Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTV) (202207203)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202207203

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing

30 May 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 the resident’s reports about:
   1. outstanding repairs required to her taps;
   2. damp and mould in the bathroom.
2. The report will also consider the landlord’s complaints handling.

Background

3. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a house.
4. The resident has been in correspondence with the landlord since at least September 2020 regarding the condition of the property. The issues raised by the resident in this time period included the condition of the bathroom, several taps in the property not fully turning off, cracked tiles, and a faulty radiator.
5. On 5 April 2022, the resident raised a complaint about how the outstanding repairs. The complaint included:
   1. She had experienced issues with leaks and flooding in the property, which were traced to problems with the taps. A plumber undertook repairs in February 2022. However, she was still experiencing issues with turning some taps fully off and believed they needed to be replaced.
   2. She received a poor level of service from the landlord when reporting issues relating to damp and mould in the bathroom. A repair to the extractor fan had been undertaken, but this had made no difference.
   3. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested that the landlord improve its communication with her and resolve the outstanding issues.
6. The landlord’s complaint responses included:
   1. On receipt of the resident’s complaint, it arranged an inspection of the property, which took place on 28 April 2021. The inspection found that there were no issues with the condition of the taps and that the bathroom was in a reasonable and functioning condition.
   2. The resident’s complaint escalation included an additional element: to the replacement of the bathroom radiator. As this was not part of the original complaint, this issue would not be part of the stage two review.
   3. It apologised for its poor communication and the delays in providing its complaint responses. The landlord offered £100 in compensation, which it broke down as:
      1. £20 for its poor communication;
      2. £10 for the delay in providing the stage one complaint response;
      3. £20 for the delay in providing the stage two complaint response;
      4. £50 for the time and trouble caused to the resident.
7. In referring the case to this service, the resident described the outstanding issues of the complaint, as she disputed the landlord’s decision not to replace the taps in the property and that she was still experiencing issues with damp and mould in the bathroom that had been ignored by the landlord.

Assessment and findings

Relevant policies and procedures

8. The tenancy agreement states that the landlord will “maintain the structure and outside of the property. We will maintain any installations which we provide for space heating, water heating, sanitation, and supplying water, gas, and electricity. This includes: basins, sinks, baths, toilets, flushing systems, waste pipes, and water storage facilities.”
9. The landlord’s repairs handbook categorises its repair types as ‘emergency’ (respond within 24 hours) and ‘routine’ (complete within 28 calendar days). An emergency repair is defined by the landlord as a repair “required to avoid immediate danger to one’s health and safety, a risk to the resident’s or others’ safety or property, or serious damage to the resident’s home or adjacent buildings.”
10. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states that it follows the guidance given in the Ombudsman’s ‘Spotlight on Damp and Mould’ report (which is available on this service’s website). The policy states that the landlord will “work with our residents to identify issues of damp and mould they are experiencing and to understand the impact it is having on their daily lives. We aim to embed a resident-centred approach with our colleagues, ensuring that the resident voice is heard and that we work with our residents to resolve issues to their satisfaction. We understand that resolving the causes of damp and mould can sometimes be complex, and we will always be clear on the timescales of each solution we propose. In addition to addressing the damp and mould in the property itself, we will also consider the effect on residents and their families. Our colleagues will ask questions and listen to residents to help identify further wellbeing, financial, and other opportunities to minimise the impact of damp and mould.”
11. The landlord operates a two-stage complaints process. When a complaint is received, the landlord aims to provide a response at stage one within 10 working days. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the response, they can request an escalation of the complaint to the next stage. The landlord will then undertake a review of the complaint and provide a stage two response within 20 working days. This will be the landlord’s final response to the complaint.
12. The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will consider offering a discretionary payment when there has been evidence of “poor complaint handling, delays in providing our services such as repairs, failure to provide a service that we have charged for, temporary loss of amenity, and failure to meet our target response times, such as missing a repair appointment where we have failed to attend.” The payment guidance in the policy categorises its levels of redress as ‘low failure’ (up to £50), ‘medium failure’ (£51 to £160), and ‘high failure’ (£161 to £350). Medium failure is defined by the landlord as “cases where there is considerable service failure or total lack of ownership, but there may be no permanent impact on the complainant.” High failure is defined as “severe lack of ownership and accountability – normally when a department does not want to own the issue. This usually has had a severe long-term impact on the complainant. Remedies in this range will be appropriate when there has been a significant and serious long-term effect on the complainant, including physical or emotional impact, or both.”

Scope of investigation

13. In its stage two complaint response, the landlord declined to address issues raised by the resident relating to the bathroom radiator, as this was not raised by the resident in her original complaint.
14. Paragraph 42(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman can only consider complaints that have exhausted a member’s complaint procedure. Therefore, issues relating to the bathroom radiator will not be considered in this report.
15. The resident advised this service on 11 February 2023, that she had now raised a new complaint with the landlord regarding issues with the radiator and the heating system. Should she remain dissatisfied with the landlord’s response following the completion of its internal complaints procedure, she may then be able to refer the complaint to this service.

