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Progress Housing Association Limited (202315869)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202315869

Progress Housing Association Limited (including Reside Housing)

5 March 2025


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for CCTV footage.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why we will not investigate a complaint.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident lived in a property owned by the landlord.
  2. On 18 April 2023, unknown persons smashed the resident’s car window while the vehicle was in an on-site car park. She asked that the landlord provide her with a copy of the CCTV footage of the incident. It told her that this request would need to come from police for data protection purposes.
  3. The police requested CCTV footage from the landlord and the resident continued to request a copy of this by using the subject access request process. She made a formal complaint.
  4. The landlord responded at stage 1 on 31 May 2023 and stage 2 on 10 July 2023. It offered £50 compensation as it had found the CCTV camera to be faulty but said it had correctly followed its procedure under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 42.g. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, do not concern the terms and operation of commercial or contractual relationships not connected with the complainant’s application for, or occupation of, a property for residential purposes.
  2. Paragraph 42.j. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator or complaint-handling body.
  3. In this case, matters relating to CCTV and personal data are within the jurisdiction of the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The complaint does not relate to the occupation of a residential property and is therefore not within the jurisdiction of the Housing Ombudsman.