Platform Housing Group Limited (202214775)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202214775

Platform Housing Group Limited

28 July 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

The complaint is about:
1. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for a managed move.
2. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of ongoing damp and mould.

Jurisdiction

When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42 (a) of the Scheme, the following aspect of the complaint is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction:
1. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for a managed move.
Under paragraph 42 (a) of the Scheme, the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion: “are made prior to having exhausted a member’s complaints procedure, unless there is evidence of a complaint-handling failure and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the member has not taken action within a reasonable timescale”.
Neither of the resident’s stage 1 and stage 2 complaints to the landlord were about its handling of the resident’s request for a managed move, which was applied for a day before the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response. There is no evidence that shows a separate complaint has been made to the landlord about the managed move process and has exhausted its complaint procedure yet. This means that the landlord has not had the opportunity to consider and respond to this under its complaints procedure.

Background

The resident held a tenancy with the landlord for a 2 bedroom flat. She reports that she has learning difficulties, which the landlord is aware of.
Between October and November 2020, the resident made the landlord aware that there was a problem with damp and mould at the property. On 17 November 2020,she told it that she had followed the guidance leaflet on damp and mould prevention, given to her previously by the landlord, for 6 weeks, but that it had not worked. Additionally, the resident told the landlord she was pregnant, and that the mould was affecting her existing child’s health.
In response, the landlord attended the property to inspect the damp and mould. Between November and December 2020, works were carried out by the landlord’s contractor to fix the problem. These included cleaning, applying a solution to the walls, and cleaning and renewing filters for a ventilation unit. The landlord then visited the property again in 2021, when it advised that the radiators should be kept on but believed there was an issue with these that it arranged radiator bleeding for, and it went on to fit a trickle vent to the resident’s small bedroom window in February 2022.
In September 2022, the resident raised a stage 1 formal complaint to the landlord. She told the landlord that the mould and damp at the flat was getting worse, and it had started affecting her and her children’s belongings, later adding that this was also affecting their health. Additionally, she told the landlord that, in a previous visit it’s contractor had told her to leave her ventilation and heating on all day. She explained to the landlord that this was not a viable option due to the cost of living, and that she felt both suggestions contradicted each other. Further, she reported that a technical officer was supposed to visit and inspect the property on behalf of the landlord, but this had not happened.
The landlords internal emails in October 2022 said that the resident had been reporting mould to it for 2 years, but that its guidance, ventilation unit and heating had failed to resolve this, with it having not returned to fit a new ventilation unit after visiting and agreeing to do so 2 months earlier. In October 2022, the landlord also issued its stage 1 complaint response to the resident. In the response, it apologised for the situation, and upheld the complaint, offering the resident £250 in compensation for delays in resolving the issue, its technical officer not visiting her at the property after she raised her complaint, and distress and inconvenience. Additionally, the landlord confirmed a technical officer would visit her on 13 October 2022 to inspect the problem.
The landlord then raised a job on 14 October to treat mould, it replaced the resident’s bathroom extractor fan on 28 October, and after it was unable to access the property it treated the mould on 7 December 2022. On 9 November 2022, the resident told the landlord she wanted her formal complaint escalated to stage 2 of its complaints process. She explained that a contractor had attended the flat on 28 October 2022 and replaced a bathroom fan, but that the fan had not formed part of her complaint. The resident also stated that the compensation the landlord was offering would not cover the costs of the items damaged by mould, that it was too cold and expensive for her to run a dehumidifier on all day as it had advised, and its mould cleaning that she did every day had no impact.
Additionally, the resident told the landlord that when its technical officer visited her, they told her the same things she had been told previously about the property not getting enough air, and it being too humid. The resident confirmed she was keeping the flat properly ventilated, and the whole point of her complaint was to get the issues resolved, not to get compensation.
The landlord then advised the resident on 11 November 2022 that its inspection of the property had found high levels of humidity due to a lack of ventilation and extractor fans, heating or windows being used, as well because she had curtains drawn and dried clothes in the property. It said that it had raised treatment of the heavy mould growth as a goodwill gesture, and had upgraded the extractor fans, but that the situation would only improve if she was willing to make changes.
On 24 November 2022, the landlord’s neighbourhood officer reported to it that there was severe damp and mould at the property, following a visit to the resident. Its damp contractor then inspected the property on 9 December 2022, finding that the property was warm, but that there was condensation due to there being no cavity wall insulation in the external walls and a cold outside corridor, as well as the installation of the ventilation units causing these to not work effectively or efficiently. The contractor therefore recommended that they carry out thermal boarding insulation works, which the landlord was to carry out preparation works for, and an automatic humidity controlled bathroom extractor fan and storage cupboard ventilation unit, instead of the existing manually controlled units.
On 14 December 2022, the landlord issued its stage 2 response to the resident, apologising for the poor service and advice she had received to date. It said that, following the visit to the property by its damp contractor, it had received a report for the required works at the flat that it would be undertaking. The landlord confirmed that its technical officer would contact her in the first week of January 2023 to agree convenient dates for the works to be carried out. After the works were completed, the landlord said it would monitor the flat for a period of time to make sure the works had reduced damp and mould at the flat.
The landlord also offered the resident £1,000 in total compensation, consisting of £500 for delays in resolving the damp and mould issue, and £500 compensation for distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. It said that it would learn from her poor experience and improve its service.
In January 2023, the resident contacted the Ombudsman, as she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response. She explained that the required works at the property had been scheduled for the end of January to the beginning of February 2023, but that these had been delayed because the landlord had not carried out the necessary preparation works recommended by its damp contractor.
The resident then continued to report ongoing problems with damp and mould affecting the property, her belongings, and her children’s health to the landlord on 8 March, and 3 May 2023.
As of July 2023, the resident confirmed that she was moving from the property shortly, as she was able to secure a move through the landlord’s bidding system. The resident also told the Ombudsman that the works that were originally supposed to have been carried out at the beginning of the year, were still outstanding, while the landlord’s internal correspondence confirmed that it aimed to complete the works once the property was vacant.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The Ombudsman finds it reasonable to consider the landlord’s handling of the resident’s damp and mould reports from nearly 2 years before her stage 1 complaint to it. The resident raised the issue in November 2020, and the landlord has records in 2022 to confirm that the resident had been logging damp and mould issues with it for 2 years. Additionally, there was a damp inspection completed by the landlord’s damp contractor in December 2022, which confirmed the property’s lack of external cavity wall insulation, and that ventilation that had been inspected and renewed back in 2020 needed to be rewired and renewed. Therefore, there is evidence from both the resident reports and the landlord that the problem formally complained about in 2022 has been ongoing since 2020.

