Arawak Walton Housing Association Limited (202221248)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202221248

Arawak Walton Housing Association Limited

12 March 2024

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 response to reports of ongoing damp and mould.

Background

The resident holds an assured tenancy with the landlord in a 1-bedroom house. The resident has physical health conditions.
On 8 February 2022 the resident reported worsening damp in the property and requested a dehumidifier, which the landlord provided on 9 March 2022. On 24 March 2022 the landlord inspected the property. It found that the window was streaming with condensation, the bathroom fan was turned off, and laundry had been drying on radiators. It also found mould on the bedroom ceiling and subsequently carried out a mould wash to the front bedroom, hallway and lounge. In addition, the landlord topped up the loft installation.
On 19 May 2022 the resident reported that she could hear water pouring into the roof space and asked for the landlord to treat the damp in the property. The same day the landlord checked the roof, tiles, and loft and did not find any signs of water damage. However, it found mould on the ceiling and windows of the bedroom. The landlord inspected the property again on 30 May 2022 and found ‘minor’ mould which it informed the resident she would need to clean herself. In addition, it raised a repair order to remove the kitchen vent which was carried out on 6 July 2022.
On 5 August 2022 the landlord’s contractor surveyed the property. The report concluded that the damp and mould issues were due to condensation as a result of inadequate ventilation and heating. They subsequently recommended that the bathroom fan be repaired or replaced. On 10 October 2022 the resident reported that the heating in her bathroom was faulty. The bathroom radiator valve was replaced on 13 January 2023. On 27 October 2022 the resident reported a roof leak into the bedroom and bathroom. On 2 November 2022 the landlord’s contractor refitted dislodged roof tiles and cleaned out the gutters. In addition, they carried out a mould wash to the bedroom and bathroom walls and ceilings. On 7 December 2022 the landlord carried out a further inspection of the property where it found areas of loft insulation missing along the edge. On 20 December 2022, the landlord resolved this and repainted the affected damp areas.
On 15 January 2023 following contact from the resident, this Service asked the landlord to respond to the resident’s concerns about ongoing damp and mould as a formal complaint. On 26 January 2023 the landlord carried out another inspection of the property where it identified various works. In addition, it provided the resident with a hygrometer to monitor the humidity.
On 7 February 2023 the landlord responded to the complaint at stage 1 of its complaints process. In summary, it said:
1. It had carried out various mould washes, painting, investigations and rectification work, and an independent damp survey which concluded that the moisture was caused by condensation in the home.
2. Following further reports from the resident, it carried out another inspection on 26 January 2023 where it identified additional work to the property.
3. It would ask an independent surveyor to inspect the property and would act on their recommendations.
4. It had provided the resident with a hygrometer and asked her to take photographs twice a day so it could monitor the humidity of the property.
5. It would need to decant the resident for around 3 days while it completed the work to the bedroom.
6. She was still on its mutual exchange and internal housing transfer list.
7. It remained committed to resolving the issues and had diarised future appointments to monitor her home.
On 14 February 2023 the landlord’s contractor surveyed the property where they found that the external and internal structure of the property was overall in good condition but recommended repairs which included roof work, brick work, further damp and mould treatment, the renewal of extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom and works to doors.
At the end of February 2022 the landlord decanted the resident while it completed work to the bedroom. on 9 March 2023 the landlord installed a humidistat fan to the bathroom and carried out ‘mould related works and minor repairs’. In addition, it carried out a new energy performance certificate (EPC) on 30 March 2023. On 19 May 2023 following contact from the resident, this Service asked the landlord to escalate the complaint to stage 2 of its complaints process. The resident told the Ombudsman that the landlord had not resolved the damp and that she was sleeping in her living room.
On 16 June 2023 the landlord issued its final response. In summary, it said:
1. It carried out extensive work on the property and decanted the resident for a few days in February 2023 while it completed work to the property.
2. Following this work, it carried out an EPC to assess thermal comfort. This concluded that the property had been improved to a good level of warmth.
3. It was actively seeking to support the resident with a move to an alternative property and her applications would remain active.
4. It would visit the property to check the damp in the bedroom to determine if further works were needed.
The resident asked this Service to investigate the complaint on 20 July 2023. She said, the smell of mould was still present, and the walls were wet. In March 2024 the resident informed this Service that the property was still cold and the work the landlord carried out had made no difference. She added that the damp and mould were affecting her belongings and food, as well as her health and well-being. As an outcome she wanted the landlord to move her to another property or for it to change the heating system and inspect the roof.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident stated that her health had deteriorated due to the damp and mould. Although the Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments and acknowledges that the situation continues to be distressing for her, the Ombudsman cannot draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience that the situation may have caused the resident.
While this Service acknowledges this has been an ongoing issue since 2018, under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, we may not consider complaints that were not brought to the landlord’s attention as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within 6 months of the matters arising. In view of the time periods involved in this case, considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this investigation has not considered any specific events prior to February 2022. The assessment will therefore focus on the landlord’s actions in responding to the resident’s reports from February 2022 up to the landlord’s final response in June 2023.

