Lewisham Council (202335783)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202335783

Lewisham Council

10 September 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 handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs at the property.

Background

  1. The resident has been applying to the landlord since December 2020 to succeed to the tenancy of the 3-bedroom flat where she lives with her 2 children, when the rent for the property was £526.98 per month or £121.61 per week. She now pays it £597.78 per month or £137.95 per week from her universal credit for use and occupation of the property. The landlord has no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident, but she has explained that her youngest child is disabled and has autism and asthma. She reports that her household has repeatedly got sick and had chest infections due to the condition of the property for the past 4 years.
  2. The resident stated that she previously reported a leak in her bathroom to the landlord in 2020 that caused damp, mould, and damage in the bathroom, hallway, ceiling, and 2 storage cupboards. It confirmed that it then arranged a surveyor’s damp and mould inspection of the property in July 2021, but that it did not arrange any works for this at that time. The landlord said that its plumber subsequently attended a leak from the resident’s bathroom into the hallway in January 2022 and repaired the leak from the bath waste pipe, with no further leaks noted. It explained that it went on to arrange another surveyor’s damp and mould inspection of the property in February 2022, but that works were again not arranged by it for this at the time.
  3. The resident therefore twice asked the landlord’s damp and mould team to contact her in June 2022, and it unsuccessfully tried to do so twice before she asked for its damp and mould inspection reports. She then made a stage 1 complaint in June 2022 about the leak from her bathroom causing damp under the bath and in her hallway wall, mould, and damaged tiles and skirting boards. The resident added there were outstanding works to the bathroom extractor fan, the bath panel the landlord previously removed, plumbing, replastering, and redecorating. She told it her autistic child had asthma and she asked for its damp and mould reports to take further action via her solicitor. This was due to the landlord’s lack of repairs that its system incorrectly showed as completed.
  4. The landlord subsequently twice attempted to contact the resident before making another appointment for a surveyor’s damp and mould inspection of the property in August 2022. It went on to respond to her stage 1 complaint in August 2022 by apologising that it had not resolved the damp and mould issues at the property and explaining that its latest inspection was to trace the source of this in order to do so. The landlord stated that its surveyor would then advise it of any further inspections or repairs that were required for this, which it would oversee to completion. It also apologised for any delays and failures in service by it and said it appreciated the distress and inconvenience that this had caused the resident.
  5. The resident nevertheless told the landlord in August 2022 that its January 2022 leak repairs had not stopped the property’s ongoing leak. She added its previous surveyor’s inspections had not addressed the outstanding damp, mould, and bath panel repairs there, so she had to cover the bath panel herself. The resident and the landlord then tried to rearrange the latest inspection in August 2022 and redecorated her bathroom in September 2022, but she told it in October 2022 it had not done so properly, which it forwarded to its operative. It subsequently completed the rescheduled surveyor’s inspection in November 2022, which recommended works it requested but did not arrange in December 2022 to her bathroom, bedrooms, lounge, hallway, windows, and ventilation.
  6. The landlord went on to note in January 2023 that the above works were not yet allocated due to a lack of available operatives, which meant it could not give a start date for these either. It therefore chased its contractor about this and arranged an urgent mould wash at the property in January 2023. However, the resident then chased the landlord in May 2023 for its lack of further works at the property, which it arranged another visit for in May 2023 that it missed and she had to chase it to rearrange. She explained her and her children’s health had been affected and her flooring and belongings had been damaged, which she chased it about again in June and August 2023, when it asked her for further information and arranged but missed repairs in September to November 2023.
  7. The landlord subsequently inspected and tried to repair the resident’s ceiling she reported was falling in December 2023, but it needed more time for follow on works. It went on to attempt to investigate the leak under her bath and complete the follow on works in January and February 2024, but it did not receive access to do so. The Ombudsman also asked the landlord to issue the resident a final stage complaint response at that time at her request, in which it outlined the above events in her case and rebooked the leak investigation for February 2024. It also apologised for its poor standard of service, unacceptable repair delays, and her family’s distress, offering her £500 compensation but explaining its surveyor’s inspections did not recommend decanting her.
