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Peabody compensates residents after leaks left children ‘caught in downpours’
Peabody has been ordered to pay out around £8,300 in compensation after an investigation by the Housing Ombudsman.
Three counts of severe maladministration were found by the ombudsman after the landlord left one household with intermittent hot water for nearly two years and another with leaks in multiple rooms for three years.
In the first case, the landlord left problems with a central London resident’s water supply ongoing for nearly two years. This resulted in a second finding of severe maladministration for poor complaint-handling.
During this period, the resident suffered intermittent issues from loss of hot water to insufficient water pressure, which rendered the hot water “barely useable”, the ombudsman said.
The events took place during the pandemic – a time there was a particular emphasis on the importance of hand washing.
The resident described the stress caused to her and her daughter as they had not been able to wash themselves adequately.
Peabody suspected the resident was causing the issues through deliberate tampering in order to get compensation, but this was eventually accepted as unfounded.
Communication with the resident was poor, the ombudsman said, as the resident had asked for all communication to be in writing as English is not her first language, but this adjustment was not always made.
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Peabody’s chief executive was ordered to apologise directly to the resident and the landlord was ordered to pay £2,300 in compensation.
In the second case, Peabody failed to fix leaks in a south-east London home and did not consider whether it was habitable for its vulnerable residents.
The investigation found no evidence to demonstrate that Peabody considered the vulnerability of the occupants, completed a risk assessment, or checked whether the electrics were safe.
The association also offered no interim support, or prioritised the repairs and failed to keep detailed records.
The leak into the kitchen was not resolved for 18 months, with leaks in the living room and bathroom not being fixed for 28 months. Related internal repairs were completed more than three years after being reported.
The resident and her young family spent several winters in a wet, cold and uncomfortable environment, the ombudsman said. She complained about how unsafe the home was, with her children getting “caught in downpours” if it rained while they were in the bath.
Scaffolding took two months to be erected, an inspection took a further month to take place and the landlord closed the repair request despite the issue being ongoing.
Peabody was ordered to pay the resident over £6,000 in compensation and issue an apology from a senior member of staff. The landlord was also ordered to complete an action plan to improve services to residents.
The latest findings come four months after Peabody’s last severe maladministration finding was published, and seven months after the ombudsman’s special investigation report into Catalyst, which merged with Peabody earlier this year.
Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “In both cases, the landlord did not act with the urgency or the empathy required.
“The landlord repeatedly delayed its response to fixing the repairs and the fact that in one of the cases, the landlord staff were accusing the resident of deliberately creating the problem should be a huge cause of concern. It is essential landlords adopt a positive complaint-handling culture.
“Many of the poor complaint responses were issues we highlighted with Catalyst Housing in our special investigation report before they merged with Peabody. At that time we urged the new organisation to make sure it did not make those same mistakes, and we reiterate that call through these findings.
“These cases also shine a real spotlight on the importance of record-keeping and how that can drive positive performance and culture. Our report on knowledge and information management covers this extensively and it is vital for landlords to make this part of foundation for improving complaint-handling.”
In its learning statement, Peabody said it had made “considerable improvements” to its complaint-handling since these issues came to light, but that it was “very sorry that we let these residents down at the time.”
The landlord continued: “The repairs took far too long in both cases. Our overall handling of the complaints also fell below the standard residents should expect. We have apologised and paid compensation to both residents.
“Since these complaints were made, we have formed a specialist, centralised complaints handling team who make sure that any issues are handled promptly. We have also improved our record-keeping with a new centralised system and are reviewing how we can strengthen our approach to meet the needs of residents especially where there are vulnerabilities.
“It’s clear we needed to do better in these cases, and we’re committed to listening to our residents and using every opportunity to continue to learn from our mistakes and improve.”
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