Guinness Housing Association Limited (202128330)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202128330

Guinness Housing Association Limited

12 September 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 concerns how the landlord handled reports of damp and mould in the property and its decision not to offer compensation for damage caused to the resident’s personal items.

Background

2. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a flat.
3. On 6 October 2021, the resident called the landlord to report damp and mould throughout the property. The landlord arranged for an inspection to be undertaken on 11 November 2021.
4. The inspection found no mould growth on the walls or ceilings of the property but did observe damage to the resident’s furniture and personal items. The inspection report provided to the landlord concluded that there was no underlying defect in the building that had caused the damp and mould, and that the issue had been caused by condensation due to poor ventilation. The report recommended installing condensation-controlling fans in the bathroom and kitchen, undertaking a mould treatment, filling in cracks in the lounge and bedroom ceilings, and painting the inside of the front door. The surveyor also gave advice to the resident on how to properly ventilate the property.
5. On 20 December 2021 the resident contacted the landlord and requested to raise a complaint. He described the elements of the complaint as:
   1. An ongoing problem with damp and mould in the property for at least ten years.
   2. He had reported the matter to the landlord numerous times but had been ignored.
   3. The mould growth had caused extensive damage to his belongings.
6. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested that the landlord compensate him for the damage to his personal items. The resident also informed the landlord that he would not allow access to complete the work recommended in the inspection report until it had paid him compensation.
7. In its complaint responses, the landlord:
   1. Stated that it had no record of the resident reporting damp and mould in the property prior to 6 October 2021.
   2. Declined the resident’s request for compensation on the grounds that it needed to be informed of an issue in a timely manner to allow it to resolve the matter, and that the inspection had found the cause of the issue to be poor ventilation rather than a property defect.
   3. Confirmed that it would arrange appointments to complete the work recommended in the inspection with the agreement of the resident.
8. In referring the complaint to this Service, the resident described the outstanding issues as the poor level of service he had received from the landlord. The resident also disputed the findings of the inspection, and that the landlord was not aware of the issue until October 2021.
9. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested compensation to reimburse him for the damage to his personal items and for the landlord to undertake a proper inspection of the property and then resolve all the outstanding repairs.

Assessment and findings

Relevant policies and procedures

10. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states that it will:
    1. “Take responsibility for diagnosing and resolving damp and mould in a timely and effective way where they result from issues that require repair.
    2. Support residents in resolving damp and mould where they result from the use of the home, and provide our residents with appropriate, clear, sensitive, practical and accessible advice.
    3. Communicate with our residents clearly and regularly regarding any actions we plan to take and any actions our residents are advised to take.
    4. Ensure staff are trained to enable them to spot potential causes of damp, mould and condensation so they can advise residents, diagnose problems and provide solutions.”
11. The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will consider offering financial redress in recognition of “loss or damage and for distress and inconvenience caused when something has gone wrong, and [the landlord] is at fault”. The policy also describes the circumstances where it will not consider offering compensation. This includes “[when] the damage or loss was caused by circumstances beyond our control e.g. through storm damage or flooding. Where loss, damage or inconvenience has been caused by a third party (i.e. not [the landlord] or anyone employed by [the landlord])”.
12. The compensation policy also states that “we encourage customers to take out contents insurance to cover belongings and decorations against, loss, fire, flood, or accidental damage”.

Scope of investigation

13. In bringing the complaint to this Service the resident described a dispute with the landlord relating to who is responsible for replacing the toilet seat in the property. This issue was not an element in the complaint considered by the landlord and was not raised by the resident in his original complaint or escalation request.
14. Before this issue can be considered by this Service, the landlord needs to be provided with the opportunity to investigate and respond. The resident will need to contact the landlord and, if appropriate, raise a separate complaint regarding this matter. This is in line with paragraph 39(a) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, which states that the Ombudsman can only consider complaints that have exhausted a member’s complaint procedure.
15. The resident has described his concerns on the effect on his health caused by breathing in mould spores. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s concern; however, it is beyond the remit of this Service to make a determination on whether there is a direct link between the condition of the property and the resident’s health. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if he considers that his health has been affected by any action or lack thereof by the landlord. Whilst we cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced as a result of any errors by the landlord

How the landlord handled reports of damp and mould in the property and its decision not to offer compensation for damage caused to the resident’s personal items

