Waltham Forest Council (202312872)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202312872

Waltham Forest Council

24 September 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of multiple repairs to her property.
The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The landlord is a local council. This is a 2 bed semi– detached house, and the resident has a physical disability and other vulnerabilities noted on file.
The resident reported various repairs to the landlord on 21 April 2022. This Service has not had sight of the full repair logs, but the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response acknowledges the repairs were reported on this date. She reported the following:
1. A faulty staircase in her house.
2. A concrete post which was unstable since storm damage the previous year.
3. A tree growing from a drainpipe in her garden.
4. A faulty sink unit.
5. Plug sockets in two rooms with exposed wires.
6. Her request to have a security light fitted outside, due to her disabilities.
7. Damp to the bedroom walls.
8. A cracked doorframe caused by the landlord’s contractor installing a faulty lock.
The resident submitted a stage 1 complaint to the landlord on 7 April 2023. She said she had been contacting the landlord and its contractors for 2 months, following a visit from the landlord at that time to look at the repairs.
The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on 20 April 2023. It acknowledged that the resident had logged the above repairs on 21 April 2022. It upheld the complaint and apologised for the delays. It arranged for a surveyor to visit the resident’s property the following day to take photographs of all the necessary repairs and schedule them promptly. It also agreed to consider installing a security light, although it could find no record of her request on its system.
On 25 April 2023, the resident emailed the landlord’s complaints team to state that she suffered from physical and cognitive health issues and that the delays had significantly impacted her. She asked for compensation, which the landlord agreed to. It offered the resident £150.00 for time, trouble, and delays, which the resident accepted on 28 April 2023.
On 3 May 2023, the resident emailed the landlord’s complaints team to ask when the works would begin. The landlord responded on the same day to say it had chased its contractors and works should be arranged with the resident by 5 May 2023. It also told the resident that it had instructed its colleagues to pay the £150 compensation and to let it know if this was not in the resident’s bank account within 10 days.
On 4 May 2023, the landlord raised an order to check the ducting in all ceilings and floors and to check the fascia boards as it needed to install vents there.
The resident emailed the landlord on 10 May 2023 to say that an electrical contractor had attended her property that day. He was booked in to do both the sockets and the external security light, but initially refused to do the security light. He then stated he was unwell and that the area needed trunking, so the security light works would have to be rebooked. The landlord apologised to the resident and advised that it would check that the security light works had been rescheduled at the next weekly meeting with the contractor.
The resident chased all works and her compensation payment on 22 May 2023. There were various emails between the resident and the landlord from this date until 25 May 2023. The landlord told the resident that there was a delay to booking works, such as fitting the vents, as it may have been waiting for an asbestos test, prior to completing the works. It told the resident that no asbestos had been found. It apologised and said that some works had been subcontracted, so it should have given the resident a later deadline for them. It also said it would chase the compensation payment.
The resident submitted a stage 2 complaint on 14 June 2023, via email to the complaints team. She said she was dissatisfied that no further appointments had been scheduled in relation to works at her property.
The landlord chased its repairs team on 16 June 2023. It asked for the following repairs to be scheduled as soon as possible:
1. Removal of tree roots from the drain, adjacent to the property.
2. Removal and replacement of 3 square metres of concrete outside the back door (trip hazard).
3. Replace mastic seal behind the kitchen sink.
4. Ease and adjust taps on the kitchen sink, to include new washers.
5. Replace a rotten back board in the cupboard under the kitchen sink.
6. Replace plastic trim to the right-hand side of the front door and replace the door handle with the correct handle.
7. Replace a section of the windowsill in the living room.
8. Replace treads 4, 5 and 6 from the top of the staircase.
9. Remove and replace sealant to ceiling line in the whole bathroom.
10. Fix 3 vents to the fascia boards at the front and rear of the property.
The landlord emailed the resident on 17 June 2023 to let her know that the contractor had booked these works in for 30 August 2023. It apologised for the “ongoing disruption” and offered a central point of contact for her to liaise with. The resident stated she was unhappy with the delay as she had been waiting for works to be completed since April 2022.
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s stage 2 complaint on 20 June 2023. It also told the resident that it would request an urgent update on works when it met with its contractor the following day.
The landlord chased its contractor on 6 and 7 July 2023. The contractor advised that it would attend on 11 July 2023 to “measure up” and once it had done this, it would issue a variation order (due to the scope and cost of the works). Once the landlord agreed this, then a date would be booked in.
The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 2 complaint on 7 July 2023. It said it had agreed to carry out the stage 2 investigation, despite the fact that the resident had escalated her complaint outside the 28-day time frame to request escalation, as per its policy. It said the following:
1. It had acknowledged the delays and apologised in its stage 1 complaint response.
2. Its surveyor had raised work orders for all the works needed. It had also identified further improvement works which the resident had not complained about. The works were raised with its contractor as a formal work order on 4 May 2023.
3. The resident had advised the landlord of personal health issues and circumstances and accepted £150 compensation on 28 April 2023. It would offer no further compensation as it viewed the resident’s acceptance as a “full and final settlement of a historic issue.”
4. Works are prioritised, planned and scheduled on relative urgency. Most of the works raised by the resident were classed as non-urgent repairs of a relatively minor nature.
5. Works had been sub-contracted out and contractors would attend on 11 July 2023 to measure for works. Following this, a variation order would be issued for the landlord to authorise. Works would then commence shortly afterwards.
6. The landlord should have done more to track progress of the works with its contractors and subcontractors. It should have communicated clearly with the resident and should not have delayed the compensation.
7. It had now rescheduled the works to be completed and was actively monitoring these at a senior level.
8. The complaint was partly upheld. It apologised further and believed this was sufficient remedy. It would also make recommendations for service improvements.
9. It would review its compensation processing to prevent future payment delays, and it would highlight the importance of scheduling and notifying residents of appointments in a timely manner .

