Hyde Housing Association Limited — case 202341519

Decision Case ID 202341519 Decision type Investigation Landlord Hyde Housing Association Limited Landlord type Housing Association Occupancy Leaseholder Date 06 February 2026 Background The resident reported a leak into her flat from the property above in June 2023. She complained to the landlord on 4 October 2023 as she was unhappy it had not fixed the leak. She said this had caused damage to her walls and flooring and affected her electricity supply. What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of: Leak reports.

The resident’s complaint. Our decision (determination) We found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of leak reports. We found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint. We have made orders for the landlord to put things right. Summary of reasons The landlord’s handling of leak reports The landlord’s completion of leak related repairs in the resident’s flat was delayed by a further 5 months after its stage 2 complaint response. It did not provide the resident with proportionate redress for the inconvenience, time and trouble and further delay she experienced.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint in line with its policy timescales and our Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’). Putting things right Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction. Orders Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify.

The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set. Order What the landlord must do Due date 1 Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing for its further delay in completing the leak repairs. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance. No later than 06 March 2026 2 Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £700 compensation made up as follows: The £550 compensation already paid.

An additional £150 compensation for distress and inconvenience due to repair delays. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. 06 March 2026 Our investigation The complaint procedure Date What happened 4 October 2023 The resident complained to the landlord. She said: She had reported leaks from the above flat since June 2023, but the leaks had not been fixed. The leaks had caused damage to her walls and flooring.

The leaks affected her electricity supply, and she was worried it was a health and safety hazard. 9 October 2023 The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint. 11 October 2023 The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response. It said: It was sorry it did not complete the leak repairs sooner. It would redecorate the resident’s water damaged wall and reimburse her for the cost of the 2 damaged floorboards. Its property maintenance team would oversee the repairs. It offered the resident £250 compensation made up of: – £75 for repair delays.

– £75 for customer effort. – £100 for distress and inconvenience. 6 December 2023 The resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint. 29 December 2023 The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response. It said: It apologised for not fixing the leak promptly and for not keeping the resident informed about what it was doing to resolve it. It would replace the water tank in the flat above on 10 January 2024. It would inspect the resident’s hallway, ceilings, walls, flooring and fuse box on 15 January 2024.

It offered the resident a further £300 compensation made up of: – £100 for customer effort. – £100 for the delays completing the repairs. – £100 for distress and inconvenience. 12 January 2024 The resident reported a further leak from the flat above. Referral to the Ombudsman The resident asked us to investigate the complaint as she was unhappy with how the landlord handled the repairs. She also wanted the landlord to compensate her for the cost of her replacement boiler. June 2024 The landlord confirmed all leak damage works in the resident’s flat had been completed.

What we found and why The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration. Complaint The landlord’s handling of leak reports Finding Maladministration What we have not investigated In January 2024 the resident told the landlord she has an autoimmune condition, and the leak issues affected her health.

We recognise the distress the resident experienced. However, we do not have the expertise to assess any potential impact on health. It would be fairer, more reasonable, and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. It is best for the courts to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice. We have therefore not investigated this further. Under the lease agreement, the resident is responsible for the maintenance and repair of her boiler.

However, she told the landlord the repeated leaks damaged her boiler, forcing her to replace it. She asked the landlord to compensate her for the cost of the boiler replacement. This request was made after the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response. As this request has not completed the landlord’s complaints process, we cannot investigate this matter at this stage. The resident has told us she is currently pursuing a claim with her insurer for the cost of the replacement boiler, and the landlord is assisting with this.

If the resident’s insurance claim is unsuccessful, she may choose to raise a new complaint with the landlord regarding leak damage to her boiler. She may then refer this to us for separate investigation if she is dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response. What we have investigated The resident first reported the leak out of hours on 26 June 2023, and the landlord responded promptly by sending a contractor the next day. The contractor confirmed that the source of the leak was the water tank in the flat above, which was also owned by the landlord.

Under its repairs policy, the landlord was responsible for both the leak and the maintenance of the water tank in that property. The resident’s safety concerns about the leak affecting her electrics were understandable. Records showed that an active leak impacting the fuse box was noted on 26 June 2023, and the electrics were made safe at that time. A further check on 28 June 2023 found that although the leak had stopped, the fuse box remained wet, and the contractor recommended an assessment as continued leaks could require the electrics to be disconnected.

When the landlord visited the flat above on 22 September 2023, it confirmed the water tank needed replacing and that the leak was still affecting the electrics. However, there is no evidence that it completed the recommended risk assessment, and its later stage 1 complaint response stated that the electrics had been made safe despite the leak not being resolved. As the leak had not been resolved, it is unclear how the landlord could reasonably make this assertion. This raises concerns about its regard for an ongoing potential risk.

