Sanctuary Housing Association (202311609)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202311609

Sanctuary Housing Association

11 April 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 handling of:
   1. Reports of repairs to the bathroom floor.
   2. The associated complaint.

Background

2. The resident has an assured shorthold tenancy with the landlord, which began on 27/09/2019. The landlord is a housing association. The resident lives in a mid-terraced house. The resident has no known vulnerabilities.
3. On 17 April 2023, the resident complained to the landlord about the bathroom flooring due to this moving when she walked on it.
4. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 20 April 2023 and issued a stage 1 complaint response on 2 June 2023. The landlord:
   1. Acknowledged that the resident was unhappy with the quality of work carried out when it attended to repair the bathroom flooring after repairing a leak.
   2. Arranged a surveyor visit, which reported the repairs were completed to a satisfactory standard and no further work required.
   3. Apologised for its delayed responses and the inconvenience caused, for which it offered £150 compensation.
5. On 6 June 2023, the resident asked the landlord for the reports that had enabled the surveyor to reach their conclusion.
6. The resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s stage 1 response and asked to escalate the complaint to stage 2 via the Ombudsman on 14 September 2023. In summary, the resident said:
   1. The bathroom floor was unsafe to walk on.
   2. She had received no response to a request for information.
7. The landlord acknowledged the escalation request on 19 September 2023 and issued an initial stage 2 response on 6 October 2023. In summary, the landlord:
   1. Said it confirmed on 16 May 2023 that it would inspect the bathroom flooring.
   2. Said it told the resident on 16 June 2023 that it had received a report, which stated no further repairs were required.
   3. Confirmed it was due to inspect the bathroom floor on 6 October 2023 and would await a report before continuing with its investigation.
   4. Apologised for its handling of the complaint at stage 1, as it had not adhered to its processes and stated an incorrect initial complaint date.
   5. Acknowledged that lengthy delays had affected the resident and that the issue remained unresolved.
   6. Expected to issue a further response by 27 October 2023.
   7. Confirmed the resident could contact the Ombudsman if she remained unhappy.
8. The landlord issued a final stage 2 response on 3 November 2023. In summary, the landlord:
   1. Explained it would review internal processes for recording and responding to call back requests in a timely manner.
   2. Confirmed it would replace the bathroom at the end of January 2024.
   3. Offered £400 compensation, comprised of £100 for time, trouble and inconvenience, £150 for its poor-quality stage 1 complaint investigation and responses, and £150 for future impact until the expected completion of repairs.
   4. Reconfirmed the resident could contact the Ombudsman if she remained unhappy.
9. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on 30 October 2023, in between the landlord’s stage 2 responses. The complaint became one that we could consider on 23 May 2024.

Post Internal Complaints Process

10. The landlord replaced the bathroom flooring in January 2024.

Assessment and findings

Policies and procedures

11. The tenancy confirms the landlord is responsible for maintain internal floors.
12. The landlord’s repairs process says it will complete repairs within 28 days, or within 28 days following any necessary inspection.

