Lambeth Council (202123528)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202123528

Lambeth Council

18 October 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 the landlord’s:
1. Handling of repairs and the resident’s reports of damp.
2. Complaints handling.
3. Knowledge and information management.

Background and summary of events

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord which is a council. The property is a three-bedroom house.
Under the tenancy agreement the landlord is responsible for repairing the external and structure of the property, as well as its drains, pipes, guttering, fittings for the supply of water, gas or electricity, and heating. This is in line with section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
The landlord has a repairs manual, which is a guide which sets out itsrepairs policy and is available on its website. The landlord has provided a link to the current manual to this Service. The Ombudsman has also obtained a copy of the manual in use in 2021 which will be referred to in this report. The manual and website say that repairs can be reported by telephone, online or in person.
Under its policy repairs are categorised as either: urgent emergency (attend within two hours, repair within 24 hours), emergency (repair within one working day), routine (repair within three or seven working days), routine two (repair within 28 working days) or planned (within 90 days). The manual says that “electricity and gas meters” are the responsibility of the resident to keep in repair. The manual also says that residents are responsible for mould stating, “you should wipe away any mould using a proprietary cleaner” and gives advice on how to reduce condensation within the property. The Ombudsman notes that, after the dates relevant to this complaint, the landlord changed its approach to damp and mould in 2022 and the current 2023 manual reflects its current position.
The Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management sets out 21 recommendations to help landlords improve their management of knowledge and information. These include developing an organisational key data recording standard to set out the minimum standard to which data must be entered in the landlord’s databases, and to make adherence to this part of the service level agreement with third parties, for example contractors.
The landlord’s complaints policy and procedure are set out over various webpages on its website; the landlord has provided this Service with links to these webpages rather than to a policy document. The landlord does not define a complaint and has a two-stage process. It will respond to stage one complaints within 20 working days, but if it cannot, it will write to the resident to explain why and will give a new response date. If the resident is dissatisfied with the response, they can escalate the complaint to stage two. The landlord will acknowledge stage two complaints within two working days and will respond within 25 working days, but if it cannot, it will write to the resident to explain why and will give a new response date. The webpages also give details on how to contact this Service.
The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code (the Code) sets out under paragraph 5.1 that stage one complaints must be responded to within ten working days. Under paragraph 5.6 the landlord must response to all elements of a complaint within its response. It must also, under paragraph 5.11, only escalate a complaint to stage two once it has completed stage one and at the request of the resident.

Summary of events

The resident reported holes in the wall of her downstairs toilet which were allowing mice to get in and the landlord’s contractor attended on 11 January 2019 but there was a no access. The resident called the landlord on 1 March 2019 to rebook the repair and it was completed on 15 March 2019; the contractor blocked the holes with sealant.
On 3 January 2020 the resident reported a repair for plug sockets in her kitchen and living room. The repair was completed on 7 January 2020.
The resident reported a repair for the manhole cover and path around it in her garden on 6 May 2020. She said that it was a trip hazard. The landlord’s repair records say that the job was subcontracted, and the appointment was not attended by the subcontractor on 13 July 2020. The repair then appears to have been closed.
The resident also reported a repair to her electric meter box in or about May 2021, although the date is not included in the landlord’s records. On 25 May 2021 the contractor attended but said parts were needed. The resident called the landlord on 10 June 2021 to chase up the repair. In an email sent by the contractor to the landlord on 18 June 2021 it said it was trying to source a new meter box door.
On 5 July 2021 the resident raised a repair for the plug socket in her living room. The landlord’s records say the job was raised and cancelled on that date, without any explanation.
The resident reported “water is causing paint to bubble” in her downstairs toilet on 16 July 2021. The landlord’s contractor attended on 27 July 2021 and said there was no leak but there was “bad damp to house”. The records show the repair was then marked as completed.
On 4 September 2021 the resident emailed the landlord to make a formal complaint. Her complaint was about missed appointments and a list of repairs which she had raised by telephone which had not been completed. She said she had also logged these repairs online. These repairs were for:
1. Trip hazard uneven manhole cover.
2. Plug socket in her living room.
3. Electric meter box needed to be replaced.
4. Damp in her downstairs toilet.
5. Outstanding repairs to her bath, which she said she had been told needed to be replaced.
The resident’s councillor sent an internal email to the landlord on 6 September 2021 to ask the landlord to acknowledge the resident’s complaint. A further internal email was sent the following day to ask for the complaint to be investigated.
The landlord emailed the resident on 7 September 2021 to acknowledge her complaint. It said it aimed to respond by 4 October 2021. The resident emailed the landlord on 4 November 2021, 19 November 2021, and 29 November 2021 to chase a response to her complaint; copies of these emails were provided to the Ombudsman by the resident.
On 29 November 2021 the landlord emailed its contractor for an update on repairs raised for paving, and two electrical repairs.
The landlord provided a stage two complaint response letter by email on 9 December 2021. In its response it:
1. Apologised that it had not provided a stage one response and so had decided to escalate the complaint to stage two.
2. Set out the resident’s complaint about repairs and said she had provided evidence of a missed appointment from 7 July 2021.
3. Apologised for the delay in carrying out repairs. It said it had asked its contractors to contact her to book appointments for the manhole cover and two electrical jobs.
4. Said that electric meter boxes were the responsibility of the utility supplier and not the landlord.
5. Had found an old repair for bath taps, but no notes on its system to say the bath needed to be changed. It said it would raise a new repair for its contractor to look at the bath.
6. Said it would pay £20 in compensation for the missed appointment.
7. Confirmed the complaint had reached the end of the landlord’s process and gave details on how to contact the Ombudsman.

