Concerns in England

In August 2024, the Housing Ombudsman for England published its ‘Learning from Severe Maladministration’ report, which focussed on landlords’ handling of cases involving windows. The report followed the Housing Ombudsman’s open letter to English social housing providers in July 2024 encouraging a proactive review of window complaints, following growing concerns about how these types of complaints have been handled.

The report highlighted a case where a child’s bedroom window was boarded up for four years, with the lack of ventilation causing mould to grow and allegedly affecting the child’s health. The landlord produced a report which claimed a replacement window in that case was not necessary, but there are no surveyor reports to explain how this conclusion was reached. The 125,000-home housing association was ordered to pay £1,700 in compensation to the household and issue a written apology.

With the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishab in December 2020 due to exposure to black mould in his home, social landlords have become a focus of a nationwide campaign to tackle damp and mould issues in rented housing. This makes issues over poor ventilation in homes all the more prominent and stresses the serious consequences of landlords failing to act.

While not directly applicable to Scotland, the Housing Ombudsman’s report serves as a reminder of the importance of landlords north and south of the border responding promptly and sufficiently to such complaints and meeting repairing obligations. But what are the repairing obligations on Scottish social landlords for windows specifically and what challenges are presented in meeting those obligations?

Collette Miller

Right to Repair in Scotland

Social landlords in Scotland are bound by statutory, contractual and regulatory obligations to maintain the properties they let out. These responsibilities are mainly found within the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and are encompassed in Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST) agreements with tenants.

Scottish social landlords must, under section 27 of 2001 Act and as a condition of their SST agreements with tenants, ensure that its properties are habitable, wind, watertight and reasonably fit for human habitation through the tenancy.

The Scottish Secure Tenants (Right to Repair) Regulations 2002 provide that social housing tenants shall be entitled to have ‘qualifying repairs’ carried out to their house within specified timescales. This includes repairs of up to £350 to fix insecure external windows, doors or locks. Repairs under the scheme must be completed within a certain timescale, which for windows is one working day following notification of the repair or the date of inspection by the landlord.

If a landlord fails to complete the repair within the prescribed timescale, they are liable to pay to the tenant compensation of £15 plus an additional £3 for every working day thereafter until the repair is completed, subject to a maximum compensation payment of £100.

Additionally, under the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, social landlords must ensure that their tenants’ homes must meet minimum standards, including:

• Meeting the ‘tolerable standard’ contained in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which includes providing adequate natural lighting and proper ventilation.
• Being energy efficient, which involves making sure windows do not allow excessive heat loss.
• Safe, secure and free from serious disrepair.

Challenges faced by social landlords

On the face of it, it may seem obvious to say that social landlords should fix or replace broken windows immediately, but there can be additional challenges that get in the way, including:

• Cost: Windows can be expensive to replace (especially having regard to rising costs of labour and materials) and social landlords’ budgets are stretched. Landlords will need to prioritise how they spend their limited resources.
• Lifecycle schedules: Social landlords will have a schedule in place for the replacement of windows and doors as they come to the end of their lifecycle, which can often be 25-30 years. It is easy to see how a landlord might want to do a temporary repair and postpone permanent repairs until the whole house, or even the whole estate, is getting new windows and doors.
• Bureaucracy: Whilst it is important for landlords to adhere to their policies and procedures, it is equally important that they don’t lose sight of the tenant, and that common-sense prevails.
• Tenant liability: Where the tenant or an invited visitor to their home has wilfully, accidentally or negligently caused the damage, then landlords may require the tenant to undertake the repair or pay for it. In many cases, it may be that landlords will need to undertake the repair and then seek to recover the costs from the tenant afterwards.

Lessons for social landlords

Windows that are broken or damaged can pose significant safety risks, making repairs urgent. Repairs that are considered urgent or emergency, such as a broken window, must be addressed quickly by the landlord, typically within a matter of hours or days. Routine repairs, which do not pose an immediate risk to health or safety, must still be carried out within a reasonable time frame, typically within a few weeks.

If a tenant’s window is boarded up temporarily, landlords must ensure that this is a short-term solution, only until the window can be properly repaired or replaced. Any long-term boarding up, particularly for years, would breach the landlord’s repairing obligations.

Landlords must be proactive and take ownership of these issues and not make it the responsibility of tenants to chase landlords for these repairs. Key to this will be carrying out proper investigations and risk-assessments by suitably qualified persons, effective recording-keeping and ongoing monitoring where permanent repairs are needed.

Where necessary, landlords should review their policies and procedures to ensure they are up-to-date, sensible and customer focussed.

Conclusion

The report detailing cases in England highlights the potential severe consequences when a landlord fails to meet their responsibilities regarding window repairs. In Scotland, social landlords have clear obligations to maintain properties, including windows, in a state that ensures tenants’ safety, security, and well-being. Prompt action in response to repair requests is essential to meet both legal standards and the expectations of tenants.

While temporary fixes like boarding-up windows can be necessary in certain situations, such measures should never be allowed to persist for years, as doing so would likely constitute a breach of social landlords’ legal and ethical obligations. Above all else, social landlords should maintain open and transparent (pun-intended!) communication with tenants throughout.