Magna Housing Limited (202311171)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202311171

Magna Housing Limited

3 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

The complaint is around:
1. The landlord’s handling of damp and mould reports and associated repairs.
2. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint and request for compensation.

Background

The resident had an assured tenancy which began on 10 April 2017. The property is a three bed semi detached house. The landlord said it had no vulnerabilities recorded for anybody in the property.
The resident raised concerns around damp and mould in the property in November 2021. The landlord attended on 10 January 2022 and recommended three repairs to address the damp and mould.
The repairs were not carried out and the resident had to chase this with it in August 2022. As no further action was taken, the resident raised a complaint that the landlord failed to record as a formal complaint. However, it did provide dates for each of the outstanding works.
The works were not completed as agreed and took an additional 6 months to be completed. The resident followed the landlord’s internal complaint process during this time but was not satisfied with the outcome of that complaint. Following the complaint, the resident left the property in January 2024.

Policies and Procedures

The tenancy agreement details the landlord’s responsibility around repairs and says that it “will carry out any repairs, which are our responsibility, within a reasonable time depending on how urgent the need is”.
The landlord’s current damp, mould, and condensation policy and procedure requires it to inspect reports of severe damp and mould, including for priority health risk cases, within 2 working days, and of other damp and mould within 10 working days.
The landlord is obliged by the damp, mould, and condensation policy and procedure to arrange mould washes in severe cases within 2 working days, and mould washes in other cases and non-structural works within 28 working days, with larger scale works due within 3 months. It is also required to offer help and advice on damp, condensation, and mould prevention, protect its properties’ structures from this, and remain in regular communication with its residents following their damp and mould reports.
The landlord’s compensation policy says that it “may make compensation payments” “as a result of a formal complaint, where a customer has suffered inconvenience or distress or we have provided a poor service and failed to put things right in a reasonable period of time”.
At the time of the complaint, the landlord operated a 2 stage complaint process but said that it did utilise an ‘informal’ complaint stage prior to stage 1, in an attempt to manage issues before they became a formal complaint. The 2 stage process is as detailed:
1. Stage 1 – The landlord should acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days. The landlord should liaise with the resident throughout the process and “where appropriate” the resident will be offered a confidential discussion around the complaint. The landlord should provide its response within 10 working days.
2. Stage 2 – The landlord should acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days. The landlord should liaise with the resident throughout the process and “where appropriate” the resident will be offered a confidential discussion around the complaint. The landlord should provide its response within 20 working days.

