Guidance on making compensation payments
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Example one
- Incident: Service failures and good will gestures
- Compensation event: Distress or inconvenience that may have resulted from our service failures. Level of compensation will be commensurate with the inconvenience, stress, disturbance or annoyance suffered by the resident and the level to which we have been directly responsible.
- Compensation guidance:
- Low impact: One instance of inconvenience caused by Housing 21 – up to £20
- Medium impact: A succession of service failures with a problem not resolved within a reasonable timescale £20 - £100
- High impact: Serious or prolonged service failure or loss of facilities resulting in severe distress, disruption, inconvenience or loss of income £100 - £500.
- Authorisation:
- Low impact: HM/ECM
- Medium impact: RHM/ECM
- High impact: Head of RL/EC
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Example two
- Incident: Antisocial behaviour (ASB)
- Compensation event: Not responding reasonably to ASB complaint
- Compensation guidance: Up to £100
- Authorisation: Head of RL/ EC
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Example three
- Incident: Heating loss
- Compensation event: Failure or lack of service reported whether that be an isolated incident or a series of connected incidents e.g. ongoing heating problem
- Compensation guidance: Supply additional portable heaters and pay the additional running costs for the period either £2 per day or the demonstrable extra electricity cost to use the temporary heating provided, whichever is higher
- Authorisation: RHM/ ECM
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Example four
- Incident: Unsatisfactory Tenancy Conditions
- Compensation event: Failure to remedy a defect we know about or unreasonably delay taking remedial action which affects the health of a resident or their use of the property
- Compensation guidance: Resident has to be able to demonstrate to us that their health or their use and enjoyment of the property has been affected and caused them distress or serious inconvenience. When deciding on the level of payment consideration must be given to any damage to a resident’s property.
- Authorisation: Head of RL/ EC
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Example five
- Incident: Repairs – our version of the ‘Right to Repair’ scheme
- Compensation event: By failing (at second time of asking) to carry out a repair described on the works order within our service standards and we have put at risk, the health, safety or security of the resident; and the repair has, or is likely to cost, less than £250 and are considered within emergency or urgent (Priority) category
- Compensation guidance: Compensation is payable is £10, plus £2 for every day the repair remained outstanding following the completion date as stated in the second repair notice. The maximum payable is £50. Compensation will not be paid: if the repair has not been reported to Housing 21; the works required are so extensive that further inspections and estimates will be needed before the work can be carried out; the resident has been uncooperative with the contractor in providing access for the work to be carried out and this is shown as such after investigation; the repair is not the responsibility of Housing 21, or is as a result of damage, neglect or waste by the occupant
- Authorisation: RHM/ ECM
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Example six
- Incident: Failure to deal with a complaint
- Compensation event: Fail to meet our agreed service standards on responding to, or dealing with a complaint. Failure is in excess of five additional working days and not previously agreed
- Compensation guidance: Payment limited to £100 per resident per complaint. Resident to demonstrate that the delay caused undue distress, inconvenience or additional expense
- Authorisation: RHM/ ECM
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Example seven
- Incident: Destroyed or damaged items
- Compensation event: Where items have been destroyed or damaged as a result of our actions or inaction
- Compensation guidance: Cost of replacement. Receipts or proofs of purchase may be asked for
- Authorisation: RHM/ ECM
