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Peabody Trust (202234849)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202234849

Peabody Trust

19 July 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 reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant. The property is a 2 bedroom house. She has lived at the property since 2006 and lives with her 4 children.
  2. It is unclear from the records available when the resident first reported damp and mould issues to the landlord. The resident said that issues were ongoing since 2017. The records show that the resident raised a disrepair case through a solicitor to the landlord in March 2021. In response to the disrepair claim, the landlord contracted a surveyor to inspect the property on 22 November 2022. The surveyor found issues with damp and mould throughout the property. It made recommendations to:
    1. Replace the kitchen and bathroom fans with continuously running fans. Insulate the bathroom fan ducting and attach to the extraction roof vent terminal.
    2. Replace the loft hatch and fit two roof tile vents to the rear of the roof.
    3. Install a ventilation unit in the loft. Allow the loft to dry out before fitting the ventilation unit.
    4. Treat the mould in the bathroom, in the wardrobes, window reveals, window frames, and paint with two coats of mould-resistant paint. Remove the mouldy silicone and replace.
  3. The resident accepted an out of court settlement of £8,000 in November 2022. She accepted the payment with the provision that the repairs would be resolved. However, the landlord did not schedule the repairs following the survey. The resident says that she called the landlord many times to chase repairs and complain about the lack of progress. In March 2023 she sought assistance from the Ombudsman. She said that the landlord had not responded to her complaints. We wrote to the landlord on 25 April 2023. We said:
    1. The damp and mould had impacted the resident and her families’ health. She had thrown away clothing due to mould.
    2. The landlord had not resolved the repairs from November 2022. There was a lack of communication from the landlord regarding the repairs.
    3. We asked the landlord to issue its stage 1 response by 19 May 2023.
  4. There was no response to our letter. The landlord had undergone a merger with another landlord at this time. We wrote to it again on 4 September 2023 asking that it issue its stage 1 response by 19 September 2023. We considered the complaint to be about reports of damp and mould throughout the property, and outstanding repairs.
  5. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 13 September 2023. It said the case was with its legal disrepair team. It was unable to investigate the issues further. The legal disrepair case would supersede its complaints process. It directed the resident to its legal team and her own solicitor.
  6. The resident emailed the landlord on 27 September 2023 to say she was unhappy with its response. She sought to escalate her complaint again on 6 October 2023. She said the property was freezing because water was coming in. There was a big hole in the bathroom and the landlord had done nothing to repair it.
  7. We wrote to the landlord on 17 November 2023. We said that the resident had sought to escalate her complaint on 6 October 2023. We asked that it consider her complaint at stage 2 and issue its response by 24 November 2023. The landlord acknowledged the request for stage 2 on 20 November 2023. It called the resident and agreed to issue a response by 29 November 2023.
  8. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 30 November 2023. The response was very detailed. It apologised that the resident had “continuously experienced difficulty” with its repairs and complaints. It had failed to adequately address the concerns raised throughout the “entire timeline of events”. It set out a chronology of events from November 2022. It set out key learnings to prevent further instances from occurring. It said:
    1. Following its merger, it allocated the case to its new legal disrepair team. This would ensure that the case had proper oversight.
    2. Its procedure for handling complaints was not applied fairly or effectively. There was a requirement for prompt action to be taken during the initial investigations. It did not show the necessary sense of urgency or follow through with the repairs.
    3. It should have considered offering the resident and her family additional support and resources to help feel more secure.
    4. It should have conducted a risk assessment. This was especially true as there were young children in the property who would be negatively affected by the damp and mould.
    5. It did not adequately follow through on the monitoring of the outstanding repairs nor ensure the resident was kept up to date on the progress and delays.
    6. It was reasonable to assume the living conditions were identified as poor as early as November 2022. The conditions would have deteriorated since then as no remedial works took place.
    7. Her complaint would be left open until the issue of damp and mould were addressed fully. It discussed the case with its repairs and legal teams. It would keep the resident updated on the progress of the repairs. If appropriate, it would issue work orders to specialist contractors to avoid any further delays.
    8. It offered compensation of £2,484.28. This comprised of:
      1. £600.00 for its complaint handling failures.
      2. £1000.00 for the resident’s time, trouble and inconvenience.
      3. £884.28 as a 50% rent rebate for November 2022-November 2023.
    9. It directed the resident to its insurance team to make a personal injury claim.
    10. It offered the resident the opportunity to provide it with any out of pocket expenses she incurred because of the damp and mould. It would review the expenses and pay any additional compensation.
    11. It asked the resident to provide any outstanding repairs she wanted the landlord to consider following the complaint. It offered to track the progress of the repairs under the complaints process too.
  9. The resident emailed the Ombudsman on 11 and 12 December 2023. She said that the landlord had not paid compensation or updated her. The landlord’s internal records show that it paid the resident compensation on 12 January 2024. It updated the resident by email the same day and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
  10. The landlord inspected the property on 18 January 2024. It said that it had resolved the damp works. There was no longer damp and mould in the property. It had replaced the kitchen and bathroom fans. It had installed vents in the roof. It recorded the following new repairs:
    1. A small hole in the bathroom ceiling.
    2. A broken fence panel in the garden.
    3. A broken wall cabinet in the kitchen.
    4. Dents in both bedroom ceilings.
    5. A replacement handle for the kitchen door.
  11. The resident emailed the Ombudsman on 30 May 2024. She said that the repairs from the 18 January 2024 were unresolved.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. While this Service is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. Nor can it calculate or award damages. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider the personal injury aspects of the resident’s complaint. These matters are better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury claim. We can, however, consider the distress and inconvenience caused between November 2022 to November 2023.