  8. The resident then complained to the Ombudsman that the leak, damp, mould, and related repairs were still outstanding and the compensation offer was not close to covering her damaged flooring, cupboards, decorations, and family’s distress. She added previous attendances were missed or ineffective so every bedroom had mould, and she had short notice of ceiling works in February 2024, when she was booked elsewhere and only painting over bathroom mould was attempted when the ceiling came down. The resident reported the landlord did not then arrange further works but continued to seek inspections. She therefore asked for treatment and prevention works to be completed, and for increased compensation for poor living conditions, distress, and ill-health.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. It is very concerning that the resident has explained she has had outstanding leak, damp, mould, and related repairs since 2020, and that her family’s health has been affected and their belongings damaged. This investigation is nevertheless limited under the Scheme to considering the landlord’s handling of her leak, damp, mould, and repair reports since July 2021. Paragraph 42c of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints not brought to the landlord’s attention as a formal complaint within a reasonable period of normally within 12 months of the matters arising. Paragraph 42f of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints concerning matters where it would be quicker, fairer, more reasonable, or more effective to seek a remedy through the courts or other tribunal or procedure.
  2. This investigation cannot consider the landlord’s handling of the resident’s leak, damp, mould, and repair reports before July 2021 under paragraph 42c of the Scheme. This is because any reports made prior to that date were not made within 12 months of her formal complaint to it about these issues in June 2022. The Ombudsman also cannot determine liability or award damages for the resident’s family’s health being affected or for their damaged belongings under paragraph 42f of the Scheme, as we do not have the authority or expertise to do so in the way that the courts or insurers might.

Leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs

  1. The landlord is obliged by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (the 1985 and 2018 Acts) to ensure that its properties are fit for human habitation, including by avoiding defects from repairs, damp, and mould. It is required by the Housing Act 2004 (the 2004 Act) to provide a safe and healthy environment in its properties by keeping these free from unnecessary and avoidable hazards, and by providing adequate protection from these, including falling elements, structural collapse, and damp and mould growth.
  2. The landlord’s damp, mould, and leaks policy requires it to determine the causes of these issues, take remedial action to resolve them, and investigate further when it cannot do so immediately. It is to clearly communicate with residents about what actions it will take and when, and to offer alternative interim solutions or advice and support to limit the impact until it can offer a permanent solution. The landlord’s repairs policy obliges it to respond to routine repairs within 20 working days.
  3. Both the resident and the landlord confirmed that it responded to her reports of damp, and mould at the property by arranging damp and mould inspections there by its surveyors in July 2021 and February 2022. The parties also confirmed that it did not carry out any works for the damp and mould after its inspections, but that it did arrange for its plumber to attend a leak from her bathroom into the hallway in January 2022. However, the resident disputed that the landlord successfully repaired the leak, which it described as coming from the bath waste pipe. It therefore investigated the property’s leaks, damp and mould, as required by its damp, mould, and leaks policy, as well as attempting to avoid repair defects there from leaks, in line with the 1985 and 2018 Acts.
  4. There is nevertheless no evidence the landlord complied with the 1985 and 2018 Acts or the 2004 Act after its above inspections to arrange works to avoid damp and mould defects at the property, or to keep this free of or provide adequate damp and mould protection. This was also contrary to its damp, mould, and leaks policy, as it did not take remedial action to resolve this, investigate further when it could not do so immediately, clearly communicate with the resident about what it would do and when, or offer her alternatives until there was a permanent solution. Moreover, the landlord did not provide records or details of her reports or its responses, including for the above events, in 2021 or early 2022, despite the Ombudsman requesting these.
  5. The landlord’s handling of the property’s damp and mould following its initial inspections for this was therefore completely unacceptable, as it took no action for the damp and mould. This is particularly of concern given the resident’s reports of her and her 2 children repeatedly getting sick and having chest infections due to the property’s condition, and of her youngest child’s disability, autism, and asthma. There is also no evidence to confirm how timely its inspections were, or how much she had to chase it about the damp and mould and the effect of this on her family and their vulnerabilities. The landlord’s lack of records also meant the timeliness and effectiveness of its initial leak attendance could not be determined, which was extremely inappropriate.
  6. The landlord was therefore responsible for poor record keeping in the resident’s case, contrary to the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on knowledge and information management, which is addressed at the end of this assessment. With regard to its handling of her subsequent leak, damp, and mould reports, she chased it about this without a response on 9 June 2022, which was unsuitable. The resident then chased the landlord again on 20 and 22 June 2022, and it unsuccessfully tried to call her twice before she requested its inspection reports and complained of outstanding repairs at the property on 23 June 2022. These included leaks, damp, mould, bathroom and hallway damage, plumbing, replastering, and redecorating works.
