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LiveWest Homes Limited (202004865)

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REPORT

 

COMPLAINT 202004865

LiveWest Homes Limited

5 February 2021


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.  

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

 

The complaint

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to reports of mould in the property.

 

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

 

Summary of events

  1. On 29 October 2018, the resident made a complaint to the landlord concerning mould growth in the property. The landlord states that it attended the property on 30 October 2018 to carry out a survey and that it raised recommendations for works to address the mould. The landlord states that it spoke to the resident on 30 October 2018 after the visit and agreed that the complaint had been successfully resolved.
  2. On 26 November 2018, the resident made a new complaint to the landlord concerning the length of time it was taking the landlord to complete works to resolve the mould issue.
  3. The landlord states that some repair works were completed on 28 January 2019. It also states that its surveyor attended the property on 14 February 2019 and that the resident raised issues concerning the cavity wall and loft insulation. The landlord agreed to carry out further work in these areas and it states that all repair works were completed by the end of March 2019.
  4. The landlord states that it wrote to the resident on 6 March 2019 offering £600 compensation to settle the complaint. However, the resident rejected the landlord’s offer and advised that they were seeking compensation of £4,500.

The landlord subsequently referred the resident to its insurers and wrote to the resident on 18 March 2019 confirming this. In its letter, the landlord also explained that it would not revisit the matter in its complaints process once it was referred to its insurers.

  1. The resident contacted the Ombudsman on 25 August 2020 to make a complaint about the landlords handling of their reports of mould. During the call, the resident explained that the mould issue was resolved in March 2019. The resident also explained that the landlord referred them to its insurers to seek compensation for damages, and that the insurers offered a £2,000 settlement for negligence but refused to compensate the resident for damages. In addition, the resident explained that they had complained to the landlord about the mould and that the landlord advised that it would not be taking further action regarding the matter.
  2. The Ombudsman wrote to the landlord on 25 August 2020 asking it to contact the resident to clarify its position on the complaint as it was unclear whether the complaint had exhausted the landlord’s complaints procedure.
  3. The landlord emailed the resident on 9 September 2020 explaining that the complaint had exhausted its internal complaints procedure and that it would provide a letter to the resident confirming this. The landlord copied the Ombudsman into this email to the resident.
  4. The resident emailed the landlord on 30 September 2020 advising that they had not received its complaint response letter in 2019, or the letter it recently agreed to send.
  5. In response, the landlord emailed the resident on 2 October 2020 attaching a copy of its letter dated 15 September 2020, in which it explained that the complaint about mould had already been addressed through and exhausted its complaints process. The landlord subsequently advised the resident to ask the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint.
  6. The landlord emailed the Ombudsman on 22 January 2021 explaining that the resident had made no further reports about mould since works were completed in March 2019. The landlord also provided a copy of correspondence from its insurers confirming that it had accepted liability for the claim and that it was offering £4,759.8 compensation to the resident.

 

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 39(d) of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which;

were brought to the Ombudsman’s attention normally more than 12 months after they exhausted the member (landlord’s) complaints procedure.

  1. The landlord provided its final response to the complaint on 6 March 2019 and referred the resident to its insurers to claim for damages on 18 March 2019. The resident brought their complaint to the Ombudsman on 25 August 2020, which was more than 17 months after the date of the landlord’s final response and its subsequent referral to its insurers.
  2. Therefore, in accordance with paragraph 39(d) of the Scheme, this complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to consider because it was brought to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after the date of the landlord’s final response.
  3. As set out above, this Service is aware that the resident also submitted a claim to the landlord’s insurer and was dissatisfied with its decision. This Service cannot consider the outcome of an insurance claim and, if the resident remains dissatisfied with this, they will need to seek independent legal advice.