Midland Heart Limited (202220906)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202220906

Midland Heart Limited

20 February 2024

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the 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 the Scheme. 

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

The complaint

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

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

2. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, consideration must be given to all the circumstances of the case, as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
3. 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

4. The resident has lived in the property as an assured tenant since June 2001. The property is a 2-bedroom house.
5. The resident told the Ombudsman that the landlord put “cladding” on her property in 2013, and she has had problems with damp since. She said she reported damp several times and complained in 2017. She said the landlord carried out repairs, but they did not resolve the damp.
6. On 5 April 2022, the resident complained the landlord had not resolved the cause of the damp. She said the damp was affecting her and her daughter’s health. She wanted the landlord to resolve the root cause of the damp, repair damage, and wanted compensation. She said if the damp could not be resolved, she wanted to be rehoused.
7. The resident contacted the landlord on 2 December 2022, and said she wanted to raise a further complaint about the lack of response. The landlord responded on 21 December 2022. It said it took reports of damp very seriously and had arranged for a specialist surveyor to complete an assessment and identify required repairs. The landlord advised the resident how to make an insurance claim for health impact. It said the resident was adequately housed and did not meet the requirements in its policy for a move to another property.
8. The resident escalated her complaint on 2 January 2023, because she said the landlord had not addressed her concerns. She said its response had inaccuracies, and the proposed repairs would not fix the cause of the damp.
9. The landlord’s final response on 27 January 2023, acknowledged the resident had reported repairs since 2013 but it said these were not linked to the most recent repairs. It said its proposed repairs would resolve the damp. It acknowledged the failure to respond to the complaint made in April 2022. It offered £1,005 compensation: £750 for failure to fully eradicate damp between February 2020 and January 2023, £35 for a failed surveyor visit in April 2022, £170 for inconvenience, and £50 for the delay in responding to the complaint.
10. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman in January 2023. She said there were inaccuracies in the landlord’s response, and she wanted the landlord to acknowledge the historic nature of the damp and give compensation that reflected this. She also disputed the landlord had completed all repairs and wanted evidence.
11. The resident told the Ombudsman that the damp reoccurred within weeks of the landlord carrying out repairs in January 2023.
12. On 18 August 2023, the landlord reviewed the resident’s case and acknowledged the repairs had not resolved the damp and a different solution was needed. It offered the resident a further £3,000 compensation.
13. In February 2024, the resident told the Ombudsman that she had made a legal claim against the landlord. The landlord confirmed that a claim had been made against it for performance of its repair obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and a claim for general damages.

Reasons

14. Paragraph 41c of the Scheme says the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, concern matters that are the subject of court proceedings. As it has been confirmed that the landlord is subject to legal proceedings on the matters raised in the resident’s complaint, the Ombudsman cannot investigate the complaint.
15. We appreciate this determination may be disappointing to the resident, but as detailed in the report, the Ombudsman can only investigate complaints that fall within the Scheme.