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Case ref:201508704
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Date:October 2016
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Body:Castlehill Housing Association Ltd
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Sector:Housing Associations
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Outcome:Resolved, recommendations
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Subject:repairs and maintenance
Summary
Mr and Mrs C's washing machine failed and caused a flood to their downstairs neighbour's flat. Both Mr and Mrs C and the tenant below them are tenants of the housing association.
Mr and Mrs C's contents insurer said that as Mr and Mrs C had not been negligent, they would not cover the cost of repairing the damage. The association rectified the problems in the tenant's flat below and charged Mr and Mrs C for the cost of this.
Mr and Mrs C complained that this was unreasonable. We considered this complaint carefully and asked some specific questions of the association. Following this, the association decided that without a clear policy and legal guidance around these types of situations, they had not acted reasonably. We agreed a number of steps the association could take to resolve the matter to Mr and Mrs C's satisfaction.
Recommendations
We recommended that the association:
- apologise to Mr and Mrs C, demonstrating that they have reflected on their complaint and their actions and identified failings;
- refund Mr and Mrs C all monies paid and cancel any outstanding amount; and
- provide us with a copy of their policy, covering these sorts of situations.