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Stevenage Borough Council (202233497)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202233497

Stevenage Borough Council

8 July 2024


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
  • The resident’s reports of reoccurring leaks from the neighbouring property.
  • The resident’s complaint, and offer of compensation.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress, following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The complaint referred to this Service was about the landlord’s handling of reoccurring leaks from the neighbouring property, the handling of the complaint and the offer of compensation made by the landlord in their final response.
  2. The landlord issued a stage one response on 1 February 2023. In their response they acknowledged that they attended eight times to investigate the leak between the period of 2009 and 2022, each time it was reported that no evidence of a leak was found. They confirmed that the leak was identified during the visit on 30 December 2022 after the plumber checked under the bath and found a defective waste component. They apologised for the time it took to resolve the issue. As the resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s initial response, the complaint was escalated to stage two.
  3. The landlord issued a stage two response on 10 March 2023. In their response they confirmed that it was established that the source of the leak was from the council property of which is in their stock portfolio. The landlord confirmed that a inspection was carried out on 7 and 8 March 2023 which confirmed that the properties were safe with no visible issues. The landlord considered the resident’s request for compensation, and offered £250 for the inconvenience caused by the leaks. They also gave information to the resident about how to make a claim against the landlord’s insurance.
  4. The case was transferred to the Triage and Mediation Team, and allocated to a Dispute Examiner on 15 January 2024. The case was initially accepted for investigation and correspondence was sent to the landlord on 18 January 2024, asking that they provide information relevant to the complaint.
  5. The landlord contacted this Service on 1 February 2024 asking if it would be possible for the case to be considered for mediation. They reconfirmed that there are no outstanding issues, and the only matter that remains unresolved is compensation. They advised that they had made a previous offer of £250 however acknowledge that the resident had not accepted this. They explained that they would like to discuss with the resident the level of compensation that they feel would be acceptable, with a view to resolving this to their satisfaction and negating the need for a formal investigation.
  6. Following the landlord’s contact, this Service contacted the resident’s representative on 29 May 2024. They confirmed that they would be happy to enter into negotiations with the landlord.
  7. The landlord contacted this Service on 7 June 2024, they advised that the resident would accept no less than £5000 to bring the matter to a full and final conclusion of which they have agreed to award. This takes into account the length of time it took to resolve issues, repeated visits, the upset caused by the water ingress and the damage caused to their belongings such as a fridge/freezer, washing machine and flooring.
  8. On 13 June 2024, this Service contacted the resident’s representative to discuss the recent correspondence from the landlord. They confirmed that the case had now been resolved following the revised offer of compensation of £5000. They also explained that the landlord had agreed to carry out a further visit to ensure that all matters relating to the leak have been resolved. The resident’s representative was extremely grateful for our invention and said that they wouldn’t have got the result they wanted without this Service’s intervention.
  9. Paragraph 53 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:

“The member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily”.

  1. I am therefore satisfied that steps have been taken to remedy the matters raised by the resident which resolves the complaint satisfactorily.