Clarion Housing Association Limited — case 202501909

Decision Case ID 202501909 Decision type Investigation Landlord Clarion Housing Association Limited Landlord type Housing Association Occupancy Assured Tenancy Date 27 January 2026 Background The resident is unhappy about ongoing delays in the landlord adapting and extending a new property for her and her son. What the complaint is about The landlord’s handling of the adaptation and extension of the resident’s new property. We have also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination) We have found: no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the adaptation and extension of the resident’s new property reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the complaint Summary of reasons Adaptation and extension of the new property While there were delays in the completion of the works, we have seen no evidence that the landlord acted unreasonably. The work was complex, with several agencies involved, and the landlord made several adjustments at the resident’s request which contributed to delays.

Complaint handling While there was a short delay in the landlord advising the resident that it needed an extension at stage 1, it apologised and offered appropriate 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 The landlord should consider laying the resident’s flooring that it has offered as soon as possible, and before she moves in, to ensure an easier transition for her. It should do this urgently and then arrange the earliest possible move in date for her. The landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation as offered in its stage 1 response and £600 compensation offered in December 2025. The landlord to contact the resident to discuss her outstanding concerns and raise a new complaint if necessary.

Our investigation The complaint procedure Date What happened 9 April 2025 The resident raised a complaint to the landlord. She told it she was unhappy it had told her would be able to move in the new property in the spring but it now said it would not be ready until the summer. 16 April 2025 The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint. 8 May 2025 The landlord sent an update to the resident to say that it needed more time to investigate the complaint. 22 May 2025 The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint in which it said: it apologised for its delayed response the works were complex and taking longer than expected it had made it clear the process would be lengthy from the outset the earliest possible move in date would now be in the autumn it offered £50 compensation for the delayed works and £50 for its delayed complaint response 23 May 2025 The resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint.

She said she felt the landlord was purposely delaying the work. The landlord acknowledged her escalation request the same day. 20 June 2025 The landlord sent its stage 2 response, in which it said it still expected to complete the works by the autumn. It said that she could not move in before it completed works as it would not be safe. Referral to the Ombudsman The resident asked us to investigate the complaint as she was unhappy she still did not have a moving date. She wanted the landlord to complete works as soon as possible to allow her to move.

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 handling of the adaptation and extension of the resident’s new property. Finding No maladministration What we have not considered We previously determined a case for the resident (202410369) where we considered the landlord’s handling of the adaptation and extension of the resident’s new property.

That investigation considered events up until 28 February 2025 and we will not investigate these events again. This investigation has considered events from March 2025 onwards. This is because our scheme does not allow for us to make a finding on the same events more than once. The resident has recently told us about new issues, including the quality of the build of the extension, the building of an access ramp, the level of rent and her son’s right to succeed her tenancy. The resident did not raise these issues as part of her complaint to the landlord, so we have not considered these.

If she remains unhappy with these issues, she can raise them with the landlord directly, to allow it to investigate these. Adaptation and extension of the new property When we determined the resident’s previous case, the landlord expected the property to be ready for the resident to move into in late spring 2025. On 9 April 2025 she raised a new complaint as it had now told her it would not be ready until the summer. The landlord emailed her on 30 April 2025 and said it had planned to start work that month but there had been further planning-related delays.

It said it remained optimistic about a summer move in. In its stage 1 response of 22 May 2025 the landlord said that the earliest possible move in date would now be in the autumn. It explained that the work was complex, with multiple agencies involved. It offered a £50 goodwill gesture to recognise the further delay. Given the complexity of the works, this offer was reasonable and proportionate. In its stage 2 response of 20 June 2025 the landlord said it still expected to complete the works by the autumn.

Following this response the landlord continued to keep the resident updated monthly. In August 2025, it said it was still working toward autumn completion and in September 2025 it said it was making good progress. In October 2025 the resident sent the landlord an email that left it concerned that she no longer wanted the property and it asked her to clarify whether she still wanted to move. It carried out a site meeting on 23 October 2025 where all parties agreed several adjustments to the plans.

The resident raised an issue about there not being a ramp for access for her son’s mobility buggy. The landlord advised her she would need to obtain an Occupational Therapist report for this as it was not previously recommended (as noted in our previous determination), which was reasonable. The works were completed in December 2025, which was a few months later than the landlord advised in its stage 2 response. However, we have seen no evidence the landlord unnecessarily delayed the work or could have foreseen this delay during its internal complaints process.

Some of the delay was a result of queries raised by the resident, which it was reasonable for the landlord to address before continuing work. We appreciate this has been a long and difficult process for the resident and her family, and that the expected move in date has been moved back several times since March 2025. However, the process has been a complex one, with planning issues as well as adjustments needed during this time. We have seen no evidence of any failings by the landlord that led to the delays and it kept the resident regularly updated throughout the process.

In December 2025 it offered her £600 compensation to recognise the delays in completing the works, which was a reasonable gesture. Complaint The handling of the complaint Finding Reasonable redress As can be seen from above: the landlord acknowledged the complaint within 5 working days of the resident raising it (9 April to 26 April 2025) – in line with its complaints policy timescale of 5 working days it updated the resident 14 working days later to say it needed more time (16 April to 8 May 2025) – slightly outside its policy timescale of 10 working days it sent its stage 1 response 10 working days after this update (8 May to 22 May 2025) – in line with its policy timescale of 10 working days it acknowledged the resident’s escalation request the same day, in line with its policy it sent its stage 2 response 19 working days after the resident requested escalation (23 May to 20 June 2025) – in line with its police timescale of 20 working days.

The landlord acknowledged its complaint handling failure at stage 1 and offered compensation of £50 to recognise this. This offer of compensation was proportionate to its failing and in line with our remedies guidance. Learning Knowledge information management (record keeping) The landlord has kept comprehensive records of both its actions and its communications with the resident and other parties involved in the works. Communication The landlord committed to keeping the resident updated each month, even when there was little progress to update on.

It upheld this commitment and has demonstrated that it has kept the resident regularly updated.