London Borough of Brent (202222273)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202222273

London Borough of Brent

21 August 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 handling of the resident’s reports of:
1. Damp and mould at her permanent residence.
2. Damp and mould at her temporary accommodation.
3. Drug usage near her temporary accommodation.
The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident holds a secure tenancy and lived in a 1-bedroom flat with her partner and child. Since May 2022 the resident has been living in temporary accommodation after being decanted. In May 2023 the resident was granted a permanent decant to a larger property and is awaiting a suitable offer of accommodation from the landlord.
The resident first reported issues with damp and mould at her permanent residence in June 2020. On 23 June 2020 she contacted the landlord to advise that nobody had attended a repair scheduled for that day and attached pictures showing the relevant areas affected by damp and mould.
A mould wash was arranged and completed on 31 December 2020 for the resident. This did not resolve the issue and on 15 January 2021 an inspection was carried out that recommended intrusive work throughout the property and that the resident be temporarily decanted for 3 to 4 weeks while the repairs were completed.
A case was created by the landlord on 28 January 2021 to deal with the decant recommendation. However, between February 2021 and May 2022 there was a disagreement between the resident and the landlord on the suitability of a temporary decant. This included the resident instructing legal representatives and sending a pre-action letter for disrepair and ended with the landlord obtaining an injunction in December 2021 to remove the resident from her permanent residence to temporary accommodation. The dispute was due to the landlord’s failure to agree to the resident’s request to move permanently to a 2-bedroom property or for her permanent residence to be converted to a 2-bedroom property.
The resident moved into temporary accommodation in May 2022. On 12 July 2022 the resident contacted the landlord for an update on the repairs being carried out at her permanent residence. She advised that it had been around 5 weeks since she had moved into the temporary property and that she had been told the repairs would be completed “swiftly”. The resident chased the landlord for a response to her email on 22 July 2022.
On 26 July 2022 the resident contacted the landlord and said that it had been 7 weeks since she moved into the temporary property when she had been told it would only take 3 weeks for the repairs to be completed. She told the landlord that the whole situation had caused her and her family some medical issues. She also advised that the landlord had failed to provide her with any new timescale or updates for repairs.
The landlord carried out a further inspection of the resident’s permanent residence on 25 August 2022. A schedule of works was raised following the new inspection, and between 31 August and 29 September 2022 the damp and mould repairs were completed.
On 8 November 2022 a post inspection was completed by the landlord which identified some snagging requirements. However, the inspection was passed.
On 18 November 2022 the resident emailed the landlord to say that she had concerns about the temporary accommodation that she was living in, that her items and belongings had been in storage since April 2022, and that the repair to her permanent residence was only meant to take 3 to 4 weeks, but she had still not been able to move back in.
On 15 December 2022 the resident contacted her solicitor to ask for an update on the landlord’s repairs as she had not received any communication from them. The resident’s solicitor advised that it was her understanding the landlord had completed the work and undertaken a post inspection in November 2022. The resident’s solicitor stated that she should raise a complaint.
The resident raised a formal complaint with the landlord on 28 December 2022. She said that she had visited her property, and the damp and mould was still present. She said that she had been in temporary accommodation since March 2022 and had been told the repairs would only take 3 to 4 weeks. That her temporary accommodation was not safe and the length of time it was taking the landlord to resolve the issue was causing her health problems.
The landlord called the resident on 30 December 2022 to advise that her property was ready, and she could move back in. The resident emailed the landlord the same day and said that the property was not ready and that there were still issues throughout the flat. This included, among other things, damp and mould in her bathroom, damp in the living room, missing extractor fans in the kitchen, and unrepaired damage to walls, floor and storage space.
On 5 January 2023 the landlord updated the resident and advised that:
1. A post inspection had been completed on 8 November 2022 and snagging was identified which included installation of extractor fans.
2. All extractor fans were installed on 29 December 2022 and a request was made for a Housing Officer to contact the resident to arrange her return to the property.
3. After the resident had raised her unhappiness with the state of the home a contractor inspected the property again. This contractor noted that it had appeared someone had been to the property following completion of the works and damaged wallpaper among other things at the flat.
On 26 January 2023 the landlord told the resident that a surveyor would be attending the flat that day to look at the outstanding issues and raise the appropriate repairs. The landlord also acknowledged the resident’s formal complaint dated 28 December 2022 and advised a response would be sent by 9 February 2023.