Post Internal Complaints Procedure

The resident approached this Service on 10 July 2023. As an outcome to her complaint, she wanted the works to be completed and compensation for the delays, distress and inconvenience and time and trouble experienced.
The landlord’s contractor measured up for works on 11 January 2023 and the landlord accepted the variation order on 14 July 2023.
Some of the works were completed on 24 August 2023. The resident advises that the landlord did not remove the tree root from the drain and simply trimmed the tree.
The resident submitted a new stage 1 complaint to the landlord in September 2023, as she stated the stairs had become more dangerous since they were repaired.
The stairs, kitchen sink and taps were replaced on 1 December 2023.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

The resident has advised that the handling of this matter by the landlord has led to a deterioration in her health. The Ombudsman cannot draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is outside our jurisdiction, but consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience that may have been caused to the resident.

Landlord Obligations, policies and procedures

The landlord’s repairs policy complies with Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant act 1985, and the Equality Act 2010, amongst other relevant legislation.
It is responsible for the structure of the building, as well as walls, floors and ceilings, window frames and external doors, sinks and water pipes, light fittings, sockets and wiring, and damp and mould prevention and treatment.
It operates a tiered appointment system for repairs:
1. Emergency repairs will be attended to within 24 hours (faults or disrepair which constitute a safety hazard or make the property uninhabitable, such as fire, flood or gas escape).
2. Urgent Repairs will be attended to within 5 calendar days (faulty electrical systems, leaking pipes, partial loss of water).
3. Routine repairs will be attended to within 3 and 45 calendar days as follows:
  1. 3 days for repairs to mechanical and electrical services, heating and hot water.
  2. 21 days for works to ‘address any minor barriers to the normal habitability of the dwelling’ or works requiring specialist materials or subcontractors.
  3. 45 days for works costing more than allocated budgets that cannot realistically be delivered within 21 days, due to their nature or complexity. This includes any works that are unplanned capital works and not day to day repairs, including damp works or roofing.
The policy states that extra consideration may be given to vulnerable residents or residents with disabilities.
It goes on to say that residents will be given a range of appointments and will be kept informed on the programme of works. It will send its surveyor to visit where it is not possible to identify a repair problem so that it can fully identify the scope of the works required.
The landlord’s complaints policy states that under the Equality Act 2010, it has a duty to adapt normal policies, procedures or processes to accommodate an individual’s needs. This includes making reasonable adjustments requested by residents when dealing with complaints.
The landlord’s compensation policy states that it offers both financial and non-financial redress to remedy a complaint. It offers up to £1000 for distress and inconvenience where the distress was prolonged. It offers between £100 and £300 for time and trouble in pursuing a complaint.
The policy says that unnecessary terms such as “full and final settlement” should not be used when awarding compensation, as there should be no conditions attached to the payment.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of multiple repairs to the property

