Southway Housing Trust (Manchester) Limited (202306857)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202306857

Southway Housing Trust (Manchester) Limited

29 November 2024

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 resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s response to her requests for repairs to her front gate and fencing.
The resident also complained about the landlord’s handling of her requests for repairs to the WC, hallway, kitchen and a security light.

Background

The resident holds a joint assured tenancy, which started in 2017. For the purposes of this report, the resident and her husband will be referred to interchangeably as “the resident”, as they have both communicated with the landlord and this Service about the above issues.
In April 2018, the resident reported that the front gate to the garden was in need of repair. During the investigation of her complaint, the resident provided the landlord with a photo of an appointment card dated 13 April 2018, which confirmed that the operative who attended had “ordered [a] new front gate” and the corresponding job reference number.
The resident chased this up in September 2018, and the landlord raised the repair again, then closed it as ‘complete’ on 28 September 2018. The resident chased the repair again on 11 January 2019, and the landlord noted that the repair would be carried out as part of a planned painting programme.
The resident chased the repair again at the start of April that year, and the landlord raised a new repair, which it marked as complete on 3 May 2019.
The resident chased the landlord again in January 2020. The landlord noted that there was “nothing on [its] system” relating to the order of a new gate, and raised a job for another inspection. This job was marked as complete on 7 February 2020.
On 6 August 2020 the resident reported that a fence post and two panels had been damaged by the wind, and the landlord raised a repair to make these safe and to “assess for two new fence panels”.
On 21 October 2020 the landlord spoke with the resident, and explained that its staff had been furloughed and self-isolated due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it was currently in the process of starting to address its repairs backlog. The resident had reported repairs which the landlord said fell into the category of major/ complex repairs it was prioritising. It told the resident it would look into the matters of the gate and fence and get back to him. The landlord noted that during the call it had confirmed its current list of outstanding repairs at the property.
On 10 March 2021 the repair for the gate was raised again by the landlord, and marked as completed on 15 March 2021. The landlord noted that the resident had told it the gate was “all rotten, [and a] hazard to their young children”.
On 26 March 2021 the resident chased the repair to the gate, and raised the additional matter of a leak from the boiler, which had led to damp and mould in the downstairs WC. The resident expressed concern that the landlord was losing track of the repairs that had been raised to it. She said this was a “safety risk” and asked that someone contact her about this.
In March 2022, the resident reported that three fence panels and posts had been damaged in a recent storm, and asked for these to be repaired. The landlord raised a repair for these to be made safe, and for “any required” follow on works. This repair was marked as complete on the landlord’s records.
In July 2022 the landlord wrote to the resident, regarding a community library she had placed in the street, and reports it had received from a neighbour about a hedge.
The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 20 December 2022, explaining that “numerous” repair jobs had been logged and not resolved over the length of her tenancy. She explained she was “appalled” at the landlord’s service, and the fact it had written to her about her garden being “untidy” after receiving “malicious complaints” from her neighbour. She told the landlord she was waiting for repairs to the gate, fence panels, kitchen, toilet, hallway plastering, bathroom, an asbestos test, the front door and security lights. She explained that she felt unable to afford to heat her home due to the heat loss through the walls and front door.
