Together Housing Association Limited — case 202329670

Decision Case ID 202329670 Decision type Investigation Landlord Together Housing Association Limited Landlord type Housing Association Occupancy Assured Tenancy Date 28 October 2025 Background The resident is an assured tenant of a 1-bedroom flat. He reported issues with a leaking roof and the landlord arranged an appointment to attend the property. The landlord cancelled the appointment on the day, saying it was due to an increase in emergency repairs. The resident raised a complaint due to the short notice and reported lost income from waiting at home.

What the complaint is about The complaint is about: The landlord’s rescheduling of a roof repair appointment. The landlord’s handling of the complaint. Our decision (determination) We have found that: There was no maladministration in the landlord’s rescheduling of a roof repair appointment. There was reasonable redress in the handling of the complaint. Summary of reasons In summary, the Ombudsman found that the landlord: Acted reasonably in rescheduling the appointment due to needing to prioritise emergency repairs.

It communicated appropriately and was not required to compensate the resident for loss of income. Unreasonably refused to investigate the resident’s initial complaint. It then appropriately remedied this failure by issuing a Stage 1 complaint response that included an apology and compensation. 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.

Recommendations Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them. Our recommendation Due date 1 Compensation If it has not already done so, the landlord should pay the resident the £50 compensation offered in its Stage 1 response. This should be paid directly to the resident. No later than 25 November 2025 Our investigation The complaint procedure Date What happened 22 September 2023 A member of the landlord’s planning team called the resident and booked an appointment for the roof to be repaired on 14 November 2023.

14 November 2023 The landlord called the resident to cancel the appointment. It explained that it had received an influx of emergency repair jobs, due to bad weather, which it had to prioritise. It rearranged the appointment for 23 November 2023. The resident made a complaint the same day about the short notice. He explained he had taken a day off work and lost earnings as a result. 21 November 2023 The landlord sent the resident an email in which it: Said that it could not take the complaint through its formal complaints process as there had been no service failure and it had followed its repairs policy.

Apologised that it had rescheduled the appointment. It explained this was necessary as it had to prioritise emergency repairs. Said it had informed the resident as soon as possible and rebooked the repair. Said the resident had the right to refer the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service. It said it would raise a complaint if directed to by us. 23 November 2023 The landlord completed repairs to the roof. Referral to the Ombudsman The resident referred his complaint to us and said: The landlord had refused to accept his complaint.

He felt the landlord’s refusal and apology reflected a lack of care for him. He had suffered a loss of income because of the cancellation of the appointment. He believed the landlord should have offered compensation of £75 for lost wages and further compensation for stress. 26 July 2024 Following our request for evidence, the landlord contacted the resident to discuss his complaint and issued a Stage 1 response. The landlord: Acknowledged that the appointment cancellation would have caused frustration and annoyance for him.

It explained it would not compensate for loss of earnings. It had reviewed its process about complaint exclusions. It offered £50 compensation for the impact of refusing to respond to the initial complaint. 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 rescheduling of a roof repair appointment Finding No maladministration The landlord’s repairs policy states that it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours. In this case, the landlord called the resident to explain the cancellation and rescheduled his appointment promptly. The cancellation was due to emergency repairs arising because of weather-related issues which were outside the landlord’s control. Although the landlord acted appropriately in rescheduling and updating the resident, its email on 21 November 2023 refusing to deal with his complaint within its complaints procedure lacked empathy and did not acknowledge the resident’s concerns about lost income.

In line with Ombudsman guidance and the landlord’s compensation policy, compensation for loss of income is not usually awarded. This is because residents are expected to provide access for repairs under their tenancy agreement. The landlord’s complaints policy also says it will not compensate for circumstances outside its control. The landlord subsequently tried to put the matter right by contacting the resident about his complaint. In its complaint response dated 26 July 2024, the landlord explained it had to prioritise emergency repairs.

Although the cancellation likely caused frustration, the landlord responded reasonably and in line with its policies. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s rescheduling of the roof repair appointment. Complaint The handling of the complaint Finding Reasonable redress The landlord did not handle the complaint in line with the Complaint Handling Code (the Code) in operation at the time when it initially refused to investigate. It excluded the complaint based on its belief that no service failure had occurred.

The Code said that a landlord’s complaints policy must clearly set out the circumstances in which a matter will not be considered, and these circumstances should be fair and reasonable to residents. The landlord’s complaints policy did not include as a reason for refusing to consider a complaint that it believed there was no service failure. Determining that no service failure occurred before investigating undermined the fairness of the complaints process. By refusing to investigate, the landlord missed an opportunity to resolve the issue early and failed to consider the impact on the resident.

Its email dated 21 November 2023, in which it said it would not investigate the complaint, contained a number of grammatical and spelling errors. This likely communicated a lack of care by the landlord to the resident. However, it later carried out a complaint investigation and contacted the resident. The landlord showed learning by reviewing its exclusions process and offered £50 compensation for inconvenience. Whilst the initial refusal was a service failure, the investigation and compensation provided reasonable redress.

Learning The landlord showed learning by reviewing its complaint exclusions process. This subsequently led to a more appropriate handling of the complaint. This review showed an improved understanding of the importance of a clear route to escalation and a formal response, in line with the Code. Knowledge information management (record keeping) We have not identified any concerns with the landlord’s record keeping. Communication The landlord’s email dated 21 November 2023 contained numerous grammatical and spelling errors.

This was poor and likely communicated to the resident a lack of care and attention to his concerns. It was appropriate for the landlord to call the resident before issuing its complaint response dated 26 July 2024. This was positive engagement and showed a willingness to try and resolve the issue.