Between 26 and 27 January 2023 a surveyor attended the permanent residence and raised works with a contractor to complete outstanding repairs.
On 9 February 2023 the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint and said that as its legal disrepair team were dealing with her formal disrepair case, it could not investigate her complaint.
On 15 March 2023 the outstanding repairs were completed and a post inspection was carried out on 24 March 2023, confirming the repairs were carried out to a sufficient standard.
The resident contacted the landlord on 12 May 2023 to ask if it had any update on moving her to a 2-bedroom property. The landlord replied the same day to say that her case was with its housing allocation panel.
The landlord updated the resident on 17 May to say that its housing allocation panel had agreed to move the resident via a permanent decant to a 2-bedroom property.
The resident contacted the landlord again on 10 and 27 July 2023 to say that she was very upset with how the landlord had treated her and her family. She advised that she was still living in temporary accommodation and that there was a smell of drugs around the property. She also asked for an update on when a permanent offer would be made.
A new complaint was raised with the landlord via this Service on behalf of the resident on 2 August 2023. The complaints raised were that:
1. There had been a delay in completing the repair work which led to the resident staying in temporary accommodation for a long time.
2. The temporary accommodation had damp and mould which had not been dealt with.
3. The landlord had not dealt with the resident’s reports of drug usage near the temporary accommodation.
Between 1 and 16 August 2023, the landlord made 2 direct property offers to the resident. The resident refused these offers due to the location.
On 23 August 2023 the landlord provided a stage 1 response to the resident’s complaint. The landlord said that it:
1. Could not deal with the formal complaint about damp and mould at her permanent resident as there was an open legal disrepair case. However, it said it was not easy to determine how long repairs take and due to the length of time taken, a referral was made to its Housing Allocations Panel who agreed a permanent decant to a 2-bedroom property.
2. Had checked its repair history and that no reports of damp and mould had been made about the temporary accommodation. However, it had requested a surveyor to inspect the property as soon as possible.
3. Checked its case notes and these indicated that, after a conversation with it, the resident had not wanted to proceed with any drug related reports. It advised it had noted the resident had reported the incidents to the police anonymously and that it would report the issue to the Council’s community protection team.
4. Apologised for the delays and issues that had occurred.
Between 6 and 10 October 2023, resident and landlord discussed the permanent decant to a 2-bedroom property. The resident explained that she had been in the temporary accommodation for over 2 years and that she wanted to move. The landlord advised the resident that as requested, it would only offer properties that came up in the resident’s preferred area. Therefore, this limited the availability and reduced the chances of an offer being made quickly.
The landlord provided a further stage 1 response to the resident’s complaint on 2 November 2023. This further response dealt with the issues of damp and mould at the resident’s permanent property. The landlord advised:
1. It had reviewed whether it could look at the resident’s complaint regarding damp and mould after this Service said it could investigate issues where court proceedings had not been issued.
2. That a surveyor was due to attend her temporary accommodation on 30 November 2023 to inspect the address for damp and mould.
3. The complaint was upheld as there was a delay in progressing the stage 1 complaint due to a lack of clarity over the legal status of the complaint, and that it had delayed progressing the damp and mould complaint in a timely manner.
4. As a resolution it would offer £325 in compensation.
The resident escalated her complaint on 16 November 2023 and on 13 December 2023 asked for an update on any direct offer of a property. The landlord responded on 13 December to advise that it has to decide if a property is suitable for the resident before any direct offer can be made. As yet, no suitable property had become available.
On 27 December 2023 the landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response. The landlord summarised the background of the complaint and apologised for the unnecessary time and trouble the resident had taken in pursuing a resolution. The landlord said that:
1. There had been delays in carrying out inspections and dealing with the resident’s complaint. These delays were dealt with at stage 1 and compensation had been offered.
2. The surveyor for the temporary accommodation did not attend on 30 November 2023 due to the direct offers made and that this appointment had been rescheduled.
3. If the resident had concerns about her or her family’s health she could raise an insurance claim. The landlord provided its liability insurance information.
4. If the resident had any further concerns about drug use, she could report this. The landlord provided information on how to report ASB concerns about drugs.
5. The resident had not yet been given a 2-bedroom property, but its housing needs team was dealing with the offer and as soon as a suitable property became available it would be offered.
As of August 2024, the resident is still residing in the temporary accommodation and is awaiting an offer of a suitable property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

