Thames Valley Housing Association Limited (202110750)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202110750

Thames Valley Housing Association Limited

10 February 2022

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. a repair to the resident’s central heating thermostat and her request for compensation related to this.
   2. A repair to the wastewater.

Jurisdiction

2. What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
3. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 39 (a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the following aspect of the complaint is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
4. The issue of a waste flood in the bathroom and reported delays in the landlord undertaking a ‘sterile clean’ was raised by the resident after the final complaint response letter. Paragraph 39 (a) says that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure.
5. The wastewater issue was included as the subject of the complaint in a letter to the resident from this Service on 9 November 2021, following discussion with the resident, so is mentioned here for clarity.  The resident may raise this as a separate complaint if required.

Background and summary of events

6. The resident is an assured tenant of a 2-bedroom house and has no vulnerabilities recorded. The resident has stated she suffered with mental health issues made worse by the delay in the repair.

The tenancy agreement

7. The tenancy agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of both the resident and the landlord. Section 4 (a) covers repairs to installations and says that the landlord will maintain installations provided for space heating, water heating, and central heating installations.

The repairs policy

8. The repairs guide for tenants at page six says that the landlord aims to carry out repairs quickly and efficiently. Its service standard includes being quick and reliable.  Page seven shows the landlord as responsible for replacing central heating. Page nine show the landlord is responsible for gas central heating systems.
9. Page 17 says that total loss of heating counts as an emergency repair and should be completed within 24 hours. If replacement parts need to be sourced, ordered and fitted, the repair may take a further seven days. Routine repairs will be within 28 calendar days.

The complaints policy.

10. The landlord’s complaints policy says stage one complaints will be responded to within ten working days. Cases will only be reinvestigated at stage two if the stage one response is factually incorrect, does not address the initial complaint, important information provided was not considered, or the actions agreed have not been completed. Cases at stage two will be responded to within 20 working days.

The compensation policy.

11. The landlord’s online compensation policy includes a tariff starting at ‘an apology’ for poor complaint handling and £10 for a missed appointment, up to a maximum of £50. Compensation for time and trouble starts at an apology for low impact failure and from £60 for medium impact. Failure of service compensation starts at an apology, and from £60 for service failure resulting in a medium impact.

 

 

Summary of events

12. The landlord’s repair log shows an entry dated 14 August 2020 as ‘bathroom radiator is very rusty and also timer controller does not work and does not switch on’. A job was raised on 4 September 2020 and the landlord attended on 10 September 2020 and confirmed that a new thermostat was needed, and that the radiator in the bathroom had peeling paint but was not leaking. 
13. The wrong thermostat unit was sent on 25 September 2020, and again on 8 October 2020.  On 13 October 2020 the part was collected but the landlord noted that it had a pin missing, so a further part was ordered. The part was fitted and left working on 15 October 2020 when the landlord closed the job. 
14. The resident reported that the thermostat had lost signal with the receiver on 9 November 2020, and a work order was raised as a new part was needed. On 23 November 2020 a ‘priority 1’ job was raised as the resident reported no heating and hot water. The receiver was replaced on 26 November 2020 but was not linking as required. The landlord noted that a joint visit with an electrician was required in case the fault was with the wiring. The heating and hot water was noted as working ‘on manual’.
15. A visit to the property was made on 7 January 2021, but no access was available.  The resident contacted the landlord on 21 January 2021 and said they were unhappy and would log a complaint. On 4 February 2021 the landlord noted that the wrong parts arrived again.
16. A complaint was logged on 9 February 2021 regarding the quality of service from the landlord’s heating contractors. The resident stated that this was a straightforward job, but seven visits later it was still not fixed. After the annual service in summer 2020, the engineer had said the thermostat was broken, the first appointment was on 25 September 2020. The resident had been told it needed an electrician, then and later stated that it did not. An engineer came on 21 January 2021, but the part did not fit, and the resident had chased the repair by phone and email. The resident had been told by the manager that complaint details would be sent, but this did not happen. The resident had been going around in circles for five months, it had caused stress and the resident suffered from mental health problems. The resident stated she wanted compensation and would take legal advice if no response was made in 14 days.
17. On 19 February 2021 a new thermostat and controls were fitted. On 4 March 2021 the repair log showed that the landlord attended the property to demonstrate the controls to the resident. 
18. On 5 March 2021, a stage one complaint ‘final’ response was sent to the resident. The landlord noted that the resident had been having to use the thermostat manually for the previous seven months. While this had not affected the heating and hot water, the resident had numerous unproductive appointments with the contractors who had been unable to complete the repair to the thermostat. The issue was rectified on 4 March 2021 and the complaint was upheld. The landlord said it gave its sincere apologies for the distress and inconvenience caused. A total of £150 compensation was offered to include £25 for               poor complaint handling, £50 for the missed appointments, £40 for time and trouble and £35 for the landlord’s service failure. The landlord asked the resident to accept the sum, or to make contact to discuss the complaint further. 
19. The resident responded on 23 March 2021. She noted that the sum was at the lower end of the landlord’s compensation scale and said she had to take days off to wait for contractors, costing her £60 a day. The resident felt that the offer of £40 for time and trouble was an insult, and she was still waiting for contact to replace the bathroom radiator three weeks later. The resident requested £280 for her time and trouble as this reflected her time spent waiting for the contractor.
20. The landlord issued a further response on 31 March 2021 and said that the complaint would not be considered at stage two, as all detriment had been considered at stage one. The compensation tariff was updated in September 2020 and agreed with referral to guidelines from this Service. The complaint was not upheld, and no further redress was offered. Appeal rights to this Service were given.