Policy and procedures

  1. Section 3 of the tenancy agreement states that the landlord will keep in good repair the structure and exterior of the property. This includes:
    1. Internal walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and door furniture.
    2. Boundary walls and fences.

Handling of reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs

  1. Sections 11 and 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 require the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the resident’s property in repair, and to ensure that the property is fit for human habitation throughout her tenancy. Landlords are required to look at the condition of properties using a risk assessment approach called the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). HHSRS does not set out any minimum standards, but it is concerned with avoiding, or minimising potential hazards.
  2. Damp and mould are potential category 1 hazards that fall within the scope of HHSRS. Landlords should be aware of their obligations under HHSRS. The landlord is expected to conduct additional monitoring of a property where potential hazards are identified.
  3. The Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. We consider whether the landlord’s response was in line with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles: ‘be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes’. We also consider if the landlord considered our own guidance on remedies.
  4. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response was comprehensive. It addressed the failings throughout its handling of the repairs between November 2022 and November 2023. Its offer to monitor the additional repairs was fair and demonstrated its intention to put things right for the resident. Its offer of compensation was reasonable and reflective of the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. It demonstrated learning and how it would mitigate these issues in the future.
  5. The landlord identified its failure to assess the risk and the impact on a family with young children. It was appropriate to direct the resident to its insurer to consider a personal injury and damages claim. It sought to use its complaint handling as an effective tool to resolve the substantive issues.
  6. However, there were further delays following the final response between November 2023 and January 2024 to conduct the outstanding repairs. The records show that the resident sought updates from the landlord in December 2023 without response. The landlord did not keep to each of its commitments set out in its complaint handling response. It should have proactively monitored the repairs in view of the serious failings it had already identified.
  7. The landlord resolved many of the repairs in January 2024, but it had promised to ensure that other outstanding repairs were also resolved. It should have followed through with this promise and resolved the additional issues with the ceilings, kitchen cabinet and door handle. It should have been clear with its position regarding these repairs, which were routine, non-urgent repairs. The landlord should have provided a date that they were expected to be resolved within 28 calendar days. Had the landlord monitored these repairs as promised, then it would have prevented a further escalation by the resident. It did not and this has caused the resident additional time and trouble.
  8. The resident said that she has contacted the landlord by telephone to report and chase repairs throughout the timeline. In reviewing the evidence, there were few records of calls or emails to the landlord. It is important to maintain clear and accurate records. In this case, the landlord’s record keeping contributed to its poor management of the repairs, impacting its ability to resolve the substantive issue. This caused delays, as well as further annoyance and frustration to the resident, in her pursuit to resolve matters.
  9. The landlord should have systems in place to maintain accurate records of inspections and investigations. Good record keeping is essential to evidence the action the landlord has taken which then aids in its service delivery, enabling it to respond professionally when something goes wrong. In this case it would have ensured that there were clear reasons for its decision making, that could have been shared with the resident.
  10. The Ombudsman finds maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs. The landlord’s stage 2 response sought to resolve the substantive issues and complied with the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution principles. It was a robust response that acknowledged its failings. Had it delivered on the actions set out in its stage 2 response this would have been a finding of reasonable redress. However, it failed to treat the resident fairly once it had issued its final response. It did not provide regular communication. It lacked oversight of the additional repairs. It failed to maintain the commitments set out in its response.
  11. No additional orders for compensation have been made. This was in view of the considerable amounts of compensation awarded to the resident for the landlord’s failures over the complaint journey. To put things right, the landlord should identify any outstanding repairs and provide a schedule of works so that they are resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould in the property.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Provide an apology to the resident for the failures identified in this report.
    2. Arrange for a surveyor to inspect the resident’s property. The surveyor must produce a report to determine whether the repairs have been resolved. Otherwise, it should set out recommendations to remedy this and a schedule of works. A copy of this report must be shared with the Ombudsman and resident.
  2. Provide evidence of compliance with the above orders to the Ombudsman.

Recommendations

  1. During the complaint journey the landlord directed the resident towards its insurance to pursue a claim for personal injury and damage to property. The resident reports to the Ombudsman that she has received no response to these claims. The landlord should contact the resident and provide advice and guidance to assist her with making this claim.