Events after the end of the landlord’s complaints process

Between 21 December 2021 and 22 December 2021, the resident and the landlord exchanged emails about the stage two response. In these emails:
1. The resident said the meter box door broke off during a storm and she reported it to the landlord in April 2021. She said an electrician had told her that if water gets on the meter, it can cause a power cut. She said she had called the utility supplier and UK Power Networks who both said it was the landlord’s responsibility to replace the meter box.
2. The landlord said it would pass the resident’s request to its repairs team to consider.
3. The resident said the landlord’s stage two response did not address the damp in her downstairs toilet. She said a private decorator she had hired said he could not paint the wall and that water was coming in from outside. She also raised five other historic missed appointments.
4. The landlord said in relation to the damp a repair was raised in July 2021 to its previous contractor, and “there is a notepad entry stating property is suffering from bad damp, probably condensation rather than damp, which is probably the cause.” It provided a leaflet which it said it had previously provided to the resident. The landlord also said it could not look into the historic missed appointments but offered £60 as a gesture of goodwill.
In an internal email on 22 December 2021 the landlord suggested that it pay £140 in compensation for the missed appointments the resident had raised, “to prevent her escalating to the Ombudsman” however the £60 offered was paid on 17 January 2022.
Between 5 January 2022 and 18 January 2022, the resident and the landlord exchanged further emails. In these emails:
1. The resident said the damp repair was attended by the landlord’s current contractor, who she said confirmed “water from weeds growing outside the property is the cause of the damp in the toilet… there is a water source which is causing the weeds to grow between the bricks outside and causing the problem”. The resident said there was no heating in the downstairs toilet and only a small window, above head height which cannot be opened. She asked the landlord to repair the issue with the outside wall.
2. The landlord replied to “confirm that the damp leaflet supplied was for general advice on how to prevent damp and mould” and that the landlord’s repairs manual sets out its responsibilities.
3. The landlord said it had asked for its repairs team to contact the resident to arrange an inspection to determine the cause of the damp.
4. The resident replied that this had already been done in July or August 2021.
On 26 January 2022 the resident emailed her MP. The MP then contacted the Ombudsman, and this Service accepted the complaint.
On 24 April 2022 and 29 April 2022, the contractor emailed the landlord to reply to its email sent on 29 November 2021. It said the electrical repairs had been completed and the works to the manhole cover were still outstanding.
The landlord’s contractor repaired the resident’s bath taps on 4 May 2022 and noted that the bath handle was missing.
The resident has told this Service that she raised a further complaint about the meter box which was partially upheld by the landlord on 24 May 2022.
The Ombudsman emailed the landlord about the repairs at the resident’s property on 9 June 2022 and the landlord replied on 4 July 2022 to say it was arranging a property inspection.
The repairs records say that the landlord’s contractor fitted a new meter box on 4 July 2022.
On 8 July 2022 the landlord emailed its contractor to raise the following works:
1. Bath renewal.
2. Works to the bathroom walls and tiling.
3. Level garden slabs.
4. “To the front of the building on the left hand side up the stairs in the corner there is a gap that between the building and the floor slabs, water penetrates and is affecting the wc wall, please fill the gap with some sealant”.
The repairs records say that the following repairs have been carried out:
1. On 1 December 2022 the bath was renewed, and retiled. The wall in the downstairs toilet was repaired and the window adjusted.
2. On 7 December 2022 the manhole and path were repaired.
3. On 20 December 2022 the contractor removed boxing in the downstairs toilet to check for a leaking pipe, but no leak was found.
4. On 5 January 2023 repairs were completed to the path and external wall next to the downstairs bathroom. Gaps in the wall were filled.
The resident has told the Ombudsman that at the date of this report the issues with her manhole cover and damp in her downstairs toilet have still not been resolved. She said that the manhole cover needs further repairs. She also said that a surveyor has inspected twice, and some repairs have been done but there is still rising damp in her downstairs toilet which is causing efflorescence salting which is damaging the plasterwork and paint to the wall. The resident said she bought paint and decorated but this is now damaged. The resident is frustrated that it has taken so long to try to resolve her complaints.