While the landlord accepted delays and responsibility for damage, it failed to explain the reasons for the delays, which was not appropriate. The landlord also failed to complete the works it committed to in its stage 1 complaint response. This failure prolonged the resident’s exposure to further leaks and inconvenience. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord apologised for this and offered the resident further compensation in efforts to put things right. In its stage 2 complaint response, the landlord stated it had identified, on 18 October 2023, that a new water tank was needed (in the flat above) and that a works order had been raised.

However, the landlord’s repair logs show this had already been identified earlier, in June 2023 and again in September 2023. This suggests the landlord failed to act on early warnings about the water tank, which raises concerns about how thoroughly it reviewed and responded to information available throughout the repair process. If the landlord had acted on the earlier reports, it is likely the issue could have been escalated and addressed sooner. This would have reduced the inconvenience and distress the resident experienced as a consequence of the ongoing leaks.

Due to a lack of evidence, we are unable to determine if the landlord had valid reasons for its delays, which was a failure. The landlord removed the water tank in the flat above on 12 January 2024 and began works to install a combi boiler. On the same day, the resident experienced another significant leak, causing further damage, distress, and inconvenience. While we acknowledge that the landlord could not have foreseen this incident, the repair logs indicate that the works relating to the upstairs flat were not fully completed until the end of January 2024.

On 19 February 2024 the resident told the landlord that she had an auto-immune condition and needed to store her medication in the fridge. She explained that leaks affecting the fuse box caused the electricity to trip, which caused her significant distress. However, the landlord could not reasonably be expected to be aware of the resident’s vulnerabilities as there is no evidence on file to show that the resident informed the landlord before this date. The resident also told the landlord in February 2024 she had experienced boiler problems that left her without hot water during December 2023 and January 2024.

The resident’s lease states the leaseholder is responsible for maintaining and repairing her boiler, so it is understandable that she did not report the loss of hot water to the landlord at the time. The resident also said that when the landlord’s surveyor attended on 9 February 2024, he suggested the boiler problems including no hot water may have been caused by leaks into the boiler fuse switch. We have not seen a copy of the surveyor’s report to confirm this. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to expect that a boiler related insurance claim will consider all issues arising from leak damage to the boiler, including the loss of hot water.

The resident informed the landlord in her complaint on 4 October 2023 that leak damage had affected her hallway walls, ceiling and flooring. Under the landlord’s repairs policy, it aims to complete routine repairs within 20 working days. It was reasonable for the landlord to delay the repairs until the source of the leaks had been fully resolved and the inspection on 15 January 2025 was completed. However, the repairs were not completed until the end of May 2024, over 4 months after the landlord’s inspection on 15 January 2024 and significantly outside its maximum routine repair timeframe of 20 working days.

The landlord accepted it delayed in fixing the leak in the flat above and in completing the leak damage repairs in the resident’s home. In its stage 2 response, it apologised and offered compensation for this, which were positive steps. However, the compensation provided did not take into account the continued inconvenience the resident experienced until the repairs were completed. The landlord also did not commit to a future review of compensation or subsequently demonstrate that it reconsidered the level of redress once the repairs were complete.

We have therefore found the landlord was responsible for maladministration in its delayed handling of the leak related repairs. The landlord is ordered to apologise to and pay the resident a further £150 compensation. This total compensation of £700 (including the £550 compensation already paid) is in line with our remedies guidance where the landlord’s failures had a significant impact on the resident. Complaint The handling of the complaint Finding No maladministration At the time of the resident’s complaint the landlord had a 2-stage complaints process.

The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 9 October 2023, which was within its 5-working-day target timeframe. It then issued its stage 1 complaint response within its 10-working-day target timeframe. The landlord escalated the resident’s complaint on 22 December 2023. However, the evidence shows the resident made this request earlier, on 6 December 2023. Nevertheless, the landlord issued its stage 2 response within 20 working days of the earlier date. As the landlord met its timescales overall, and the quality of the responses was in line with expectations, we have found no maladministration in its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Learning The landlord did not acknowledge any learning in its complaint responses. It also did not appropriately monitor the progress of repair works or complete an electrical safety risk assessment. It should reflect on the findings in this report and its repairs monitoring to help prevent future occurrences. Knowledge and information management (record keeping) The landlord did not provide a copy of the survey report dated 9 February 2024. However, overall, its records were sufficient to enable a thorough assessment of the complaint.

Communication The landlord acknowledged it failed to adequately update the resident regarding the progress of repairs. It should reflect on its communication in this case, as effective communication is key to providing assurance to residents and helping rebuild trust.