Aspire Housing Limited (202119733)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202119733

Aspire Housing Limited

21 July 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports concerning damp and mould in her property.

Background

The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a flat in a communal building. The resident moved to the property in April 2021.
The resident called the landlord on 13 September 2021 to report the presence of mould in the property. The landlord arranged for an inspection to be undertaken on 5 October 2021. The resident called again on 29 September 2021 and requested to raise a complaint. The landlord’s notes of the call described the elements of the resident’s complaint as:
1. There is mould in almost every room of the property.
2. As a result, she had to throw away most of her furniture and clothing.
3. The carpets installed by the landlord when she moved in are also covered in mould.
4. Her health had been affected by the condition of the property.
5. The landlord should not have let the property in its current state.
The landlord sent a stage one complaint response on 29 September 2021. It did not uphold the complaint on the grounds that it had “provided an appropriate level of service”.
Following an escalation request, the landlord met with the resident at the property on 8 November 2021 and then sent a stage two complaint response on 11 November 2021. The landlord provided a timeline of events then explained what work it had carried out and what further work would be undertaken. It declined the resident’s request for compensation on the grounds that the repair history showed no previous reports of damp and/or mould at the property, and that once it was informed of the issue by the resident it responded in a timely manner.
The landlord confirmed with the resident that all the repairs were completed in December 2021. The landlord provided the resident with £120 in decorating vouchers to enable her to redecorate areas damaged by damp and mould.
In referring the case to this Service, the resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s decision to decline her compensation request. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested that the landlord pay compensation to reimburse her for the damage to her personal items and in recognition of the effect on her health caused by the condition of the property.

Assessment and findings

Relevant policies and procedures

The landlord’s repair policy states that it aims to attend and make safe emergency repairs within four hours and will aim attend all other repairs within eight to 12 calendar days or at a date agreed with the tenant. An emergency repair is defined by the landlord as a repair that presents “an immediate or potential danger to health or risk to the safety of the occupant, or danger of serious damage to the property”.
In regard to a resident’s responsibility for damp and mould in the property, the repairs policy states the following:
1. “Make sure windows are opened regularly, particularly in the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms to avoid the formation of condensation and mould growth (we recognise that we have obligations under the Housing Act 2004 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to deal with certain cases of condensation and damp, these will be addressed following completion of a surveyor inspection)”
Paragraph 1.13 of the tenancy agreement relates to insurance. This states the following:
1. “We will insure the Premises and any energy efficiency equipment for such a sum against such risks, as we (acting reasonably) believe appropriate. You are responsible for insuring your furniture and personal possessions and also any other items for which you have responsibility (e.g.; insurance against accidental damage or for re-glazing).”

Scope of investigation

When raising a complaint with the landlord and in referring the case to this Service, the resident has requested that she receive compensation for the effect on her health caused by the condition of the property. The resident had explained that she has a GP letter which supports this request.
The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments regarding her health, but this Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation, are not part of the complaints process, and are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer (if it has one) as a personal injury claim.
This is in line with paragraph 39(i) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, which states that “The Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion 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”. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident and how the landlord responded.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports concerning damp and mould in her property.

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 repair. The landlord also has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), 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.
Therefore, once the landlord had been informed by the resident of the presence of mould, it was obliged to inspect the property and raise any necessary repair work to resolve the issue. The landlord’s repair logs and internal system notes state that:
1. Following the resident’s report of mould at the property on 13 September 2021, the landlord arranged for a mould wash to be undertaken on 1 October 2021 and an inspection of the property on 5 October 2021.
2. The report sent to the landlord following the mould wash described what areas were treated and provided before and after photographs. The report also stated that after receiving permission from the resident, a mould wash of the affected furniture was undertaken.
3. The landlord wrote to the resident on 7 October 2021 to inform her of the inspection findings. The surveyor summarised the inspection as follows: “It is my findings that damp and mould in this property is being caused by repairs required. The humidity ranged from 69% (High) to 70% (High). The temperature of the property was 18 degrees centigrade. I have advised the customer to ventilate / extract the property in the ways listed below to reduce the humidity”.
4. As well as the advice to the resident, the surveyor also recommended repairs to the kitchen, bedroom, lounge, external work to the drains and brickwork, and to install a humidity fan in the kitchen. The landlord raised work orders to undertake all the recommended work.
5. The landlord’s repair logs state that the repairs were completed on 12 November 2021, and that a damp proofing course was completed and humidity fan installed on 18 November 2021. Work to the downpipe was delayed due to severe weather conditions and was scheduled to be completed on 31 March 2022.
Overall, the landlord has acted appropriately and in line with its repairs policy in how it responded to the resident’s reports of damp and mould. There is no evidence that the mould in the property presented a serious health risk or danger. Therefore, it was reasonable for the mould wash and inspection to be booked as routine repairs rather than emergency repairs. All repairs, other than the work delayed by the weather, was completed within 12 calendar days or on a date agreed with the resident in line with the landlord’s timeframe for routine repairs. It was also reasonable of the landlord to remind the resident of her own responsibilities to ensure that the property was properly ventilated to help prevent mould growth. Furthermore, it is not in dispute that the work undertaken by the landlord has resolved the issue.
The resident has disputed the landlord’s decision not to award her compensation to reimburse her for the damage the mould caused to her possessions. The landlord explained that this decision was reached as there had been no reports of damp or mould issues prior to the resident’s report, that the presence of mould was not as a result of a defect in the property or inaction by the landlord, and therefore it could not be held liable for any damage to the resident’s personal items.
However the landlord offered decorating vouchers to assist the resident with redecorating areas of the property which were damaged by the mould. The landlord was not strictly obliged to offer decorating vouchers as in general residents are responsible for the internal décor of their own properties. Nevertheless, it was reasonable for the landlord to offer decorating vouchers in this case in view of the damage to the décor caused by the mould.
As part of its evidence, the landlord has provided repair logs from the property under the previous occupier and for the work done to the property when it was vacant prior to the resident moving in. The repairs logs state that the only repairs reported in the twelve months prior to the resident moving in related to a repair to a ceiling and problems with the heating and hot water. Repairs raised while the property was vacant included a work order to “treat mould where needed”. Moreover, no evidence has been provided that the issue of mould was raised by the resident at any property viewings or at the signing of the tenancy agreement.
There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord was at fault for the presence of mould or that it could have taken any action to stop the issue sooner and prevent damage to the resident’s possessions. In line with the tenancy agreement, residents are advised to take out their own contents insurance to cover any damage to their personal possessions due to unforeseen events. This is because the landlord is not responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing residents’ personal possessions in this type of situation.
For the landlord to accept liability for the damage to the personal items and offer compensation within its complaint process there would need to be evidence which showed that the landlord had not responded to the issue within a timely manner or in line with its repairs policy, or that it had ignored previous reports made to it about mould in the property. The evidence presented in this case does not support this position.
Therefore, it was appropriate for the landlord to decline the resident’s request for it to pay compensation to reimburse her for the costs of the damaged items as there is no evidence that the landlord had been made aware of any issues relating to mould in the property prior to 13 September 2021; and, once the landlord was informed, it arranged an inspection and completed repairs in a timely manner and in line with its policies. Although the upset caused to the resident by the damage caused by the mould is wholly understandable, the landlord does not need to do anything further regarding this complaint.

Determination

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 concerning damp and mould in her property.