Summary of events

A works order was raised to inspect the property on 11 November 2021 following the resident’s concerns of damp and mould. The target date for completion was 9 December 2021.
On 10 January 2022, the landlord attended the property and carried out the inspection. It produced a report which identified damp and mould in the property along with the potential causes – 3 repairs were identified as being required. These were:
1. Bathroom ceiling repairs.
2. Pointing around front bedroom window and over alleyway.
3. Porch frame resealed and treated for mould.
The resident contacted the landlord on 17 August 2022 and requested updates on the outstanding works. The landlord responded and said it would chase up these works and contact the resident.
The resident continued to chase the landlord by email on 3 further occasions, as no progress was made with the repairs. On 13 October 2022, the resident emailed the landlord again for an update but said “to say I’m disappointed is an understatement”.
The resident emailed the landlord on 31 October 2022 and said that, as she had not heard from it, she “would like to lodge a complaint”.
The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 9 November 2022 and recorded it as an ‘informal complaint’ on its system. It replied to her email and said it would contact her “next week” to discuss the complaint further.
The landlord noted that it called the resident on 17 November 2022 and apologised that the works had not been completed. It explained that the proposed works from January 2022 were “suspended due to COVID” and it had failed to raise new works orders for them. The landlord said it would have the works orders raised and it would call her back on 23 November 2022.
The landlord noted that it called the resident on 30 November 2022 and offered a further apology for the service she had received. It explained that it currently had “a high volume of repairs, compounded by a lack of skilled resource available in some trades, this is resulting in delays in our repairs services”. The note said that it provided dates for the outstanding works as below:
1. Bathroom ceiling – 10 January 2023.
2. Pointing – 10 February 2023.
3. Porch door and window frame – 1 March 2023.
The resident emailed the landlord on 9 December 2022 to pass on her thanks for the flowers and chocolates that it had provided as an apology. Within her email she explained that in order to treat the mould, she had continued to move furniture around and wash the walls. She explained that “due to my health not being at its best at the moment, it is a real struggle for me”. The resident asked whether the landlord would carry out some decoration of these areas when it carried out the outstanding repairs as “the paint is also coming off”.
The landlord responded on 13 December 2022 and said that decoration would be arranged and it would provide a date and time “once everything had been organised”.
A works order report shows that the landlord attended on 10 January 2023 to carry out work on the bathroom ceiling but follow on works were required. The notes said that it would need to be removed and replaced.
The landlord attended again on 1 March 2023 for works linked to the bathroom but no works were completed, as it determined that the those works were not required.
The resident emailed the landlord on 29 March 2023 and asked for an update on the repairs. She explained that the porch had been resealed but she had not heard anything about the bathroom ceiling or the pointing work. She added that somebody had attended to inspect the bathroom ceiling but they “took one look and said it all needed to be ripped out and replaced”.
The landlord responded that day and provided updates on the outstanding works. It explained that it would be attending the next day, 30 March 2023, to plaster the lounge walls and bathroom works would be carried out across 21 June 2023 and 22 June 2023.
The resident emailed the landlord on 26 June 2023 and raised concerns around the recent works to her bathroom. She explained that there were no electrics in the bathroom, her shower was not working and the toilet flush had been broken. She said that she had also received notifications of follow on works for the bathroom for the next day and another on 4 August 2023. She asked when the pointing work would be undertaken, as somebody had attended to inspect it but she had heard nothing since. The resident also asked if the landlord considered her previous complaint closed.
The landlord responded on 28 June 2023 and said that her previous complaint had been closed once the works were scheduled but agreed to open it again. It also said that it would chase up the works with the repairs team to establish the current position around any outstanding works.
An internal landlord note from 29 June 2023 explains that there were extensive kitchen and bathroom works happening at the same time. The landlord acknowledged that the resident was not given adequate notice of the kitchen works and that there were still decoration works to be undertaken in the bathroom. It recommended that the resident be decanted while the works were completed.
The landlord agreed to pay for alternative accommodation between 3 July 2023 and 7 July 2023. The resident provided an invoice for the payment of £468 for the accommodation on 30 June 2023. She requested that this be refunded to her during that week.
The landlord emailed the resident on 12 July 2023 to apologise for a mix up between operatives that had led to works not being completed previously. It confirmed that an operative would be attending that day to carry out the remaining works. The resident replied and requested information from the landlord to provide to this Service.
The landlord noted that it opened a stage 1 complaint that day. It advised the resident by email that it had forwarded her request to its legal team and explained that her previous complaint had been dealt with ‘informally’.
The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 25 July 2023. Within the response, it said it addressed incomplete works, missed appointments and the property being unsuitable for occupation during recent works. The landlord upheld the complaint and provided a response to the complaint relating to the recent works in the kitchen and bathroom. Its findings detailed works and communication during June 2023 and July 2023. It said it considered all outstanding works had been completed but acknowledged that there had been “unreasonable delays”.
The resident emailed the landlord on 7 August 2023 and said that it had failed to attend on 4 August 2023 to carry out pointing at the property. She said that there was still damp and mould in the property and asked “what is going on with this?”. She explained that this had affected her mental health, which had led to her being signed off work. The resident explained that within the landlord’s response “there has been some confusion over which complaint it relates to” and that her complaint dated back to November 2021. The resident said that she would like compensation to cover cleaning costs, reimbursement of items damaged by damp and mould, redecoration costs, additional fuel costs and a payment towards the time, trouble, distress and inconvenience caused to her family during that time.
The landlord responded on 9 August 2023 and said that the complaint would be escalated.
The landlord and resident discussed the complaint over the phone on 11 August 2023. This Service has not had sight of any record of call notes from this date.
The landlord emailed the resident on 16 August 2023 and confirmed that during their call, she had indicated that she did not receive its email from 9 August 2023. The landlord said it would be looking into the pointing works required at the property and the target date for a response to the complaint was 4 September 2023. It added that the resident had agreed to provide evidence of items that she had to replace since November 2021 and acknowledged her claim for loss of earnings as part of the complaint.
The resident acknowledged the landlord’s previous email on 17 August 2023 and detailed her current situation around pay during her time off work.
The landlord emailed the resident on 4 September 2023 and apologised for the delay but advised that its stage 2 response would be issued on 5 September 2023.
On 5 September 2023, the landlord issued its stage 2 response. Within its response, it acknowledged that the scope of the stage 1 investigation did not take into account the outstanding repairs dating back to November 2021. It found the following:
1. It acknowledged the significant delay in completing the required works first identified in November 2021.
2. It also apologised that it failed to complete the works after agreeing to do so within the informal complaint in November 2022.
3. It agreed that it should not have managed the complaint in November 2022 informally, as it was a formal complaint.
4. It agreed to provide a compensation payment of £825, this was broken down as follows:
  1. Cleaning costs – £25
  2. Redecoration – £150
  3. Fuel costs – £200
  4. Distress and inconvenience – £450
5. The landlord offered to consider reimbursement of damaged furniture but as it had not received any evidence of receipts or damage, it did not make any offer at that time.
Following a call with the resident later that day, the landlord emailed her to confirm that the outstanding pointing works were scheduled for 14 September 2023.
The landlord’s work order records show the pointing work as being completed on 14 September 2023.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

