who attended to look at the gate in January 2023 informed her that it was not installed properly and a new gate was required.  This had not happened.
    4. She raised a complaint on 17 November 2022 about the gate and was told that she would receive a response within 5 working days.  A response was not provided.
  9. On 10 July 2023 the landlord acknowledged the complaint confirming that a response would be provided within “15 working days from [the] day of escalation”.
  10. On 27 July 2023 the landlord provided its stage 2, final, response.  In summary the landlord said:
    1. Following the resident’s report that the repairs completed on 6 April 2022 had not satisfactorily resolved issues with the gate the contractor reattended on 22 June 2022.  During the visit the contractor carried out repairs to the gate which included fixing timber, anchoring the post and installing a bolt.  The contractor provided reports with photos as evidence of the appointment.
    2. On 4 December 2022 its repair team identified that the gate had been installed incorrectly.  A decision was made to refer the matter back to the contractor as the gate was still under warranty.
    3. It acknowledged that the resident had spent time pursuing the repair with it, which included photos demonstrating that the gate issue remained unresolved. 
    4. It acknowledged that its administration of the repair to fix the gate had been poor and the issue should have been resolved much quicker.  When the resident raised concerns regarding the gate in May 2022 it should have escalated the issue to a manager to assess the situation rather than requesting reattendance by the contractor.  At stage 1 of the complaint procedure it should have assigned the work to another contractor to complete the work.
    5. In order to resolve the complaint it had inspected the gate on 20 July 2023 which identified that the gate and attached fencing required renewal.  The materials for the work had been ordered, which would take approximately 4 weeks to arrive.  An appointment would then be made for the work to be undertaken.  
    6. It had no record of a stage 1 complaint dated 17 November 2022 in respect of the gate.
    7. It would like to offer the resident an additional £100 compensation for poor complaint handling in addition to the £150 compensation it awarded at stage 1.
  11. The repair to replace the gate was completed on 9 August 2023.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s response to the resident’s request to repair a gate to the communal bin area

  1. The landlord’s records show that in April 2022 a new gate was installed in response to a report of “wooden gate broken or damaged… gate is wonky and latch doesn’t line up”. 
  2. While the evidence for review does not document the resident’s contact on 3 May 2022, raising concerns with the condition of the gate which had just been installed, the Ombudsman accepts that this happened as it has not been disputed by either party.  In response, the landlord was required to investigate and to resolve any issues identified.  This is in accordance with the property’s tenancy agreement which sets out that the landlord is responsible for repairing and maintaining the common parts and communal areas where the property is situated.
  3. The evidence shows that the resident’s concerns regarding the gate were resolved on 9 August 2023 when the gate was replaced.  The resolution to remedy the issue with the gate therefore took a period of approximately 15 months.  This is a significantly protracted period of time.  The landlord’s records between May 2022 to August 2023 in respect of the gate are sparse and do not document or demonstrate clear ownership by the landlord in progressing the matter.  The records reasonably suggest that it was not until July 2023 when the landlord arranged to inspect the gates itself, that it sought to find a solution and bring the matter to a close.  The record of the inspection on 20 July 2023 confirmed that the gate needed to be renewed as it was “falling apart, cheaply made, the bolt locks [were] broken, the fence posts [were] moving which [had] caused the gates to warp…. [and it was] being held up by batons which [was] not safe”.
  4. In responding to the complaint the landlord acknowledged its response to repair the gate had been poor and the issue should have been resolved much quicker.  The landlord therefore apologised and awarded £150 compensation in recognition of the time and effort the resident spent in progressing the repair.  
  5. Where a landlord acknowledges a service failure it is for the Ombudsman to then determine whether the level of redress it has offered is proportionate to the circumstances of the case.  Overall we are is satisfied that the landlord’s offer of redress was proportionate to the circumstances of this part of the complaint to recognise the impact on the resident, including time, trouble and inconvenience.  The landlord’s offer was also within the range for cases where there has been a service failure which has adversely affected a resident.   
  6. While the service provided by the landlord to resolve the issue with the gate was not satisfactory, it has since identified and acknowledged its service failures, apologised and offered appropriate compensation in recognition of this.  The landlord has therefore offered redress to the resident which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves this part of the complaint satisfactorily.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. In responding to the complaint the landlord confirmed that it had no record of an earlier complaint about the gate which it had failed to respond to.  However in the evidence for review this Service can see that the resident did make a complaint on 4 July 2022 about the gate prior to coming to us about the matter.  It is unsatisfactory that the landlord did not respond to the resident’s complaint dated 4 July 2022, and therefore that she was required to contact this Service in order to have her concerns addressed.  It is also unsatisfactory as a landlord should have appropriate systems in place to record and manage its complaint procedure.  We have not identified any evidence of a  complaint dated 17 November 2022.
  2. The landlord issued its stage 1 response within the agreed extension timeframe.  This was appropriate.  The landlord provided it stage 2 response 4 days outside of its 20 working day service standard.  The landlord awarded £100 compensation in recognition of this which was reasonable as it had identified a service failure.
  3. There was service failure by the landlord as it did not respond to the resident’s complaint dated 4 July 2022. This was a missed opportunity to address the resident’s concerns at an earlier point and in a timely way, shortly after the gate had been installed.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme the landlord has made an offer of redress to the resident in respect of its response to her request to repair a gate to the communal bin area which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves this part of the complaint.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman finds service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord should pay the resident a total of £350 compensation within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.  This figure comprises the £250 which the landlord offered itself in consideration of the complaint, if it has not already been paid, in addition to an extra £100 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by it not responding to the resident’s complaint dated 4 July 2022.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman is aware that in other cases recently investigated the landlord has overlooked or missed complaints which have been submitted to it by residents.  The landlord should therefore undertake a review of its system for recording and registering complaints to ensure that appropriate systems are in place so that all complaints are registered to allow them to progress through its complaint process.