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Nottingham City Homes (202117035)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202117035

Nottingham City Homes

14 February 2022


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 repairs to the resident’s roof and her reports of damp and mould.

Background

  1. The resident became a tenant of the landlord at her current property in January 2021 through a mutual exchange.
  2. The previous tenant of the property raised concerns about a leak from the roof which was causing damp in the loft and damage to their ceiling in January 2021, prior to the exchange. An inspection took place but no repairs were completed as scaffolding was required to replace several roof tiles. In February 2021, the resident reported that the guttering at the property was blocked. It was established that the guttering and pointing of the property was in poor condition and needed renewing which would require scaffolding.
  3. Following this, several further inspections were carried out, including a damp survey of the property in April 2021 where it was established that the cause of the damp was as a result of condensation and penetrating damp. A mould wash was completed in April 2021. Following this, the landlord completed an emergency repair to the electrics in the property after a leak into the property in May 2021.
  4. During September 2021, the resident raised a complaint about the length of time it was taking for repairs to be carried out to the roof and guttering. She added that she was experiencing damp and mould in the property and had not received an update since a surveyor had attended in August 2021, at which point she had been verbally informed that there was rising damp and condensation in the property. As a resolution to her complaint, the resident asked for the repairs to be completed and compensation for the inconvenience cause by the delays. She also asked for a transfer to another property.
  5. In response to the complaint, the landlord explained that there was a significant delay in the surveyor completing their report post survey and passing it through so repairs could be booked. It arranged for the repairs required to investigate the source of damp in the resident’s living room, repoint under the bedroom window, rake out and renew the mortar to the external brickwork, renew all gutters and top up the roof insulation. It its final response on 21 October 2021, the landlord confirmed that the roof replacement and associated works had been completed and noted that the outstanding work needed regarding the damp and mould and external repointing were in the process of being booked. It apologised for any inconvenience the delays had caused.
  6. The resident referred her complaint to this Service as she remained dissatisfied with the length of time it had taken for repairs to be carried out. She confirmed that the damp and mould issues in the property were ongoing. She advised that her hallway was wet and mouldy and that there was rotten water under the flooring.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In her communication, the resident has said that she considers that the issues affecting her property have impacted her mental health. The Ombudsman does not doubt the resident’s comments.  However, it is not within the remit of this Service to decide on whether there was a direct link between the roof repair and damp and mould issues and the resident’s health. The resident therefore may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if she considers that her health has been affected by any action or lack thereof by the landlord. Whilst we cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced as a result of any errors by the landlord.

 The landlord’s handling of repairs to the resident’s roof and her reports of damp and mould.

  1. The resident’s tenancy agreement confirms that the landlord would be responsible for repairs required to the structure of the property, including repairs to the roof and guttering. The landlord’s Repairs and Maintenance service standard categorises repairs according to how urgent they are. It aims to deal with emergency repairs, including those to make safe a leaking roof within 24 hours.  Priority repairs, including routine repairs to gutters, roofs and outside walls, minor work to external brickwork and minor repairs to internal walls would be completed within a maximum of 30 working days. Planned repairs, including major roof repairs or replacements, should be completed within a maximum of 90 working days.  The landlord would be expected to keep the resident regularly updated on the progress of repairs and provide timescales of when it expected works to be completed.
  2. The policy also sets out the landlord’s approach to damp, mould and condensation. The landlord should attend the property within four weeks to identify the ongoing issue following a report. If it approves any remedial work, these should be carried out within three months of reporting the issue.
  3. The landlord’s records show that it was made aware of the roof leak issue in January 2021 and had identified that scaffolding was required. Following this, there was a significant delay in the roof issues being resolved or repairs being carried out. Multiple inspections of the roof took place; however, it is unclear from the evidence provided as to whether any temporary repairs were carried out to the roof to prevent any ongoing leak into the property. The roof work was not completed until 7 October 2021, which was significantly outside of the landlord’s 90-day timescale for planned works. Furthermore, the evidence provided by the landlord does not demonstrate that the landlord made reasonable effort to progress the works or keep the resident regularly updated which is likely to have caused uncertainty and inconvenience.
  4. The damp inspection report from 13 April 2021 noted that the cause of the damp in the property was a result of penetrative damp and repointing to the external brickwork was required. Whilst a mould wash was carried out on 21 April 2021 which was reasonable, there was a significant delay in rectifying the underlying problem and the works to repoint the external brickwork and plaster the internal parts of the property were outstanding as of 21 October 2021. It is unclear as to whether these works have now been completed.
  5. Whilst the landlord has apologised for the delay and any inconvenience caused in its complaint responses, it has not satisfactorily explained the delay or offered the resident redress for the inconvenience caused. It explained that a significant delay was caused by the surveyor’s failure to complete their report in a timely way following in an inspection on 6 August 2021. Whilst this, along with the complexity of the works required was likely to have contributed to the overall delay, this does not satisfactorily explain the entirety of the delay between January and October 2021.
  6. In view of the failures identified, compensation is warranted for the inconvenience caused; the landlord should offer compensation to the resident as detailed below. In view of the resident’s reports that the damp and mould issues in her property are ongoing, the landlord is to contact the resident to discuss any repair issues which remain outstanding. It should raise any repair orders accordingly and complete these within the timescales set out in its repairs policy. The landlord should also confirm its plan of action in writing and provide a copy to both the resident and the Ombudsman.
  7. As part of the resident’s escalation request, she asked the landlord for a property transfer due to the ongoing damp and mould issues. She also asked for the landlord to provide compensation in view of the distress caused and time and trouble she had spent pursuing the repairs.
  8. The landlord has failed to address these aspects of the resident’s complaint in its responses. It would have been appropriate for the landlord to have confirmed its position regarding these matters and explain the reasons why it would/would not offer compensation or a management transfer. It would also have been appropriate for the landlord to have provided information to the resident regarding her housing options so that she could make an informed decision about moving from the property. The orders for compensation to the resident has also taken these further failings by the landlord into account.

Determination (decision)

  1.  In accordance with paragraph 54 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the repairs to the resident’s roof and her reports of damp and mould.

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders that the following actions are taken within four weeks:
    1. The landlord is to pay the resident £400 in recognition of the inconvenience caused by the repair delays and lack of clear communication.
    2. The landlord is to write to the resident and confirm its position regarding her request to be transferred to another property and provide information regarding her housing options if it has not already done so.
    3. The landlord is to contact the resident to discuss any repair issues which remain outstanding and agree a date for further works. It should complete these within the timescales set out in its repairs policy.
    4. The landlord should also confirm its plan of action in writing and provide a copy to both the resident and the Ombudsman.