Leeds City Council (202114847)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202114847

Leeds City Council

27 March 2023

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:
   1. the resident’s report of a bedbug infestation;
   2. repair requests made by the resident.
2. The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling as part of this assessment.

Background and summary of events

Background

3. The resident moved into the property on 17 November 2020 under an Introductory Tenancy, which became a Secure Tenancy in November 2021.
4. The property is a two bedroom house, which underwent a voids survey on 16 October 2020, before the resident moved in. The survey noted there was no need for any specialist treatments.

Policies & Procedures

5. The landlord’s policy on pest control for its residents states that the resident is responsible for informing the landlord of any infestation so it can assess the cause and give appropriate advice. The resident is also responsible for treating and paying for infestations by common household pests in their own property, including bed bugs. The policy goes on to say that the landlord is responsible for arranging and paying for the treatment of bed bugs in communal and individual properties that share communal areas, where there is a risk that it spreads to other properties.
6. Under the policy on pest control, where responsibility lies with the resident for treating pests, the landlord is not responsible for damage caused by pests to a resident’s belongings. The landlord will give residents initial guidance on how to deal with the problem, and advise them that they are expected to take appropriate action to treat the pests at their own cost. The landlord can also offer a service to treat the pests.
7. Under the landlord’s Repairs Policy, there are three categories of repair. In the case of emergency repairs, the landlord will attend to these within 24 hours. Depending on the work required for priority repairs, the timescales for these are either three or seven working days respectively. Lastly, the landlord aims to complete works under the general repairs category within 20 working days.
8. The landlord operates a two stage complaints process, whereby both stage one and stage two complaints should be responded to within 15 working days.

