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Southern Housing (202408622)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202408622

Southern Housing

14 February 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. The resident’s reports of a water leak, which caused higher water usage on her water meter.
    2. The associated complaint.

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 a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, we have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction as per paragraph 42.e. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant of the landlord since 8 March 2021. The property is a top floor flat. The landlord is a housing association.
  2. On 14 November 2022, the resident requested the landlord to contact her to discuss her water bills. The landlord inspected the property on 9 December 2022 and found no evidence of a water leak. The water supplier confirmed to the landlord that they inspected the property on 16 January 2023 and found no leak.
  3. On 4 January 2023 the resident’s solicitor sent a letter of claim to the landlord under the pre-action protocol for housing conditions claims. The claim related to several disrepairs. The resident’s solicitor confirmed with the resident the details of her housing disrepair claim on 17 April 2023. While the claim related to several issues, it included a suspected water leak which the resident said impacted on her water usage and water bills.
  4. On 26 April 2023 the landlord investigated the water leak externally because it could not access the property as the resident was not home. It said that it found no evidence of a leak. It said that it then attended the property several times and left 5 calling cards before closing the job on 28 June 2023.
  5. As 17 August 2023, the landlord agreed to pay the resident £2000 under the pre-action protocol to settle her disrepair claim. It also agreed to complete all the repairs by 15 November 2023. On 25 September 2023 the landlord paid the agreed compensation to the resident.
  6. The resident made a formal complaint to the landlord on 9 October 2023, which it acknowledged the following day. The complaint was about several repairs, including a water leak affecting her water usage.
  7. On 20 October 2023 the resident’s solicitor sent a letter of claim to the landlord under the pre-action protocol for housing conditions claims. The claim related to several disrepairs. They proposed a joint expert to inspect the property. They also advised for the landlord to inspect the property and confirm whether it intended to carry out any remedial works within 20 days.
  8. The landlord liaised with the water supplier who confirmed the water usage for the property was higher than average. The landlord said that when it previously inspected the property the water meter was not “spinning” and because of this it did not believe there was a leak. It did however confirm that on 21 November 2023, it had instructed its contractor to trace the possible leak.
  9. The landlord issued its stage 1 response to the resident’s complaint on 22 November 2023. There were several elements to her complaint, one of which related to the complaint we are investigating. It said:
    1. The water leak was considered as part of the resident’s disrepair claim and it had compensated the resident in line with its agreed matrix. 
    2. It would conduct further investigation into the resident’s water usage.
    3. The landlord offered to pay £150 compensation to the resident, which was equivalent to £50 for its complaint handling failing and £100 for inconvenience, time and trouble. The landlord did not say whether the compensation was in relation to the water usage and leak.
  10. On 14 April 2024 the resident contacted this service and the landlord, she said her complaint was about a leak which impacted on her water usage. She explained her solicitor made a legal agreement with her landlord to resolve the matter by November 2023, and it had not. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 2 complaint on 10 May 2024.
  11. On 7 June 2024 the landlord informed the resident that it needed longer to respond to her complaint and would issue its stage 2 response on 5 July 2024. The landlord requested a further extension on 3 July 2024. It explained that this was because of unplanned leave and it would respond to her complaint by 31 July 2024.
  12. On 4 July 2024 the landlord asked its contractor to inspect the resident’s water tank for a leak. On 27 July 2024, it logged a job to carry out a water pressure test.
  13. On 24 July 2024, the resident’s solicitor made a legal claim against the landlord because it had not completed the repairs as agreed during the pre-action protocol in August 2023. The landlord said it was granted 2 weeks to complete the repairs. It is unclear whether this included the suspected water leak.
  14. The landlord issued its stage 2 response to the resident’s complaint on 31 July 2024. It said:
    1. It found an issue with the water tank and repaired it. It recognised that the resident said this did not resolve the issue of her higher than average water usage. It agreed to carry out a water test and an internal water pressure test in the property to identify any leak.
    2. It reiterated its stage 1 offer of compensation and offered an additional £140, making its final compensation offer at £290. It was equivalent to:
      1. £150 to recognise the resident’s inconvenience, time and trouble.
      2. £15 for her having to repeatedly chase a resolution.
      3. £100 for its complaint handling failings.
      4. £25 for its failing to respond within timescale. 
  15. On 7 August 2024 the landlord carried out a water pressure test at the resident’s property but found no evidence of a water leak.
  16. In November 2024 a surveyor inspected the property as an expert witness on the instructions of the resident’s solicitor. It observed that the water pressure from the hot water in the bathroom was low. He said this could be because of poor water supply or a leak. He recommended testing the water pressure and inspecting for a leak.
  17. The resident reiterated several times to the landlord that her water bills were higher than average because of a water leak in the property. She informed us that she had paid an extra £10 a month for her water over 3 years because of the leak and wanted the landlord to reimburse her. She also said she spent significant time and effort seeking a resolution to the problem and the issue was on going.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme states the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings.
  2. In this case, the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of a leak in the property and the associated repair were included in the resident’s disrepair claim that was settled as part of the pre-action protocol in August 2023. The resident’s solicitor then started legal proceedings in July 2024 because the landlord had not completed the repairs agreed as part of the pre-action protocol agreement. It is unclear from the evidence provided whether this case was heard at court, or the landlord and resident agreed the settlement prior to this. However, regardless of this, the Ombudsman is satisfied that the resident has, or had, the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of those legal proceedings.
  3. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme, the complaint about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of leaks in the property and the associated repair is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.