LiveWest Homes Limited (202322562)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202322562

LiveWest Homes Limited

28 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.

Jurisdiction (Determination)

  1. What the Ombudsman can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is governed by the approved Ombudsman Scheme. When a complaint is brought to this Service, the Ombudsman 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, it is determined that the resident’s complaint about the landlord’s handling of her reports of damp and mould is outside our jurisdiction as per paragraph 42a of the Scheme.

Summary of events

  1. The resident has a joint assured tenancy with her partner since 28 June 2010. The landlord is a housing association. The property is described as a 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalow.
  2. The resident made a complaint to the landlord on 20 March 2023 regarding a visit by its surveyor on 17 March 2023. The landlord provided its response to the complaint on 29 March 2023, acknowledging that the appointment had been arranged with the resident’s partner and apologising for the short notice of the appointment. The resident remained dissatisfied and escalated her complaint on 29 March 2023, stating that the landlord had not complied with agreed reasonable adjustments and was in breach of the Equality Act.
  3. During the complaint process, the resident raised concerns about the damp and mould within the property. The landlord in its final complaint response confirmed the communication preferences it had recorded for the resident and her partner. It confirmed that as her partner was a joint tenant it could not agree to only communicating with the resident. It would require her partner’s consent for it to do so.
  4. With regard to the condition of the property, it set out that the resident’s concerns did not form part of the complaint the resident had made and it had considered. The landlord explained that the property had high humidity, the resident needed to use the heating in the property and signposted the resident to its tenancy sustainment team.
  5. After the complaint process ended, the resident has advised that the landlord proposed to complete roofing works to address damp and mould to the 2 front bedrooms. The landlord wrote to the resident on 2 July 2024, advising that it would accept a complaint from her regarding her concerns about the damp and mould in the property.
  6. The resident remained dissatisfied and escalated her complaint to this Service. The resident expressed that she wanted the landlord to resolve the damp and mould in the bedrooms in the property. She has also said that multiple items of clothing and soft furnishings need replacement.

Reasons

  1. This complaint is about the resident’s concerns about the damp and mould in the property.
  2. Paragraph 42a of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in our opinion, are made prior to having exhausted a landlord’s complaint procedure unless there is evidence of a complaint handling failure and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the landlord has not taken action within a reasonable timescale.
  3. The Ombudsman does not have the jurisdiction to investigate this complaint as the resident’s damp and mould concerns have not exhausted the landlord’s complaints process. The complaint which exhausted the landlord’s complaints process related to a surveyor visit and reasonable adjustments. Since then, there have been new works proposed to address damp and mould which the resident has told us have not been carried out. She was dissatisfied with this and the related damage caused to her possessions. Once these matters have been considered through the landlord’s complaint process, if the resident were to remain dissatisfied, she could bring the complaint to this Service for consideration.