Summary of events

9. On 24 November 2020, the landlord raised a job to fix the tread to the resident’s staircase, which had split. The Repairs team came to complete the repair on the same day.
10. On 12 April 2021, the resident contacted the landlord to report a bed bug infestation.
11. The landlord carried out a pest control visit on 13 April 2021 and reported that it had found bed bugs in one bedroom. It carried out a full spray treatment on the affected room and arranged a follow-up appointment with the resident for 20 April 2021.
12. The resident sent an email to the landlord on 17 April 2021, to say the previous tenants had left bed bugs in the property but that she had only just noticed them. She stated she had called the Pest Control team, who attended to carry out a treatment but that the contractor had not realised the extent of the infestation. She added that she would have to replace the bed. The resident told the landlord she was struggling to pay for the treatments, that the situation was causing severe anxiety and that her family had resorted to sleeping in their living room.
13. The resident contacted the landlord again, on 19 April 2021, with the same concerns she had raised in her email of 17 April.
14. While the landlord attended for a second pest control visit, on 20 April 2021, the contractors found bed bugs in the same bedroom only. It carried out a further spray treatment and, on 27 April 2021, it attended for a third time and reported that the resident had removed and burnt the furniture from the bedroom and had carried out a steam clean. The landlord recorded the infestation as cleared and duly closed down the job.
15. The resident contacted the landlord on 18 August 2021 regarding an ongoing issue with bed bugs. She said she had not been told about them before moving into the property and had had to pay for three treatments, costing £60 each, as well as for a new bed. The resident stated the infestation was worse than ever but that she could not pay for further treatments due to financial hardship. She wanted to know if there was any support available to pay for pest control treatments.
16. The resident also made contact on 18 August 2021 to report that her windows were insecure. The landlord’s Repairs team attended the same day to fix the windows and, at the same time, it raised a job to fix a broken extractor fan.
17. On 19 August 2021, the resident sent a stage one complaint and this stated the following:
    1. She listed several repairs that were needed when she moved into the property and said that some of these were only being addressed from 18 August 2021.
    2. The main issue was the bed bug infestation that she stated was left from the previous tenants. She said that, when the residents viewed the property, they noticed a burnt mattress in the garden.
    3. The resident had discovered, on 12 April 2021, that the bedroom was infested with bed bugs. She had to pay for three treatments and buy a new bed at a cost of £1052.20.
    4. She had sent a formal complaint to the landlord on 17 April 2021 but had still not heard back about this.
    5. The resident noticed, on 18 August 2021, that her new bed was reinfested with bed bugs and said the landlord advised she would have to pay for further treatments, which she could not afford.
    6. She believed the inspection that was undertaken before she moved in had not been not good enough and that this amounted to negligence.
    7. The resident described the impact the infestation was having on her family and requested to be transferred to another property as soon as possible.
18. On 9 September 2021, the landlord sent its stage one response, which stated the following:
    1. It agreed it would pay for the cost of treating the reinfestation and confirmed a visit had been booked for 13 September 2021.
    2. The Pest Control team advised it would maintain treatment until there was no further evidence of bed bugs in the property.
    3. Although bed bug infestations were hard to treat and the treatment was not guaranteed, the landlord would do all it could to resolve the problem.
    4. The landlord confirmed that, following the treatment, it would arrange for a technical officer to carry out a survey to identify any outstanding repairs.
    5. The landlord confirmed that it would not be able to accommodate the resident’s transfer request but did not provide a specific reason. It advised that she could either bid for alternative properties on the housing register or explore the possibility of a mutual exchange.
19. On 13 September 2021, a further pest control visit confirmed that only one bedroom was affected and the contractor carried out a full spray treatment.
20. On 15 September 2021, the resident sent the landlord her stage two complaint, which stated the following:
    1. The resident disagreed with the landlord’s view that it was not at fault;
    2. That she had complained many times and was still waiting for outstanding repairs to be completed.
    3. The resident had signed up for a mutual exchange but that this was not currently running due to Covid.
    4. That despite the Pest Control team stating it would continue treatment until there was no sign of bed bugs, the property had still been reinfested following the previous treatment.
    5. That the resident could not use the other bedroom because she did not know whether it was infested too, and the whole family was sleeping in the living room.
    6. The resident’s partner suffered from back problems that were made worse by having to sleep in the living room.
    7. The resident would be contacting the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and, if she did not get a satisfactory response from the landlord, she would approach the Ombudsman.
21. On 19 September 2021, the landlord completed a repair to fix a gap between brickwork that had been raised on 18 August 2021.
22. The landlord made another pest control visit to the property on 24 September 2021 and reported that the infestation had been cleared.
23. On 27 September 2021, the landlord sent the resident its stage two response, which stated the following:
    1. The landlord confirmed that any repairs that the resident had reported had been attended to and advised her to contact it if she had any further repairs to report.
    2. That all its properties go through a voids process, where work is undertaken to bring them up to a lettable standard. The landlord noted that the resident had viewed the property before she signed the tenancy agreement.
    3. That landlord confirmed it had carried out pest control treatments on 13, 20 and 27 April 2021, and then on 13 September 2021 in response to the second infestation. It said that bed bugs were difficult to eradicate, treatments were not 100% guaranteed and that they can be transported unknowingly by someone going into their home.

d. It assured the resident that, if bed bugs were detected again within 28 days of the treatment, it would return to retreat the property without charge.

5. If the resident wanted to change her housing register banding, she would have to speak to the council’s Housing Options team.
6. The landlord stated it was doing all it could to resolve the issue and had paid its contractor twice to carry out bed bug treatments.

24. The landlord wrote to the resident on 29 October 2021 to advise that the family could move back into the bedroom, following the pest contractor’s professional advice that the infestation had been cleared.
25. On 30 October 2021, the resident wrote to this Service and stated she felt her property was uninhabitable due to a bed bug infestation. She confirmed the infestation had been treated twice but that the method the landlord had used did not address the issue. She said she could not continue to pay for treatments, and her family could not continue to live in just one room. She wanted the landlord to give her a priority banding on the housing register so she could move out as soon as possible, and to pay compensation of £2,290.40 for loss of possessions and time off work.
26. On 11 November 2021, the landlord attended to a job raised on 4 November to re-secure two fence posts and install a wooden gate to the front of the house.
27. The resident contacted the landlord on 16 December 2021 to inform it that, although she had not seen any signs of bed bugs, the family was still sleeping in the living room. The resident stated that she was very worried about moving back into the bedroom in case this drew the bed bugs out into other rooms. The landlord told her there may not be any bed bugs present and reiterated its advice of 29 October to move back into the bedrooms, following confirmation the infestation had been cleared.
28. The landlord completed work to repair the broken extractor fan on 10 January 2022.

