Richmond Housing Partnership Limited (202233657)
REPORT
COMPLAINT 202233657
Richmond Housing Partnership Limited
30 January 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
- The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of ongoing drainage and sewage issues.
- The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling as part of the assessment.
Background
- The resident is the tenant of the property which the complaint concerns. The landlord owns the property.
- The property is a 2 bedroom flat situated on the ground floor of a purpose built block (the block).
- The landlord’s records document that the resident is disabled and uses a wheelchair. The resident has confirmed this information.
- On 24 February 2023 the resident contacted the landlord to register a formal complaint about its response to ongoing drainage and sewage issues at the block. The landlord’s records do not provide any further details on the complaint. However, from the other evidence provided for review, the Ombudsman understands that the resident was concerned that the landlord had failed to resolve an issue with the block’s drains which resulted in sewage coming up into the car park and across the path leading to the property. The resident was upset that the problem had been ongoing for many years without a permanent solution.
- On 7 March 2023 the landlord provided its stage one response. In summary the landlord said:
- In order to investigate the complaint it had reviewed “previous communications and repairs raised”.
- Its contractor had attended the block on 14 February 2022, 8 March 2022, 3 January 2023 and 2 February 2023 to unblock the drains.
- On 15 March 2022 it had employed a “specialist drainage company” to attend the block every two months to pump out the drains in the block. It confirmed that going forwards it would change the attendance to once a month.
- Every time the specialist drainage company had attended to pump out the drains it had found “baby wipes, nappies, kitchen fat/ grease and sanitary products” within the pipes.
- It would be issuing “another” letter to the block to reiterate that these items should not be flushed “under any circumstances”.
- It was sorry for the ongoing drainage issues within the block and any upset caused to the resident as a result. It noted that “on this occasion [its] service should have been better”.
- It offered the resident £100 compensation for the “inconvenience caused by the ongoing issues”.
- On 7 March 2023 the resident requested to escalate her complaint. The landlord’s record documented that the resident was “very unhappy that the sewage issue [had] started again”. The resident stated that when the problem occurred she had to take her wheelchair across the sewage to access the property. The resident also noted that her carers had to walk through the sewage when they came to visit her.
- On 4 April 2023 the landlord provided its final response following a telephone call with the resident earlier that day. In summary the landlord said:
- Following its stage one response “another visit took place” to the block to carry out a further clearance of the drainage system and to “carry out a further investigation on what else [was] required to resolve the issue”,
- The investigation found that the drainage system was “showing an issue within one of the pumps”. It confirmed it had therefore decided to renew the pump elements and upgrade the control panel. It confirmed that the parts to complete the work were due to arrive on 17 April 2023 and the repair would begin the following day.
- It understood that it was “not ideal” for the resident to have experienced “reoccurring” drainage blockages and it was sorry for the length of time it had taken it to identify a permanent fix.
- The landlord concluded by confirming that the resident may refer her complaint to this Service if she was unhappy with its response.
- On 20 April 2023 the resident contacted the landlord to ask what compensation it intended to offer for the “inconvenience…, lack of service and empathy” she had experienced as a result of the drainage and sewage issues at the block.
- In May and July 2023 the resident chased the landlord for a response to her request for compensation. The Ombudsman has not identified a response to the resident’s request at that time.
- Following the landlord’s final response, the resident continued to report that the sewage issues were ongoing and had not been resolved. In response the landlord continued undertaking responsive repairs and renewed the drain pumps in November 2023.
- On 6 November 2024 the landlord wrote to the resident regarding her complaint. In summary the landlord said:
- The drainage and sewage problem at the block was a “very-long issue” which took it “too long” to find a long-term fix for. It acknowledged that this would therefore have had a “huge” impact on the resident’s day to day life.
- The resident’s tenants’ champion had been in touch with it recently to query the level of compensation offered to the resident and it had therefore completed a review. It understood that the resident was seeking £1500 compensation.