The landlord’s internal records from 21 December 2022 show that its staff discussed that the resident’s request for the fence to be repaired was “unfortunately a very old enquiry”, and that “whilst it may well have been promised at that time, the situation with fencing has changed”, and that the resident would need to provide evidence to support a case that it should make an exception for her. Its staff noted that “very few requests are approved”, and that there was a “huge number of old outstanding requests” on its system, but it was “not in a position to deliver on this”. Its staff recognised that it would be fair to honour its original commitment to repair the gate, given the card the resident had from that time.
The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 23 January 2023. It:
1. Confirmed a new gate would be installed;
2. Advised the fencing would “need to be made safe”;
3. Confirmed works to the WC, front door, and bedroom windows had been raised;
4. Said the resident had told the complaint handler that two surveyors had attended and agreed to fit a new kitchen, and advised that the complaint handler would pass this information to its asset services team to respond to;
5. Advised that a surveyor would need to reassess the work that had been raised for a “small repair” to the plastering on the stairs and landing.
The resident requested escalation of the complaint shortly afterwards.
The landlord’s surveyor attended to inspect the property on 25 January 2023, and the following day the landlord raised repairs for replastering of the hallway and stairs. On 31 January 2023 the landlord raised several repairs to the WC and bathroom. On 15 February 2023 it added repairs to the brickwork to two cupboards and a security light to the list of repairs to be done.
The landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response on 15 February 2023. It:
1. Apologised that it had not addressed all of the issues the resident had originally brought to it, in its stage 1 complaint response;
2. Apologised for difficulties the resident had had in reporting repairs by phone, and explained there was a problem with the telephony system which had now been fixed;
3. Advised its contractor had attended to repair the front door and an upstairs window on 26 January 2023, to eliminate draughts;
4. Confirmed it would fit a new gate, repair the security light, and replace the kitchen;
5. Apologised for “multiple” visits to resolve the kitchen and damp in the downstairs WC;
6. Advised it had changed its policy on fence repairs, and would only carry out repairs to make safe fences where a clear health and safety risk was present. It advised the resident that it had no record of her request for the repair at the time of the storm, and asked her to provide it with a copy of any communication she had in which it had agreed to install new fence panels;
7. Partially upheld the resident’s complaint and offered a £250 ‘goodwill gesture’ in recognition that it took multiple visits and that the resident “waited longer than [it] would reasonably expect” for the repairs to be completed;
8. Advised that it would provide feedback and coaching to its stage 1 complaint handler, and that it had implemented a new weekly meeting to improve communication in its team so that resolutions are agreed in cases like the resident’s.
In bringing the complaint to us, the resident has explained that she found the landlord’s approach to the repairs, and her subsequent complaint, distressing. She felt it had accused her of “lying” about her initial reports of the broken fence and its previous communications with her. The resident is a child-minder and explained that her distress was compounded by having to repeatedly reassure parents and the local authority that the repair was logged with the landlord and the matter was progressing. She noted that she was concerned at one point to receive an email response stating that a member of the landlord’s repairs team had blocked her, without having received any communication from the landlord to indicate that she should not contact them.
The resident has advised us that the only repair currently outstanding is the installation of a vent to the WC. The resident has carried out work to repair some of the fence herself. By way of resolution, the resident would like the landlord to repay the amount she has spent on the fence repair.

