Haringey London Borough Council (202205995)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202205995

Haringey Council

17 January 2023

 

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 works to rectify damp and mould in the resident’s property.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, which is a local authority. The property is a house.
  2. The resident wrote to the landlord on 14 October 2021 to inform it that there was a strong smell of damp in the sitting room of the property. The resident wrote again on 14 December 2021 and requested to raise a formal complaint into the matter as he had received no response from the landlord. The resident also provided photographs of damp patches in the property and stated that the damp smell had become stronger. The resident also described issues with heating the property.
  3. In its complaint responses, the landlord:
    1. Apologised for the delay in arranging a surveyor’s inspection of the property and confirmed that on receipt of the resident’s complaint, it booked an appointment for 26 January 2022.
    2. Confirmed that following the surveyor’s inspection, appointments were booked for 29 March 2022 and 1 April 2022 to replace an electrical socket and to undertake work to an internal door. The surveyor identified the source of the damp as coming from the chimney stack and stated that its contractor would be in touch with the resident to arrange an appointment to erect scaffolding and carry out repairs. Once these repairs had been completed, further work would be raised to undertake a mould wash treatment in the property.
    3. Noted that the work had not been booked within its published repair timescale of 28 calendar days. The landlord apologised to the resident for this delay and the inconvenience it cased, and offered £70 compensation. The landlord also apologised to the resident for the initial delay in responding to his 14 October 2021 email.
  4. Following the end of the complaint process, the resident wrote to the landlord on 23 May 2022 to inform it that a scaffolder contacted him and arranged an appointment to erect scaffolding on 18 May 2022. However, this was cancelled as a price had not been agreed with the landlord. The landlord replied and stated it would chase this up. During an exchange of emails with its contractor on 14 July 2022, the contractor stated that it was waiting for a scaffold design to be submitted before progressing the repair.
  5. In referring the case to this Service, the resident described the outstanding issues of the complaint as being that the landlord had yet to commence the work to repair the chimney and the poor communication he had received when asking for updates on the status of the work. The resident has also provided this service with a copy of an independent home efficiency report dated 10 August 2022, which refers to damp and mould relating to the chimney breast and recommends a comprehensive inspection by a fully qualified damp specialist. It is not known whether this document has been shared with the landlord.
  6. As a resolution to the complaint, the resident requested that the repairs were completed, and that he received compensation in recognition of the length of time the repair had remained outstanding and the inconvenience that this had caused him. When providing evidence for this case on 3 November 2022, the landlord stated that the work to the chimney had yet to be completed.

Assessment and findings

Relevant policies and procedures

  1. Sections 9.44 to 9.46 of the tenancy agreement sets out the landlord’s repair responsibilities. This, in part, states that the landlord is responsible for the repair and maintenance of “the structure and outside of the property (including drains, gutters and outside pipes). Its installations for space heating, water heating, drainage and sanitation and for the supply of water, gas and electricity.”
  2. 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.
  3. The landlord categorises its repair types as “Emergency” (attend within 24 hours), “Agreed” (attend within 28 days at an appointment agreed with the tenant) and “Planned” (inspect within 28 days). The landlord defines a planned repair as a repair that is more complex than a routine repair which may need several days to complete and additional work such as pre-inspections, the erection of scaffolding, or the specialist manufacture of components may be required. The landlord states that it will arrange an inspection for planned work within 28 days and then inform the resident when it expects the work to be carried out.

How the landlord handled works to rectify damp and mould in the resident’s property

