Sovereign Network Group (202329310)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202329310

Sovereign Network Homes

13 March 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 a recurring roof leak and its repair and replacement.
2. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

3. The resident is the leaseholder and the landlord is the freeholder. The property is a 2-bedroom first floor flat located on the top floor. The landlord is a housing association. The landlord has no recorded vulnerabilities for the resident.
4. On 18 November 2022, the resident reported via telephone and sent video evidence to her landlord her concerns regarding a ceiling in her flat and its potential collapse from water ingress caused by a roof leak. An emergency repair was raised by the landlord to make it safe. On 21 November 2022, the resident phoned the landlord as an operative had not attended.
5. An inspection on 23 November 2022 advised that a section of roof had cracked tiles and torn felt. Scaffolding was erected and a further inspection confirmed the felt and battens to the roof were rotten at eaves level and the ridge required re-bedding. The contractor recommended replacing the felt, battens and renewing the ridge with a ventilated system. They said the work might cure the leak but could not guarantee it. Following the inspection, the landlord advised that a roof replacement would be completed.
6. The resident phoned the landlord on 31 July 2023 and 18 August 2023 to make a formal complaint. She said she felt frustrated, communication was poor and that scaffolding was erected and dismantled without works being completed to the roof. The landlord acknowledged the complaint and logged it on 23 August 2023.
7. The landlord responded to the complaint on 1 September 2023. It agreed that it was not acceptable that the resident had to continually request information and that communication should have been better. Following a phone call, the landlord confirmed that the resident was happy to close her complaint, however she wanted to know when the repair works would go ahead.
8. On 19 September 2023, the resident escalated her complaint as a repair date had not been confirmed. She said she was “fed up” phoning each week to chase progress and the repair had been ongoing since November 2022. She said that the landlord mentioned a section 20 process and told her the roof replacement would be completed within the year.
9. On 28 October 2023 the landlord responded to the stage 2 complaint. Within this it apologised for not dealing with the roof repairs in a timely manner and offered £75 in recognition of the failings. The landlord advised:
   1. communication had been poor and it failed to keep the resident informed.
   2. roof leaks had been ongoing since 2019, jobs had been raised, inspections completed, and temporary repairs made, yet they failed to deal with the source of the problem in a joined-up timely manner.
   3. the roof was due to be replaced in the financial year (2023) and they hoped to complete the works.
   4. the Section 20 consultation process must end before they could provide a start date.
10. Following the landlord’s final response in October 2023, the resident explained to us that she remained frustrated with the landlord’s lack of communication, handling of the repairs and delay to the replacement.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

11. From our communications with both the landlord and tenant, the replacement works to the roof remain outstanding. The Ombudsman is unable to consider, in this investigation, complaints about events or the landlord’s response to further reports since its final response in October 2023 until such time they have exhausted the landlord’s complaint process. It is noted the resident raised another complaint with the landlord in April and June 2024, which the landlord logged and responded to as a stage 1 complaint. If the resident believes the landlord’s decision was not in accordance with its complaints policy, we can consider this matter under a new case reference as per our process.