- The compensation which it had offered while the complaint was live did not reflect the impact the drainage and sewage issues had had on the resident.
- It would like to increase its offer of compensation to £1500 comprising:
- £500 for delays in permanently resolving the issue. The landlord noted that it tried various ways to fix the problem however it was the repair to renew the drainage pumps in November 2023 which had been successful.
- £750 for the impact of the issue of the resident, including access to the property.
- £125 for poor communication with the resident. It confirmed that it should have kept her updated on what it was doing to resolve the problem.
- £125 for time and effort that the resident spent in reporting and chasing the matter.
- It would use the case as learning so that it could improve its service.
- It was sorry that the resident had had such a poor experience.
- On 11 November 2024 the resident replied confirming that she believed that the landlord’s offer of compensation was “fair”.
- In January 2025 both the landlord and resident confirmed to this Service that the issue had been resolved by the landlord’s actions following the end of the complaint procedure.
Assessment and findings
The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of ongoing drainage and sewage issues
- The Ombudsman acknowledges that the resident reports that the landlord failed to resolve drainage and sewage issues for many years prior to her formal complaint in February 2023. The Ombudsman also recognises that the issue will have caused significant distress and upset to the resident while it was ongoing.
- In view of the time periods involved in this case, taking into account the availability and reliability of evidence, this assessment will consider events from early 2022, which is approximately one year prior to the date of the resident’s stage one complaint which she later referred to this Service. This is because as the substantive issues become historic it is increasingly difficult for an independent body, such as the Ombudsman, to conduct an effective review of the earlier actions taken by the landlord to address those matters.
- While the Ombudsman will not be considering any specific events prior to the start of early 2022, we have reviewed the historical information provided since 2018. This is because the historical information provides contextual background to the landlord’s actions in responding to the resident’s concerns since early 2022.
- The evidence shows that between April 2018 and the end of 2021 the resident reported multiple incidents of “sewage overflowing from a drain in the car park” which the landlord replied to by arranging responsive repairs. The landlord’s records document that the overflowing sewage was principally due to misuse of the drains by the block’s residents, by disposing non flushable items into the drains, which caused blockages and damaged the pumps. For example the landlord’s record on 18 May 2021 stated “pumps jammed with wipes and sanitary products”. The landlord therefore arranged for the drains to be unblocked, replaced parts that were damaged and wrote to residents about how to dispose of waste safely.
- The evidence shows that the resident continued to make reports of sewage overflowing from the drain in the car park from early 2022 and therefore despite the landlord’s previous interventions the issue had not been resolved by February 2023, the date of the resident’s complaint. This included reports in February 2022, March 2022, December 2022 and February 2023. The landlord’s repair records show that in response it arranged for the drains to be unblocked and the sewage to be cleared from the carpark. This was appropriate as the tenancy agreement for the property set out that the landlord must keep the in good repair the drains servicing the property. The evidence documents that the landlord’s overall response to each incident was timely and there were no significant delays in responding.
- The landlord’s records show that the primary reason for the sewage overflows was due to misuse of the drains by the block’s residents. In February 2022 the landlord recorded “removed both pumps to find both pumps had rag [non-disposables] within” and in April 2022 it wrote “the main concern is the residents are putting wipes and other items down the toilets and this will keep clogging up the pumps”.
- The Ombudsman appreciates that the landlord was limited in the actions it could take to ensure that the block’s residents used the drains appropriately as it could not directly control or manage how they disposed of items inside of their properties. Despite this the landlord was required to take steps to try to prevent this behaviour and to mitigate the consequences of any misuse. The evidence shows that the landlord did this.
- Firstly as the landlord identified that the drain blockages were being caused by misuse, the evidence shows that in March 2022 the landlord arranged for its contractor to attend the block to carry out a “maintenance pump” every 2 months. In the Ombudsman’s opinion this was a proactive and positive action by the landlord in an attempt to prevent any future blockages by removing obstructions and build ups before they could cause a problem. It also demonstrated that the landlord was taking into consideration the history of the matter.
