Applications are open to join the next Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel – find out more Housing Ombudsman Resident Panel.

The Community Housing Group Limited (202333008)

Back to Top

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202333008

Community Housing Initiative

30 June 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 internal repairs in the property.

Background

  1. In January 2023 the resident made a complaint to the landlord about a delay in fitting internal doors and a leaking pipe under the sink. He requested compensation for the cost of running an electric heater.
  2. The landlord responded at stage 1 of its internal complaints procedure on 22 February 2023. It said as follows:
    1. It had attended the day after the resident’s report about the radiators not getting hot enough. It would not offer compensation in respect of this.
    2. It had replaced the internal doors on 13 February 2023.
    3. It had resolved an issue with a pipe.
  3. The resident escalated the complaint on 24 February 2023. He said the leak under the sink had caused damp and mould. The time without internal doors had increased heating costs and impacted his son’s health.
  4. The landlord responded at stage 2 on 21 March 2023. It said as follows:
    1. After discussing matters with the resident it had arranged for repairs to be carried out between 6 and 16 March 2023. However, the resident had refused the works and requested that the landlord replace the whole kitchen.
    2. It had agreed to assess if the kitchen needed to be replaced. This assessment had determined that the kitchen did not need to be replaced for around 8 years.
    3. It asked the resident to reschedule the repairs.
    4. It offered £300 compensation as a radiator had been broken.
  5. The resident contacted us in December 2023. He said the repairs were not resolved before he moved out of the property for an unrelated reason.

Assessment and findings

  1. Paragraph 53.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states, “the Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.”

The Ombudsman’s intervention

  1. We spoke to the resident on 18 June 2025 and discussed his complaint. He said he was seeking increased compensation, from £300 to £500 due to the increased costs and effect on him by the repairs being delayed.

The landlord’s offer of redress

  1. We contacted the landlord on 18 June 2025 and provided it with a summary of our understanding of the events. This included our provisional comments as to what the landlord could do to resolve the resident’s complaint, namely increase the offer of compensation from £300 to £500.
  2. On 25 June 2025, the landlord provided us with evidence that it had acted on our provisional comments and would pay the resident a further £200 compensation. This brings the landlord’s total offer of compensation for this matter to £500.
  3. The resident has informed us that he was satisfied with this as a resolution to his complaint.
  4. We are therefore satisfied, following our intervention, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised, which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Determination

  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.

Recommendation

  1. It is recommended that the landlord make payment to the resident of £500 in total, if it has not already done so. It may deduct the sum of £300 from this amount if paid previously to the resident during its complaints process.