  1. Once it was informed by the resident of damp in the property, the landlord had a duty to respond to the matter in line with its obligations set out in the tenancy agreement and its published polices and procedures. Initially, the landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s complaint. It arranged for a surveyor to inspect the property and raised work orders to complete the repairs recommended by the surveyor, in line with its responsibilities set out in the tenancy agreement detailed above. It also recognised that there had been a delay in it responding to the resident’s initial complaint and that the appointments it booked were outside of its 28-day window for routine repairs. The landlord apologised and offered £70 compensation. This payment was broadly in line with the Ombudsman’s own remedies guidance (which is available on our website). This recommends a payment of £50 to £100 for service failure of a short duration that did not affect the overall outcome of the complaint. This may include distress and inconvenience, time and trouble, disappointment, loss of confidence, and delays in getting matters resolved.
  2. However, there has clearly been ongoing delays and poor customer service from the landlord since the stage two complaint response was sent on 1 April 2022. After being informed of the failed scaffolding appointment by the resident, the landlord replied on 27 May 2022 and informed him it would chase the matter up and respond within five working days. The landlord did not provide a further update until 14 July 2022, when a staff member called the resident to apologise for the ongoing delays and stated that the landlord would keep him updated. The resident continued to contact the landlord and request updates. On 26 August 2022 the landlord wrote to the resident to apologise again for the ongoing delays and advised the resident it was about to change contractors which would result in further delays in completing the work.
  3. In his emails to the landlord requesting updates, the resident also informed it of the worsening condition of the property, that damp patches were appearing close to light switches, and his concerns relating to heating costs. There is no evidence that the landlord acted on these reports. In line with its obligations set out in Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act and the HHSRS detailed above, the landlord would be expected to respond to the resident’s reports by arranging a further inspection to assess the condition of the property and identify any remedial repairs that could be undertaken to lessen the impact of the damp while repairs to the chimney stack remained outstanding. This position would also be in line with this Service’s Spotlight on Damp and Mould (which is available on our website). This states that “landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue”. It would therefore be appropriate for the landlord to look to complete remedial work, such as mould washes, to ensure that there was no detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of the resident from the damp and mould while awaiting the chimney repairs to be completed.
  4. Therefore, there has been maladministration in how the landlord has responded to the resident’s reports of damp and mould. The landlord did not follow its published policy for completing a planned repair, it has not properly kept the resident updated on the status of the planned repair, it did not respond to the resident’s reports of the worsening condition of the property, and it did not arrange a further inspection of the property to assess its condition and identify any remedial repairs that could be undertake to alleviate the damp and mould while the resident was waiting for the chimney to be repaired.
  5. The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance recommends a payment of £600 to £1,000 in cases of maladministration or severe maladministration which has had a significant impact on the resident. As an example of when this level of redress should be considered, the guidance suggests “the landlord has acknowledged failings and/or made some attempt to put things right but failed to address the detriment to the resident”. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the landlord to pay an additional £800 to the resident in recognition of the seven-month delay in completing work to the chimney stack, for its poor communication in explaining the reasons for the delay, and for its failure to respond to the resident’s reports of the worsening condition of the property.
  6. It should be noted that this compensation award is for the time period from when the stage two complaint response was sent on 1 April 2022 up to 3 November 2022, when the landlord stated that the repair to the chimney remained outstanding. It is not clear from the evidence provided whether the repair has subsequently been completed. Therefore, it is further ordered that the landlord write to the resident and confirm the status of the repair, if it has not done so already. The landlord is also to request a copy of the Home Energy Efficiency report, referred to in this report, from the resident if this has not already been provided. The landlord should also consider offering further compensation from 3 November 2022 up to when the repair was completed. It should then write to the resident to inform him of its decision and explain how it was reached.
  7. If the repairs to the chimney remains outstanding, it is ordered that the landlord contact the resident to arrange an inspection by an appropriately qualified person to assess the current condition of the property and identify any remedial repairs that can be undertaken to reduce the damp and mould.
  8. The resident has requested additional compensation for the increase in heating costs caused by the condition of the property. This is a reasonable request from the resident, as an increase in energy usage as a result of service failure by the landlord would be considered a quantifiable loss and the landlord would be expected to reimburse the resident for these types of expenses. However, the landlord would require evidence of these costs from the resident before it could calculate a compensation offer, such as utility bills that show the level of usage while the chimney repair remained outstanding compared to the usage after the chimney was repaired. Therefore, it is recommended that the landlord write to the resident and explain what type of evidence it would require in order for it to calculate a compensation offer for the excess energy usage while the chimney repair remained outstanding.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of how it handled works to rectify damp and mould in the resident’s property.

Orders

  1. The within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident a total of £870 compensation, this is inclusive of the £70 compensation already offered by the landlord, if this has not already been paid.
    2. Write to the resident and confirm the current status of the chimney stack repair and any required works to address the reported damp and mould. The landlord is also to ask the resident for a copy of, and to consider, the Home Energy Efficiency report provided to this service by the resident, if it has not done so already.
    3. If the repairs to the chimney remains outstanding,contact the resident to arrange an inspection by an appropriately qualified person to assess the current condition of the property and identify any remedial repairs that can be undertaken to reduce the damp and mould.
    4. Write to the resident and explain what type of evidence it would require in order for it to calculate a compensation offer for the excess energy usage while the chimney repair remained outstanding.
    5. To confirm to this service that is has complied with the above orders.

Recommendation

  1. That the landlord consider offering further compensation for the time period from 3 November 2022 up to when the required works are completed. It should then write to the resident to inform him of its decision and explain how it was reached.