Assessment and findings

The law

The landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of the house in repair, under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985). This does not include the fences or gate, which are instead subject to the terms of the tenancy agreement.

The tenancy agreement

The resident’s tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for repairs to “fences and gates”, where it has provided these. The landlord has not suggested that it has varied the terms of the tenancy, which would need to be done by way of a deed of variation after appropriate notice is provided to the resident.

The landlord’s policies

The landlord changed its policy on fence repairs between 2018 and 2022, and currently says it will only repair them in “exceptional circumstances”. Its website gives examples of circumstances it considers to be exceptional here: https://www.southwayhousing.co.uk/home-tenancy/gardens-fencing/ . The landlord’s internal communications from December 2022 indicate that it had “advised all our tenants of this change”, however it is not clear how this was done beyond the advice available on its website.
The landlord’s website explains that it is currently trialling the use of environmentally friendly natural boundaries as an alternative to fencing, which it will pay for.
The landlord’s repairs policy sets out its timescales for the completion of ‘appointable repairs’ as five to 20 working days, and for major building repairs as 10 to 30 working days.
The landlord’s complaints policy complies with our complaint handling code.

Repairs to the front gate and fence panels

The landlord’s change in policy regarding fencing conflicts with the resident’s tenancy terms, and it was therefore unfair for the landlord to refuse to carry out the repairs to the fence unless she could demonstrate she had an exceptional case.
The resident has explained that she was distressed by the landlord’s apparent lack of knowledge of her requests for the fence repair during its complaint investigation. It is concerning that the history of requests was not available to the stage 2 complaint handler, and the landlord should ensure any relevant learning is taken from this case. It would also be reasonable for it to compensate the resident in recognition of the distress caused by its failure to recognise this early contact in its complaint responses.
The length of time the landlord took to repair the gate was far too long, and it ultimately took several years for what should have been a straightforward matter. Overall, it was clear that the resident was likely to be caused confusion and inconvenience due to the landlord’s repeated assurances that it had raised repairs to the gate and fence, only for these to be closed without being completed.
The landlord offered the resident £250 compensation for the delays and multiple visits it took to resolve “some issues”, but did not specify how this was broken down across the different failings. Given the landlord’s failure to identify that it would have been fair to replace the fence, and conflicting advice and delays, we have found maladministration. While it is positive that the landlord made an offer of compensation, it is not clear what, if any, part of this total amount was intended to recognise its failings in respect of the fence and gate issues. The Ombudsman however considers that the total amount of compensation offered was not sufficient to reflect the cumulative impact of these issues as well as the other repairs addressed in the next section of this report. We have therefore made orders below to increase the level of redress for the resident.

Repairs to the WC, hallway, security light, kitchen

The resident highlighted in her complaint that there appeared to be a lack of handover between the landlord’s surveyors, meaning that multiple inspections were carried out for the same repairs issues.
There were unreasonable delays in the repairs being completed, and a vent still needs to be fitted to the WC. Whilst it is positive that all works apart from this are now completed, there were multiple delays over a protracted period of time.
The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response did not draw out the reasons for the delays to the repairs, or what it would do to prevent this from happening in future. It was, however, reasonable that the landlord decided to replace the kitchen, given the unclear communication the resident had experienced.
As discussed above, the landlord offered the resident compensation, but did not make it clear which repairs this covered. It is our opinion that the landlord’s offer of compensation was not proportionate to the cumulative effect of its failings, and this is addressed in our below order for an increase to the compensation paid to the resident.

Overall handling of the resident’s concerns and subsequent complaint

The landlord did not address the resident’s comments about the comparative speed with which it had contacted her to warn about the hedge and community library in its complaint responses.
The resident has explained to this Service that she felt the landlord was acting in a heavy-handed manner regarding this subject. We observe that it is reasonable for the landlord to respond to different matters separately, such as repairs and reports of ASB, however it was a failing for it not to explain the reasons behind its actions in its complaint responses. This has left the resident feeling that the landlord has not treated her fairly.
The resident has also explained to us that she was surprised to find that when she emailed a member of its repairs team, she received a notification that she had been ‘blocked’. This was not a part of her complaint to the landlord, and there is no suggestion that the resident has been warned about unreasonable behaviour. We mention it here for context, and encourage the landlord to discuss this with the resident so that both parties are clear on what occurred and the reasons why.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s requests for repairs to her gate and fence.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of her requests for repairs to the WC, hallway, kitchen and a security light.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

Within five weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for its failure to correctly identify its responsibility to repair the fence and its failure to identify and take appropriate learning from the repeated delays to the repairs. It must provide a copy of this to us, once complete.
Within five weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must directly pay the resident a total of £400 compensation (to include the amount it has already paid), made up of:
1. £100 for the delays to the repairs which have now been completed;
2. £300 for the distress caused by the delays to repair of the fence.
Within seven weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must ensure the new vent to the WC has been fitted, and confirm to us when this has been completed.
Within seven weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must contact the resident, establish whether there are any current repairs she wants it to complete to the fence, arrange for an inspection if so, and confirm in writing to the resident the details of any repairs it will carry out as a result. It must provide us with a copy of this.
Within nine weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must carry out a review of the resident’s case, and confirm to us what learning it has identified from her experience. This must include details of any changes or additional guidance it will issue to its staff regarding its responsibilities for fence repairs.

Recommendations

We recommend the landlord contact the resident to discuss the message she received saying that she had been blocked by a member of its staff, to establish why this may have happened and to discuss any requirements it has around methods of contacts to raise particular matters.