Assessment and findings

Response to the resident’s reports of bed bugs

29. The Ombudsman has noted and wishes to acknowledge that the resident and her family has suffered considerable distress as a result of the bed bug infestation. The Ombudsman recognises how upsetting it must have been to be uncomfortable in one’s own home. It is also clear that the resident was looking after a very young child at the time and living with a partner whom she reported to be living with health issues.
30. However difficult a resident’s circumstances are, there is no absolute requirement or expectation that a landlord can address all of a resident’s difficulties. In such cases, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider the response by the landlord to a resident’s reports, whether it complied with its policies, current legislation and good practice, and whether its approach and actions were reasonable in the circumstances.
31. While there is dispute over when the property may have been infested, it was accepted that there was a bed bug infestation and that the landlord took responsibility for treating it. The resident claimed a number of times that there were bed bugs in the property before she moved in, but there is no evidence to corroborate this. Although she notes that she had noticed a burnt mattress in the garden when she viewed the property, this alone does not provide definitive proof of an infestation. The voids survey carried out on 16 October 2020 did not identify any pest activity, or the need for any specialist treatments. In addition, the record of the new home telephone contact the landlord made with the resident, which took place some three weeks after she moved in, on 4 December 2020, gives no indication bed bugs were mentioned during the telephone conversation.
32. As per the landlord’s pest control policy, residents are responsible for informing the landlord of any pest infestation. The resident first reported bed bugs on 12 April 2021, which was five months after the family moved into the house. Therefore, the landlord could not have had any knowledge that there had been an infestation prior to this.
33. The evidence shows that the landlord was customer focused in responding promptly to the resident’s reports. It instructed a contractor to carry out infestation treatment as soon as the problem had been reported, and the contractor attended the following day. There were further treatments on 20 and 27 April 2021, when the contractor advised the landlord it had cleared the infestation. The landlord was entitled to rely on the contractor’s advice that the treatment had been successful.
34. It is not clear why there was a reinfestation of bed bugs in the property four months after the initial treatment. The council’s information leaflet on bed bugs does state that, “they are notoriously difficult insects to eradicate” and it goes on to say, “treatments are extremely difficult and even professionals can struggle to control the problem completely”. The landlord was again pro-active in arranging further pest control visits, which started around three weeks following the resident’s report of the reinfestation. Although it was the resident’s responsibility to meet the cost of those treatments, it was commendable that the landlord exercised its discretion and paid for the following two treatments, on 13 and 24 September 2021, in recognition of the financial hardship the resident reported she was experiencing.
35. With regard to the resident’s request for a property transfer, due to the bed bugs, the evidence shows that the infestation reported in August 2021 was, in the contractor’s opinion, cleared. As previously stated, the landlord was, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, correct to rely on the advice of the relevant pest control experts. For this reason, there is no reason to suggest the landlord’s advice to the resident to move back into the bedrooms was unsound. In addition, the Ombudsman believes the landlord’s decision to not grant a property transfer was reasonable as there was no evidence the property was uninhabitable. It was good practice however that the landlord gave information on how to apply for alternative housing, as it was aware the resident wanted to move.
36. There is no evidence to suggest the landlord was responsible for the bed bug infestation, or that it had any prior knowledge that the property contained bed bugs before the resident reported them in April 2021. The landlord correctly followed its pest control policy, it acted promptly to provide the resident with a pest control service and it met the cost of treating the reinfestation as a goodwill gesture, and to support the resident who was struggling to meet the cost of the treatments. In addition, the policy states that the landlord is not responsible for damage caused by pests to tenant’s belongings. The Ombudsman understands the additional distress and financial burden of having to replace one’s possessions in order to help eradicate a pest infestation. This would have been particularly harrowing at a time when the resident was facing financial hardship. However, we have not found any fault in the landlord’s handling of both the initial infestation in April 2021 and the reinfestation in August 2021. For this reason, the landlord’s decision to not reimburse the resident for damage to personal items was reasonable, as it demonstrated that it had taken all reasonable steps to address and eradicate the bed bugs.

