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Southwark Council (202419180)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202419180

Southwark Council

17 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. Repairs to the resident’s boiler.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident holds a secure tenancy with the landlord. The resident’s household includes children, one of whom was under 2 years old at the time of the complaint, and a family member with disabilities.
  2. On 30 November 2023, the landlord’s heating contractor attended the resident’s property to carry out the annual gas safety check. The contractor disconnected the resident’s boiler as they deemed it to be unsafe. The landlord arranged for 2 temporary heaters to be delivered on 30 November 2023, however it only delivered 1 heater.
  3. On 6 December 2023, the resident submitted a complaint to the landlord. He said that the landlord had missed appointments on 1 and 2 December 2023. He advised that a heating engineer had attended on 4 December 2023; however, the resident had heard nothing further. He said he was concerned for the health of his family, due to the cold weather.
  4. The resident contacted the landlord again on 9 December 2023. He said a heating contractor due to attend on 7 December 2023, had not attended. He had called both the landlord and its heating contractor and was told there was no appointment booked until 11 December 2023.
  5. On 11 December 2023, a heating contractor repaired the resident’s boiler and installed 2 carbon-monoxide detectors in the bedroom the boiler was in.
  6. On 19 December 2023, all the carbon monoxide detectors in the resident’s property went off. The emergency gas supplier cut off the gas to the resident’s property. The landlord made an appointment to reinstate the gas on 22 December 2023.
  7. The landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response on 21 December 2023. It apologised to the resident for the delay in it reinstating the heating. It awarded him £86 compensation, broken down as £36 (£3 per day) for the time the resident and his family were without heating and hot water, and £50 for his time and trouble in bringing the complaint.
  8. On 21 December 2023, the resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints procedure. He said:
    1. The landlord had not adequately addressed the issue of the missed appointments.
    2. The heating contractor who attended on 11 December 2023 had seemed uninformed about the issues with the boiler. The contractor had ordered parts and had advised that the boiler needed replacing.
    3. Having to use the temporary heaters and not being able to cook had resulted in significant extra costs.
    4. He was concerned about the safety of the boiler and asked that the landlord replace it as its heating contractor had recommended.
  9. The landlord cancelled the appointment on 22 December 2023 at short notice and rearranged it for 27 December 2023. The heating contractor who attended on 27 December 2023 arranged a further appointment for 29 December 2023, as they said the reinstatement of the boiler needed to be carried out by a supervisor. The landlord also cancelled the appointment scheduled for 29 December 2023 at short notice.
  10. The landlord’s heating contractor carried out a fumes investigation on 5 January 2024 and reinstated the boiler.
  11. On 5 March 2024 the resident contacted the landlord. He said he had not had a response to his stage 2 complaint. The landlord contacted the resident the same day to apologise. It said it would aim to provide a response to his complaint by 15 March 2024.
  12. The resident chased the landlord again on 18 March 2024. He said he had still not received a response to his stage 2 complaint. The landlord contacted the resident on 25 April 2023. It said it would provide a response by 30 April 2024.
  13. On 3 May 2024, the resident contacted the landlord again as he had still not had a response to his stage 2 complaint.
  14. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 16 May 2023. It apologised for its delay in responding. It said:
    1. It acknowledged it had missed or cancelled appointments on 1 December 2023, 22 December 2023, and 29 December 2023.
    2. The heating contractor who had attended on 11 December 2023 had fitted new parts to the boiler and had got it working again.
    3. It would not fit a new boiler as it was able to get parts to repair his current boiler. It said there were no safety concerns, as the boiler had now been repaired.
    4. It was sorry to learn of the resident’s increased costs. Where there was a loss of heating and hot water lasting more than 24 hours, it paid £3 compensation for each whole day. This payment included reasonable costs incurred by residents in relation to additional electricity usage.
    5. It offered the resident additional compensation of £298, broken down as follows: £50 for the delay in responding to his stage 2 complaint, £150 for the 3 missed appointments, and £48 for the 16 days when he and his family were without heating or hot water between 20 December 2023 and 5 January 2023.
  15. On 14 August 2024, the resident complained to the Ombudsman. He said the appointments the landlord’s heating engineers had missed had caused him considerable inconvenience. He said he wanted the landlord to replace the boiler and offer him increased compensation.
  16. The resident told the Ombudsman on 6 January 2025, that since his complaint to the landlord, his boiler had broken down again and he was without heating and hot water. On 14 April 2025, the resident told the Ombudsman he had submitted a new complaint to the landlord about the boiler. He said that the landlord had now replaced the boiler.

Assessment

Scope of investigation

  1. As noted above, the resident has told the Ombudsman that since the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response, he has had further issues with his boiler. These issues are outside the scope of this investigation. This is because the Ombudsman is not able to consider complaints that are made prior to having exhausted a landlord’s complaints procedure. This is so that landlords have the opportunity to respond to complaints and resolve issues before the Ombudsman becomes formally involved. The resident has told the Ombudsman he has made a new complaint to the landlord about the further issues with his boiler. He may be able to refer this complaint to the Ombudsman for a separate investigation if he remains dissatisfied once it has exhausted the landlord’s complaints process.