Although the Ombudsman would usually consider events for a period of 6 months prior to the date of the initial formal complaint, it is evident in this instance that the landlord failed to acknowledge a formal complaint in 2022. On this basis, it is the view of the Ombudsman that it is reasonable to consider the entire period during which the works were outstanding as this is the reason for the complaint. This means that events between January 2022 and the end of the complaint process in September 2023 will be considered.

The landlord’s handling of damp and mould reports and associated repairs

The landlord’s assessment against the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould (the spotlight report) states that its initial triage for damp and mould reports encourages timely reporting, prioritisation, and fixes. It states that it assesses root causes with inspections and monitoring, carries out required remedial and making good work including ventilation, insulation, cleaning, and treatment, and follows up with residents 6 weeks after the completion of works.
It is noted that the landlord’s damp, mould, and condensation policy and its assessment against the spotlight report were implemented after the resident’s complaint exhausted its complaints procedure and was referred to the Ombudsman. Nevertheless, these provisions reasonably outline how it could have responded to the damp and mould reports appropriately. Therefore, in the absence of the landlord providing the Ombudsman with any other provisions outlining this during the period of the resident’s complaint, which we requested from it, this investigation has applied the above policy, procedure, and assessment to the facts of the case.
After identifying the required works during its inspection on 10 January 2022, the landlord took no action to complete them. The works order remained open and the resident was not made aware of any reason for the delay. When the landlord responded to the resident’s requests for updates on those works in November 2022, it explained that the works had been delayed due to COVID. However, it had not made the resident aware of this during the previous 10 months. This lack of oversight of the outstanding works order and the lack of communication with the resident is a failing on the part of the landlord. This meant that the resident was left to manage the occurrences of damp and mould herself, which she later explained had been difficult due to health issues.
The resident began chasing updates for the repairs in August 2022 and made multiple requests over the next 2 months. The landlord assured her that these would be chased and she would be updated but this did not happen. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to identify the ongoing delay and ensure that action was taken to have the works scheduled. This lack of ownership of the requests and lack of progress in those works demonstrates a further service failing that could only have left the resident feeling ignored.
When the landlord responded to the resident’s initial complaint in November 2022, it rescheduled all the outstanding works to be completed by the end of March 2023. It is understandable that there may have been reasons that would mean that the works could not be completed as a matter of urgency. However, given that the resident had already waited 11 months, these additional delays were unreasonable. The landlord’s policy indicates that ‘non structural works’ should be completed within 28 days but none of the works were even scheduled to take place within that timeframe. This is a further failing on the part of the landlord which showed a lack of urgency and understanding of the resident’s position.
Despite the landlord’s assurances that the last of the 3 required works would be completed during March 2023, there were further significant delays. One repair was completed in March 2023, the other in July 2023 and the last in September 2023, some 10 months after they were scheduled. The last of the works was only scheduled and then completed after the resident had exhausted the landlord’s internal complaint process. This further lack of oversight to ensure that the works were completed is another failing on the part of the landlord. This left the resident having to continue to manage the damp and mould, despite having already made it aware of the distress and inconvenience this was causing her.
Ultimately, the landlord failed to complete the required damp and mould related works in line with the timeframes set out in the damp, mould, and condensation policy and the time taken could not be considered reasonable. After first raising the damp and mould concerns in November 2021, the resident was left to chase the required works for almost 2 years. The landlord failed to manage these works or keep the resident updated during these significant delays and she was left to manage the damp and mould herself. These combined service failings mean the Ombudsman has made a finding of maladministration.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint and request for compensation