Assessment and findings

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

The resident’s stage one complaint, on 4 September 2021, involved multiple repairs which she said had not been completed.
The landlord’s repairs records show that the resident raised repairs for her plug socket on 5 July 2021 however the landlord cancelled the job and that was a failing. This should have been classed as a routine two repair under the landlord’s repairs policy and should have been completed within 28 days. The landlord did not comply with its policy.
The resident reported the manhole cover and path in her garden needing repair and as a trip hazard on 6 May 2020. The landlord subcontracted the work however it was not completed and not followed up by the landlord, which was also a failing. This should have also been classed as a routine two repair under the landlord’s policy and should have been completed within 28 days. The landlord did not comply with its policy.
The resident said she was told by the landlord’s contractor that she needed a new bath, as the handle on her bath could not be repaired or replaced. In its stage two, and only, complaint response, the landlord said that it could not find a record which said her bath needed to be replaced. The Ombudsman has considered the repairs records and cannot find any evidence of this. However, the landlord did have notice of the repair following the resident’s complaint on 4 September 2021 and should have classed this as a routine two repair under its policy. The landlord agreed to inspect and consider whether a new bath was needed but did not actually replace the bath until 1 December 2022 which was over a year later. The landlord did not comply with its policy which caused an unreasonable delay to the repair.
The landlord’s repairs records show that the resident reported her electric meter box as damaged in or about May 2021. The record shows an appointment was booked for 25 May 2021. The notes say that the landlord raised a repair for the box to be replaced on 18 June 2021 however this did not happen. However, in its stage two complaint response the landlord said that it was not responsible for meter boxes and to contact the utility supplier, which was inconsistent with its earlier acceptance of responsibility. In response, on 21 December 2021 the resident emailed the landlord to say that the utility supplier had told her that it was the landlord’s responsibility.
The landlord’s repairs manual states that electric and gas meters are the responsibility of the resident; this is not correct in that they are the responsibility of the utility supplier, who retain ownership of them. The policy is silent on the meter box. As the landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior, fittings for the supply of electricity and more generally for fixtures and fittings it supplies, it would be fair to assume that the landlord would also be responsible for the meter box. Following a further complaint from the resident the landlord accepted responsibility and fitted a new meter box on 4 July 2022. This was over a year after the resident first reported the repair and this delay was a failing. Under the landlord’s policy this should have been treated as a routine two repairs and should have been completed within 28 days, which it clearly was not.
The resident first reported issues with her downstairs toilet wall in 2019, when mice were entering through holes in the wall. The landlord repaired this by sealing the holes. On 16 July 2021 the resident reported that water was causing paint to bubble, and that there might be a leak. The landlord’s records say its contractor attended on 27 July 2021, which was within the seven working days set out in its manual. The contractor reported back “bad damp to house” and no leak was found. The landlord therefore had notice of the disrepair and should have treated it as a routine two repair to complete within 28 working days. Instead, the landlord then closed the repair as completed, which was a failing. The landlord also failed to respond to this complaint in its stage two response.
The resident emailed the landlord on 22 December 2021 to point out that the complaint response had not included her complaint about damp. The landlord’s response on 24 December 2021 was “there is a notepad entry stating property is suffering from bad damp, probably condensation rather than damp, which is probably the cause. I have attached a leaflet they provided.” The Ombudsman has not been able to find this entry within the landlord’s repairs records. The landlord had not properly investigated the damp and had in effect blamed the resident for it, which is not acceptable. Internal emails show the landlord had attempted to re-raise the repair but was given the above response. Had the resident not challenged this further she would have been left with damp in her downstairs toilet permanently.
In her email on 5 January 2022 the resident said that the contractor who came to her property in July 2021 said “water from weeds growing outside the property is the cause of the damp in the toilet. The weeds are from the wall outside” however there is no record of this within the landlord’s repairs records. She also confirmed that there was no means of heating in the downstairs toilet and only a small window which was sealed and above head height providing no ventilation.
It took the landlord until July 2022 to arrange to inspect the property and raise repairs to try to repair the damp. By this time one year had passed since the resident had reported the issue and this was an unreasonable delay. The repairs records say that the landlord did not complete repairs to the downstairs toilet wall until 1 December 2022. It then carried out another investigation to find a leak on 20 December 2022, and found that there was still “bad damp in property”. Despite the landlord raising a repair to complete works to the external wall of the downstairs toilet, to carry out repairs the resident said the contractor said were needed in July 2021, the landlord did not carry out this work until 5 January 2023. In total the resident had to live with damp in her property for one and a half years before the repairs were attempted to resolve the damp. This was an unacceptable and protracted delay. It did not show that the landlord took the issue of damp seriously and, even after a complaint was raised and replied to, the landlord failed to demonstrate the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. The resident has told this Service that the repairs were not effective and she still has damp.
The Ombudsman notes that the current version of the landlord’s repairs manual, dated 2023, refers to the landlord’s damp charter of 2022. The landlord has since revised its approach to damp, condensation, and mould. The manual has three pages covering how to deal with condensation and how residents can get help. The current manual emphasises that damp and mould is not the resident’s fault. Under the damp charter the landlord now commits to inspect and diagnose reports of damp within 28 days, and to agree an action plan to resolve the problem.
Overall, there was maladministration. The landlord’s failure to follow its policy on repairs, lack of action and delays, coupled with closing repairs which were incomplete and giving conflicting and incorrect information to the resident caused considerable distress, inconvenience, time and trouble to her. An order has been made that the landlord pay £1,000 in compensation to reflect this.

