Decision Report 201700417

Summary

Mr C complained that the housing association unreasonably delayed in repairing his windows after he reported a draught coming from them. Mr C said that he experienced delays due to contractors failing to turn up and difficulties in arranging a mutually convenient time for contractors to visit his property. In response to Mr C's complaint, the association visited him and offered him a monetary voucher as a form of redress for their delay in completing the repairs. Mr C also complained that the offer of redress was inadequate.

The association explained to us that they had to go through a process of elimination to find the source of the draught and that this led to the repairs taking longer than they anticipated. We were not critical of the association for this. However, we found that the delays in completing the repairs were also due to the association failing to inform Mr C that their maintenance officer was on sick leave and could not attend his appointment. The association also acknowledged that they failed to ensure that the contractors shared their sense of urgency about the repairs. We found that there was little evidence to illustrate that the contractors made reasonable efforts to contact Mr C to arrange a suitable time to visit his property. We also found that the association's calculation of the offer of redress applicable to Mr C was not entirely accurate and was not entirely in line with their Redress Procedure. We upheld both aspects of Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• The association should make a more appropriate offer of redress, in accordance with their Redress Procedure.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• The association should review their internal procedures to ensure that, when a member of staff is unexpectedly absent from work, their appointments are contacted and rescheduled within a reasonable timescale.
• The association's maintenance staff and contractors should be reminded of their obligations towards tenants regarding repairs and the timescales they are required to work within.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.