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Torus62 Limited (202310813)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202310813

Torus62 Limited

13 May 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
    1. Handling of the resident’s reports of mould and damp.
    2. Handling of the resident’s reports of damage to her kitchen flooring and washing machine.

Background

  1. The resident holds a secure tenancy on a three-bedroom terraced house. The resident has a background history of anxiety, depression, PTSD, irritable bowel syndrome and respiratory issues. The landlord is aware of the resident’s health conditions.
  2. The resident first reported damp and mould in the property, and a leak from pipes in the kitchen, on 22 March 2023.The landlord attended to fix the leak on 24 March 2023. Following the visit the resident contacted the landlord on 27 and 30 March 2023 informing it that the damp and mould in the property was affecting her health and that she was still waiting for a date for the damp and mould survey.
  3. The resident subsequently made a formal complaint on 13 April 2023. In summary she stated as follows:
    1. She had reported black mould under her stairs and no one was getting back to her. She felt ignored by the landlord.
    2. She had undertaken tests to check if the mould was causing her to be poorly. Her PTSD had become worse and her physical had been negatively affected.
    3. The contractor who attended to fix the leak damaged her cushion flooring and her washing machine. The washing machine was only a year and half old so she was unhappy about the damage.
  4. The landlord’s surveyor attended the property on 20 April 2023, he raised a works order with a target date of 19 June 2023 to renew the resident’s kitchen flooring.
  5. The landlord contacted the resident on 26 April 2023 requesting an extension until 10 May 2023 to respond to her complaint. The resident agreed to the extension.
  6. The landlord completed a mould wash in the property on 5 May 2023, during this appointment it identified more areas affected by damp and mould and booked a follow up appointment for 15 May 2023 to treat the new areas identified.
  7. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 10 May 2023. In summary it stated as follows:
    1. That its surveyor attended on 20 April 2023 and arranged for a new cushion floor to be installed in the kitchen.
    2. Mould washes were completed on the areas affected by damp and mould in the kitchen and in the under stairs cupboards.
    3. That further areas were identified on the visit on 5 May 2023 which were sprayed with an anti-fungal spray and a follow up visit had been arranged for 15 May 2023.
    4. That the damage to the washing machine may have been caused by the foot of the operative when refitting the washing machine after pulling it out to look for the source of the leak.
    5. It apologised and offered £25 for the damage to the washing machine and £25 for damage caused to the flooring.
  8. The resident made an escalation request to the landlord on 15 May 2023, in summary she stated that the damp and mould issues had not been resolved and her physical and mental health had been affected. That the £25 compensation she had been offered was an “insult” in view of everything she had gone through and she was seeking a higher level of compensation for the distress and inconvenience and damage to her personal items.
  9. The landlord issued a final response on 19 June 2023, in summary it stated as follows:
    1. That a senior surveyor attended the property on 20 April 2023 and raised repairs to remedy the damage to the kitchen floor.
    2. The surveyor confirmed the bottom of the resident’s washing machine may have been scratched in attending to the kitchen repairs.
    3. The resident provided pictures and evidence that her medication of antidepressants had increased as she had suffered anxiety about the mould, and her doctor had advised that she has breathing problems associated with the damp.
    4. That it was happy to assist the resident to seek alternative accommodation whilst the repairs were completed. The resident advised that she had PSTD and was nervous about moving from her home. The landlord asked the resident to contact it if she changed her mind about the temporary move.
    5. That it did not believe the £50 offered at stage 1 was adequate compensation as it did not reflect the impact on the resident’s health.
    6. That another surveyor would inspect the resident’s property to assess potential further damp damage in her hallway and understairs.
    7. It upheld her complaint due to the length of time she had to wait for the repairs, the associated damage the leak had caused, and the anxiety that has been caused to her.
    8. It apologised for the delay she experienced and accepted there had been service failure. It offered £2,000 compensation in recognition of the physical and mental impact the damp and mould had on her, the damage to her washing machine and flooring, and the damage to children’s toys that were under the stairs.
  10. The landlord’s subsequent inspection of 20 June 2023 raised additional jobs to be completed in relation to the damp and mould which were completed between July 2023 and December 2023, with the final post repairs inspection completed on 8 February 2024.
  11. The resident initially contacted this Service on 26 June 2023, stating that she was unhappy with the landlord’s final response, she said that she wanted the landlord to fix the outstanding issues and offer further compensation. The resident subsequently confirmed to this Service on 25 April 2024 that the landlord had completed repairs and she was happy with the standard of works carried out.  However, she felt the compensation offered by the landlord was inadequate given her deterioration in health.

 Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident complained about several issues in relation to the repairs that were carried out after completion of the landlord’s internal complaint procedure between June 2023 and December 2023. The resident complained about how the landlord handled her request for temporary accommodation, the suitability of the temporary accommodation, the landlord not providing decoration vouchers, food vouchers, the conduct of its surveyor, the quality of the repairs completed, the landlord’s level of communication regarding the repairs and not being provided with dehumidifiers when the landlord attended the property in July 2023.
  2. Paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme says that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which ‘are made prior to having exhausted a member’s (landlord’s) complaints procedure. “In this instance the resident would need to log a complaint with the landlord about the above issues as the Ombudsman has not seen evidence that these complaints have exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure. The resident may be able to bring the new complaints to the Ombudsman if she remains dissatisfied once the issues have been through the landlord’s complaints process.
  3. This report has focused on the landlord’s actions from when the resident made her initial report of damp and mould on 22 March 2022 until the landlord’s final response of 19 June 2023.
  4. The resident had said that the damp and mould problems affecting the property had a serious negative impact on their mental and physical health. While the Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments, it is beyond the expertise of this Service to determine whether there was a direct link between the damp and mould within the property and the decline in the resident’s health. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if they consider that their health has been affected by any action or lack thereof by the landlord. We have however considered any general distress and inconvenience which the resident might have experienced during this time.

Assessment and findings

The landlords handling of the residents reports of mould and damp.