  7. However, the landlord again did not carry out any repairs at the property for the resident’s above reports, contrary to the 1985 and 2018 Acts, the 2004 Act, and its damp, mould, and leaks policy’s above obligations. It also did not seek to begin to do so within 20 working days of her report of 9 June 2022, as required by its repairs policy, and so it continued to handle her reports about the above issues in a way that was especially inappropriate. Further action by the landlord for the property’s leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs remained outstanding until it attempted to arrange another surveyor’s damp and mould inspection there 42 working days later on 8 August 2022. This nevertheless did not take place at the time, as well as exceeding the above timescale.
  8. It is noted the resident asked the landlord to rearrange the above inspection, which she requested in the weeks of 22 or 29 August 2022. However, this instead took place 116 working days after her first June 2022 report on 22 November 2022, with no explanation of why this took so long, which was very unsuitable and contrary to its repairs policy’s 20-working-day response timescale. The landlord did arrange earlier redecorating works in the resident’s bathroom on 15 September 2022, but this was still 69 working days after her first report in June 2022, so its response remained excessively late. It is also particularly concerning she reported this was not done properly on 18 October 2022, but it inappropriately only told its operative without arranging more works.
  9. Moreover, the landlord continued to delay taking further action for the resident’s outstanding leak, damp, mould, and repair issues by not arranging the works recommended by its November 2022 surveyor’s damp and mould inspection at the time. It instead waited to begin the bathroom, bedroom, lounge, hallway, windows, and ventilation repairs due to a lack of available operatives, but there is no evidence it explained this to her, which was unsuitable and contrary to its damp, mould and leaks policy’s requirement to clearly communicate this to her. It was reasonable it arranged an urgent mould wash at the property on 12 January 2023, in line with the policy, but this did not address the above works and was a very inappropriate 150 working days after her June 2022 report.
  10. The resident subsequently chased the landlord again about the outstanding leaks, damp, mould, and repairs at the property affecting her family’s health on 7 May 2023. It nevertheless missed the further inspection it arranged for this on 12 May 2023, which was unsuitable, and so was the fact that she had to chase it on 15 and 17 May 2023 to rearrange this to 26 May 2023. It was also unreasonable that she had to chase it on 19 June 2023 for an update after its latest inspection, which it instead asked her for further information on the property for on 3 August 2023, which was inappropriate given its previous inspections and her earlier reports about the property. The landlord went on to only begin offering the resident dates for works on 31 August 2023.
  11. The landlord was therefore responsible for an extremely excessive delay of 193 working days between its 22 November 2022 surveyor’s damp and mould inspection recommending repairs at the property and it offering the resident dates for these at the end of August 2023, which was very unsuitable. It subsequently agreed with her to begin the 4-day works from 29 September 2023, but it is of concern that it did not attend to carry these out at the time or give her any notice of this or an explanation as to why it did not do so, which was completely unacceptable. This is especially because the landlord’s surveyor reported on 25 September 2023 that the resident’s ceiling appeared to be coming down, requesting an asbestos check and further repairs for this.
  12. However, despite the urgency of the works at the property suggested by the landlord’s surveyor above, it only offered the resident alternative dates for these after she chased in on 3 October 2023. It then agreed to begin the repairs on 31 October 2023, which would have been an already unreasonably excessive 236 working days after its surveyor previously recommended these works in November 2022, but it again did not begin the repairs, which was very inappropriate. The landlord instead arranged for the resident’s ceiling to be checked and repaired on 8 December 2023. It would have been understandable if it had to wait to begin the property’s other works after repairing the ceiling, but it did not inform her of this, which was unsuitable.
  13. Moreover, the landlord’s surveyor requested works for the property’s outstanding ceiling repairs in September 2023 but, despite the urgency, it did not begin works to the ceiling until 54 working days later in December 2023. This unreasonably exceeded its repairs policy’s 20-working-day timescale, and it did not explain why it delayed starting these works, which was unsuitable. The landlord subsequently found on the day of the ceiling repairs that it needed more time to complete follow on works for this. It nevertheless took another 45 working days to contact the resident on 14 February 2024 to rearrange the repairs for the next day, which it was unable to gain access for as she explained this was at too short notice and she was already booked elsewhere.
  14. It was inappropriate the landlord took over 2 months from December 2023 to February 2024 to arrange follow on works for the resident’s falling ceiling, particularly as this was defined as a hazard by the 2004 Act, which obliged it to keep the property free of and provide adequate protection from this. It was also unsuitably short notice for it to only advise her of its 15 February 2024 repair appointment for this the day before, so it was understandable she was then unavailable to give it access for this. It is noted the landlord previously did not get access from the resident for a plumber’s leak investigation at the property on 22 January 2024 it rearranged to 22 February 2024. However, its lack of records mean it is unclear if she was appropriately notified of this in advance.
