Wandle Housing Association Limited (202211862)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202211862

Wandle Housing Association Limited

27 September 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 repairs to the resident’s shower.

Background

2. The resident holds an assured tenancy with the landlord for a 3 bedroom end of terrace house.
3. In March 2022, the resident told the landlord she had no power to her shower, and that she was unable to use it. On 8 April 2022, the landlord raised a work order with its repairs team to install a new pump for the shower.
4. On 3 May 2022, the resident raised a stage 1 formal complaint to the landlord. She told the landlord that a repair had been booked in with her, but when the repairs team turned up they did not finish the job, and told her they would be back the next day to complete it. The resident explained that she took the next day off work to be there for the repairs team. However, they did not arrive, and when the resident called the landlord for an update, she was told the repair had been booked in for 19 May 2022. The resident was unhappy with this, and told the landlord that she wanted over £80 compensation for the time taken off work. She also requested that the outstanding shower repair be completed.
5. On 16 May 2022, the landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response to the resident. It confirmed that it had spoken to her on 12 May 2022 following her complaint, and explained that the original repair operative who attended her property no longer worked for it due to poor workmanship, and so any repairs previously suggested by them would need to be reviewed. It confirmed its repairs team would attend on 19 May 2022 to determine the best way to fix the shower. It acknowledged it had not kept the resident informed, and offered her £50 in compensation to recognise the lack of updates, and for the delay in completing a repair.
6. Following a subsequent telephone call from the resident to the landlord chasing the shower repair, it escalated her complaint to stage 2 of its complaints process, and sent its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 14 June 2022. It confirmed it had raised a new work order with its repairs team to install a new pump for her shower, and offered her £100 in compensation for the failure in service.
7. In September 2022, the resident contacted the Ombudsman Service explaining that her shower had still not been fixed. She has since confirmed to this service that the repair was completed around 24 May 2023. To resolve her complaint, she wants additional compensation for the delays, and for the time and trouble of having to chase updates from the landlord.

Assessment and findings

8. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it will complete emergency repairs within 24 hours, appointed repairs within 28 days, and major works within 90 days. The repairs policy also states that the landlord will ensure there is a “good line of communication between [landlord] and [resident] regarding repairs.” It also says the landlord will effectively “manage expectations for the completion of a repair and ensure [residents] are kept up to date.”
9. Based on this, the landlord’s handling of the shower repair was not appropriate. This is because the resident advised the landlord of the need for repair as early as March 2022, however this was not resolved until May 2023, a year and two months later. This significantly exceeded the landlord’s timescale for repair and what this Service would have expected in the circumstances.
10. The landlord’s initial handling of the shower repair was reasonable by raising a work order with its repairs team on 8 April 2022 to install a new pump in the shower. However, as noted in the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response to the resident, this work order was not completed. The landlord acknowledged that it had delayed in sharing the reasons for this with the resident. Had it done so, it would have been able to better manage the resident’s expectations. To overcome this nevertheless, it was fair that the landlord offered an apology and confirmed to the resident that its repairs team would attend on 19 May 2022 to determine the best way to repair the shower.
11. According to the landlord’s repair log, after the inspection took place it was noted that the landlord would not be installing a new shower pump. There is no further information available to explain why this was the case, or evidence that this was communicated to the resident. Instead, a follow up job was raised on 23 May 2022 to get power to the resident’s existing shower pump. The repair log does not mark the job as complete, and so it is not clear as to whether the work was completed successfully or not. It is clear, however, that the resident considered the matter outstanding, as she raised a stage 2 complaint to the landlord after this date, although the landlord has been unable to confirm the exact date this was requested.
12. On 27 January 2023, the landlord’s repair log set out a description of work required to fix the shower problem, this included costings for the supply and delivery of a shower pump. There is also an additional note that states the resident’s shower pressure is “not bad, and they are not allowed to get a pump.” It is not clear why a new pump was “not allowed,” and it is especially concerning given that the landlord had previously told the resident it would be fitting a new one in June 2022. This was a failure to manage the resident’s expectations and to offer a consistent message on the status of her repairs.
13. As of June 2022, the landlord offered the resident a total of £150 compensation to recognise delays, its lack of communication, and service failure. This was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for failures that have adversely affected a resident. However, the problem was not fixed until May 2023, which meant the problem continued for almost 12 additional months.
14. While the resident was not left without washing facilities, it was clear that she was unable to enjoy a shower with reasonable pressure for a significant period of time. The delays with respect to the repair could have been avoided had the landlord taken the appropriate steps however it failed to do so. Additional stress was also caused to the resident as she had to chase the landlord for it to eventually complete the installation of the pump, as it promised it would. As such, the landlord has been ordered below to pay the resident an additional £600 to recognise further failings identified in this investigation. The remedies put forward by the landlord did not go far enough to recognise the protracted period of time.

Determination

15. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of repairs to the resident’s shower.

Orders and recommendations

16. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident compensation totalling £600. This includes the £150 it has already offered the resident if it has not already paid this. This award is to recognise the landlord’s failure to act in line with its usual repair timescale, the resident’s time and trouble chasing a repair update, and poor communication.
17. The landlord should make the above payment and provide this Service with evidence of this, within four weeks of receiving this determination.
18. It is recommended that the landlord:
    1. Review its staff’s training needs in regard to accurate and clear record keeping.
    2. Review its staff’s training needs in regard to timely responses and updates.