Outstanding repairs to the taps in the property

16. On receiving reports from the resident regarding the condition of the taps in the property, the landlord would be expected to respond to the matter in line with its obligations set out in the tenancy agreement and its published policies and procedures.
17. The landlord’s repair logs state that a work order was raised on 27 April 2021, following a report from the resident that the wash basin taps were difficult to turn off. This was marked as completed on 25 May 2021. A further work order was raised on 6 May 2021, regarding the stiffness of the bath taps, which was marked as completed on 3 June 2021. Another work order relating to hand basin taps was raised on 13 October 2021, following a report that the cold water tap was dripping and could not be turned off. This was marked as complete on 10 November 2021. There are no further reports relating to issues with taps in the property after the appointment on 10 November 2021.
18. In her complaint, the resident requested that the hand basin taps and the external tap in the garden be replaced as they were still not able to be fully turned off. The landlord arranged for an inspection of the taps on 28 April 2022. The operative who attended informed it that “WHB taps are not dripping. I can also confirm the External tap to front garden is working OK and no issues noted during visit.”
19. The landlord’s records show that it responded to the resident’s reports of issues with the taps within its published timescale for routine repairs. It also acted appropriately by inspecting the taps when the resident raised a complaint and by informing the resident of its findings in its complaint responses. While the Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s experience with her taps, it is reasonable for a landlord to rely on the opinion of an appropriately qualified staff member that the taps did not require replacement. Social landlords have limited resources, and they are expected to manage these resources responsibly, to the benefit of all their residents. In view of this, landlords are entitled to opt to repair damaged items such as taps rather than replace them. As no further issues have been reported by the resident relating to the taps following the 28 April 2021 inspection, the landlord’s decision to decline the resident’s request to replace the taps was reasonable.

The resident’s reports of damp and mould in the bathroom

20. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in good repair. The landlord also has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), introduced by the Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its rented properties. Damp and mould growth is a potential hazard, and therefore the landlord is required to consider whether any damp and mould problems in its properties amount to a hazard and require action.
21. The resident wrote to the landlord on 30 November 2021, and again on 12 December 2021, to inform it of her concerns with damp and mould in the bathroom. The resident described the damage the mould had caused to the decoration and stated that she believed that the faulty radiator had exacerbated the problem. There is no evidence that the landlord responded to these emails, and its repair logs do not show that any work orders or inspections were raised during this time period relating to this issue, other than the bathroom extractor fan string being replaced on 21 December 2021.
22. The resident referred to damp and mould in the bathroom in her formal complaint made on 5 April 2022. She also referred to it again in the escalation request sent on 6 May 2022, noting that she had arranged for work to be undertaken herself to repaint the bathroom after she had removed mould and mildew, but that the mould had returned. The landlord did not address these issues in either of its complaint responses. The stage one response noted that the bathroom was found to be in serviceable condition. The landlord made no other references to the condition of the bathroom or reference damp and mould in its responses.
23. Given the above, the landlord did not follow its own damp and mould policy when informed by the resident of the issue in November and December 2021, and its failure to address this issue in its complaint responses amounted to maladministration. In line with its policy detailed above, the landlord would be expected to engage with the resident upon receipt of her reports and investigate the issue. If the presence of damp and mould in the bathroom was confirmed, it would then be expected to work with the resident to resolve that issue and offer help and advice to her and her household to minimise the impact of the damp and mould. There is no evidence that this happened in this case.
24. In order to resolve this element of the complaint, the landlord is ordered to contact the resident to arrange an inspection of the bathroom to assess the condition and identify if any work is required to address damp and mould.
25. A further order for £500 in compensation has been made in recognition of the significant distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by having to chase the landlord to respond to the matter.

The landlord’s complaints handling

26. The landlord did not follow its complaints policy at either stage of the complaints process. The resident raised a complaint on 5 April 2022, and received a stage one complaint response on 3 May 2022. This was nine working days outside its published target of 10 working days. The resident then requested an escalation on 6 May 2022, and received a stage two complaint response on 19 October 2022, 96 working days outside of its published timescale of 20 working days.
27. The compensation policy notes “a severe lack of ownership and accountability” as one of the examples given for when a high failure payment should be considered. In this case, the stage one complaint handler acknowledged the escalation request internally but did not escalate the complaint. Moreover, while the stage two investigation accepted that the complaint should have been escalated in May 2022, it did not determine why this was not responded to on the 6 May 2022, nor did it demonstrate that it had learned from its mistake.
28. While it was appropriate for the landlord to recognise these delays, apologise, and offer £100 in compensation, the level of compensation it offered was not sufficient redress for the five-month delay experienced by the resident at stage two. In line with its compensation policy detailed above, the landlord would have been expected to calculate its compensation offer at the high failure tariff of its payment guidance.
29. Given the above, there was maladministration by the landlord. An order has been made for £300 in compensation. This is in line with both the landlord’s high failure tariff and the Ombudsman’s own remedies guidance.
30. It is also recommended that the landlord review its complaint handling procedures to ensure that escalation requests are being actioned correctly and that the information it provides to a complainant in the stage one complaint response explaining how to escalate a complaint is adequate.

Determination

31. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s reports about outstanding repairs required to her taps.
32. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its:
    1. response to the resident’s reports about damp and mould in the bathroom;
    2. complaints handling.

Orders

33. The landlord is ordered to pay £800 in compensation to the resident, comprising:
    1. £500 for its failure to respond to the resident’s concerns relating to damp and mould;
    2. £300 for its poor complaints handling.
34. This payment should be made within four weeks of the date of this report. The landlord should update this service when payment has been made. The compensation award is inclusive of the £100 compensation the landlord offered in its stage two complaint response. This can be deducted from the total amount if it has already been paid. It is the Ombudsman’s position that compensation awarded by this service should be treated separately from any financial arrangements between the landlord and resident and should not be offset against any arrears.
35. It is further ordered that the landlord contact the resident to arrange an inspection of the bathroom to assess its condition and identify if any work is required to address the issue of damp and mould.

Recommendations

36. It is recommended that the landlord review its complaint handling procedures to ensure that escalation requests are being actioned correctly and that the information it provides to a complainant in the stage one complaint response explaining how to escalate a complaint is adequate.