Since the final response was issued

21. On 4 May 2021 the bathroom radiator was replaced and tested. 
22. The resident was advised by this Service that the Ombudsman could only investigate issues which had been through the landlord’s internal complaint’s process. However, a letter dated 9 November 2021 from the Ombudsman acknowledged the complaint as relating to ‘waste flood in the bathroom and delays to undertake a sterile clean’, levels of workmanship and service, communication and complaint handling and compensation offered. 
23. In January 2022, the landlord noted that the radiator would have been classified as cosmetic in 2020, but a photograph in 2021 showed it appeared to have failed, so it was replaced under the repairs contract. The landlord also noted that the resident had heating and hot water throughout the thermostat repair period, but it had to be operated manually, and that the contractor seemed to have ‘dropped the ball’ with the repair. 

 

 

Assessment and findings

24. This investigation concerns the landlord’s response to the repair which was reported in relation to the thermostat at the resident’s property. It does not cover the issue of the rusted radiator, which was replaced during the period, as this did not form part of the formal complaint which the resident brought the landlord.
25. The Ombudsman applies its dispute resolution principles in the way it considers disputes, which landlords can use as a good practice guide in complaint handling. One of the principles is ‘be fair’; to treat people fairly and follow fair process. In this case, it would seem fair that having accepted responsibility for the delay in the repairs, the landlord considered the appropriate compensation.
26. It should be clarified that when this Service awards compensation, it is not to punish or make an example of the landlord, nor is it to award ‘damages’ in the way that a court or insurance claim may. The purpose of compensation is to recognise the likely level of distress and inconvenience caused by its failures and award an amount that is proportionate to this.
27. The £150 compensation awarded by the landlord is in line with its compensation tariff at the lower end of the service failure scale and includes the delay in the complaint response. The resident initially reported being without heating and hot water, but the landlord advised that she was able to operate the system manually. 
28. The landlord has acknowledged its failings and upheld the stage one complaint. This is a reasonable response and remedy for this complaint, which would have been frustrating but did not leave the resident without amenities. It seems that the landlord and contractor were let down by those supplying the parts. The landlord did respond in a reasonable timeframe, and within the repairs policy, albeit it had to return several times. This has been allowed for in the compensation offered. 
29. The stage one complaint response was over the ten working days shown in the landlord’s complaint policy, but this was recognised in line with its compensation tariff which starts at ‘an apology’ for poor complaint handling, but in this instance offered £25. The policy offers £10 for each missed appointment, up to a maximum of £50, which was the sum offered here. Remedies for the resident’s time and trouble start at an apology, but £40 was awarded to the resident in this case, the same tariff applies for failure of service, for which £35 was offered.   
30. In general, the Ombudsman would not propose a remedy of compensation to reimburse a complainant for their time off work, loss of wages or loss of employment whilst repairs are carried out.  Whilst such works will inevitably cause some inconvenience to residents, their occupancy agreement will require them to give access for repairs to be carried out as needed, and it would not be fair or reasonable for the Ombudsman to order a landlord to pay a complainant reimbursement for loss of earnings for such appointments.
31. It is noted that the resident has stated that the repair work had affected her mental health. The Ombudsman does not doubt her comments; but must clarify that it is beyond the expertise of this Service to decide on whether there was a direct link between the repairs at the property and her health. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers that her health had been affected by any action or lack thereof by the landlord.
32. The Ombudsman is satisfied that the landlord took proportionate and appropriate action in relation to investigating the concerns raised by the resident; and considering them alongside its service standards, and its duties and obligations as a landlord.

Determination (decision)

The repair to central heating and compensation awarded.

33. In accordance with paragraph 55 (b) of the Scheme the member has offered redress to the resident prior to the investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolved the matter complaint regarding the central hearing satisfactorily.

The wastewater repair.

34. In accordance with paragraph 39 (a) of the Scheme, the complaint about the wastewater and sterile clean is outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Reasons

35. The landlord’s response to the complaint about the thermostat control and the associated compensation offer was adequate in all the circumstances of the case.

Recommendations

36. It is recommended that the landlord 
    1. Pay the sum of £150 already offered if this has not been paid.
    2. Investigate the issue of the resident’s wastewater repair and sterile clean if this has not already been resolved.