Policies and procedures

  1. Under the terms of the resident’s tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible for repairs to his boiler.
  2. The landlord’s repairs guide states that it will treat a loss of heating and hot water during the winter months as an emergency repair. The guide states that it will attend to emergency repairs within 24 hours to make the issue safe. The guide states that the landlord may then need to schedule further appointments to complete repairs. The guide also states that if the landlord (or one of its contractors) misses an appointment, the resident is entitled to £50 compensation per missed appointment.
  3. The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will compensate residents who have a loss of heating or hot water at a rate of £3 per day. This compensation includes reasonable costs residents may incur such as additional electricity usage.
  4. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 15 working days, and to stage 2 complaints, within 25 working days.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s boiler.

  1. The resident complained to the landlord that it missed an appointment on 1 December 2023. The landlord has awarded the resident £50 compensation for this missed appointment. This was reasonable and recognises the time, trouble and inconvenience only delivering 1 temporary heater will have caused the resident, particularly as the landlord was aware there were vulnerabilities and a very young child in his household.
  2. The resident told the landlord that it had missed further appointments on 2 and 7 December 2023 to repair the boiler. We acknowledge the resident’s testimony; however, the landlord’s internal correspondence shows that it investigated whether appointments were missed on these dates. It has not found evidence to show this was the case and as we are impartial, we must ensure that our assessment is evidence-based. We cannot say there was a failing by the landlord without evidence.
  3. The resident told the landlord that the heating contractor who attended on the 11 December 2023 appeared uninformed as to what the issues with the boiler were. However, it is clear from the landlord’s records that the contractor who attended on that day repaired the boiler, so we have not found any failings in relation to this appointment.
  4. The landlord acted reasonably in offering the resident £36 compensation for the 12 days between 30 November 2023 to 11 December 2023, and £48 compensation for the 16 days between 20 December 2023 and 5 January 2024, that he and his family were without heating and hot water. This was in line with its policy which states that it will offer residents who have no heating or hot water, compensation of £3 per day.
  5. The resident told the landlord its heating contractors cancelled an appointment on 22 December 2023 at short notice. He said that its contractors had to arrange a further appointment for 5 January 2024, as the contractor who attended on 29 December 2023 was not able to carry out the repairs and said a supervisor needed to attend. It is accepted that repairs can sometimes be more complex than first thought. However, given the fact that it had already cancelled an appointment, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to ensure that the contractor who attended on 29 December 2023, had the relevant expertise to carry out the necessary repairs. The landlord has acted appropriately in recognising the inconvenience the rescheduling of these appointments will have caused the resident and has awarded him £100 compensation for this.
  6. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord told the resident it would not fit a new boiler as it was able to get parts to complete the necessary repairs and there were no safety issues with his current boiler. This was reasonable. Landlords are not obliged to replace boilers if they can resolve issues by completing repairs as this ensures value for money and reduces costs which would otherwise be passed on to residents through their rent and service charge.
  7. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Heating and Hot Water highlights the significant impact a lack of heating and hot water can have on households, particularly where, as in the resident’s case, there are health concerns or young children. The landlord has acted appropriately in acknowledging the distress and inconvenience the time it took to repair the boiler will have likely caused the resident and his family.
  8. The landlord offered the resident compensation of £334 for its errors in its handling of the repairs to his boiler. This offer is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (published on our website) which sets out our approach to compensation. The remedies guidance states that in cases where there was a failure by the landlord which adversely affected the resident, £100-£600 compensation should be offered. Therefore, the landlord does not need to do anything further in this regard, as its offer is in line with what the Ombudsman would have awarded had the landlord not already made an offer and it is appropriate redress for the landlord’s errors in relation to this aspect of the complaint.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint procedure on 21 December 2023. The landlord’s complaints policy, set out above, states that it will respond to stage 2 complaints within 25 working days. The landlord did not issue its stage 2 complaint response until 16 May 2024. This was over 3 months outside of its timescales for doing so. It is appropriate that the landlord has apologised for this and has offered the resident £50 compensation in recognition of the inconvenience this will have caused him.
  2. In his stage 2 complaint, the resident told the landlord he was not able to cook due to having no gas. The landlord apologised for this. However, it demonstrated a lack of investigation in relation to this aspect of the resident’s complaint. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to check what cooking facilities the resident had available to him and to offer him the use of temporary alternatives such as a table-top stove/oven or a microwave, if needed. The fact that it did not do so was a failing. As noted above, our remedies guidance states that where we find maladministration, compensation of £100 and above should be considered. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident a further £100 compensation in addition to the £50 it previously offered him through its complaints process to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its lack of investigation into the cooking facilities.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint about its handling of the repairs to the resident’s boiler, satisfactorily.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the associated complaint.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident an additional £100 for the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by its handling of the associated complaint.