Appendix 3 Compensation Payments
Author: Carl Dixon
Effective Date: April 2023
Next Review Date: April 2026
Compensation Levels
Compensation payments are sums of money in recognition of loss or detriment to a complainant. Each case will be considered on its own merits, and our staff members may discuss the situation with the tenant, to gain their views as to what would be an acceptable remedy, dependent on the situation. Consideration is given to the duration of any avoidable distress or inconvenience, the seriousness of any other unfair impact, actions taken by us or the complainant which either mitigated or contributed to actual financial loss, distress, inconvenience or unfair impact and the level of rent or service charges.
| Failure to meet service standards or policy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Service failure |
If we have failed to comply with our own service standards compensation will be awarded per failure. Should the failure be due to a delay, an amount is awarded per day, up to a maximum. If the Right to Repair Scheme has been applied, the repairs payment will not be applicable, or this may supersede the Right to Repair if it is of a higher value. |
Repairs 1) £5 per day up to a maximum £50 Other Service Failures 2) Up to a maximum of £100 |
|
General goodwill
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Goodwill gestures |
Goodwill gestures may be made on a discretionary basis in cases of severe inconvenience, hardship or damages. These payments are made without prejudice. |
Distress & Inconvenience 1) Up to £100 Communication/delay in resolving complaint 2) Up to £100 |
|
Time & trouble
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Time & trouble |
Goodwill gestures may be made on a discretionary basis in cases of time a staff member or 3rd party has taken in order to resolve a situation, such as phone calls, visits, allowing for more appointments than should have been necessary. This may be in addition to inconvenience payments. These payments are made without prejudice. No payment will be made for • loss of earnings |
Repairs Evidence may be required to show costs incurred, for all other time & trouble 1) Up to £100 |
|
Loss of Rooms, facilities, or key services
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Loss of use of whole home |
If the whole home is rendered uninhabitable, we always aim to offer tenants temporary accommodation. If we are unable to do this, we will refund their rent for each day they are unable to live there, while repairs are being completed. |
Current rent & consideration given to an allowance to contribute towards the cost of meals and drinking water. This amount will be determined based on individual cases as per no access to cooking facilities below. |
|
Loss of use of any bedroom or living room |
Where a room cannot be used, the total number of rooms will be divided by the current rent. Compensation will then be paid as a percentage of habitable rooms. The resulting figure is the amount of compensation for each complete week the room is unavailable. |
Main Room 1) 20% of the weekly rent after 7 days Subsequent Rooms 2) 10% of the weekly rent after 7 days |
|
Loss of kitchen / access to cooking facilities |
Where the tenant/s lose complete use of their kitchen, AHA will also consider paying an allowance to contribute towards the cost of meals and drinking water. |
Loss of Kitchen 1) 25% of the weekly rent after 48 hours No access to cooking facilities 2) £15 per day per person |
|
Total loss of washing/showering facilities e.g. showers and sinks |
Where the tenant lose complete use of their bathroom, AHA will consider paying an allowance to contribute towards the cost of alternative arrangements. |
Loss of Bathroom – no other WC 1) 25% of the weekly rent after 48 hours Loss of Bathroom – separate WC available 2) 15% of the weekly rent after 48 hours |
|
Loss of amenities e.g. electricity, heating and/or hot water between 1st October – 30th March. Outside of these dates, we will only consider vulnerable customers for compensation. |
Where a failure to complete a repair, that is AHA’s responsibility, within the agreed timescale, has resulted in the tenant not having full use of the utilities for an unreasonable period. |
Winter Months (Oct-Mar) 1) Full loss- £5 per day 2) Partial loss- £2.50 per day Summer Months (Apr-Sep) 3) £2.50 per day (Hot Water ONLY) |
|
Discretionary payments
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Discretionary payments |
Manager discretion may be awarded when compensation elements do not fit within the compensation framework. This may be used in exceptional circumstances when the rest of the framework does not cover the issues. The amount maybe exceeded where applicable. |
Discretionary If over £500 Authorisation is required by CEO / FRAC. |
|
Increased utility costs / making good / service charge / goodwill
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Consideration / criteria | Levels of compensation £ |
| Increased utility costs |
Failure to complete a repair that is AHA’s responsibility: AHA is unable to complete a repair without the use of specialist equipment such as dehumidifiers, or a tenant is advised to use equipment such as a dehumidifier to resolve or remedy a repair. |
AHA will compensate for proven additional electricity used. 1) Temporary heater – £2.00 per day per heater. 2) Dehumidifier – £2.00 a day per unit |
| Making good decorations or belongings e.g. if they have been damaged or disturbed due to a repair (this is subject to investigation once the repair has been completed) | Where this is the fault of AHA contractors, to cover the costs of such damage, if it can be proven to be negligence or poor-quality workmanship, will be covered or decoration completed by AHA. |
Compensation will be determined following inspection by AHA. We will also consider depreciation. £50 – £100 per room N.B. Evidence of costs incurred may be required |
|
Failure to provide a service which is subject to a service charge |
We would not award a payment if reasonable alternative arrangements to cover the service have been successfully implemented, or if only part of the service has not been delivered. e.g. if one light in a scheme is not repaired but others remain working, then no compensation would be considered. |
If we fail to provide a service which a tenant has told us about, for which they pay a service charge, they may be entitled to receive compensation. Compensation will be an amount equivalent to the cost charged for the service not received. The amount will be deducted from the next year’s charges. This will be provided to all those affected and not just the complainant. |