Damp and mould

The landlord’s damp and condensation mould policy states that it will take: “all reports of damp and mould seriously and, wherever possible, seek to ensure that [the resident’s] reports are investigated quickly by a competent surveyor.”
The policy also states that: “where condensation mould exists in the home, [the landlord] will take the following reasonable steps to ensure that it is addressed, arrange for a condensation mould clean to be undertaken, and refer the case to a surveyor who will aim to contact [the resident] within 5 working days… where it is identified that [the resident] is in fuel poverty, we will seek to fast-track Sustainability Programme works to achieve an EPC C rating within 3 months. Where there is poor design or nonstandard features…Surveyors will consider reasonable alternatives to ensure that [the resident is] not disadvantaged, for example, the provision of…internal thermal boarding”.
After the resident told the landlord on 17 November 2020 that damp and mould at the property had not improved following its guidance, the landlord attended the property to investigate on 30 November 2020. Following the inspection, the landlord’s contractor cleaned and renewed filters for a ventilation unit at the property on 10 December 2020, and completed a mould clean there on 15 December 2020. This was in line with the actions required by its damp and condensation mould policy and, although it initially visited within 9 instead of 5 working days, the policy was first released over 2 years later on 21 December 2022, and this took place during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
Between November 2020 and October 2022, the landlord’s contractor also tested the resident’s heating system, bled the radiators at the property, and fitted a new small bedroom window trickle vent. These works were carried out in line with its damp and condensation mould policy, following further visits to the property in response to her damp and mould reports, as required by the policy.
The damp and condensation mould policy also states that the landlord should “discuss the condensation issue with [the resident] in a collaborative manner to understand if there are any issues and provide help and support to better control condensation within the home and prevent it from turning into condensation mould.” Following her stage 1 complaint to it in September 2022, the landlord arranged for a technical officer to visit the resident to discuss the mould and a course of action moving forward. This visit was not completed, however, and the landlord apologised to the resident for the delay. A visit was subsequently arranged for 13 October 2022, which did take place.
However, the resident reported that she was told during the landlord’s technical officer’s above visit to keep her property ventilated at all times, and had previously been told by the landlord in 2020 to leave her heating on consistently. She did not feel this was viable because of the costs involved.
While it was appropriate for the landlord to discuss ventilation and other actions the resident could take to try and mitigate the damp and mould problem, it also had a responsibility to give customised advise to the resident, ensure it was taking all reasonable steps to resolve the issue, and that it was not putting the onus on her. This was a recommendation made in the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould, published in October 2021, which the landlord’s damp and condensation mould policy states that it would meet. Onus was instead put on the resident to leave her ventilation and heating facilities on, for which she had concerns about the cost of running them continuously.
This was inappropriate, particularly given the damp and condensation mould policy’s requirement for the landlord to fast-track works to achieve an EPC C rating within 3 months when the resident was identified as in fuel poverty. It is also very concerning that, following her reports that its guidance, ventilation and heating had failed to resolve the damp and mould at the property after 2 years, there is no evidence that it considered whether this had been caused by poor design or nonstandard features, as mentioned in the policy. Therefore, the landlord additionally did not consider reasonable alternatives to ensure that the resident was not disadvantaged by this during that time, such as internal thermal boarding, as required by its policy.
Subsequently, in December 2022, following another damp inspection, the landlord’s damp contractor reported that the bathroom extractor fan and the storage cupboard ventilation unit at the resident’s property had been installed ineffectively and inefficiently. The resident was having to operate them manually, when that should not have been the case, as these should instead have been automatically humidity controlled. The contractor also reported that condensation was forming at the property, despite this being warm, due to there being no external cavity wall insulation, combined with a cold corridor outside the property.
The landlord’s onus on the resident to keep the property heated and ventilated, when the ventilation systems installed there were found to be working ineffectively and inefficiently, with a cold outside corridor and a lack of insulation, was therefore unfair in the circumstances. This was also contrary to both its subsequent damp and condensation mould policy, and the Ombudsman’s previous spotlight report on damp and mould that was published over a year earlier. It is especially concerning that the landlord took from November 2020 to December 2022 to arrange for a damp contractor to determine this, while the resident reported to it that she was pregnant and that her children’s health was being affected by the damp and mould.