  15. It was therefore suitable that the landlord’s complaint responses apologised to the resident for not resolving the property’s damp and mould, its unacceptable repair delays, the failures in and poor standard of its service, and her family’s distress and inconvenience. It also sought to follow the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principle to put things right in her case by offering her £500 compensation in recognition of its above failings. This was within the range recommended by the landlord’s compensation, reimbursements and remedies procedure for distress and inconvenience because of serious repeated failures, and by our remedies guidance for failures that adversely affected the resident. This was nevertheless not proportionate to put things right in her case.
  16. There is evidence the resident has reported and waited for leak, damp, mould, and related repairs from the landlord for over 3 years from July 2021 to the present, with heavily delayed and limited inspections and works during that period. As she also described this affecting her and her children’s health, including her youngest child’s vulnerabilities, there were serious failings that had a seriously detrimental severe long-term impact on her family, which the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance recommends compensation from £1,000 for. The landlord has therefore been ordered below to pay the resident this amount to recognise her family’s distress and inconvenience from the above failures in its handling of leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs.
  17. Moreover, the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance suggests partially refunding the resident’s payments for the property during the period in question to reflect her loss of enjoyment of this due to the level of its failure and the impact on her. This is in line with its compensation, reimbursements and remedies procedure’s formula to divide 1 bathroom’s outstanding repairs by 6 rooms mentioned multiplied by her £129.78 per week average payments and 162 weeks she was affected from July 2021 to September 2024 after its 4-week repair timescale. The landlord has therefore been ordered below to pay the resident another £3,504.06 in recognition of her loss of enjoyment of the property, being the sum of its procedure’s formula for the outstanding bathroom repairs causing this.
  18. The landlord has also been ordered below to write to the resident to apologise for the failures identified by this investigation in its handling of her leak, damp, mould, and repair reports, accept responsibility for these, and acknowledge their impact on her family. It has additionally been ordered to contact her to clearly communicate what actions it will take and when for the outstanding works at the property in a schedule of works. The landlord is to regularly update the resident on its progress and offer alternative interim solutions, advice, or support to limit the impact until it can offer a permanent solution, in line with its damp, mould, and leaks policy. It is noted its surveyor’s inspections did not recommend decanting her, but it should confirm this advice is up to date.
  19. The landlord has been further ordered below to provide the resident with details to enable her to submit a liability claim for the damages to her family’s health and belongings she reported from its handling of the property’s leaks, damp, mould, and repairs to it or its insurers. It is noted that it completed a self-assessment of its compliance against the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould after her case began. However, it is still of concern that the landlord has not outlined how it will prevent its failings in the resident’s case from occurring again, contrary to our dispute resolution principle to learn from outcomes.
  20. In this investigation, failures have been identified in the landlord’s handling of the identification and completion of repairs, record keeping, communication, and risk management especially for vulnerable residents – similar to those identified in case 202124577. The Ombudsman has not, however, made any further orders for it to improve this. This is because a wider order was made as part of case 202124577, which the landlord has now complied with. We expect it to take forward the lessons and improvements it shared with us following the wider order and will monitor the progress of this.
  21. Moreover, the Ombudsman is currently undertaking a special investigation into the landlord. This is conducted under paragraph 49 of the Scheme and allows us to investigate beyond an individual complaint to establish whether there is evidence of systemic failings. The findings of this report will therefore contribute to the outcome and action needed following the completion of the special investigation.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was severe maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs at the property.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident compensation totalling £4,504.06 within 4 weeks, which is broken down into:
      1. £1,000 in recognition of her family’s distress and inconvenience from the failures identified by this investigation in its handling of leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs.
      2. £3,504.06 to recognise her loss of enjoyment of the property for 162 weeks due to the level of its failure and the impact on her family.
    2. Write to the resident within 4 weeks to apologise for the failures identified by this investigation in its handling of her reports of leaks, damp, mould, and related repairs at the property, accept responsibility for these, and acknowledge their impact on her family.
    3. Contact the resident within 4 weeks to clearly communicate what actions it will take and when for the outstanding works at the property in a schedule of works, regularly updating her on its progress and offering alternative interim solutions, advice, or support to limit the impact until it can offer a permanent solution. It should confirm that its surveyor’s inspections’ advice that she does not need to be decanted is up to date.
    4. Provide the resident within 4 weeks with details to enable her to submit a liability claim for the damages to her family’s health and belongings she reported from its handling of the property’s leaks, damp, mould, and repairs to it or its insurers.
  2. The landlord shall contact the Ombudsman within 4 weeks to confirm that it has complied with the above orders.