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The Riverside Group Limited (202325285)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202325285

The Riverside Group Limited

29 April 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 resident’s request for information about his service charge.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord at the property.
  2. In February 2023 the landlord sent the resident his annual review letter about his rent and service charge for the period of April 2023 to March 2024. On 18 August 2023 the landlord sent the resident an updated review letter stating that its original estimate for the resident’s service charge had not been correct which resulted in the resident’s weekly service charge being decreased.
  3. On 28 September 2023 the resident telephoned the landlord and raised a formal complaint about the costs in his service charge. The resident said he had paid for services that he had not received. He was also querying new charges that had been introduced for the new television aerial, lift, and signage. He said he had requested receipts and invoices but had not received any of the information he had requested from the landlord.
  4. On 29 September 2023 the landlord sent the resident his service charge demand notice for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
  5. The landlord provided its stage one complaint response on 6 October 2023. The landlord explained that there had been a large increase for gas in its 2022 expenditure, although the electricity charges were reduced in August 2023. The landlord said it would ensure its service charge costs were being allocated properly and would look into removing the charge for window cleaning services.
  6. The landlord explained that if the resident wanted it to provide invoices and receipts, then he should make his request in writing. It said the resident should state specifically what he was requesting to examine in line with Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985). The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s response and asked it to escalate his complaint on 11 October 2023.
  7. On 18 October 2022 the landlord acknowledged it had received the resident’s written Section 22 request. It confirmed the resident had asked to see the last 3 years receipts and invoices in relation to his service charges.
  8. On 18 October 2023 the landlord provided its final response to the resident’s complaint. It said it would respond to the resident’s request for information about his service charges within 1 month. It explained it was only required to provide 1 year of accounts, and that the resident could use his previous statements to review the income and expenditure relating to his service charge over a longer period.
  9. The landlord said it responded to the resident’s queries about his service charges on 18 November 2023. The landlord then said it met with the resident on 18 December 2023 and explained the service charges to him. The resident has said that he cannot recall receiving the information about his service charges or meeting with the landlord to discuss it.
  10. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to his complaint. He brought his complaint to the Ombudsman, stating his desired outcome was for the landlord to provide proof of receipts and invoices relating to his service charges for the last 8 years. He also asked the landlord to explain why it decreased his service charges by £30.62 for the period of April 2024 to March 2025.

Assessment and findings

  1. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. There are three principles driving effective dispute resolution: Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
  2. The Ombudsman must consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes.’

 

 

Scope of Investigation

  1. The Ombudsman is not able to consider complaints concerning the level of a rent or service charge, as this falls outside the jurisdiction of this service. The First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) can establish whether service charges are reasonable or payable. The Ombudsman can consider the landlord’s communication in relation to the charges and whether it responded to any questions about the service charge appropriately in line with its legal obligations, its internal policies and industry best practice.
  2. The resident told the Ombudsman that he cannot recall what communication he had with the landlord concerning his service charge before raising his complaint on 28 September 2023. We have also not been provided with any information or evidence about the resident’s contact with the landlord prior to his complaint about this issue. Therefore, we have been unable to assess the landlord’s handling of its communication with him at that time. In line with the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme), we have considered the landlord’s handling of these matters where there is information for us to assess, from the resident’s stage 1 complaint response on 6 October 2023 to the landlord’s final complaint response on 18 October 2023. We have considered the landlord’s communication with the resident in November and December 2023 as this was a follow up on the actions it said it would take in its final response.
  3. Section 42.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that we may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion were not brought to the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period which would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising. The Ombudsman has taken into consideration that the resident has requested information about his service charge dating back 7 to 8 years. We do not doubt what the resident has said However, we can only consider the period 12 months prior to the complaint and, the landlord would only be legally obliged to provide information from the previous service charge year. Therefore, in line with the Scheme, the Ombudsman has considered the landlord’s handling of the service charge queries about the year prior to October 2023 when the resident requested information about the service charge.
  4. Paragraph 42.a. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion are made prior to having exhausted a member’s [landlord’s] complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint-handling failure, and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member has not taken action within a reasonable timescale.

 

 

  1. The resident has told the Ombudsman that he submitted a Section 22 request in March 2025. He said this was about his most recent service charge period. The resident said the landlord has not responded to this request. If the resident wishes to pursue his complaint about this recent Section 22 request, he should contact the landlord to raise a new complaint. The resident may be able to refer his complaint to the Ombudsman if he remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response to the recent issues.

Policies and procedures

  1. The landlord has a 2-stage complaints process. It will acknowledge a resident’s complaint at each stage the next working day. It will then provide its written responses at stage 1 and stage 2 within 10 working days of its acknowledgement. It will provide a resident with an explanation if it requires more time to respond to a complaint, at either stage.

The resident’s request for information about his service charge.