Subsequently, following their report, the damp contractor recommended to the landlord that it remove radiators and pipework at the property to allow them to carry out thermal boarding insulation works in the affected areas. The landlord discussed this report with the resident in December 2022, and confirmed it would be undertaking the recommended works. The resident has confirmed that these works were scheduled for the end of January to the first week of February 2023. However, the radiators and pipework had not been removed by the landlord prior to the contractor’s visit. This meant that the required works were not able to be completed by the contractor. As of July 2023, these works have not been completed. This was an unnecessary, unexplained additional delay caused by the landlord that it did not offer the resident a remedy for, which was inappropriate.
The damp and condensation mould policy states that the landlord will take reasonable steps to ensure that condensation mould is addressed. However, both the landlord and the resident have confirmed that, since the issue was reported and investigated in 2020, as of July 2023 this has not been successfully addressed at the property. This is an unreasonably long time for the issue to be ongoing, and for the resident and her children to have had to live with damp and mould that she reported was affecting their health. As per the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould, residents living in homes with damp and mould may be more likely to have respiratory problems, and other conditions that impact on their immune system.
The landlord was aware that the resident was pregnant, and the resident had previously reported to it that her child was suffering from ill-health. As it was aware of the resident’s circumstances, the landlord should have prioritised successfully addressing the situation, but it did not do so even after receiving its damp contractor’s report outlining the steps necessary to resolve this, and agreeing to follow these. This was another failure by the landlord.
For a time, the landlord appeared to have subsequently put right these failings by apologising to the resident in its stage 2 complaint response, arranging the damp contractor’s recommended works at the property, and offering her compensation totalling £1,000 for the length of its delays, and her distress and inconvenience. The works would have addressed the damp and mould at her property, as recommended by its contractor, and its compensation offer was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance’s recommendation of compensation from £1,000 for serious failings having a severe long-term impact, including a seriously detrimental physical and/or emotional impact on the resident.
However, the fact that the landlord did not then permit the works recommended by its damp contractor to address the property’s damp and mould to be completed, by not carrying out the necessary preparation works also recommended by the contractor, or offer the resident any remedy for not doing so, was a further unresolved failure on its part. Therefore, the landlord has been ordered below to write to the resident to acknowledge, apologise for and explain its above further failings in her case, carry out a case review to determine why these occurred and how it will prevent them from occurring again, and provide her and the Ombudsman with the outcome.
This is as well as to pay the resident an increased amount of compensation of £2,000 in total, which is broken down into £1,000 additional compensation in recognition of the further delay and distress that she experienced from these additional failures, together with the £1,000 compensation that the landlord previously offered her, if she has not received this already.
This is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance’s recommendation of compensation of over £1,000 for failures that have had a seriously detrimental physical, and or emotional impact on the resident over a long period of time.
It has additionally been ordered below for the landlord to review its staff’s and contractors’ training needs in light of its damp and condensation mould policy’s training section, and the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould, in order to prevent its damp and mould response failings in the resident’s case from occurring again.
The resident reported to the landlord that her personal belongings, including children’s clothes, were damaged by damp and mould, as well as that her family’s health was affected by this. She has provided pictures of this to both the landlord and the Ombudsman.
We do not have the authority or expertise to determine liability for or award such damages. However, given the severe delays in addressing damp and mould at the property, the landlord has also been ordered below to provide the resident with details to enable her to make a liability claim to it or its insurers for the damages to her and her children’s health and belongings that she reported.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of ongoing damp and mould.

Orders

The landlord is ordered to:
1. Write to the resident within 4 weeks to acknowledge, apologise for and explain its failings in respect of its handling of her reports of damp and mould at the property, as identified by this investigation.
2. Carry out a case review within 8 weeks to determine why its failures in the resident’s case occurred, and how it will prevent them from occurring again, and provide her and the Ombudsman with the outcome.
3. Pay the resident compensation totalling £2,000 within 4 weeks, this is broken down into:
  1. £1,000 additional compensation in recognition of the further delay and distress that she experienced from its additional failures.
  2. £1,000 compensation that it previously offered her, if she has not received this already.
4. Review its staff’s and contractors’ training needs in light of its damp and condensation mould policy’s training section, and the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould, in order to prevent its damp and mould response failings in the resident’s case from occurring again.
5. Provide the resident with details within 4 weeks to enable her to make a liability claim to it or its insurers for the damages to her and her children’s health and belongings that she reported.
The landlord shall contact the Ombudsman within 4 and 8 weeks to confirm that it has complied with the above orders.