The landlord’s complaints handling

The resident raised her complaint on 4 September 2021 and the landlord acknowledged it on 7 September 2021. Under the landlord’s policy it should have responded within 20 working days, by 1 October 2021. Following the Code, paragraph 5.1, stage one complaints must be responded to within ten working days and so the landlord’s policy is not compliant with the Code, which is a failing.
Despite the resident emailing the landlord three times in November 2021 to chase a response to her complaint, the landlord finally responded on 9 December 2021; this was 68 working days after the complaint was made and was an unacceptable delay. In its response the landlord apologised for the delay, however, did not offer any compensation or show that it wanted to put things right. It also failed to explain why the delay had occurred, or how it would prevent such delays in the future and so did not show it had learnt from the outcome. It said because it had failed to reply to the complaint at stage one it had decided to escalate the complaint to stage two. Nowhere in the landlord’s policy does it say this is the correct course of action. The Code, at paragraph 5.11, also says that a complaint must only be escalated to stage two once it has completed stage one and at the request of the resident. By providing a stage two response the landlord prevented the resident from challenging its response through the landlord’s complaints procedure and this is a significant failing.
In its complaint response the landlord apologised for the delays in completing repairs, but again did not offer any compensation or demonstrate it wanted to put things right. In relation to repairs appointments the landlord could have arranged these and provided the resident with dates, rather than saying it would contact her at some point. The landlord also failed to respond to all of the elements of the resident’s complaint as it did not respond to the reports of damp; this was a failing under paragraph 5.6 of the Code.
Overall, there was severe maladministration. The landlord’s failure to respond at stage one, delay in responding at all, failing to respond to all of the complaint elements, and lack of demonstrating that it wanted to follow the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles caused the resident distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble. She also had to continue to pursue her complaint following the landlord’s response. To reflect the impact on the resident an order has been made that the landlord pay compensation of £600.