Handling of a recurring roof leak and its repair and replacement

12. The lease dated January 1989 states that the landlord is liable for insuring and keeping insured, the building under a comprehensive policy. And maintenance, repair, and redecoration of all parts of the structure and exterior of the building. The landlord’s policy also states that leaseholders are responsible for all repairs inside the property.
13. The landlord’s repairs policy states emergency repairs are situations where there is a risk to someone’s health or safety or there is damage that will compromise the structure of the home. They aim to make safe within 24 hours. Further, the landlord’s website says that it is responsible for repairing and maintaining floor and ceiling joists, and damp works.
14. On 18 November 2022, the landlord’s log confirms that the resident reported and provided video evidence which showed an insecure ceiling because of water ingress from a roof leak. The landlord agreed to attend and make the ceiling safe on an emergency priority. The resident phoned 3 days later as the operative had not attended and was told that the ceiling was her responsibility. It is unreasonable of the landlord to accept an emergency repair and not attend or inform the resident accordingly. Further, as the leak was reportedly from the roof it is unknown if there were any additional repairs such as damage to ceiling joists, which is detailed as a responsibility of the landlord. This is a failure of the landlord to attend the property within the time scales set as per policy and in line with its responsibilities.
15. From 16 January 2023 to 16 October 2023, the resident phoned the landlord approximately 19 times to chase repair works to the roof. There are instances within the landlord’s evidence where it said it would contact the resident only for the resident to have to phone back. This is evidenced on 24 July 2023 when the resident requested more information around the section 20 process, she called again on 2 August 2023 and 11 August 2023 to chase a response. The landlord’s communication was poor and the resident had an unnecessary level of involvement. This would have caused significant frustration, time, trouble, and a great deal of uncertainty to the resident.
16. The Ombudsman Spotlight on Repairs (2019) states where repairs repeatedly fail, landlords must have systems in place that brings this to their attention and then consider a different approach or full replacement. The stage 2 complaint response acknowledged that roof leaks had been ongoing since 2019 and temporary repairs completed, yet they had failed to deal with the source of the problem. The landlord’s failure to progress the replacement works in a timely manner has caused the resident significant distress, time, and cost in managing the leak over an extended period.
17. In November 2022, the landlord’s contractor suggested short term remedial repairs to the roof. Scaffolding was erected in May 2023 and a further inspection took place, yet no remedial repairs were completed until October 2023. The landlord’s records show from November 2022 to October 2023 the resident continued to report water ingress, which included using buckets to collect water and concerns of ongoing damage to the property. The lack of consideration for an urgent repair caused significant worry and inconvenience to the resident over a prolonged period.
18. The landlord’s repairs policy states that on occasion a section 20 consultation is required and the time frame may exceed 90-days, but it would always try to inform customers of progress where possible. In May 2023, the landlord agreed to include the roof replacement on its planned works programme, yet the landlord did not commence the section 20 process until late October 2023. This is more than 2 years since the leak was reported. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight on Leasehold, Shared Ownership and New Builds (2020), states that landlord’s need to ensure timely and accurate communication with residents. The landlord should have updated the resident and explained the reasons for the lengthy process, which would have managed the resident’s expectations and reduced her frustration.
19. Under the lease, the landlord had an obligation to maintain and repair the structure and outside parts of the property (such as walls, roofs, windows). The landlord’s website also states that it is responsible for ceiling joists and damp works. The resident reported to the landlord that damage had occurred to her property as a result of the ongoing roof leak and provided evidence, which the landlord acknowledged. The landlord admitted failings to complete roof repairs in line with its responsibilities and therefore it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have signposted the resident to its insurers to consider a claim. There is no information within the landlord’s evidence or the complaint responses that the insurance information was provided, therefore this is a failing on the landlord’s part.
20. On 8 June 2023, the landlord’s repairs log shows that its operative visited the property. They stated that the external roof above the flat could not be inspected as the scaffolding ladder was missing but had accessed the inside of the flat. The operative commented that no issues were found and that it had been recently decorated. While it is unclear on the landlords evidence the reason for the operative’s visit, it is positive that the landlord visited the property and made observations.
21. Where there are admitted failings, as in this case, it is our role to determine whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this we consider whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles of: be fair (follow fair processes and recognise what went wrong), put things right, and learn from outcomes.
22. The landlord’s stage 2 response apologised for not keeping the resident adequately informed and offered £75 compensation for its recognition of failings. While the apology and compensation awarded went some way to put matters right, taking into consideration the distress and inconvenience of its failures, it has not fully considered the impact to the resident. The resident has spent a considerable amount of time and trouble chasing the repairs and was concerned regarding the ongoing damage to her property.
23. The landlord missed earlier opportunities to complete repairs to the roof while the resident waited for the roof to be replaced and failed to commence a Section 20 process in a timely manner. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord has met any timescales suggested for the replacement, offered a start date, or kept the resident updated with progress as its policy said it would.
24. The Ombudsman has found that there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to a recurring roof leak and its repair and replacement. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s published remedies guidance for failings which accumulate over a long period of time, and which have a significant impact on a resident.

Landlord’s Complaint Handling

25. The landlord sets out a 2 stage complaints process. Stage 1 complaints are responded to within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. It stated that at either stage the landlord may need up to a further 10 days, but that it would let the resident know if this was necessary.
26. The landlord uses the Housing Ombudsman definition of a complaint: This is ‘an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.’
27. The resident phoned the landlord to make a complaint on 31 July 2023 and the landlord summarised this call within its history log “…wanted to put in complaint but no one available tenant will call back tomorrow”. It is evident that the landlord did not open a complaint investigation at that time or attempt to call the resident back. This is evidence that the landlord operated an unfair and hard to access complaints process, which inconvenienced the resident, and caused her further time and trouble in needing to raise her complaint again in August 2023.
28. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 1 September 2023. The resident had told the landlord that she was happy for her complaint to be closed following a discussion with the landlord, however she wanted a date for works to commence. The stage 1 written response stated that the complaint was upheld, however it did not provide a summary of the information discussed during the telephone call or include any agreed actions as a result of the call. The response was an opportunity for the landlord to investigate what had gone wrong, identify learning to improve its services and consider the impact on the resident to enable appropriate redress.
29. The resident escalated her complaint on 19 September 2023, because she said a date had still not been provided for roof works to take place. She chased a response on 16 October 2023 and the landlord provided its written response on 28 October 2023, which was 29 days after she escalated her complaint. The landlord’s response did acknowledge failings and apologised for the distress and inconvenience caused. However, it did not apologise for its delay in providing the complaint response or set out what it would do to prevent similar delays in the future. The resident experienced inconvenience of a delayed complaint response without appropriate recognition or learning from the landlord. It also failed to manage the resident’s complaint in line with its own policy, which was inappropriate.
30. Overall, the landlord did not follow its own policy in handling the residents’ complaint at stage 1 or 2. Its failings amount to maladministration. This Service’s remedies guidance (published on our website) sets out our approach to compensation and suggests that an award of £100 for failings where maladministration has been found.

Determination

31. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in relation to the landlord’s handling of a recurring roof leak and its repair and replacement.
32. In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

33. Within 4 weeks, the landlord must:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Pay the resident £850 compensation comprised of:
       1. £400 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the excessive delays in completing the repair and replacement works.
       2. £350 for the time and trouble to the resident.
       3. £100 for the recognition of the time, trouble, and inconvenience caused by errors in its complaint handling.
       4. The landlord may deduct from this total any compensation it has already paid in relation to this complaint.
    3. Provide evidence of the above payments to the Ombudsman.
    4. Signpost the resident to the landlord’s insurance provider and provide information on how to make a claim for damage caused to her property, should the resident wish to.
    5. Contact the resident to provide an update on the roof replacement, it should agree a time frame with the resident and provide her with updates until the work is completed.

Recommendations

34. The landlord to review the complaint handling failures identified in this report and ensure it takes measures to prevent this happening in the future.
35. The landlord to provide additional training to relevant staff about its repair responsibilities to leaseholders.