Paragraph 42(c) says that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 6 months.
Although it is noted that the resident’s reports of damp and mould at her permanent residence date back to June 2020, this investigation has primarily focussed on the landlord’s handling of the damp and mould reports from May 2022 to the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response dated 27 December 2023.
This is because the resident’s first formal complaint raised in December 2022 was about the delays to the damp and mould repairs after she moved into the temporary accommodation, rather than the actions of the landlord prior to this. The resident did not raise a formal complaint about the landlord’s actions prior to moving into temporary accommodation until 2 August 2023. It would not be fair to investigate the actions prior to moving as the resident did not bring the matter to the landlord’s attention within a reasonable period.
The resident has told this Service that she is still currently awaiting a permanent move to a 2-bedroom property after a permanent decant was agreed. She has explained that she is unhappy at the length of time it is taking to find her a suitable property. However, this Service will not consider this element of her complaint as part of this investigation under paragraph 42(a) of the Scheme. This is because the resident has yet to raise these concerns with the landlord directly and exhaust its complaint procedure.
The resident has told the Ombudsman that she has suffered significant health issues due to the events considered in this investigation. She has provided medical records and letters to support this view. While this Service is an alternative to the courts, we are unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s action or lack of action has had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. We also are unable to calculate or award damages based on any potential personal injuries.
Therefore, we are unable to consider the personal injury aspects of the resident’s complaint. These matters are better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury claim with the landlord’s own liability insurance. However, consideration has been given to the distress and inconvenience the landlord’s actions may have caused.

Damp and mould at the resident’s permanent residence

The landlord’s repair policy sets out that it has 28 calendar days to complete a routine repair. It says that if a surveyor is required, one will attend within 28 days. Then, within 5 working days of the survey, the landlord will decide what work is required and write to the resident to confirm the timescale for the work.
The Ombudsman published a spotlight report on damp and mould in October 2021 which is available on our website. This recommends that landlords strengthen their approach to tackling damp and mould issues and improve communication with residents.
The landlord implemented a specific damp and mould programme in April 2023 and carried out a self-assessment against the Ombudsman’s spotlight report in October 2023. As part of this assessment the landlord implemented a specific damp and mould procedure. This says that it will act on reports of damp and mould within 28 days and work with the resident on a plan to fix the issue as quickly as possible. It also provides a specific email address for residents to report damp and mould concerns.
It is positive that the landlord conducted a thorough self-assessment against the spotlight report and now has processes in place to deal with damp and mould separate from its general repairs policy. The self-assessment shows a willingness to learn and improve the service it is providing to residents, and it is important that this self-reflection continues.
After the resident moved into temporary accommodation the landlord took 4 months to complete the original repairs. This was an unreasonable delay in carrying out the repairs which it had told the resident would only take 3 to 4 weeks. This caused the resident significant frustration and inconvenience at what was already a stressful time.
The landlord has been unable to evidence that it communicated this delay to the resident or that it provided new timescales. Instead, the resident had to chase the landlord 5 times between July and December 2022 before she received an update that a post inspection had been carried out in November 2022 and she could move back into the property. This was a significant failure in the landlord’s communication and caused the resident some distress and inconvenience.
After the resident was told that she could move back to her permanent residence she contacted the landlord on 30 December 2022 to advise that the property still had some outstanding repairs. The landlord’s initial action was reasonable as it arranged for a surveyor to attend the property within its 28-day timescale. However, the landlord has been unable to evidence that it wrote to the resident to confirm the timescale for the repair work within 5 working days. This showed that the landlord did not follow its repair policy in communicating the repairs and timescales with the resident.
The repairs were completed on 15 March 2023 and a post inspection was carried out on 24 March 2023. The landlord has not provided any evidence that it contacted the resident at this time to advise the repairs had been completed. The landlord has also failed to provide any evidence that it explained clearly to the resident why it took so long to complete the repairs or what mitigating circumstances for this there may have been. This shows a further failure in the landlord’s communication about the repairs.
The Ombudsman has not been provided with evidence to show that after the post inspection was completed the resident was told she could move back to her property. This lack of clear communication after the repairs were completed is unreasonable and prevented the resident from deciding on whether she wanted to move back or continue to live in the temporary property. This added to the resident’s feeling of frustration in the landlord’s actions. The landlord did agree to permanently decant the resident on 17 May 2023 due to the length of time it had taken to complete the repairs.
Given the lack of clear, effective and proactive communication and due to a significant delay in completing the repairs it is the Ombudsman’s view that this amounts to maladministration.
The landlord offered a total of £325 compensation for the delay in dealing with the damp and mould issue and for a delay in its complaint handling. The complaint handling will be dealt with later in this determination. However, the Ombudsman does not consider the offer of £325 suitably recognises the impact caused to the resident because of the failings identified.
The landlord’s policy on compensation is to follow this Service’s remedies guidance. Where a resident has been significantly impacted the guidance says that the level of redress would fall between £600 to £1,000. In this instance the impact of the landlord’s failings lasted for 12 months before it agreed a permanent decant. Throughout this period the resident told the landlord that her and her children’s health was being impacted by her living conditions. This only increased the level of distress, inconvenience and anxiety that the resident felt about her situation. Therefore, the landlord should pay a total of £800, In addition to the £325 it already offered, in compensation broken down as:
1. £400 for the failure to communicate effectively.
2. £400 for the delay in completing the damp and mould repairs.