Reports of ongoing damp and mould

When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman applies its Dispute Resolution Principles. These are high level good practice guidance developed from the Ombudsman’s experience of resolving disputes, for use by everyone involved in the complaints process. There are three principles driving effective dispute resolution:
1. Be fair – treat people fairly and follow fair processes.
2. Put things right.
3. Learn from outcomes.
The Ombudsman must first consider whether a failing on the part of the landlord occurred, and if so, whether this led to any adverse effect or detriment to the resident. If it is found that a failing did lead to an adverse effect, the investigation will then consider whether the landlord has taken enough action to ‘put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
The landlord’s maintenance repairs policy states that it will complete emergency repairs within 24 hours and routine repairs within 21 days.
The Ombudsman would reasonably expect that on receiving reports of damp and mould, the landlord should respond, arrange an inspection and investigate to determine the causes of damp and mould and, if necessary, carry out remedial repairs within a reasonable timescale. The Ombudsman has noted that following a self-assessment of the Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight review of damp and mould the landlord introduced a damp and mould policy in March 2023. While the Ombudsman welcomes this, the main focus of this investigation was prior to the introduction of this policy.
On 8 February 2022 the resident reported that the damp in her property was worsening and requested a dehumidifier. While the landlord’s records showed that it was taking reasonable steps to secure the dehumidifier, it was not until 10 March 2022 that the landlord attempted to inspect the property. This was over 1 month after the resident’s report. This was an unreasonable delay, particularly given the landlord was fully aware that this had been an ongoing issue over several years.
Furthermore, when the landlord inspected the property on 24 March 2022 it should have been more sympathetic to the resident’s concerns, instead it appeared to suggest that the resident was responsible for the condensation. Its records showed that it told her that drying laundry on the radiators and turning off the bathroom fan ‘must cease’. This would have left the resident feeling like her concerns were not being addressed. While it is noted that the landlord took some appropriate action by carrying out a mould wash and topping up the loft insulation, it missed an early opportunity to carry out a comprehensive survey of the property.
On 19 May 2022 the resident reported a leak coming from her roof. The landlord acted in line with its policy timescales by attending the same day to inspect. Further, the landlord demonstrated that it was taking her concerns seriously by inspecting the roof again at the end of May 2022 following further contact from the resident. Although on both occasions it did not find any issues with the roof, it found mould on the wall and ceiling of the bedroom. It also found that kitchen work tops were discoloured and that the living room door was missing. In response it raised a repair order to remove the vent from the kitchen to stop cold air from coming in.
However, it told the resident that she would be responsible for cleaning the mould. This was inappropriate. Given the landlord had identified repairs in the property that likely contributed to the damp and mould it should have taken ownership for treating it. Its failure to do so would have caused distress and inconvenience to the resident who have likely felt that the landlord was putting the onus back onto her. Furthermore, the landlord did not remove the vent until 6 July 2022. This was over a month after its inspection, and it failed to act in line with its policy timescales in this regard. In addition, there was no evidence of the door being installed at this point despite the landlord indicating that this was a contributing factor.
The landlord’s records indicated that the resident made further reports of damp and mould during July 2022. The landlord appeared to make reasonable efforts to arrange an appointment for an independent survey inspection, which was carried out on 4 August 2022. The survey concluded that the damp and mould issues were due to condensation as a result of inadequate ventilation and heating. They recommended that the bathroom extractor fan be repaired or replaced. While it was appropriate for the landlord to arrange an independent survey it is unclear why this was not done sooner. Furthermore, the bathroom fan was not replaced until 9 March 2023, over 7 months later. This was a considerable delay and contrary to its repair timescales.
The landlord’s repairs logs showed that on 10 October 2022 the resident reported that she did not have heating in her bathroom. The landlord’s records indicated that her bathroom radiator valve was faulty. It subsequently replaced the valve on 13 January 2023, over 3 months later. Again, the landlord failed to act in line with its policy timescales. Furthermore, it is reasonable to conclude that the lack of adequate heating likely exacerbated the damp and mould issues.
