Decision report 201101497

Summary
Mr C complained that the council, in their capacity as landlord, did not tell him whether self-closing fire doors need to be fitted in his home or if the door that they had fitted in June 2011 met the Building Standards Regulations (Scotland) Act 2006. He also complained that the council did not respond to his complaint within a reasonable timescale and did not give him sufficient information to evidence that their actions were in line with the relevant building regulations.

We upheld some of Mr C's complaints. We found that the property had been built prior to new regulations which apply only to new buildings or existing buildings undergoing major structural change. There was, therefore, no requirement for the council to replace Mr C's door to the current building regulations. However, we found that the council did not clearly explain this to him following his enquiry. We also considered that they did not respond to the complaint according to their complaints procedure, and did not provide information (that they had agreed to give Mr C) until after the complaint had been raised with us.

We did not find any evidence to show that Mr C had asked the council whether the kitchen door that had been replaced met the relevant building standards regulations.

Recommendation
We recommended that the council:
• highlight to the housing department management team the importance of updating complainants on the progress of their complaint and ensuring clear and full responses are provided at all stages of the complaints procedure.