Response to repair requests

37. There is evidence that five repair jobs were raised since the resident moved into the property. Two of the jobs; a staircase repair and a window repair, were completed on the day they were raised. A repair to fence posts and installation of a front garden gate was completed six days after this was raised. The landlord had also raised a job to repair a gap between brickwork, which would have been deemed a general repair, and this was completed one day outside the 20 working day timescale in the landlord’s Repairs Policy. However, the repair to fix a broken extractor fan, which was raised on 18 August 2021, was not completed until 10 January 2022. This represents a delay of around four months, and is significantly outside the timescales as set out in the landlord’s policy.
38. In addition to the delay, there is no evidence the landlord acknowledged or apologised to the resident for this and there is no explanation of why this work took so long to complete. It should be noted that, overall, the landlord appeared to have responded well to the resident’s repair requests. However, in the case of the extractor fan, although it is understandable that a large backlog of works may have built up due to Covid restrictions, the time taken to complete the repair was protracted, and the landlord did not update the resident. This therefore amounted to a service failure.

Complaint handling

39. In her stage one complaint, the resident stated that she had raised a formal complaint, both in writing, on 17 April 2021 and verbally, on 19 April 2021. Although the landlord’s records show it had received those contacts, it is clear they related to the resident’s concerns about how the bed bugs were affecting her and her family rather than the way the landlord was responding to the infestation. The landlord is therefore not at fault for handling these contacts as service requests rather than a formal complaint, which is particularly understandable considering the landlord was in the process of treating the infestation at the time. This is not in any way to suggest the resident’s concerns should not have been properly considered. However, it was correct that the landlord sought to resolve the situation in what it felt was the most appropriate way, which was to continue to treat the infestation. However, it is not clear whether the landlord had either written or called the resident back following those contacts, or properly explained how it was dealing with them.
40. The landlord should have explained to the resident that it was dealing with her concerns as a service request rather than a formal complaint, in order to avoid any confusion. Better communication on the landlord’s part would have avoided any doubt on the resident’s part about whether her concerns had been acknowledged. Whilst we have not made a finding in respect of the complaint handling, we have made a recommendation to the landlord to help it improve future service

Determination (decision)

41. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the way the landlord responded to the resident’s reports of a bedbug infestation.
42. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the way the landlord responded to the resident’s repair requests.
43. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the way the landlord handled the resident’s complaint.

Reasons

44. The landlord dealt appropriately with the resident’s reports of a bed bug infestation. It responded promptly by sending its contractor to treat the infestation the day after it was reported and met the cost of additional treatments when the resident reported a further infestation.
45. While the landlord did respond to most of the resident’s repair requests within its service standards, it is unsatisfactory that it significantly delayed in completing the repair to fix the extractor fan without acknowledging, explaining or apologising to the resident.
46. The landlord correctly handled the resident’s stage one and stage two complaints by responding within its timescales. However, it could have been clearer with the resident when she contacted it on 17 and 19 April 2021, and explained that it had dealt with those contacts of as a service request rather than a formal complaint.

Orders

47. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £50, within four weeks of the date of this determination, in recognition of the long delay in repairing the resident’s extractor fan.

Recommendations

48. The landlord to refer to the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code to ensure it communicates properly to residents at the outset about how it proposes to deal with their concerns. This is in order to avoid any confusion over whether contacts from residents are being handled as complaints or service requests.