Damp and mould reports at the temporary accommodation

The Ombudsman has seen no evidence that the resident reported issues of damp and mould at her temporary accommodation prior to raising a formal complaint with the landlord on 2 August 2023. In its stage 1 response the landlord advised the resident that a surveyor’s inspection would be raised “as soon as possible” and she would be contacted to book an appointment. The actions of the landlord were reasonable and followed its damp and mould policy which at the time said that it would act on reports within 28 days.
Despite this initial positive action, the landlord failed to follow through with its promised action of arranging an inspection. In its stage 2 complaint response dated 27 December 2023 the landlord advised that the original survey scheduled for 30 November 2023 had been cancelled in error due to an offer of re-housing. The failure to rebook the appointment increased the resident’s distress and reinforced her view that the landlord did not take reports of damp and mould seriously.
In the stage 2 response the landlord told the resident that a survey would be re-booked and she would be contacted “within 2 weeks” with an appointment. However, no survey has been completed at the resident’s property for damp and mould since this commitment. It has taken this Service to contact the landlord for a new survey to be booked, with the landlord due to attend on 20 August 2024. This delay of 181 working days since the initial survey was booked is unreasonable.
In the Ombudsman’s opinion and taking all the circumstances into account, the landlord’s actions amount to maladministration. The impact to the resident has been significant and is ongoing because of the landlord’s failure to take proactive action and follow through with its own commitments. This was made worse as the landlord already knew it had failed the resident when dealing with the damp and mould issues at the resident’s original property.
This shows a lack of learning from the failures the landlord identified during its complaint handling. The lack of proactive management of the damp and mould issue in the temporary accommodation goes against the landlord’s self-assessment following this Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould. It said that it takes a “zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould”, but this is not evident in the landlord’s actions. Instead, the landlord left the resident in temporary accommodation in the hope that the resident would move, and the problem would resolve. Based on this the landlord should pay the resident compensation of £600 and ensure that any works recommended by the inspection are scheduled.

Reports of drug usage

The resident first reported a potential issue with drug misuse on 10 July 2023 when she advised the landlord that she was living in an environment where there were drugs and a “smell of weed”. The landlord has been unable to show that it addressed this issue with the resident at the time. This is a failure to follow its own ASB policy which says that the landlord’s ASB team will deal with issues such as drug dealing, drug taking and substance misuse. While the resident did not report the issue directly to the landlord’s ASB team, there is no evidence to show that she was signposted to the relevant team or provided with appropriate contact details.
In the landlord’s stage 1 and 2 complaint responses it said that it had no record of a report of drug related concerns. The fact that it had no record of her 10 July 2023 report reinforces the failure by the landlord to record and act on the resident’s concern. These failures caused the resident some distress and inconvenience as she felt that the issue was not taken seriously.
When the resident raised a formal complaint about the failure to deal with the report, the landlord took appropriate action. In its stage 1 response it advised that it could not take enforcement action based on the reports made. However, it would refer the issue to its community protection team who were responsible for ASB reports. In its stage 2 response the landlord said that due to the lack of detail in the reports it could not investigate the issue. The landlord provided the relevant contact details for its ASB team and told the resident that she should notify the police of any suspicious activity. The actions taken here were reasonable, the landlord set out its stance on the reports and provided relevant information to the resident on where to report drug usage issues.
In the Ombudsman’s opinion and taking all the circumstances into account, the landlord’s actions amount to service failure. The impact of the landlord’s service failure on the resident lasted 4 months but did not affect the overall outcome on the resident. Therefore, the landlord should make a payment of £100 to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused.

