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Stonewater Limited (202329579)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202329579

Stonewater Limited

30 July 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s:
    1. Reports of wasp nests in the loft.
    2. Associated formal complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a 3-bedroom house and the tenancy commenced in 2021. The resident and her 2 children have vulnerabilities which the landlord is aware of.

Summary of Events

  1. The resident contacted the landlord on 27 September 2023 stating that a few years ago she reported a wasp nest between her and her neighbour’s property. Wasps were now increasingly appearing within her property and her child had reactions to wasp stings and additional needs, which the resident did not consider were being taken seriously by the landlord. In response, the landlord raised a work order with its contractor to address the wasp nests, with a target timescale of 7 days.
  2. On 9 October 2023 the resident complained that she had not been contacted by the contractor (and raised separate concerns around service charges and ground maintenance). She repeated her complaint on 13 October 2023 and the landlord acknowledged this on 16 October 2023. Following the resident’s subsequent request to escalate the complaint due to a lack of response, the landlord issued its stage 1 response on 27 October 2023. Within it, the landlord focused on the service charge and ground maintenance issues and did not address the complaint about the wasp nests.
  3. The resident escalated her concerns on 30 October 2023, reporting that no one had attended to the wasp nests and repeating her concerns about her child’s vulnerability. This was acknowledged on 7 November 2023.
  4. On 9 November 2023 the landlord contacted the resident to check on the status of the wasp nest, and found that this was still outstanding. Work was then raised again, and the contractor attended on 10 November 2023 to treat the nests and leave for 48 hours. The contractor was scheduled to visit again on 14 November 2023 to remove the nests but did not, noting the restrictive size of the loft hatch. The resident chased the landlord, which once again raised the outstanding work with the contractor. 
  5. In the landlord’s stage 2 response of 20 November 2023, it detailed the events from September to November 2023 and advised that, on 14 November 2023, pest control had removed the wasp nests, cleaned the loft and blocked possible entry points. It acknowledged that there had been delays and communication failings and offered £150 compensation (£75 for delays and £75 for inconvenience) which has been paid. 
  6. Between December 2023 and January 2024 the resident continued to inform the landlord that, while the nests had been treated, they had not yet been removed, contrary to the stage 2 response.
  7. On 1 April 2024 the resident raised a new complaint about the unresolved wasp nests (and separate concerns around damp and mould). The landlord raised the work to remove the wasp nest again on 15 April 2024 and this was ultimately completed on 19 April 2024. On 23 April 2024 work was carried out to block 2 large gaps in the roof, where beams met, and a recommendation made that these should be proofed to reduce the risk of reinfestation.
  8. In the landlord’s new stage 1 response dated 3 May 2024 it acknowledged that it had failed to raise an order for the nests to be removed in November 2023 and offered £400 compensation (£25 for failure to raise a new works order for the nest removal; £25 for pest control failing to attend to remove the nest; and £350 for time, trouble and inconvenience for this and the damp and mould issue). This was in addition to the £150 compensation it offered in November 2023.
  9. The landlord subsequently undertook a compensation review later in May 2024 and offered £475 compensation to the resident for its response to the reports about the wasp nests. It explained that it failed to offer a decant while wasps were entering the resident’s home and had not appropriately considered the resident’s daughter’s allergy. It stated that it was adapting its policy for dealing with different pest scenarios and training staff to proactively support reasonable adjustments for customers.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. As noted above, the resident has raised concerns about damp and mould in her more recent complaint, but this did not form part of the complaint under investigation here. The more recent complaint correspondence is referenced only in so far as it relates to the matters raised under the original complaint (being the wasp nests).
  2. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the damp and mould issues, she should take her complaint through the complaints process and then contact the Ombudsman (reflected at paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme). This would then be dealt with as a new case under a separate case reference.
  3. The resident submits that she first reported wasp nests in her loft shortly after she moved to the property in 2021. However, there is no evidence of a formal complaint being made on the issue until October 2023. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints promptly, so that the landlord has the opportunity to investigate the issues whilst they are still ‘live’ (reflected at paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme). Therefore, this investigation is focused on events from 2023 onwards.
  4. The resident’s new complaint of April 2024 has not exhausted the landlord’s complaint process. However, the original associated complaint has exhausted the landlord’s complaint process, and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the landlord has confirmed its final position with its compensation offer in May 2024 for its failures in respect of the wasp nests. On that basis, this investigation has taken account of the reviewed compensation of May 2024.

