Industry News
Landlord ordered to pay £750 compensation after resident left without heating and hot water
T
he Ombudsman found severe maladministration for A2Dominion’s failure to fix various problems with a resident’s
heating and hot water supply over a number of years and ordered the landlord to pay the resident a total of £750 in compensation. Issues around responsibility for the heating
between the landlord, freeholder and managing agent led to further delays in rectifying the problem. Tis leſt the resident without heating or hot water on several occasions as well as brown water coming out of the taps. Te South London resident complained that
her flat, served by a district heating system, had insufficient heating and hot water for her needs and she did not have adequate hot water and heating at the same time. When she raised a repair, the managing agent referred her back to the landlord. Aſter a delay, the landlord’s contractor was able
to carry out a repair without collaboration with the freeholder. However, the issue was not fully fixed and another complaint was made about the heating, this time being an urgent repair. Te landlord did not respond within the 24 hour window it set out in its policy and required several visits before it was finally rectified months later. Following this, no further survey was made on
the building as promised by the landlord and the evidence available showed a lack of communication with the resident.
Te Ombudsman found there was no clear
arrangement for resolution of heating and hot water issues at the resident’s block between the landlord and the managing agent and freeholder, with clarity lacking around roles and responsibilities. Te landlord failed to take the action outlined in
its response to resolve the resident’s complaint, its contractor did not carry out a survey, and its named points of contacts failed to liaise with the resident until resolution.
COMPENSATION LEVEL INCREASED Te landlord had offered compensation of £250 for the lengthy delays in resolving the problems, but the award was not deemed sufficient. Tey were ordered to apologise, pay a higher
compensation sum and to carry out an inspection of the resident’s heating and hot water system, identifying any parts of the system that need repair, servicing or replacement. Te landlord was also ordered to provide the resident with information on the responsibilities of all relevant parties on heating and hot water issues. Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said:
“Inadequate heating and hot water can lead to significant detriment and at one stage the resident reported being without heating for two days. Tere were significant failings in the overall management of the scheme as it is vital for landlords to have proper agreements in place
with the managing agent or freeholder, with clarity around roles and responsibilities.” “Tis is an issue which I see too oſten in
our casework and our concerns have been set out in two Spotlight reports over the last two years. Both the landlord and wider sector should revisit these reports, particularly our focus on managing agents which set out our serious concerns that landlords may not always have clear and effective liaison in place with managing agents or freeholders.” “Ultimately the landlord is accountable for the tenant-landlord relationship and landlords should consider our practical recommendations to help improve the experience for residents.” A spokesman for A2Dominon said there were
failings in terms of the delays to maintenance work being carried out and the amount of compensation offered to our resident. Sincere apologies had been offered to the resident for the problems they experienced with heating and hot water at their property and acknowledge any distress this may have caused. As a result, the HA has overhauled the way it
manages contractor partnerships and clarified the responsibilities and service level agreements for all involved in any future repairs on this scheme. A strategic improvement plan has been put in place to review this across other schemes with more complex lease arrangements.
Multiple complaints drives Ombudsman to launch wider investigations into two large landlords
Te Housing Ombudsman has launched investigations into L&Q and Haringey Council aſter persistent poor performance over damp and mould complaints. Te watchdog said it had launched an
investigation into both landlords to see if damp and mould issues are indicative of wider failings at the organisations. It will produce a learning report for the landlords and make recommendations for service improvement. L&Q featured in the Ombudsman’s 2021 damp
and mould Spotlight report, with maladministration findings in 50% of its damp and mould cases. Te housing association also has 32 open
cases with the Ombudsman that have been identified as high risk and involve complaints handling, the handling of damp, mould and leaks
reports, or both issues. Te Ombudsman has upheld nearly half of
L&Q’s cases determined since 1 April 2021 where complaints handling or leaks, damp and mould formed part of the investigation and over a third of the remaining cases were acknowledged during the landlord’s complaint process to having been poorly handled by the landlord. For Haringey Council, the Ombudsman has 13
open cases identified as high risk and involving leaks, damp and mould. It has upheld more than three-quarters of cases determined since 1 April 2021 where leaks, damp and mould formed part of the investigation. Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said:
“Aſter repeated failures in the past year by both of these landlords, we’ve seen a high number of cases
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concerning the landlords identified as high risk. Under the circumstances, I’ve asked my team to expedite these investigations.” “Other cases with us concern similar
issues and may indicate a repeated failing. Conducting a further investigation, using our systemic powers under Paragraph 49 of the Scheme to identify areas for both landlords to learn and improve, is therefore required.” “At the end of the monitoring period, we
will publish a learning report highlighting any issues we have identified in the cases investigated and make recommendations to the landlords where appropriate.” A similar investigation has been carried out at
Birmingham City Council, with another one already underway at Islington Council.
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