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Havering Council (202105918)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202105918

Havering Council

22 January 2022


Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of:

a. roof repairs;

b. damp and mould;

c. problems with the windows, doors, heating, and electrical system in the property; and

d. associated formal complaint.

Background and summary of events

  1. The resident is a tenant of the landlord and her property is a house which has a loft.
  2. On 22 December 2020 the landlord raised a repair to trace and rectify a leak from the loft. An operative attended on the same day and recommended mould washes to the property’s bedrooms and more insulation in the loft. The operative advised that there was severe mould in the property and a surveyor needed to attend as soon as possible.
  3. The landlord raised a repair on 24 December 2020 to complete a mould wash to the resident’s property, until it could complete a survey in the new year.
  4. On 30 December 2020, the resident called the landlord and asked it to inspect the damp and mould in her home, which she said was severe and causing her health problems. On the same day, The landlord raised a repair to trace and remedy a possible leak from the roof, noting that the resident’s ceiling was dripping.
  5. On 5 and 6 January 2021 the resident spoke with the landlord. The resident asked for a surveyor to attend as an emergency because the mould was affecting her health. The resident advised that all her upstairs rooms and downstairs bathroom were affected by condensation, and she would send in photos of this.
  6. The landlord internally advised that it was happy to arrange repair works, but it believed its contractor would class them as nonessential rather than emergency.
  7. On 6 January 2021 England entered a third national lockdown. The next day, the landlord cancelled the roof repair with its contractor due to delays as result of a high volume of roofing jobs, a backlog of works, and bad weather.
  8. The landlord’s contractor attended an emergency appointment on 12 January 2021, raised on the same day, to inspect and make safe a light fitting. The resident was concerned that the light fitting had water in it because of the ongoing roof leak. The contractor confirmed that there was no water in the light fitting.
  9. The resident requested a call back from the landlord on 15 January 2021.
  10. On 19 January 2021 the landlord completed a mould-wash in the property and on 21 January 2021 the landlord’s condensation and mould specialist completed a survey and found mould and damp in the upstairs rooms of the property. The specialist reported that the issue was likely due to a leak in the roof, noting that there was sitting water in the loft. The specialist recommended that the landlord investigate the damp issues further, upgrade the existing extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, and carry out a mould wash to the affected surfaces.
  11. The mould wash was completed on 29 January 2021.
  12. On 1 February 2021, the landlord raised an inspection of water tanks in the loft for any leaks. It confirmed that if the issue was with the tanks, no work would be required to the roof. The contractor attended and confirmed that they did not locate a leak in the loft but found heavy condensation. The landlord raised works for the damp and mould specialist to upgrade the extractor fans and complete the mould wash.
  13. The landlord raised works on 10 March 2021 to fit vent tiles to the roof.
  14. The landlord was due to attend on 11 March 2021 to trace and remedy a possible leak in the roof; however, this appointment was rescheduled as the contractor reported that they were unable to gain access to the property.  The contractor reported that they had left a card for the resident asking her to rebook the appointment but they did not receive any response and so the job was cancelled.
  15. On 15 March 2021 the resident completed the landlord’s online complaint form. She said she did not feel that the landlord was doing enough to address the mould and damp in her home, which she believed was the result of a combination of problems. The resident said she had been informed that she would have to wait until May 2021 for a repair to the roof to be completed. She requested a full investigation into her property to understand the issues, including problems with her windows, doors, and heating system. 
  16. The resident submitted an online complaint form to the landlord on 19 April 2021 and confirmed she had not received a response to her complaint. She reiterated that she wanted the matter thoroughly investigated, and that she did not feel that the landlord had taken her concerns seriously.
  17. On 20 April 2021 the landlord updated the resident that it was working through a substantial backlog of complaints and apologised for the delay.
  18. The landlord had an appointment to attend the possible leak from the resident’s roof on 11 May 2021. However, this does not appear to have gone ahead and was rescheduled.