The landlord said that it failed to acknowledge the resident’s initial complaint in November 2022 as a formal complaint. However, it also failed to identify that the resident’s first expression of dissatisfaction was in her email dated 13 October 2022, so this was when it should have recorded the complaint.
When the landlord did acknowledge the resident’s complaint, it did not record it as a stage 1 complaint. Instead, it said it managed the complaint as an ‘informal’ complaint. This is a failing by the landlord as it did not act in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. The Code states that ‘informal’ complaint stages should not be used and that an expression of dissatisfaction should be acknowledged and logged at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within 5 days of receipt. Its failure to do so meant that the resident was not offered the correct level of service that a formal complaint would provide. This also delayed and restricted access to this Service, as the complaint had not exhausted the landlord’s internal complaint process.
The landlord said that it next raised a stage 1 complaint on 12 July 2023. This followed the resident referring to the previous complaint in her email dated 26 June 2023 and the landlord advising that it could reopen the complaint in its response dated 28 June 2023. Given that the resident had been expressing dissatisfaction around ongoing works, that had also formed part of her complaint in 2022, the landlord should have acknowledged and logged this as a stage 1 complaint on 28 June 2023. This was a further failing as it did not identify this contact as a complaint, meaning it was not recorded as such until 2 weeks later.
When carrying out its stage 1 complaint investigation, the landlord failed to liaise with the resident to discuss the scope of her complaint in line with its complaint policy. Had it done so, it would have identified that her complaint was not only around recent issues with works to the kitchen and bathroom but the continued delays with damp and mould works. This is another failing which meant that the complaint was not fully considered. It is clear from the resident’s response that was unhappy that the correct issues had not been addressed in its response.
The landlord did manage the stage 2 investigation in line with its policy. The complaint was discussed with the resident to gain a full understanding of the basis of the complaint and what the resident wanted in resolution to it. It updated the resident when it was aware of a delay in providing its stage 2 response and this was issued on the date that it offered. The stage 2 response acknowledged it’s failings around the damp and mould works and its complaint handling and advised that the remaining works would be completed on 14 September 2023.
Within the stage 2 response, the landlord offered a total compensation payment of £825. Without having had sight of any evidence of any incurred charges due to the delays in the damp and mould works, the amounts that the landlord offered for cleaning, redecoration and fuel costs are reasonable.
However, it is the view of the Ombudsman that the distress and inconvenience element of the payment is not sufficient in addressing the significant delays and the detriment experienced by the resident during the 21 months that the works remained outstanding. This Service will order a further amount of compensation to reflect the significant level of distress and inconvenience caused to the resident over an extended period of time.
Additionally, it would be reasonable for the landlord to provide a further payment of £150 for the failings in its management of the resident’s complaint. This would equate to a total compensation payment of £1,365 when including the previously proposed payments towards fuel, cleaning and redecoration costs.
Ultimately, the landlord failed to manage the resident’s complaints in line with its own policy or the Code. Had it addressed the resident’s formal complaint in October 2022, she would have had access to a review by this Service much sooner and potentially had the repairs completed earlier. It is evident that the landlord’s management of the complaints subsequently improved but the delays in it doing so were to the detriment of the resident. The combined service failings mean the Ombudsman has made a finding of maladministration.

Determination (decision)

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould reports and associated repairs.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint and request for compensation.

Reasons

The landlord failed to carry out required repairs that it identified as part of a damp and mould report for a period of 21 months. This was despite the resident chasing them and its assurances that it would address them.
The landlord failed to record the resident’s initial complaint in 2022 and when a new complaint was raised, it did not carry out a sufficient investigation into the reason for the complaint, which meant that the resident had to escalate it. The landlord’s management of these complaints delayed the resident’s access to an Ombudsman review and its compensation award was insufficient given the circumstances of the case.

Orders

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must write to the resident to apologise for the failings identified in the report.
The landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total compensation payment of £1,365 within 4 weeks of the date of this report. This payment is broken down as follows:
1. £375 towards cleaning costs, redecoration and fuel costs, as previously offered by the landlord.
2. £840 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the damp and mould reports and associated repairs.
3. £150 for the time and trouble experienced by the resident due to the landlord’s handling of her complaint.
If any part of the compensation payment has already been provided to the resident, this can be deducted from the total payment ordered above.
The landlord must reply to this Service to evidence compliance with these orders within the timescale given above.