Places for People Group Limited (202321467)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202321467

Places for People Group Limited

3 June 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 about:

1. The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports about:
   1. Damp and mould.
   2. Outstanding repairs.
   3. A leak from the electric shower.
   4. Servicing the boiler.
2. The landlord’s complaints handling has also been investigated.

Background

3. The resident is an assured tenant and lives in a 2 bedroom bungalow, is the only occupant and has no known vulnerabilities. She succeeded the previous resident on 17 May 2021.
4. In December 2021 the resident reported to the landlord that there was damp and mould throughout the property, while this was treated with bacterial washes it is an ongoing issue. The resident raised several other repairs during 2022 but not all of these were completed.
5. The resident was dissatisfied with the lack of resolution by the landlord and raised a stage 1 complaint on 6 February 2023 regarding the following issues:
   1. Ongoing damp and mould.
   2. A hole in the roof.
   3. Damp insulation in the loft.
   4. Cracked windows.
   5. Front door not locking or sealed properly.
   6. Electric shower and toilet leaking.
   7. Boiler had not been serviced in years.
6. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 10 March 2023. It sought to address the resident’s concerns about the damp and mould, cracked windows, hole in the roof, front door, electric shower and toilet. The response informed her of what works already had a date for completion and those which the landlord’s scheduling department would be in contact with her about. A damp and mould survey was then carried out on 22 March 2023.
7. On 27 July 2023 the resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 as there’d been “next to no” work completed since the stage 1 response and she felt “neglected” by the landlord. She had also emailed it several times, called, complained and chased appointments which had not happened.
8. The landlord’s stage 2 response, dated 18 October 2023, referred to the findings of the damp and mould survey which had taken place in March and acknowledged that there had been a service failure as its contractors had not carried out the works as instructed. It offered £500 in recognition of the service failure.
9. The resident remained dissatisfied and confirmed she wanted the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint on 9 January 2024.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

10. In the resident’s correspondence, she has made reference to historical issues of damp and mould in the property. Under Paragraph 42(c) of the Scheme, we may not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, which would normally be within 6 months of the matters arising. Therefore, whilst the historical incidents provide contextual background to the current complaint, this assessment focuses on events from September 2022 onward, which is 6 months prior to the formal complaint being made.

The landlord’s handling of repairs

11. The landlord’s repair policy confirms it is responsible for leaks, roofing issues and damaged shower units. It also confirms that emergency repairs will be carried out within 24 hours, appointable repairs within 28 days and planned repairs within 90 days.
12. The landlord’s damp and mould policy says that when a report of damp and mould is received it will attend to remove any immediate risk. It will then investigate to identify the root cause and any remedial work needed. A follow up inspection will then be arranged for approximately 6 weeks after the completion of remedial works.
13. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. The landlord also has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, introduced by The Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its rented properties. Damp and mould growth are a potential hazard and therefore the landlord is required to consider whether any damp and mould problems in its properties amount to a hazard and require remedying.
14. The Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight on Damp & Mould (2021) also recommends that ‘landlords should ensure they have strategies in place to manage these types of cases with an emphasis on ensuring that the resident is kept informed, feels that the landlord is taking the issue seriously and that the matter is progressing’.

Damp and mould

15. The resident first reported damp and mould throughout the property on 20 December 2021.
16. The landlord’s records show that on 19 April 2022 a specialist contractor attended the property and found mould in the 2 bedrooms but not the bathroom. They also found that the bathroom fan was not suitable for social housing and the kitchen fan needed maintenance.
17. A contractor carried out a bacterial mould wash on 19 May 2022. Following this work the landlord did not visit the resident until February 2023, which significantly exceeded the 6 week follow up inspection timeline set out in its damp and mould policy. During this visit it found damp and mould was still an issue and a further mould wash was ordered.
18. A further damp and mould survey was carried out on 22 March 2023, after the stage 1 response, and identified the cause of the mould as condensation due to inadequate heating, incorrect bathroom extractor fan hose in the loft, incorrect fitting of insulation in the loft, a hole in the roof and no appropriate ventilation to the loft.
19. The survey made several recommendations, most of which will be addressed later in this report, including that the mould be professionally cleaned off the walls before redecorating the property and a CCTV survey to the rainwater pipes and drains. It also says that a more intrusive survey to the cavity wall should be conducted if the issues persist.
20. Despite these recommendation there’s no evidence that a CCTV survey of the pipes and drains has been carried out. While the landlords repair records do not show any works relating to damp and mould after June 2023, the resident confirmed to the Ombudsman on 21 September that the mould in the bedrooms had recently been removed.
21. However having spoken to the resident in May 2024, she’s reported that mould is still an issue within the property and no attempt has been made to remove mould from the bathroom.
22. The landlord’s damp and mould policy does not provide a timescale for when initial works following a report will take place nor at what point an investigation to discover the root cause will be done.
23. The Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould says “landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue.”
24. Therefore it’s not reasonable for it to have taken 4 months, during winter, for any initial works to be carried out and around a year and 3 months for a survey to identify the cause of the mould. In addition it then took a further 6 months for the mould to be removed from the bedrooms, which led to further damage to the residents property for which she’s raised a claim on the landlords insurance.
25. The spotlight report also says “landlords should consider their current approach to record keeping and satisfy themselves it is sufficiently accurate and robust…and consider whether their record keeping systems and processes support a risk-based approach to damp and mould.”
26. But in this instance insufficient evidence has been seen to confirm the mould in the bathroom has been treated as per the recommendation in the damp and mould survey, and none to show that the correct extractor fan hose attachment has been installed.
27. These unreasonable delays would only have added to the time, trouble, distress and inconvenience the resident mentioned in her stage 1 complaint.
28. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets out that repairs should be carried out within a reasonable time frame. While what is a reasonable time frame is not defined in the act, under the circumstances in this case it’s reasonable to say the repairs were not carried out within a timely manner. They are also in breach of the timescales set out in the landlords own repairs policy.
29. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence to show the landlord kept the resident informed and up to date on what was going on. Indeed one of the reasons why the resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 was the landlords lack of communication, responses and the need to chase it.