  19. Following contact from the resident, this Service wrote to the landlord on 10 June 2021 to confirm the resident had complained about the landlord’s handling of her reports of damp and mould throughout the property and wetness in the loft and issues with the boiler. The resident advised the immersion could not be turned off and resulted in increased hot water bills of around £40 per week.
  20. The landlord sent its stage one complaint response on 25 June 2021.  In this, it said there were delays in it initially completing the repair and a further delay in responding to the complaint. Once it completed the works, it would consider offering the resident compensation for the delays. It was now able to carry out inspections to properties and therefore a surveyor would contact the resident to arrange a convenient appointment to inspect the windows and doors. The boiler had a ‘Landlord Gas Safety Register’ carried out on the 13 November 2020 and the last repair raised to the boiler was in January 2021 and there had been no further reports regarding the boiler. The landlord said that, should the resident find there were any issues with the boiler in the future, she should contact its call centre which would arrange an operative to attend or raise this when the surveyor attended.
  21. On 25 June 2021 the landlord raised works to install tiles to the roof, to ensure it was weatherproof. It noted that on 29 June 2021 the roofers informed the resident that the tiles the landlord had ordered were not in stock and that it would rebook the works as soon as the tiles became available.
  22. The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 29 June 2021. In particular, she remained unhappy with the landlord’s delay in instructing a surveyor to attend, because she believed the mould and damp issues were the result of several issues within the property. She also referred to experiencing issues with the boiler/ water tank and electricity on numerous occasions and paying high amounts for hot water. The resident also expressed her dissatisfaction with the delay in the landlord completing a repair to the roof and missed appointments on 11 May 2021 and 29 June 2021 due to the tiles not being available; receiving conflicting advice about whether she needed to give access for the roof repair; distress and damage caused to the resident’s decorations caused by the mould and damp.
  23. According to the landlord’s records, on 1 July 2021, the suppliers called the operative to advise that the roof tiles were in stock and on 2 July 2021, it rebooked the roof repair for 15 July 2021. The contractor attended on 15 July 2021 and completed the roof repair.
  24. Following contact from the Ombudsman, the landlord updated the resident on 18 August 2021 that it had referred the resident’s stage two complaint for investigation. It wrote to the resident again on 20 August 2021 and apologised for the delay in it assigning the complaint, reiterating that it was experiencing higher than expected workloads.
  25. In the landlord’s stage two complaint response, dated 16 September 2021, it reiterated its apology for sending its stage one response outside of its publicised timeframe.  The landlord apologised that the resident felt it had not taken her complaint seriously and acknowledged that it had not followed up on its offer of compensation to take account of the delays she experienced and there has been a delay in a surveyor contacting the resident. The landlord explained that the coronavirus pandemic had affected its services by impacting on property inspections; staff shortages due to isolation rules; and the issue of roof tiles being out of stock. The landlord confirmed it was still experiencing a high volume of complaints and this, along with a back log of work from the pandemic, resulted in delays with complaint investigations and responses.  Considering its failure to follow up the actions in the stage one response in a timely manner, the landlord offered the resident £300 compensation acknowledgement of the inconvenience the resident had experienced.
  26. Following the landlord’s final complaint response, its surveyor attended the property on 23 September 2021 to assess for any damp or mould issues. The surveyor did not find any visual mould or damp within the property and found that the loft was dry and had sufficient insulation. The surveyor noted that the resident agreed, stating this was due to the time of the year and her painting and treating the mould herself. The surveyor confirmed that it advised the resident to properly ventilate the property and keep it at a steady temperature to combat the mould, and they would re-attend in the winter. The landlord later confirmed that the surveyor did not inspect the windows, doors, electrics, and boiler as requested at the time.
  27. As a result of a further inspection during the week of 22 November 2021, the landlord raised works to install vent tiles to the roof to ventilate the loft area and the landlord updated this Service that the work was completed on 8 December 2021.
  28. The resident has explained that damp and mould has since returned.

