Great Places Housing Association · Case 202335377 · 13 November 2025
Great Places Housing Association — case 202335377
The resident complained that the landlord wrongly charged her service charge for estate lighting that had been adopted by the Council. The landlord agreed the charge was wrong and refunded it, but the refund took six months and it did not explain how the amount was calculated; the complaint was resolved with the Ombudsman's intervention.
Orders and recommendations
- Take specific action
Write to the resident to explain how it calculated the service charge refund.
- Apology
Apologise for not explaining the refund calculation sooner.
- Compensation
Pay the resident £100 compensation to reflect her time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter and in getting the refund applied to her account.
Findings by complaint head
Summarised automatically from the decision below. The Ombudsman's decision text is the authoritative record.
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Response to concerns about service charge for estate lighting
Mediation / settlementThe landlord agreed it should not have charged the resident for estate lighting and said it would refund her. The refund took 6 months and the landlord did not explain how it was calculated. With the Ombudsman's intervention the parties agreed the landlord would write to explain the refund calculation, apologise for not explaining sooner, and pay £100 compensation.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202335377 Decision type Investigation Landlord Great Places Housing Association Landlord type Housing Association Occupancy Assured Tenancy Date 13 November 2025 Background The resident complained the landlord had charged her for estate lighting. She said the estate lighting was adopted by the Council and the cost should not be included in her service charge. What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the service charge for estate lighting.
Our decision (determination) The complaint was resolved with our intervention. We have made recommendations for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reasons Through its complaint process, the landlord agreed it should not have charged the resident for estate lighting and said it would give her a refund. The resident told us it took 6 months for the landlord to pay the refund and it had not explained how it had calculated it. She did not know if the amount refunded was correct.
We proposed the landlord settle the complaint by writing to the resident to explain how it calculated the refund, apologising for not doing so sooner and paying her £100 compensation. Both parties agreed to this as a resolution to the complaint. We are satisfied the actions agreed will resolve the complaint satisfactorily. Putting things right Recommendations The complaint has been resolved with intervention on the basis the landlord follows our recommendations. Our recommendations Write to the resident to explain how it calculated the service charge refund and apologise for not explaining sooner.
Pay the resident £100 compensation to reflect her time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter and in getting the refund applied to her account.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.