The Guinness Partnership Limited (202225242)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202225242

Guinness Housing Association Limited

11 October 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 handling of:
   1. The landlord’s handling of bathroom repairs.
   2. The landlord’s decision not to investigate the complaint.

Background

2. The resident has been a tenant of the landlord since 1984. The property he rents is a one bedroom fourth floor flat.
3. The resident has a number of medical conditions which impact his circulation, hearing, and mobility. The resident was being treated for bowel cancer during the period this report covers.
4. The landlord has provided evidence that the resident contacted it on 22 June 2020 to advise he was coming out of hospital with a stoma bag, and he had unsuitable bathing facilities and a cracked basin.
5. The landlord completed a bathroom survey on 6 July 2020 and was due to return on 13 July 2020. This appointment was cancelled, and the landlord returned 2 days later but with a basin which was the wrong size. The resident chased the landlord several times and on 20 August 2020 the landlord made contact to apologise and explain the works will go ahead. The landlord attended on 2 September 2020 but realised it was a two-man job and would need to return. The resident called the landlord on 17 December 2020 as he thought the repairs were being sorted that day, the landlord said it did not have a date yet. The landlord measured for the new bath and basin on 1 March 2021 and said it would be in touch with an installation date. The landlord tried to fit the bath and basin in April 2021, but the stop cock had seized.
6. The bathroom repairs were completed on 18 May 2021 however the workmanship was to neither the landlord’s nor the resident’s satisfaction. This was subsequently resolved on 19 August 2021.
7. The resident made an online complaint to the landlord in April 2022. A staff member was tasked to contact the resident, but this did not happen. The resident reraised a complaint in September 2022, which the landlord assessed and decided it would not investigate as the issue occurred over 6 months ago. The landlord offered the resident £25, as although the April 2022 complaint would have still been deemed outside the timescale, it did not follow its complaints policy by not opening a complaint and asking a staff member to contact him.
8. The landlord has reviewed its response after preparing the case for this Service’s investigation. It has offered an additional £50 for failing to contact the resident to discuss outstanding repairs in April 2022 and for failing to arrange an inspection after the resident’s contact in September 2022. It organised for a post inspection of the bathroom to check for additional repairs.
9. As a resolution the resident is looking for compensation between £1,000-£2,000 and to know the outcome of the post inspection.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of bathroom repairs.

10. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and through its tenancy agreement the landlord has responsibility to ensure the installations for sanitation are kept in good repair and in working order.
11. The landlord’s repairs policy states it will complete repairs either as an emergency repair, within 24 hours or as a routine repair within 28 days. The policy is to deliver an effective repairs service which responds to the needs of its customers with the objective of completing repairs right, first time. Where repairs cannot be completed at the first visit the landlord commits to communicating clearly with the resident explaining why, what the landlord intends to do, and what should happen next including when it will return.
12. After being notified of the repair in June 2020, the landlord fitted a new bath and basin on 18 May 2021. When the resident drained the bath, it filled with wastewater due to a blockage in the pipe. This was appropriately remedied by the landlord as an emergency repair. Both the resident and landlord were not happy with the installation as the new bath was chipped and the sink was insecure. The landlord resolved these issues on 19 August 2021. This was in contradiction with the timescales outlined in the landlord’s repairs policy and was 14 months after the initial report.
13. The landlord was aware of the resident’s vulnerabilities and that because of the condition of the bathroom he had no adequate bathing facilities and so had to change and clean his stoma bag in the kitchen sink. The resident has described to this Service how degraded he felt having to do this. The landlord’s repair policy states it will respond to the needs of the resident. The landlord is expected to assess residents’ requirements and vulnerabilities to establish whether repair works may have a greater impact on certain individuals. The landlord should assess whether appropriate interim solutions are available. The landlord has not evidenced compliance with its repairs policy, prolonging the resident’s distress and inconvenience at a time when he particularly needed the effective services of his landlord.
14. The resident contacted the landlord on at least 11 occasions to chase the repairs from July 2020 to July 2021, which indicates he was not aware of the landlord’s intentions to repair his bathroom and the landlord did not fulfil its obligation to clearly communicate with him. This Service has seen numerous appointments which were missed or where employees turned up with the wrong equipment, or additional repairs where needed prior to being able to proceed. This lack of clarity and uncertainty about when the repairs would be concluded would have been frustrating, distressing, and inconvenient for the resident. The resident reasonably would have lost confidence in the landlord’s ability to manage the repairs.
15. The problems the resident had with the workmanship highlight the landlord failed to follow its objective to get it right first time. The landlord took a further 3 months to remedy work once it was alerted to the problems with the refitted bath and basin. This was a lengthy delay increasing the level of distress and inconvenience already experienced by the resident.
16. The landlord fitted a shower in the resident’s bathroom, the resident has been told it needs a pump to get full flow from it. This Service is unable to determine on this issue, the landlord should address this and be able to explain its position to the resident. This will form a recommendation of this report.
17. This Service expects the landlord to follow through on any promises it makes to residents, or to provide timely and detailed reasons for why it cannot. While it is acknowledged this happened during the covid pandemic, the delays were excessive at a time when the resident needed adequate bathing facilities. The repairs policy was not adhered to, as such a finding of maladministration has been made.