Landlord’s handling of reports of repairs to the bathroom floor

13. On 30 January 2023, the resident reported movement in the bathroom flooring. She said the landlord had put plyboard on top of the existing flooring in September 2022 due to this being ‘like a trampoline’ and that it felt the same way again. The landlord confirmed it would attend on 20 February 2023, which was reasonable in the circumstances and in line with its repairs process.
14. An internal email dated 27 February 2023 reported that the landlord could not identify a problem with the flooring when attending on 20 February 2023. It said it had previously added plyboard and had done this again, which was reasonable in the circumstances.
15. On 28 February 2023, the landlord decided it should visit again to determine whether there was excessive movement in the flooring, but noted a surveyor visit was not necessary. There is no evidence that the landlord took any further action to follow this up, which is a failing that likely prompted the resident to complain on 17 April 2023.
16. The landlord acknowledged the complaint but did not provide a further response, which likely prompted the resident to chase repair of the bathroom flooring on 12 May 2023. This is another failing, which likely frustrated the resident and caused inconvenience.
17. On 16 May 2023, the landlord said it would contact the resident to arrange a visit. Later the same day, it noted it was confident that it had inspected the flooring properly in consideration of the email dated 27 February 2023, which reported work completed and no issue with the flooring. The landlord did not communicate this to the resident and did not visit, which are further failings that likely caused the resident further frustration.
18. The resident says the floor was a health and safety hazard, and that the landlord was not concerned for the welfare of her and her family. It was not until its stage 1 complaint response dated 2 June 2023 that the landlord updated the resident with its position regarding the bathroom flooring. It said it had arranged a surveyor visit, which reported bathroom flooring repairs completed to a satisfactory standard with no further work required. It was reasonable for the landlord to rely on its assessment following the visit on 20 February 2023, but it incorrectly stated this was a surveyor visit when it was a landlord visit. This is another failing.
19. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 in mid-September 2023. The landlord arranged to inspect the bathroom flooring on 6 October 2023 due to the resident’s concerns that the floor may give way and cause injury. The landlord recommended it inspect the joists to eliminate any issues with these and requested photographs and/or videos to show whether the floor moved when walked on. We consider this was reasonable action to take to in response to the resident’s concerns.
20. On 10 October 2023, the landlord noted no further action required following the inspection due to an order to replace the bathroom after completing a stock condition survey – the resident had a separate complaint ongoing at the time regarding the landlord replacing the bathroom suite. The landlord has not provided any evidence of a report following the inspection on 6 October 2023 and it is unclear whether this was separate to the stock condition survey. The lack of evidence and clarity indicates an issue with the landlord’s record keeping. The landlord informed the resident on 3 November 2023 that it would replace the bathroom in January 2024.
21. Both parties have confirmed that the landlord replaced the bathroom suite and flooring in January 2024. Although the landlord initially attended in a timely manner to repair the bathroom flooring in February 2023, its record-keeping issues and failures to act in response to the resident’s further contacts represent maladministration, for which an order has been made for remedy.

Complaint handling

22. The landlord has confirmed the resident logged a formal complaint on 17 April 2023. The landlord has not provided a copy of this complaint, which indicates an issue with its record keeping.
23. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have acknowledged the complaint within 5 working days and issued a stage 1 response within a further 10 working days.
24. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 20 April 2023, which was in line with its process. It issued its stage 1 response on 2 June 2023, which was 19 working days outside the timeframe specified in its complaints policy. This is a failing, which delayed the complaints journey for the resident and likely inconvenienced and frustrated her.
25. On 6 June 2023, the resident asked the landlord for a copy of the report it had referenced in its stage 1 response. The landlord did not respond to this request. This is another failing that likely frustrated the resident further. This also likely prompted the resident to escalate her complaint to stage 2 via our service on 14 September 2023.
26. In accordance with its complaints policy, the landlord should have issued a stage 2 response within 20 working days of acknowledging the escalation request.
27. The landlord issued a stage 2 acknowledgement on 19 September 2023 and an initial stage 2 response on 6 October 2023. It issued a final stage 2 response on 3 November 2023. Although the landlord issued the initial response within 20 working days of the escalation request, its final response was 13 working days outside than this timeframe. This is a failing.
28. The landlord acknowledged in its initial stage 2 response that a visit was due to take place that day. It explained it would issue a final response after receiving a report from the visit. It would have been prudent for the landlord to await the report so it could consider all relevant information before issuing a stage 2 response, which it could have done within its 20 working days timeframe. We consider it a failing that the landlord did not do this. We also note that the landlord issued its final stage 2 response later than the deadline of 27 October 2023 that it stated in its initial stage 2 response. This is another failing, which likely caused the resident further inconvenience and frustration. The landlord’s failings represent maladministration, and an order has been made for remedy.

Determination

29. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s handling of reports of repairs to the bathroom floor.
30. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration regarding the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

31. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination, the landlord must:
    1. Provide a written apology for the failings identified.
    2. Pay compensation totalling £450, comprised as follows:
       1. £100 for its failings regarding its handling of bathroom flooring repairs
       2. £100 for time, trouble and inconvenience
       3. £250 for its complaint handling failures
32. The landlord must make these payments directly to the resident, less any amount/s already paid.
33. The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders within the timeframe set out above.