On 27 October 2022 the resident reported another leak coming into her bedroom and bathroom. The landlord’s contractor acted promptly by trying to arrange an appointment to inspect the same day. While initially they were unable to get hold of the resident, its contractor refitted dislodged roof tiles, cleaned the gutters and carried out a mould wash to the bedroom and bathroom walls on 2 November 2022. Overall, the landlord acted fairly and responded to this report within a reasonable timescale.
The landlord’s records indicated that it attended the resident’s property on 7 December 2022. Although it is not entirely clear what prompted this, the landlord found that insulation was missing along the edge of the loft and agreed that it would clean and repaint the affected mould areas in the bedroom. Its records suggested that these works were completed on 20 December 2022. Again, this work was carried out within a reasonable timescale.
The resident contacted the landlord again on 10 January 2023 where she said the damp and mould was affecting her health and asked if there was anything more in terms of repairs that the landlord could do to assist. The landlord carried out a full inspection of the resident’s property on 26 January 2023. It identified various works that were needed including the replacement of the internal door to the living room and the bathroom fan. It is important to note that these were repairs that were previously identified in the August 2022 survey but were not acted upon at that time. This was a failure on the part of the landlord.
The inspection also found that a variety of works were needed internally and externally to prevent mould in the bedroom. The resident was subsequently decanted from 22 to 25 February 2023 while these works took place. Additionally, on 8 and 9 March 2023 the landlord installed a new extractor fan in the bathroom, thermal lined the bedroom wall and carried out ‘mould related works and minor repairs’. Following this work, the landlord carried out a test which showed the property to have an EPC rating of C and was therefore at a good level of warmth. The landlord acted fairly in this respect by following the recommendations made by the surveyor within a reasonable timescale.
It is acknowledged that the landlord responded promptly to the resident’s concerns throughout and that in the main it took appropriate actions to remedy the issues identified. In addition, the Ombudsman notes that it offered the resident alternative accommodation in March 2023, which given the circumstances was appropriate. However, the landlord failed to take a holistic approach to the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the earliest stage which led to unnecessary delays in repairs. It should have arranged for a survey of the property sooner following the resident’s initial report in February 2022.
Overall, it is considered that some of the remedial work to resolve or improve the damp and mould issues could have been identified sooner. Furthermore, there were considerable delays in repairing the bathroom extractor fan and internal door, despite these issues being identified early on. This amounts to maladministration from the landlord. In line with this Service’s remedies guidance awards of between £100 to £600 compensation should be considered where the Ombudsman has found failures which have adversely affected the resident. In view of this, an order of compensation has been below.
It is noted that the landlord’s final response stated that it would conduct a further visit to the property to check the damp reported in the bedroom to determine if any further repairs or preventive work were needed. The landlord records showed that it inspected the property in August 2023 where it found that the kitchen walls were ‘quite severely’ affected by mould, along with an affected area in the bedroom. In the landlord’s submissions to the Ombudsman, it is noted that during this survey the resident asked for the survey to stop. However, it is unclear if and what action the landlord has taken since this visit. In light of this, considering the failings identified and the ongoing nature of these issues, this Service has made a further order below for remedy.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to reports of ongoing damp and mould.

Orders

The landlord must, within the next four weeks:
1. Provide a written apology for the failings identified in this report.
2. Pay the resident £400 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of reports of ongoing damp and mould.
3. Provide an action plan to the resident and this Service on what it intends to do to resolve the damp and mould in the property, including timescales (and then adhere to these). This plan must include an assessment of the resident’s heating system to ensure it is working properly and fit for purpose.
The landlord should provide this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescale set out above.

Recommendations

The landlord should inspect the roof of the property and ensure that it is fit purpose and that no repairs are required.
The landlord should continue to work with the resident to explore alternative housing options.