The landlord’s knowledge and information management

While investigating this complaint the Ombudsman has found that the landlord’s records were either missing, incomplete or incorrect. In particular:
1. The landlord’s repairs records, which were provided after the Ombudsman specifically requested them, contain incorrect raised dates making it difficult to accurately say when a repair was first raised.
2. There are no notes contained in records for the repair on 5 July 2021 to explain why it was cancelled.
3. The notes for the repair appointment on 27 July 2021 are incomplete. The landlord said in its complaint response that “there is a notepad entry stating property is suffering from bad damp, probably condensation rather than damp, which is probably the cause.” This note does not exist on the copy of the repair records provided to this Service. Equally, there is no note detailing the resident’s claim that the contractor identified the cause of the damp. Whichever version of events is correct the information is missing from the landlord’s records.
4. The landlord did not provide copies of all of the emails between it and the resident relating to her complaint.
5. The landlord has confirmed to the Ombudsman that its call centre retains recordings of calls for a period of six months. However, when asked to produce records of contact from its computer system, only four entries were provided which did not contain any details about the enquiries. This demonstrates that the landlord is not keeping accurate records of calls it receives from residents.
6. The Ombudsman has asked the landlord to provide a copy of its repairs manual in use in 2021 however it has failed to do this.
A landlord should have systems in place to maintain accurate records of repair reports, responses, inspections, and investigations. Good knowledge and information management is vital to evidence the action a landlord has taken and failure to keep adequate records indicates that the landlord’s complaints processes are not operating effectively. Staff should be aware of a landlord’s record management policy and procedures and adhere to these.
There was maladministration in knowledge and information management. The failings identified above have hindered the Ombudsman’s investigation and had a detrimental impact on the response the resident received from the landlord following her complaint. An order has been made that the landlord pay compensation of £100 to reflect the additional time and trouble caused to the resident.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was severe maladministration in relation to the landlord’s complaints handling.
In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in relation to the landlord’s:
1. Handling of repairs and the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. Knowledge and information management.

Reasons

There was severe maladministration in relation to the landlord’s complaints handling as it did not respond at stage one. It escalated the complaint to stage two and so only provided one complaint response, after a considerable delay. The response failed to address all of the elements of the complaint, and there was no sign the landlord had been fair, tried to put things right or learnt from the outcome.
There was maladministration in relation to the landlord’s handling of repairs and the resident’s reports of damp and mould as the landlord failed to follow its policy on repairs. It delayed in completing repairs and closed some before they were completed. It gave conflicting and incorrect information about its responsibility for the resident’s meter box. It did not address her damp issue for one and a half years and the resident says the issue is still not resolved.
There was maladministration in relation to the landlord’s knowledge and information management as records were missing, incomplete or incorrect. Information was not supplied to the Ombudsman or only supplied after being re-requested.

Orders

Within four weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Provide a written apology from a senior member of the landlord’s staff to the resident for the failures detailed in this report.
2. Pay directly to the resident compensation of £1,700 made up of:
  1. £1,000 for the distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble caused to the resident in its handling of her repairs and damp.
  2. £600 for the distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble caused by its failing in its complaints handling.
  3. £100 for the inconvenience, time and trouble caused by its knowledge and information management failings.
3. Complete further repairs to the manhole cover.
4. Draw up a plan to resolve the damp in the downstairs toilet and provide a copy of this plan with intended works and timeframes to the resident and to this Service.
5. Amend its repairs manual to make clear that gas and electric meters are the responsibility of the utility supplier to maintain and not the resident. The landlord should also state that it will maintain meter boxes.
6. Carry out a self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code and consider amendments to its complaints policy to be compliant with the Code, specifically paragraphs 5.1, 5.6, and 5.11. Provide the outcome to this Service.
7. Carry out a self-assessment against the recommendations within the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management.
8. Confirm compliance with these orders to this Service.