Assessment and findings

Policies and Procedures

  1. In line with the landlord’s complaints policy and procedure, it should acknowledge stage one complaints within three working days and send a full response within ten working days. The landlord should acknowledge stage two complaints acknowledged within three working days and send a full written response within 25 working days. If the landlord decides not to escalate the complaint, it will explain this to the resident and that they have exhausted the complaints process.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy says the landlord is responsible for repairs to the roof, windows and doors of the property, as well as the systems for the provision of heating, water and electrical equipment.
  3. The repairs policy says the landlord should complete emergency repairs within 4 hours. However, this may only involve making the issue safe with follow up appointments scheduled to complete a lasting repair. Urgent repairs should be completed within three working days and routine repairs should be completed within 28 days.

Scope of investigation

  1. As part of her complaint, the resident has explained how the landlord’s failure to deal with the damp and mould within a reasonable time has impacted her health. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments but it is outside the Ombudsman’s remit to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This would be more suited to being dealt with as a personal injury claim through the landlord’s liability insurer (if it has one) or as a legal claim through the courts. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience which any errors by the landlord may have caused the resident. This is an accordance with paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme which says the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which concern matters where the Ombudsman considers it quicker, fairer, more reasonable or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts, a designated person, other tribunal or procedure.

The landlord’s handling of roof repairs

  1. The resident remains unhappy with the delay in the landlord completing roof repairs and missed appointments on 11 May 2021 and 29 June 2021; and receiving conflicting advice about whether she needed to give access for the roof repair.
  2. Sometimes it can take time to identify the source of a leak. The evidence demonstrates that the landlord sought to trace and repair the leak, in line with its obligations as set out in its repairs policy. The landlord visited the property on multiple occasions to trace and rectify a leak from the loft/roof area, following the resident’s initial report on 22 December 2020. It attended on 22 December 2020 but does not appear to have located the source of the leak. Following this visit the landlord attended again on 1 February 2021 and raised works on 10 March 2021 to fit vent tiles to the roof. There followed two re-arranged scheduled appointments: on 11 March 2021 (reported as no access) and 11 May 2021 (due to issues obtaining materials) to complete the works. The landlord completed the works on 15 July 2021.
  3. Unfortunately, during the landlord’s investigation of the issue, the government implemented national coronavirus restrictions. These restrictions had a significant impact on the landlord’s repairs service, preventing it from completing repairs within the timescales set out in its repairs policy. Due to the government’s coronavirus guidance, and the subsequent backlog of repairs once restrictions were eased, it was understandable in the circumstances for the landlord to delay repairs to the roof shortly after the January 2021 lockdown. There were further delays beyond the landlord’s control due to difficulties obtaining parts between February and July 2021. The evidence demonstrates that the landlord updated the resident, provided an explanation for the delays and attended an emergency appointment on 12 January 2021 to make safe a light fitting. The landlord’s explanation for the delays were reasonable, given the circumstances and the government’s guidance at the time.
  4. It is good practice for landlords to clearly communicate with residents, such as explaining whether they are required to give access for repairs to the exterior of the property. The landlord has not addressed the resident’s concerns about its communication regarding whether she needed to give access for the roof repair, and the evidence demonstrates that there was at least one missed appointment, reported as no access on 11 March 2021, which may have been avoided (and the leak repair completed sooner) if the landlord had clarified that the resident needed to be present for the repair to be carried out. This has been taken into consideration when assessing whether the landlord’s offer of compensation is reasonable, in view of all the circumstances.

Complaint handling

  1. There were clear delays in the landlord’s complaint handling. It took around three months to respond at stage one of its internal process, despite the resident and this Service pursuing a response on 19 April 2021 and 10 June 2021. The landlord did update the resident on 20 April 2021 but did not give any further update until its complaint response. The landlord also delayed at stage two of its complaints process, taking almost three months to respond. It did not update the resident or acknowledge her request to escalate her complaint for almost two months. These responses were significantly outside of the landlord’s published timescales for complaint responses.
  2. The landlord has acknowledged the above failings, provided an explanation and offered the resident £300 compensation towards the delays in the roof repairs and complaint handling. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (published on our website) which suggests awards of compensation between £250 and £750 for cases where the Ombudsman has found considerable service failure or maladministration, but there may be no permanent impact on the complainant. Examples could include: a complainant repeatedly having to chase responses and seek correction of mistakes, necessitating unreasonable level of involvement by that complainant; failure over a considerable period to act in accordance with policy such as to address repairs and follow complaint procedure; and serious failures but which have already been recognised and resolved by landlord. The landlord’s offer of redress was in line with this Service’s remedies guidance, and it was therefore reasonable in view of all the circumstances.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.