Hole in the roof and insulation

30. This was first reported in December 2022. The damp and mould survey in March 2023 recommended that the hole in the roof be repaired as soon as possible, that the correct amount of insulation should be installed in the loft, the detail to the extractor fan hose be corrected and roof vents or vents at the eaves should be installed to provide adequate ventilation.
31. While the records seen indicate work on the loft insulation was completed in May 2023, the hole itself was not fixed until February 2024. Also the repair logs seen do not record that any works on the extractor fan hose or roof vents had been carried out.
32. The landlord failed to complete these repairs within the timescales set out in its policy. The landlords failure to remedy the hole in the roof and install proper ventilation was all the more unreasonable because, according to its mould survey, it was a causative factor and would have exacerbated the issues with damp and mould and compromised the newly installed loft insulation.

Front door and windows

33. Prior to the residents stage 1 complaint on 6 February 2023 a report about cracked windows had not been raised, but issues with the front door had been reported in December 2022.
34. Records show that on 7 March 2023 an order was raised to re-seal the windows, but also shows this was unsuccessful as the contractor attended without the correct tools.
35. The damp and mould survey completed in March 2023 recommended the doors and windows be replaced as a “matter of urgency”.
36. There’s no record of works provided to the Ombudsman on the front door but the resident has indicated that this was replaced on 10 April 2024. The records seen also show that during the period some work was done to improve the window in March and July 2023, but the resident’s confirmed that some of them were only replaced around September 2023 and the remainder in April 2024.
37. The records provided do not explain why there was such a delay to the replacement works nor show that the resident was kept up to date with the status of the works.
38. Not only was the time it took the landlord to replace the windows and door outside of the timescales set out in its repair policy, but it also indicates the landlord did not treat this as a matter of urgency despite the damp and mould surveys recommendations nor did it manage the resident’s expectations as there were no updates.
39. Given the damp and mould survey recommended the door and windows be replaced, it’s reasonable to conclude the issues with them contributed to the damp and mould. So the time it took to replace the door and windows could not but have adversely contributed to the levels of damp and mould at the property, and therefore the resident’s distress and inconvenience, throughout the extended period in question.

Electric shower and toilet leaking

40. The leaking shower was first reported as part of the residents stage 1 complaint. The leak worried her due to the electrical wires in the shower. Information provided by the landlord shows the job was passed to its contractor in March 2023.
41. The landlord reasonably addressed the resident’s concerns in the stage 1 response by explaining that the electrical installation condition report from 16 February 2020 says the electrical circuit is protected by a Residual Current Device (RCD), so the leak was not a safety risk.
42. However it also said an emergency repair had been raised, but the repair records seen do not show any works on the shower until it was replaced in October 2023 some 8 months later.
43. The Ombudsman appreciates the landlords records indicate that in March 2023 multiple voicemails were left with the resident asking her to get in contact to arrange an appointment and she didn’t respond. But they do not show attempts after this or explain why it took until October 2023 for the repair to be completed. This was unreasonable as it was the landlord’s obligation to ensure the shower was in good repair.
44. Similarly, the complaint response says a repair was raised for a new flush cone for the toilet and scheduling will be in touch to arrange an appointment. But the landlord indicates that it is unable to find a repair record for the toilet. So a failure in the landlords record keeping has caused a delay to a repair that was accepted in the complaint response.
45. The landlords repair policy says that emergency repairs will be carried out within 24 hours, but based on its own records it was in breach of this as it took 7 months to complete the works on the shower. These records also show the repair on the toilet is still outstanding.

