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Newcastle City Council (202111388)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202111388

Newcastle City Council

31 July 2023 (amended at review)

 

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. reports of increased energy bills and insufficient hot water availability, since the landlord completed an electrical rewire and modernisation works at the resident’s property.
    2. the associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord.
  2. The landlord completed modernisation works to the resident’s flat in 2009. The modernisation works included modernising the kitchen, bathroom, and heating. The resident has stated that since the modernisation works were completed his energy bills have increased.
  3. The resident submitted a complaint to the landlord on 18 November 2020. He stated that he has had no hot water since 2009. The resident also mentioned that he has also had no heating since 2009.
  4. On 5 August 2021, the landlord provided its stage one complaint response. It stated that its repairs manager attended the resident’s property on 19 November 2020 to carry out an inspection. The repairs manager confirmed that the issue with the electric tripping had been resolved and the hot water tank was found to be working as normal. The landlord also stated it liaised with the resident’s utility company to ensure that his bills were accurate. In addition, the landlord also carried out an electrical inspection and there were no faults identified.
  5. On 24 November 2021, the landlord provided its stage two complaint response. The landlord stated that it would carry out several works. The works included arranging for a plumber to remove the immersion heater in the tank to ensure it was of the correct specification. It also included installing energy monitors and surge protection devices at the resident’s property. The landlord also provided referral rights to the Housing Ombudsman.
  6. On 20 October 2022, the landlord provided a further response which included referral rights to the energy Ombudsman. The landlord stated its energy services team had reviewed the resident’s bills and usage. It was unable to identify any issues that suggest the resident’s usage was incorrect. It also stated that there were no faults identified from the electrical inspection which was conducted. The landlord provided the resident with referral rights to the Energy Ombudsman.
  7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted his complaint to the Ombudsman. He stated his desired outcome was for the landlord to remove the current 3000W immersion heater and install an old style 100W one. The resident would also like the landlord to refund him 80% of his energy bills since the rewire.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of reports of increased energy bills and insufficient hot water availability, since the landlord completed an electrical rewire and modernisation works.

  1. The resident has stated that he has raised concerns about his electricity bills since 2009, which is when the landlord carried out modernisation work. However, there is no evidence of a formal complaint being raised until November 2020. In view of the time periods involved in this case and considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this report will not consider any specific events more than six months prior to when the resident submitted his complaint in November 2020. This is because paragraph 42(c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, explains that this Service cannot investigate complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within six months of the matters arising.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy states that the landlord is responsible for maintaining the installations for heating, water heating, sewerage and for supplying water, gas, and electricity. In this case, the landlord carried out modernisation works to upgrade the condition of the resident’s property.
  3. The resident has raised concerns that his energy bills have increased since the landlord carried out modernisation works to his property. He has also stated that he has had insufficient water.
  4. The landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s concerns about increased energy bills and insufficient water. It carried out a range of steps to identify if there were any issues with the heating and electrical system following the completion of the modernisation works. Firstly, the landlord carried out several electrical inspections and no issues or electrical faults were identified. The inspections were carried out in October 2017, August 2021, and January 2022. In addition, the landlord’s repairs manager visited the resident’s property on 19 November 2020 to fit a smart meter and carry out an inspection. Following the inspection, it was confirmed that any issues with the electrics tripping has been resolved and the hot water within the resident’s property was found to be working as normal.
  5. The landlord’s energy services team also reviewed and analysed a copy of the resident’s energy bills to identify whether there was any unusual or unexpected usage and to ensure the bills were accurate. The energy bills reviewed by the landlord were for various dates between December 2015 and December 2019. The conclusions from the analysis state there was no evidence of any unusual energy usage being charged on the resident’s bills. The landlord also installed an energy monitor at the resident’s property. It then visited the resident’s property on 1 July 2022 to look at the energy monitor data in real time, and following this, the energy team analysed the results and compared them to the results of the smart meter readings. There was no evidence to suggest unusual or unexpected usage from the results.
  6. The landlord installed surge protection devices at the resident’s property in January 2022. It also arranged for a plumber to replace the immersion heater in the water tank, and it also tested the heaters. These works were both completed in January 2022.
  7. The landlord did not find any fault with the resident’s electrical/heating system. It also acted reasonably by carrying out its own investigation and analysis of the resident’s energy bills. Therefore, the Ombudsman would not expect the landlord to contribute towards the resident’s energy costs. There has been no maladministration by the landlord in its handling of reports of increased energy bills and insufficient hot water availability, since the landlord completed the electrical rewire and modernisation works.
  8. The Ombudsman acknowledges that the resident mentioned that his energy bills are too expensive. It is also recognised that it is a challenging time at present with the cost-of-living situation. If the resident is struggling to pay his energy bills, it is suggested that he seeks advice and support from Citizens Advice.

 

 

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (The Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage one response should be provided within ten working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage two response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate.
  2. The landlord’s complaints policy states that it will provide a stage one complaint response within ten working days. It also states that a stage two complaint response will also be provided within ten working days.
  3. The resident submitted his complaint to the landlord on 18 November 2020. The landlord took around nine months to respond to the resident and provide its stage one complaint response. It provided its stage one complaint response on 5 August 2021. There was a considerable delay in the landlord providing its response and it was unreasonable.
  4. After the resident received his stage one complaint response, he requested his complaint to be escalated to stage two on 27 September 2021. It took around two months for the landlord to provide its stage two complaint response, which was issued on 24 November 2021. The response time was late and not compliant with the timescales referenced in the landlord’s complaints policy or The Code.
  5. The Ombudsman recognises that the delays could have caused inconvenience to the resident, and it would have delayed the resident in progressing his complaint to the Ombudsman because he needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service.
  6. Given the delay in the landlord providing its stage two complaint response. It would be appropriate for the landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. The amount of the compensation is appropriate to recognise the delays the resident experienced. It is also compliant with the Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance (published on our website), which sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation. The Remedies Guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure which adversely affected the resident but there was no permanent impact. In this case, there may be no permanent impact to the resident, as the resident eventually received a stage one and stage two complaint response from the landlord.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of increased energy bills and insufficient hot water availability, since the landlord completed the electrical rewire and modernisation works.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. The landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation for its complaint handling.
  2. This payment should be made within four weeks of the date of this report.