  1. The resident’s tenancy agreement with the landlord states that it may increase or decrease the resident’s rent or service charge by giving him not less than 4 weeks’ notice in writing of the increase or decrease. The landlord shall make a reasonable charge in respect of costs, including estimated costs for the services reasonably supplied.
  2. The resident contributes towards the landlord’s costs, broadly maintenance, management, and repair, through annual service charges. The landlord states it will respond to resident’s queries abouts its service charges within the law and will meet all regulatory requirements as appropriate.
  3. On 28 September 2023 the resident raised a complaint to the landlord about costs in his service charge dating back 3 years. The resident requested to examine the landlord’s invoices and receipts for window cleaning and pest control services. He also queried a number of additional charges that had been added to his service charge statement.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response 6 working days later, on 6 October 2023. This was appropriate as it was in line with the landlord’s complaints policy which states it will provide its stage 1 written complaint response within 10 working days.
  5. The landlord said it would consider removing the charges relating to window cleaning, as this service was not being provided. The landlord explained that the resident would need to submit a Section 22 request in writing, to see its accounts. It advised the resident that his request should clearly explain what aspect of his service charges he was asking to examine.
  6. This was an appropriate response because residents are entitled, on making a written request, to a summary of the relevant costs incurred in the last accounting year or the previous 12 months. The summary should give details of all the costs incurred by the landlord for repairs and services. It should also include the total of any money received by the landlord from the residents for service charges yet to be used and information concerning any renovation grants received by the landlord.
  7. The landlord provided its final written response to the resident’s complaint on 18 October 2023. This was 5 working days after the resident requested it escalate his complaint. This was in line with the landlord’s complaints policy which states it will provide its stage 2 response within 10 working days.
  8. The landlord acknowledged it had received the resident’s Section 22 request and said it would respond within 1 month. This was appropriate because landlords should respond to Section 22 requests within 1 month of the resident’s request, or 6 months from the end of the period covered in the summary, whichever is the later date. 
  9. The landlord said it provided the information requested by the resident about his service charges on 18 November 2023. However, we have not been provided with any evidence of what the landlord sent to him. We also acknowledge that the resident has said that he does not recall receiving this information. We cannot confirm the landlord sent this information to the resident without it providing evidence that it has done so. Therefore, this is a failing and we will make an order that the landlord resends the information it said it provided to the resident in November 2023 in response to his Section 22 request. We have also taken this into consideration when assessing compensation for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s errors.
  10. The landlord told the resident that it was only required to provide 1 year of accounts. It directed the resident to review his previous years’ service charge statements in order to examine the income and expenditure for those years. This was reasonable as landlords are not legally obliged to provide accounts dating back more than 1 year in response to service charge enquiries.
  11. In the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response it accepted there were errors in its breakdown of its service charges, including that it had been charging the resident for the window cleaning service that he had not received. The resident said he had not received window cleaning or pest control services for the last 3 years. The landlord was only obliged to look back 1 year, but it would have been reasonable for it to respond to the resident’s query regarding the charge for pest control for the past year.
  12. The landlord should have then explained its findings to the resident in writing. This is evidence of poor handling of the resident’s queries about his service charge. The landlord should respond to the resident’s query regarding the pest control charge now, dating back 1 year from his initial request for information.
  13. On 18 December 2023 the landlord said it met with the resident to explain his service charges in person. The resident has told the Ombudsman that he cannot remember the events of this meeting or if it took place. He has said that he must have been dissatisfied. We have no other evidence or information about this meeting. Therefore, we are unable to assess the landlord’s communication during this meeting or confirm that it took place. It would have been helpful if the landlord had taken notes of the meeting and shared a summary of the discussion with the resident for his records. This would have enabled us to assess the meeting as part of our investigation. We recommend that the landlord provides training to staff about taking notes of such meetings going forward to prevent similar issues occurring in the future.
  14. For the reasons described above the Ombudsman makes a finding of service failure for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for information about his service charge.
  15. We have considered our own remedies guidance (published on our website) in respect of compensation. The landlord is to pay the resident £100 compensation. The remedies guidance gives examples of an award in this range where there has been a minor failure in the service provided by the landlord and its action to put things right did not fully reflect the detriment to the resident.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for information about his service charge.

Orders and Recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord is to apologise to the resident in writing. The apology is to be in line with this service’s guidance that it acknowledges the service failure and expresses a sincere regret for its handling of the resident’s request for information about his service charge.
  2. The landlord is to pay the resident £100 in recognition of its service failure for its handling of the resident’s request for information about his service charge.
  3. The landlord should resend the letter it sent to the resident on 18 November 2023, as the resident says he did not receive this.
  4. The landlord should respond in writing to the resident’s query concerning the service charge for pest control. The resident has asked for information relating to this charge dating back 3 years, but the landlord is only obliged to provide information dating back 1 year from the date of the resident’s initial request for this information in October 2023.
  5. The landlord is to share evidence with the Ombudsman confirming that it has complied with the above orders within 28 days of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should consider providing staff training to ensure it takes notes of meetings with residents and can provide evidence of these discussions to the Ombudsman upon request.