  1. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in a good state of repair. The landlord also has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, introduced by The Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its rented properties. Damp and mould growth are a potential hazard and therefore the landlord is required to consider whether any damp and mould problems in its properties amount to a hazard and require remedying.
  2. When an operative attended on 22 December 2020 in relation to a leak, they reported that there was severe mould in the property and recommended mould washes, more insulation in the loft, and a surveyor to attend as soon as possible.
  3. Given the operative’s report indicating that the mould was severe, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to respond urgently, although it was reasonable for there to be a short delay due to the availability of staff over the Christmas period. The landlord acted reasonably by arranging a mould wash to the resident’s property, until it could complete a survey in the New Year. The landlord subsequently completed the recommended works as well as applying another mould wash.
  4. Further repairs were also raised to increase ventilation in the loft, after an inspection following the landlord’s final complaint response. Although the resident has continued to report damp and mould in the property, the evidence shows that the landlord has taken reasonable steps to attempt to address the mould, in line with its obligations. The landlord’s mould specialist did take four months to attend to complete their recommendations, following the survey of 21 January 2021. However, the evidence demonstrates that the landlord has provided a reasonable explanation for the delay, and allocated the repair to another contractor, in an attempt to progress the matter.
  5. Going forward, the landlord should continue to respond appropriately to the resident’s reports that the damp and mould is continuing to cause problems and it should carry out any further repairs which are identified as necessary in an effort to resolve the problem.

The landlord’s handling of repairs to the windows, doors, heating, and electrical system in the property.

  1. There was a delay in the landlord carrying out an inspection of the windows, doors, heating and electrical system in the property in response to the resident’s reports of issues with these areas. As above, part of this delay was due to restrictions on the landlord’s service due to the corona virus pandemic. Although some delays may have been unavoidable, the landlord should have provided updates to the resident and explained the reasons for the delays. The landlord’s final response did not fully consider its failure to update the resident on the inspection of these issues, or the impact that the resident said the repair issues had (in particularly on her hot water bills).
  2. The landlord has advised that further delays were due to difficulties in the surveyor being able to make contact with the resident to arrange an appointment. A surveyor attended the property on 23 September 2021, but the landlord confirmed that they did not inspect the windows, doors, electrics, and boiler as requested. This means that the landlord has not demonstrated that it has inspected and addressed the resident’s concerns about the condition of the windows, doors, electrics, and boiler, in line with its obligations.
  3. The landlord should now carry out an inspection of the property to check whether any repairs are needed to the areas which the resident has raised concerns about. The landlord should provide an update to the resident following this inspection confirming its findings and including timescales for any repairs identified as necessary following the inspection.
  4. The landlord should also pay the resident compensation, as detailed below for any distress and inconvenience she experienced as a result of errors in its handling of her repair requests and lack of response to her complaint about this.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to our investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves the complaints concerning the landlord’s handling of roof repairs and the formal complaint about this.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of problems with the windows, doors, heating, and electrical system in her property.

Reasons

  1. The landlord has provided reasonable redress, in line with this Service’s remedies guidance, for its acknowledged failings in its handling of the roof repair and formal complaint.  It has also taken steps to address the resident’s reports of damp and mould in line with it’s contractor’s recommendations, which was appropriate.
  2. However, the landlord has not demonstrated that inspected the windows, doors, electrics, and boiler, in line with its repair obligations. It has also not fully considered the resident’s concerns about her hot water bills or provided the resident sufficient updates on the delays in a surveyor attending the property.

Orders

  1. The landlord should carry out an inspection of the loft, windows, doors, heating, and electrical system, as requested by the resident, if it has not done so already. Any repairs identified as necessary following this inspection should be completed in line with the timescales given in the landlord’s repairs policy.
  2. The landlord is ordered to pay the resident £200 compensation for any distress and inconvenience she experienced as a result of errors in its handling of the resident’s reports of problems with the windows, doors, heating, and electrical system in her property.
  3. The compensation should be paid within 28 days of the date of this decision.

Recommendations

57. The landlord should consider any impact a fault with the boiler may have had on the resident’s heating bills, dependant on the provision of evidence by the resident and the outcome of the inspection of the boiler.

58. The landlord should pay the £300 which it offered previously through its complaints process if it has not already been paid. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress in respect of the roof repairs and complaint handling was based on the understanding that this compensation would be paid.