The landlord’s response to the reports of wasp nests in the loft

  1. The landlord’s guidance on Pest Control and Repairs at the time had varied positions as to its responsibility, with guidance protocols for its contractors on how to remove wasp nests, guidance that residents may engage on their own with their local authority to address such pests, and guidance stating the landlord’s overarching responsibility in respect of repairs to access points in the masonry or brickwork of the property.
  2. The resident and her household ultimately have the right to live in a safe environment which is free from hazards identified in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, including the hazard of pests presented by repair issues related to access points and harborage within the property. The landlord did not dispute its responsibility to address the wasps or to seal entry points by addressing any related repairs in the loft, which was reasonable.
  3. The Repair Guidance states that the landlord will aim to complete repairs within target timescales based on their priority and by appointment; ultimately the landlord should complete repairs within a reasonable timescale.
  4. In response to the resident’s reports of September 2023 the landlord took reasonable steps initially by raising a work order for its contractor to remove the nests within 7 days. However, the contractor failed to attend and ultimately treated the wasps approximately 6 weeks later in November 2023. This response time was unreasonable and caused extended distress and inconvenience to the household particularly given the resident’s concern for the impact on her daughter, who had allergic reactions to stings.
  5. Once treated in November 2023 the wasp nests were considered dead. However, there remained outstanding work to remove the nests and seal the entry points to prevent reinfestation in the summer.
  6. The landlord’s contractors failed to action outstanding work orders and the resident had to chase these multiple times. The landlord erroneously considered the matter resolved in its stage 2 complaint response and, despite continued reports that this was not the case by the resident, it did not complete repairs until 5 months after the treatment had been applied. This was unreasonable.
  7. The original work had a target timescale of 7 days. It is acknowledged that there were multiple stages required to address this issue in the treatment of the pests, the removal of the nests, and then the repairs to the holes. However, the overall timescales were not reasonable. Evidence suggests that work did not take place in November 2023 due to the size of the area, but the landlord also failed to keep the resident sufficiently informed of any action plans or timescales for its remedial works, after having treated the nests, which would have been appropriate.
  8. The resident experienced time and trouble in chasing the remaining repairs and removal of the nests. The Ombudsman would therefore be minded to make a finding of maladministration on that basis. However, the landlord has acknowledged its failures and demonstrated that it has taken steps to address them. This includes increasing the level of compensation for time, trouble, distress and inconvenience, and setting out its learning from the case in respect of managing pests and vulnerable households, which has been resolution focused. These actions by the landlord reflect the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: to be fair; put things right; and learn from outcomes.
  9. The landlord’s final offer of £475 compensation is in line with the level of compensation that the Ombudsman would order, for the failures identified in this report including: the failure to respond promptly and manage the repairs proactively, the failure to communicate clearly and accurately about the outstanding work, and the impact in both distress and inconvenience while the wasps were left untreated for approximately 2 months after being reported as well as time and trouble for the additional 5 months before the full remedial work was completed. 
  10. The landlord has therefore made an offer of redress to the resident prior to this  investigation which resolved the complaint satisfactorily, resulting in a finding of reasonable redress.

Complaint handling 

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out that landlords must respond to complaints within a reasonable timescale, specifically within 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2. The landlord should address all points raised in the complaint and provide clear reasons for decisions and outstanding actions should be tracked and actioned promptly.
  2. In response to the resident’s complaint of 9 October 2023 the landlord provided a stage 1 response on 27 October 2023. This was 5 working days over the target timescale and the response did not address all the points raised by the resident, so the handling of the stage 1 complaint handling was unreasonable.
  3. Following the resident’s escalation on 30 October 2023, the landlord responded at stage 2 on 20 November 2023 which was within the 20 day timescale of the Code. However, the contents of the response were not accurate as the nests had not, in fact, been removed and the necessary repairs had not been completed. This suggested that the investigation had not been thorough and left the resident feeling understandably distressed and frustrated.
  4. The resident experienced time and trouble in raising her continued dispute to the landlord, which later provided a further complaint response with the correct details and acknowledged failures. The landlord was resolution focused in putting right its errors, but it did not take into account the unnecessary time and effort which the resident experienced as a result of its complaint handling. Therefore a finding of service failure is made, and an award of £75 is made in line with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Scheme, the landlord offered redress to the resident prior to the investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily, resulting in reasonable redress.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its complaint handling.

Reasons

  1. The landlord awarded redress which was proportionate to the impact and detriment in distress and inconvenience and time and trouble in respect of its acknowledged service failure in its response to the reports of wasp nests. 
  2. The landlord’s complaint responses did not address the resident’s concerns and presented inaccurate information about the completion of repairs, resulting in unnecessary time and trouble.

Orders and recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to pay the resident £75 for time and trouble associated with the complaint handling.
  2. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is recommended to pay the £475 compensation offered in May 2024, if it has not done so already.