Ash Shahada Housing Association Limited · Case 202442114 · 14 January 2025
Ash Shahada Housing Association Limited — case 202442114
The Ombudsman found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s electricity charges, consumption, and her subsequent request for a refund. Our decision (determination) The landlord made an offer of redress following our in.
The full determination
Decision Case ID 202442114 Decision type Investigation Landlord Ash-Shahada Housing Association Limited Landlord type Housing association Occupancy Assured Date 14 January 2025 Background The resident lives in a converted terraced house. She raised concerns with the landlord that the communal electricity charges were based on estimated consumption, as the meter had not been working for a long time. She said there were two lights in the communal areas, both fitted with energy-saving sensors, but the bills were higher than those in her own flat.
She requested that the landlord investigate this with the electricity provider to establish what had gone wrong, replace the meter to ensure bills were accurate going forward, and refund any overpayments to her account. What the complaint is about The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s electricity charges, consumption, and her subsequent request for a refund. Our decision (determination) The landlord made an offer of redress following our intervention which resolves the complaint satisfactorily.
Summary of reasons Following our intervention, the landlord agreed to undertake the following actions: Repair or replace the meter by 25 February 2026 to ensure it is functioning correctly and providing accurate readings. Appoint a qualified person by 11 March 2026 to recalculate the communal electricity for the periods: April 2022-March 2023 April 2023-March 2024 April 2024-March 2025 April 2025-March 2026 April 2026-March 2027 Write the resident an apology letter by 18 March 2026 with the corrected statements.
The landlord would confirm the amount due to the resident, including a recalculation of its administration charges, and an additional interest of 7% for the entire period. The landlord will also pay the resident £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused. Transfer the full amount to the resident’s bank account by 25 March 2026. We are therefore satisfied that through this agreement, the dispute will be resolved. Subject to the landlord taking these actions forward, this case will be closed.
Putting things right Recommendations Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them. Our recommendations The landlord will repair the electricity meter and recalculate the resident’s service charge. The landlord will write an apology letter for the delay to accompany the corrected statement of account. The landlord will transfer any outstanding balances to the resident’s bank account.
This is a structured summary of a published determination. The official decision is the authoritative record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.