Complaint handling

The landlord has a 2-stage formal complaints procedure whereby it aims to respond to complaints within 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2. Where these timescales are not possible, this will be communicated to the resident.
The landlord significantly delayed dealing with the resident’s first complaint raised on 28 December 2022 about the delay in completing the damp and mould repairs. When the landlord did respond on 9 February 2023 it had been 31 working days since the complaint. This was outside its 10-working day response time and the resident was not updated about this delay.
In addition to this delay, the landlord also advised the resident that it could not investigate the complaint due to the case being with its legal disrepair team. This did not follow the landlord’s complaint policy which set out that a complaint would only fall outside of the complaint process if the resident had started legal proceedings or court action, but not where a resident has only said they would do so. As no court proceedings had been issued, the landlord should have investigated the complaint in line with its policy.
The landlord eventually responded to the first complaint at stage 1 on 2 November 2023 after a second complaint had been raised and following the intervention of this Service. While the landlord apologised for its error in refusing to investigate, this error delayed the resident receiving a response for 11 months and was unreasonable.
The landlord’s stage 2 response was sent on 27 December 2023 and was sent 28 working days after the resident escalated her complaint. This was outside the landlord’s 20-working day timescale for a response. This delay was not communicated to the resident and was unreasonable.
In addition, the stage 2 complaint response did not make clear what, if any, elements of the resident’s complaint were upheld. It also failed to make clear what resolutions were offered at stage 2. This Service’s complaint handling code says that the landlord, among other things, must confirm in clear, plain language, the decision on the complaint and details of any remedy offered to put things right. The landlord failed to do this which was unreasonable and caused the resident some further frustration.
While the landlord did offer £325 as part of its stage 1 response it was not clear how much of this offer was for the delay in complaint handling. The Ombudsman considered whether this offer was reasonable redress. However, given the lack of clarity over the offer and decision at stage 2 of the landlord’s complaint process it is the Ombudsman’s view that the landlord’s actions amount to maladministration.
In line with this Service’s guidance on remedies a payment of £250 should be made to recognise the impact caused by the landlord’s failings. This takes into account the incorrect refusal to investigate the complaint, the significant delay in responding to the complaint and the lack of clarity over the decision and offer of resolution.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
1. Reports of damp and mould at her permanent residence.
2. Reports of damp and mould at her temporary accommodation.
3. Complaint.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of drug usage near her temporary accommodation.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to:
1. Provide a written apology to the resident for the failings identified.
2. Pay £1,750 to the resident in addition to the £325 already offered, which is broken down as:
  1. £400 for the failure to communicate effectively.
  2. £400 for the delay in completing the damp and mould repairs at the original property.
  3. £600 for the failures in handling reports of damp and mould at the temporary accommodation
  4. £250 for the handling of the resident’s complaint
  5. £100 for the handling of reports of drug usage.
3. Provide a copy of the inspection report following the inspection dated 20 August 2024 to the resident and this Service. If repairs are identified a schedule of works with timeframes are to be shared with the resident and this Service. If the inspection needed to be rearranged, please provide evidence this has been explained to the resident and provide evidence of the rescheduled appointment.
4. Contact the resident to establish if the issue around drug usage has been resolved. If not, to ensure that the resident’s case has been referred to the community protection team and the resident has the appropriate contact details. This Service should be provided with evidence that the landlord has contacted the resident about this, and the appropriate referral has been made if required.
Within 12 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to review its offer of training for staff involved in complaint handling. It is ordered to consider whether it should provide refresher training or additional guidance on:
1. When complaints should be refused, specifically related to legal disrepair claims.
2. When and how to communicate with complainants if a response is going to be delayed.
3. How to respond to complaints in clear, plain language.
4. What to include within a complaint response, specifically with reference to the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the landlord contact the resident to provide an update on her current housing situation.