Good record keeping is a prerequisite to providing a good housing management service. The landlord has provided this Service with repair reports from September 2022 onwards. Although it acknowledged in its stage 1 response that the resident reported these repairs in April 2022, there is no evidence of this in any of the repair records the landlord has sent this Service. This is a failing on the part of the landlord, as it would be difficult to monitor the progress of repairs without a record of these.
It was not appropriate that the landlord did not address the resident’s repairs until over a year after she reported them. This is a failing and caused the resident significant adverse effect in terms of enjoyment of her home, time and trouble in pursuing the issues and distress and inconvenience. In fact, most of the repairs were not completed until after the conclusion of the landlord’s internal complaints process and this further impacted on the resident and on the resident/landlord relationship.
The delays are contrary to the landlord’s repairs policy which states that all repairs should be completed within 45 days. This Service would have expected the landlord to carry out repairs to the sink, front door and concrete post within 21 days, as per the landlord’s policy. It was not appropriate that the resident experienced a delay of over a year. This caused her distress and inconvenience and impacted on the enjoyment of her home.
In respect of damp works and the faulty staircase, although this Service understands that major works take time to approve and organise, had the landlord started addressing the repairs in April 2022, when they were first reported, this Service would have expected all repairs to be completed within 45 days of the resident raising them with the landlord.
Further, this Service would have expected the landlord to attend to the faulty sockets within 3 to 5 calendar days as these could constitute a safety hazard and severely impacted the resident and her household. It is not reasonable that the landlord only resolved this repair after the resident submitted a complaint, nearly one year after she reported the issue.
Additionally, the landlord was aware of the resident’s disabilities and there is no evidence that it attempted to repair the staircase, which the resident described as “dangerous” until after she submitted her complaint. This is contrary to its repairs policy, which states that extra consideration may be given to residents with disabilities. This caused the resident significant adverse effect in terms of enjoyment of her home as well as distress and inconvenience and impacted on the trust between the landlord and the resident.
The Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) classes damp and mould as a category one hazard. This Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould, published in October 2021, states that landlords should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould interventions. It further states that landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould should reflect the urgency of the issues.
The landlord did not start to address the damp works to the resident’s bedroom until May 2023, and this is an unreasonable delay. Although works were requested shortly after the resident’s complaint, had these been addressed when the resident first reported the issue in April 2022, this would have saved her time and trouble, and distress and inconvenience in pursuing the issue. The delay also had a significant impact on the enjoyment of her home.
Additionally, the resident reports that although most of the works were completed post the complaint, the landlord did not remove the tree roots from the drain and only trimmed the tree, so the issue continues.
Due to the lengthy delays between reporting the repairs, and the works being carried out and subsequent adverse effect on the resident, a finding of maladministration is made, along with orders for redress. This Service has made a finding of maladministration, rather than the more serious severe maladministration, as the landlord has now completed most of the works and did take some steps to remedy the issue during its internal complaints process.

The landlord’s complaint handling

It was not appropriate that in its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord referred to most of the repairs as of “a relatively minor nature”. The resident suffered from disabilities and waited over a year for the repairs to be completed. The landlord’s response was not empathetic to the resident’s situation. It was not resident focussed and caused the resident additional distress. Some of the repairs were faulty treads on her staircase, which should have been resolved in a reasonable time scale. Further, the faulty sockets could have posed a danger to the resident’s health and should have been repaired within the landlord’s specified time scales. Additionally, damp and mould are considered as category 1 hazards. The landlord’s stage 2 response did not consider the seriousness of some of the repairs, and this is a significant failing. It did not consider the resident’s disabilities, which is contrary to its policy and caused the resident further distress and frustration. This also impacted on the landlord/resident relationship.
It was not appropriate that the landlord refused to award the resident further compensation in its stage 2 complaint response. The resident had waited a further 2 months for any further progress on most of her works and this would have caused her additional distress and frustration and time and trouble in pursuing the substantive issue. The resident initially reported the repairs in April 2022, so the resident had suffered a delay of over 12 months, causing significant adverse effect, which impacted on the enjoyment of her home. The landlord’s compensation policy allows for a payment of up to £1,000 where there have been significant delays. The landlord failed to act within its own policy and did not take this time into account when refusing further compensation.
Further, the landlord stated that the £150 compensation was a “full and final settlement” in respect of redress. This is contrary to its policy, which states that this term should not be used, and that there should be no conditions attached to the payment. This would have caused the resident distress and frustration and implied that the resident could not pursue the matter should she wish to do so. This is a further failing on the part of the landlord.
Due to the above, a finding of maladministration is made, along with orders for redress.

Determination

In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of multiple repairs to her property.
In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Apologise in writing to the resident for the failings identified in this report.
2. Arrange for a suitably qualified person to assess the tree roots growth in the resident’s drain and provide a timeline for works.
3. Pay the resident £1200 for the following (this is in addition to what it has already offered) :
  1. £900 for time, trouble, distress and inconvenience in pursuing the multiple repair issues.
  2. £300 for the complaint handling failures identified in this case.
4. Review its actions in respect of its repairs policy and procedure, to ensure that repairs are logged and addressed within its published timescales.
5. Review the complaint handling failures identified in this case and provide an action plan to determine what action has been or will be taken to prevent a recurrence of these.
The landlord should provide this Service with evidence of compliance with the above orders.