16. 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.
17. Therefore, once the landlord had been informed by the resident of the presence of mould, it was obligated to inspect the property and raise any necessary repair work to resolve the issue in a timely manner in line with its published policies and procedures.
18. Overall, the landlord has acted appropriately to the resident’s report. When informed of damp and mould in the property, it acted in line with its policy by arranging an inspection to assess the condition of the property, determine the source of the issue, and raise any necessary work to complete repairs. While this work has yet to be carried out, this was as a result of the resident refusing access. The landlord’s repair records state the work orders were raised for the work recommended in the inspection report on 11 November 2021; the same day as the inspection was undertaken.
19. The landlord has also provided advice on how to properly ventilate the property and explained why it was important for the resident to allow it to proceed with the recommended work. As well as being in line with the landlord’s damp and mould policy detailed above, this approach is in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight on Damp & Mould (2021) report, which states that “landlords should ensure they have strategies in place to manage these types of cases with an emphasis on ensuring that the resident is kept informed, feels that the landlord is taking the issue seriously and that the matter is progressing”.
20. The resident has disputed the conclusions reached by the surveyor during the 11 November 2021 inspection. The inspection report sent to the landlord included photographs of the property’s walls and ceilings – which did not show mould growth – and photographs of the resident’s furniture and belongings – which did show evidence of mould growth. The surveyor concluded that the source of the issue was condensation as a result of poor ventilation. Recommendations were made on what work was required to resolve the issue and advice provided on ventilation to prevent the issue reoccurring. This was in line of what would be expected of a landlord.
21. A landlord is entitled to rely on the conclusions of its appropriately qualified staff members and act on their recommendations. Therefore, the decision by the landlord to raise work orders to complete the recommended work and to inform the resident that the cause of the damp and mould in the property was the result of condensation, and not due to a building defect, was reasonable in the circumstances. It should also be noted that the resident has not provided this Service with any evidence that disputes the findings of the surveyor.
22. The resident has disputed the landlord’s decision not to award compensation to reimburse him for the damage caused to his possessions. The landlord explained that this decision was reached because it was not responsible for the damp and mould in the property and that it acted in good time when the matter was reported. Therefore, it could not be held liable for any damage to the resident’s personal items.
23. The landlord has provided repair logs and service requests for the property from November 2009, up to the time period considered in this complaint (six months prior to when the resident raised the complaint with the landlord, and up to when the case was Duly Made on 12 April 2022). These logs do not show any reports of issues relating to damp and mould in the property until the resident’s telephone call on 6 October 2021.
24. There is no evidence to suggest that the landlord was at fault for the damp and mould, or that it could have taken any action to stop the issue sooner and prevent damage to the resident’s possessions. The landlord arranged for its surveyor to inspect the property when it was first reported by the resident. The surveyor identified the source of the issue and the work he recommended was raised by the landlord on the same day as the inspection. 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.
25. For the landlord to accept liability for the damage to the resident’s 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 published polices, or that it had ignored previous reports made to it about damp and mould. The evidence presented in this case does not support this position.
26. Therefore, it was appropriate for the landlord to decline the resident’s request for it to pay compensation to reimburse him for the costs of the damaged belongings as there is no evidence that the landlord had been made aware of damp and mould in the property prior to 6 October 2021; and, once the landlord was informed, it arranged an inspection and raised work orders in a timely manner. Although the upset caused to the resident by the damage caused to his possessions is wholly understandable, the landlord does not need to do anything further regarding this element of the complaint.
27. The resident has also requested that the landlord visit the property and undertake all outstanding repairs as a resolution to the case. The landlord’s call logs state that it called the resident on 7 February 2022 and offered a joint visit to the property by a housing officer and the repairs manager to assess what repairs were outstanding and to reach an agreement on how to complete the work. The logs go on state that the resident requested that the landlord call him back on 11 February 2022 to give him time to consider its offer. The logs then show that the landlord called the resident numerous times in February, March and April 2022 but were unable to contact him.
28. Therefore, there is no evidence of service failure for this element of the complaint as the landlord has repeatedly informed the resident that it is willing to complete all the outstanding work to the property and that it would work with the resident in order to reach an agreement on how the work should proceed.

Determination

29. In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of how it handled reports of damp and mould in the property and its decision not to offer compensation for damage caused to the resident’s personal items.