The landlord’s decision not to investigate the complaint.

18. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will acknowledge complaints in 2 working days and respond to stage 1 complaints in 10 working days.
19. The landlord’s complaint policy defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction however made. It values all forms of customer feedback as these help the landlord identify areas of improvement.
20. The landlord’s complaint policy states it will not investigate a complaint if the issue occurred over 6 months ago, unless it was a recurring issue or complaints relate to safeguarding, health and safety measures, or if there are exceptional circumstances.
21. The landlord’s complaint policy allowed it to open a complaint when the resident called on any of the 11 occasions, highlighting he had a stoma bag and no other available forms of bathing, clearly illustrating his dissatisfaction with the landlord’s response. The landlord chose not to open a complaint.
22. When the resident called in August 2020 and was ‘adamant to raise an official complaint’ the landlord did. The landlord confirmed the work requested would be carried out, but it expressed the repairs would not be quickly resolved. The complaint was closed with the resident’s consent. In contradiction to its complaint policy this Service has not seen any evidence the landlord sent an acknowledgement or a stage 1 letter. It would be a further year until the repairs were resolved.
23. The resident made a subsequent complaint in April 2022, the landlord asked a staff member to call the resident. This was not done, and no further work was implemented. In September 2022 the resident tried again to raise a complaint, the landlord investigated and decided it was out of time for investigation. It recognised in its response to the April 2022 complaint it did not follow its policy and offered the resident £25.
24. The resident has advised this Service the landlord told him he could make a complaint only once the repairs had been completed, which is why he took so long to raise a complaint.
25. In accordance with this Service’s Complaint Handling Code, “landlords should look beyond the circumstances of the individual complaint and consider whether anything needs to be ‘put right’ in terms of process or systems to the benefit of all residents”. The landlord’s complaints policy allows the landlord discretion to investigate where there are recurring issues or if there was a safeguarding or health and safety concern, or exceptional circumstances. It could be determined there had been a recurring issue which needed to be addressed. The resident was washing his stoma bag in his kitchen which should have been viewed as a safeguarding and health and safety concern. The landlord could have permitted the complaint investigation under exceptional circumstances due to the resident’s medical history. If the landlord wanted to identify areas for improvement it would have investigated this complaint to ensure it did not happen again for the benefit of all residents.
26. The landlord confirmed the resident had multiple contacts with it over the repairs in its September 2022 complaint response. It then states it would be unable to complete a thorough and fair investigation as system notes would be limited and contractors and staff members had left. The landlord has provided a large amount of evidence throughout this Service’s investigation which could have formed the basis of its own investigation. The landlord should ensure its staff make and retain adequate notes of interactions to ensure this is not a reason for non-investigation of complaints. The landlord should have access to an adequate customer relations management system enabling this.
27. Following this Service’s involvement, the landlord revisited its response and offered the resident an additional £50 (totalling £75) and offered the resident an appointment with a representative to assess the bathroom repairs. This indicates the landlord believed its response was inadequate and it should have done more to fulfil its obligations.
28. This Service finds there was maladministration of the landlord’s decision not to investigate the complaint.

Determination

29. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the bathroom repairs.
30. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s decision not to investigate the complaint.

Orders

31. The landlord is to issue a written apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
32. The landlord is to pay the resident compensation totalling £2,100. This comprises of:
    1. £1,000 to reflect the impact on the resident’s use and enjoyment of his home for the period the bathroom was not fully usable. This was a failure which had a significant impact upon the resident.
    2. £100 for the resident’s time and trouble in chasing updates.
    3. £800 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. This compensation award accounts for the aggravating factor of the resident’s medical condition.
    4. £200 for the landlord’s failure to handle the complaint appropriately.
33. The landlord is to inform the resident of the post inspection findings.
34. If not already done through the post inspection, the landlord is to inspect the shower to identify whether it is functional and fulfils its purpose. The resident is to be involved and informed of the findings.
35. The landlord is to confirm compliance with these orders to this Service within 4 weeks of the date of this report.