- In addition to arranging regular maintenance of the block’s drains the landlord wrote to all residents in March 2023 detailing the blockages and setting out how to dispose of waste safely. This was appropriate to raise awareness of the problem with residents and to help prevent recurrences by providing information and guidance on the issue.
- Despite the landlord’s interventions following the conclusion of the complaint procedure in April 2023 there were further incidents of sewage overflowing from the carpark drain. The landlord has provided evidence that it continued to respond to the incidents as it had done previously which included renewal of the drain pumps in November 2023. Again the landlord’s records document that the primary cause of the blockages and damage to the drains pumps from April 2023 was “wet wipes” and “rag/ sanitary products”.
- The evidence in this case therefore indicates that the primary cause of the reoccurring drainage and sewage issues was due to misuse of the drains by the block’s residents. The Ombudsman appreciates that while some of the residents continued to dispose of inappropriate items into the drains it would have been very difficult for the landlord to provide a permanent solution ensuring that the problem did not happen again. While the complaint was live the Ombudsman is overall satisfied that the landlord was taking appropriate steps to respond to and mitigate drainage and sewage issues by completing responsive repairs, replacing parts and undertaking regular maintenance of the drains. The Ombudsman therefore finds no maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of ongoing drainage and sewage issues.
- In responding to the complaint and while it was live the landlord awarded the resident £100 compensation. While the Ombudsman has not found any maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the drainage and sewage issue, the Ombudsman considers that it was reasonable for the landlord to award the resident a sum of compensation. This is because it recognised that the situation would have been very distressing and did impact on the resident’s access to the property.
- The Ombudsman notes that the landlord’s later revised offer of compensation is within the range for cases where there has been a serious detrimental impact on the resident. While the Ombudsman has not found maladministration in the landlord’s overall handling of the drainage and sewage issues, we have considered the landlord’s further offer of compensation below.
The landlord’s complaint handling
- The Ombudsman has identified a shortcoming in respect of the contents of the landlord’s stage one response. The landlord stated “on this occasion [its] service should have been better” however then does not go on to explain why. This is unsatisfactory as a complaint response should provide adequate reason and explanation to support the decisions made, which the landlord did not do here. Further the Ombudsman notes that the statement is contrary to the proceeding paragraphs where the landlord sets out that it had been responding to the resident’s reports of drainage and sewage issues appropriately. The landlord did not provide any clarification on this point in its stage 2 response.
- Following receipt of the landlord’s final response the resident wrote to it to request compensation. There is no evidence that the landlord replied to the resident’s request at that time. The landlord eventually responded to the resident’s request in November 2024, approximately 12 months after works had resolved the issue and 19 months after its final complaint response, and only following intervention from the tenants’ champion. This is unsatisfactory. While the resident’s request went unanswered she would have been left unclear on the landlord’s position. The landlord should have replied to the resident at the time of the request setting out why additional compensation was due or not due. Alternatively the landlord could have explained that it would give further consideration to the matter of compensation once it was satisfied that the works it had committed to do in its final response were completed and that the situation had been resolved.
- The landlord did review its offer of compensation, which was reasonable as it recognised that the resident continued to experience disruption following the end of the complaint procedure and up until November 2023. However in the Ombudsman’s opinion it should have completed its review at a much earlier time. This would have been appropriate in order to bring the matter to a close sooner and noting that it would have been evident within a few months of the repair that it was successful; taking into account the frequency and history of its previous interventions.
- The Ombudsman finds service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. The landlord’s stage one response contained unclear and contradictory information, it failed to respond to the resident’s request for additional compensation in a timely manner and then significantly delayed in completing its compensation review.
Determination
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman finds:
- No maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s reports of ongoing drainage and sewage issues.
- Service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.
Orders
- Within four weeks of the date of this determination the landlord should provide a written apology to the resident in respect of its poor complaint handling.
- Within four weeks of the date of this determination the landlord should pay the resident £100 compensation in respect of its complaint handling.