Servicing of the boiler

46. In its communications to the Ombudsman the landlord’s explained there is no gas supply or appliances at the property and that it is an electric boiler, which only needs to be serviced once every 5 years. The boiler report provided shows it was last serviced on 12 February 2020.
47. So it was reasonable and in line with its boiler servicing schedule for the landlord not to have serviced the boiler, because while the resident may want it to be there’s no policy obligation on the landlord to do so until February 2025.
48. However, the Ombudsman has not seen any evidence to show that this was communicated to the resident directly despite it being raised specifically. This failure to keep the resident properly informed would have caused additional  distress as the amount of time since the last boiler service was a main concern of hers.
49. Overall the landlords failures, as set out above, can be summarised as:
    1. Unnecessary delays in carrying out the various repairs at the property.
    2. Failure to adhere to its repair and damp and mould policies.
    3. Lack of communication with the resident regarding the status of the repairs.
50. These failures have caused unnecessary and avoidable distress and inconvenience to the resident as well as impacting her enjoyment of the property. Cumulatively these failings amount to maladministration and an order for this has been made below.

The landlord’s complaints handling

51. Based on all of the above, it was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge the service failings and uphold the resident’s complaint at stage 2 and offer compensation.
52. However further compensation is warranted to adequately address the impacts the landlord’s failings had on the resident. Namely, its failure to  effectively deliver timely, enduring remedies to the required repairs within  its own policy timeframes. This is particularly the case regarding the works relating to the damp and mould, as well as the consequential distress, time and trouble  and inconvenience caused by the poor level of communications and the resident having to repeatedly chase the landlord.
53. The landlords complaints policy sets out that a stage 1 complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days and responded to in 10 working days. The same policy says a stage 2 response will be acknowledged within 5 working days and responded to within 20 days working days.
54. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) operated at the time sets out that any delays must be no more than 10 working days at stage 1 or 20 working days at stage 2 without good reason, and the reasons must be clearly explained to the resident before the response deadlines.
55. In this instance neither of these timescales were adhered to, as the stage 1 response was issued after 24 working days and the stage 2 response after 59 working days.
56. Additionally, there is no evidence seen that the landlord communicated with the resident regarding the delay to the stage 1 response. This was not in line with its complaint procedure or the Code in effect at the time which states “landlords should keep residents regularly updated about the progress of an investigation”.
57. The landlord emailed the resident on 25 September 2023 to apologise for the delay to the stage 2 response and gave a new deadline of 29 September. But by this time the 20 working day deadline had long since expired and it did not provide a reason for why there was a delay. Compounding this the new deadline was also not met.
58. The resident’s complaint letters also raised concerns about instances where contractors would attend without the correct tools to do the work, her having to chase the landlord and not having her emails or calls responded to.
59. However neither of the complaint responses addressed these particular issues nor has the landlord acknowledged it’s complaint handling failures. Similarly, neither response directly addresses the resident’s concerns about the boiler not having been serviced for many years. The Code, operated at the time, required that landlords must address all points raised in a complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.
60. Overall the landlords failures, as set out above, can be summarised as:
    1. Failure to meet timescales set out in the Code operated at the time and its own complaints handling policy.
    2. Failure to keep the resident updated and providing reasons for the delays.
    3. Not responding to all the complaint points and concerns raised by the resident.
61. For the above reasons the Ombudsman finds there was maladministration in the landlords management of the residents complaint and orders the landlord to pay £250 compensation.
62. The Ombudsman also orders the landlord to pay an additional £500 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the service failure, bringing the total award for this aspect to £1,000.

Determination (decision)

63. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its response to various repairs within the property, including damp and mould.
64. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in relation to its complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

65. The landlord must apologise to the resident for its failures. This written apology must be from someone in the landlord’s senior management team and should follow the Ombudsman’s apologies guidance on our website.
66. Within 4 weeks the landlord should provide the Ombudsman with evidence that it has paid the resident £1,250 compensation, this includes the £500 it offered in its final response, comprised of:
    1. £1,000 for the time, trouble, distress and inconvenience caused by the poor management of the repairs.
    2. £250 for the maladministration of the complaint.
67. The landlord is ordered to arrange a CCTV survey to the rainwater pipes and drains and a survey to the cavity wall within 6 weeks from the date of this letter, it must also provide the Ombudsman and the resident with an update of the findings. If any remedial works are required, the landlord should raise a repair order and complete any identified works within 6 weeks following the survey.
68. The landlord is ordered to complete any other outstanding repairs within 6 weeks from the date of this letter and provide the Ombudsman with evidence of completion. These works include:
    1. Installation of a new flush cone for the toilet.
    2. Treatment and removal of mould in the bathroom.
    3. Installation of the correct extractor fan hose attachment in the bathroom.
    4. Correct the detail to the extractor fan hose in the loft.
    5. Install roof vents or vents at the eaves in the loft.
69. It was noted that the landlord has stated it does not have a vulnerability policy in place, therefore under paragraph 54(g) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme the landlords should review the Spotlight report on addressing vulnerabilities and consider if it requires a policy in order to better address concerns raised by residents with vulnerabilities. The landlord should update the Ombudsman on the outcome of the review within 6 weeks.