  1. This Service expects a landlord to have a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould and it must ensure its response to reports of the above are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue. This Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould encourages the landlord to conduct self-assessments against the recommendations in the spotlight report. In its self-assessment against this Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould the landlord stated when a damp & mould case is reported, it aims to complete fungi wash within 2-5 days and conduct a survey within 10 days. It also stated it would share the survey report with the resident and ensured the resident understood the findings of the survey.
  2. The resident made her initial report of damp and mould on 22 March 2023, and contacted the landlord again regarding the same issue on 27 March 2023 and 30 March 2023.  After her formal complaint on 11 April 2023, the resident contacted the landlord again on 17 April 2023 and 26 April 2023 regarding her reports of mould. She informed the landlord that there was severe damp and mould in the property which was negatively affecting her health.
  3. There was no communication with the resident regarding her reports of damp and mould until the landlord completed a survey on 20 April 2023.  This was 29 days after the resident’s initial report. This Service would have expected the landlord to complete a survey and share the result with the resident by 31 March 2023, within 10 days of the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property in accordance with its established timeframe. There is no evidence to show the outcome of this survey was shared with the resident. This was not reasonable, especially given the fact that the landlord was aware of the residents’ concerns around her health. The landlord should have been more proactive in completing the survey within the 10-day timeframe and should have shared the results of the survey with the resident.
  4. The landlord stated in its self-assessment against this Service’s spotlight report on damp & mould that it has introduced an “ABC process”. The landlord explained that the ABC process is an extension of its safeguarding approach which includes how it reacts to reports of damp and mould. It stated ABC cases are reviewed weekly and any complex cases are to be passed to the Safeguarding team at an early stage to avoid wasting time. It said support and regular updates are to be given to the resident during the investigation as part of the ABC process.
  5. The landlord’s internal correspondence showed it attempted to raise an ABC safeguarding report for the resident on 21 April 2023. This was 30 days after the resident’s initial report. Considering the landlord was aware of the resident’s vulnerability, it would have been reasonable for it to raise an ABC report earlier and provide support to the resident in accordance with its ABC process.
  6. However, it is unclear what actions the safeguarding team took in relation to the residents reports of damp and mould after the ABC was raised on 21 April 2023. There is no evidence of any support provided to the resident or any communication between the resident and the safeguarding team during the complaint’s process. This was not reasonable nor in line with the landlord’s ABC process.
  7. The landlord completed a mould wash on 5 May 2023, this was 25 days from when the resident made her formal complaint and 45 days from when she made the initial report of mould in the property. The landlord stated in its self-assessment that it would complete mould wash within 2-5 days of the report being made. The mould wash was therefore not completed in accordance with its timeframe stipulated in its assessment. It was understandable that this failure to complete the mould wash on time would have caused further distress and inconvenience to the resident.
  8. It is noted that when the landlord attended to complete the mould wash on 5 May it noticed further areas affected by the damp and it was proactive in arranging a subsequent mould wash which it completed on 15 May 2023. It also arranged for the property to be surveyed again on 19 June 2023 and raised multiple repairs in relation to the damp and mould. This was reasonable and in line with this Service expectations.
  9. The landlord’s stage 2 response acknowledged that there were failures in relation to how it handled the resident’s reports of damp and mould.  It acknowledged that the £50 offered at stage 1 was not adequate compensation as it did not reflect the impact the damp and mould had on the resident’s health. It apologised for the delay she experienced and offered £2,000 compensation.
  10. This Service acknowledges that the £2,000 included an amount towards the damage to her washing machine, kitchen flooring and the damage to children’s toys that were under the stairs. Nevertheless, even when taking these elements into account, the overall amount offered was both proportionate and reasonable given the level of failure. This is because this Service remedies guidance suggests amounts in excess of £1,000 to be awarded in circumstances where there have been serious failings by the landlord. The £2,000 offered by the landlord was therefore reasonable and falls within the range suggested by our remedies guidance.

Handling of the resident’s reports of damage to the kitchen flooring and washing

machine.

  1. The resident reported the damage to her kitchen flooring and washing machine on 13 April 2023. The landlord took the resident’s concerns seriously by arranging for the reported damage to be inspected by its surveyor. The surveyor agreed to renew the flooring and raised a works order on 20 April 2023. Having agreed to renew the flooring it would have been expected to do so within a reasonable period.
  2. Given that the landlord’s repairs policy states that it will complete routine repairs within 20 calendar days, it would therefore be reasonable to expect the landlord to complete the renewal of the flooring within a similar timescale. However, it was not until 16 June 2023 that the landlord renewed the resident’s kitchen floor. This was 44 days outside the timeframe stipulated in its repairs policy.
  3. There was no evidence that the landlord communicated with the resident regarding the damage to her washing machine until its stage 1 response of 5 May 2023 where it offered £25 compensation. This lack of communication was not reasonable and it is understandable that this would have caused unnecessary distress and inconvenience to the resident.
  4. The landlord did not dispute that there were failings in its handling of the resident’s reports of damage to her kitchen flooring and washing machine. Where there are failings by a landlord, as is the case here, this Service will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily under the circumstances. The landlord tried to put things right for the resident by apologising and renewing the kitchen flooring. As explained previously, it is this Service position that the £2,000 offered by the landlord in respect of all the elements of this complaint including these matters provided the resident with reasonable redress.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53(b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the complainant, which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves the complaints about the landlord’s:
    1. Handling of the residents reports of mould and damp.
    2. Handling of the resident’s reports of damage to her kitchen flooring and washing machine.

Recommendation

  1. This Service recommends that the landlord pay the resident the compensation of £2,000 offered as part of its stage 2 complaint response if it has not done so already.  The finding of reasonable redress being dependent on the landlord making this payment to the resident.