5 August 2022
Dear Mrs Myers
Complaint: 202209405 – Housing For Women
Thank you for your recent telephone call regarding your complaint about Housing For Women. I am sorry to hear about the problems that are affecting you in your home.
Details of your complaint
In summary, I understand your complaint to be about:
- How Landlord handled your reports of broken radiator – Length of the time to replace a broken radiator (took over a year)
- How landlord handled your reports of broken/jammed door – You stated that you were often locked in and could not get out your home. You would have to call a neighbour’s through a window and give them keys so that they could open the door from the outside
- Landlord not communicating to you explain whose responsibility it was to get fallen tree removed – You would like this settled so that you can take appropriate action if it is your responsibility.
- Your reports of broken fence – You stated the Landlord stated that they do not replace fences however You stated that you have had the Landlord fix the fences before.
- Negligence to safety of residents – Length of time Communal glass was replaced after the neighbour smashed the window on two occasions
- Anti social behaviour (ASB) from neighbour – who has kicked your door when potentially under the influence
You have asked for the following as a resolution to the complaint:
- Would like Landlord to fix fence
- Landlord to apologise from all staff involved in the case of your complaint
- Landlord to communicate with you and respond to communication in particular about the responsibility of the tree
- Accept negligence
- Apologise for hanging up the phone
- You stated she were a member of the customer panel with the Landlord and would like to resolve the complaint amicably
The Housing Ombudsman’s role at this stage
Your complaint is at the Dispute Support stage of our complaint process.
Our role at this stage is to provide assistance to both parties and ensure that you are able to complete the landlord’s internal complaint procedure.
Before the Ombudsman can consider a complaint, we must be satisfied that you have completed the landlord’s complaint procedure. In the first instance, the Ombudsman encourages tenants and landlords to resolve complaints using the landlord’s internal complaints procedure. This often provides for the quickest and most amicable way of resolving a dispute.
Action taken
You have informed us that you have made a formal complaint to your landlord about your concerns but have not received a formal response.
We have therefore written to the landlord and asked it to respond to your complaint by contacting you within the timescales set out in the landlord’s complaint procedure or 10 working days. The landlord should therefore contact you by 19 August 2022 – 10 working days from today.
What are the next steps?
No Written Stage 1 Response Received
At this stage, we will not be taking any further action on this complaint. If you do not hear back from the landlord within 10 working days, please contact this Service and we will chase the landlord for a response.
Stage 1 Response Received
If you receive a response, but you remain dissatisfied, we recommend that you formally escalate the complaint to the next stage of the complaint process.
Alternatively, if you are satisfied with the landlord’s response you do not need to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman.
Notice
Please do not send us any further correspondence or copy us into any emails, unless we ask you to do so.
Further correspondence can be forwarded to us using the following methods:
– By email: please reply directly to this email
– By post: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ
– Telephone: 0300 111 3000
If responding by email, please do so without editing the subject line which contains a unique code allowing our systems to automatically file the email and inform the casework team.
Yours sincerely
Dispute Support Team
PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ
0300 111 3000
www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
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