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North Yorkshire Council (202302252)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202302252

North Yorkshire Council

29 August 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 landlords handling of:
    1. The residents report of damp and mould in the property.
    2. The residents report of outstanding repairs to the bathroom.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord, he resides in a one bed flat. The resident reports that he suffers with heart conditions, it is not clear from the evidence if the landlord was aware of this.
  2. In April 2023, the resident raised a complaint with the landlord regarding outstanding repairs. He said that his shower was broken, his shower and bathroom light did not work and that he was having to sleep on his sofa due to damp and mould throughout the property.
  3. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 6 June 2023. It said:
    1. It had reviewed its repair records back to 2011 and the first report of potential damp and mould was made on 24 April 2023.
    2. There were no outstanding repairs relating to the shower.
    3. Following his complaint, it carried out a home visit, but the resident did not allow access to the affected areas. A further survey was then carried out on 30 May and jobs subsequently raised:
      1. The shower and light pull cord in the bathroom to be replaced by 11 July 2023.
      2. Any damp and mould found within the property would be treated and all silicone from around the window frames in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen would be stripped and replaced. Due to residents’ availability the target date was 7 July 2023.
      3. To reduce the possibility of future damp and mould a P.I.V (positive input ventilation) unit would be installed by 11 July 2023.
    4. It found no evidence of any occasions where it had not responded to a reported repair, however, apologised if the resident felt his concerns had been mishandled. ‘Committed to maintaining the standards and quality of our properties,’ it said that it would like to carry out a further inspection to ensure that all repairs were raised appropriately.
  4. The resident contacted the landlord on 16 June 2023, he disputed the landlord’s claims that the damp and mould was first reported in April 2023. During his communication with this Service at the time, he said that the landlord had inspected the damp and mould on at least 4 occasions over the past 6 years. Furthermore, he did not agree with the landlord’s comments about access. He said that the housing officer was shown around the property but then asked to leave to avoid the situation escalating. The resident was also dissatisfied with the quality of the subsequent damp and mould works.
  5. At the time, the landlord did not handle this communication as an escalation of the complaint. It did however write to the resident on 21 July 2023 to clarify the points raised. It said:
    1. Several inspections had taken place over the years but none in relation to damp and mould. ‘The system shows and tracks a detailed and comprehensive list of repairs and scheduled maintenance that has taken place 2011’.
    2. It did not dispute that access to the property was granted but it was of the opinion that the resident did not allow full access to the affected areas.
    3. It would like to carry out a further inspection in response to the concerns about the workmanship. It proposed an appointment on 29 July 2023
  6. Following involvement from this Service the landlord wrote to the resident again on 22 August 2023. It apologised that it failed to escalate his complaint in June 2023. It said that the resident had not made contact to arrange the required inspection, therefore in line with its policy it was unable to escalate to stage 2.
  7. The resident remained dissatisfied with this response, he felt that the landlord was not taking his concerns seriously. He said that his living conditions were having a detrimental impact upon his health, furthermore, he did not feel that the landlord appropriately considered that he could not take time off work to accommodate multiple visits.

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has also raised concerns about outstanding repairs to his kitchen and its programmed replacement. As these issues did not form part of the formal complaint to the landlord under consideration, this is not something that this Service can investigate at this stage as the landlord needs to be provided with the opportunity to investigate and respond to these reports. The resident will need to contact the landlord and, if appropriate, raise a separate complaint about this issue. A recommendation has been made below in this regard.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.

  1. The landlord does not have a specific damp and mould policy; however, 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 (HHSRS) to assess hazards and risks within its properties, including damp and mould.
  2. The resident reports that he had been raising concerns regarding damp and mould for a number of years prior to his complaint. He says that as a result of his living conditions he has been sleeping on the sofa. The landlord disputes this claim and says that the first report of damp and mould was logged on 24 April 2023, it has provided evidence of its repairs records to support this. There is a further dispute as to what occurred during the inspection in May 2023. However, while we do not dispute the resident’s claims, in the absence of any definitive evidence we are unable to determine what happened prior to April 2023.
  3. It is not disputed that the landlord carried out another inspection on 30 May 2023, approximately 4 weeks after the resident’s concerns were received. Following this inspection the landlord issued its stage 1 response and said it would treat any damp and mould identified in the property and offered to install a PIV unit. This was a positive response from the landlord and demonstrated a commitment to put things right and to reduce the risk of any future hazards. It also raised jobs for the windows in the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen to be re-sealed and provided the resident with the target completion dates, which it adhered to.
  4. Following the completion of the damp and mould wash and the window repairs on 7 July 2023 the resident informed the landlord that he was unhappy with the level of the workmanship. He said that the operatives used cold water to wipe away the mould from the walls and the carpet. The landlord appropriately responded 14 days later and said that it would like to carry out a full inspection to investigate further. The landlord telephoned the resident attempting to arrange the inspection, but the records show that the resident was unable to facilitate ‘any further meetings at his property’. The landlord then wrote to the resident and offered an appointment on 29 July 2023 but received no response.
  5. It is clear from the landlord’s decision not to escalate the complaint to stage 2 that there was a communication breakdown between both parties. The landlord’s complaints policy states ‘where progression to Stage 2 would not be of benefit to either party, we may refuse a Stage 2 request’. In this case it said that it ‘could not reasonably investigate his claims, at this time, as he was not accommodating efforts to inspect the property, with reasonable notice, as set out in the tenancy agreement.’
  6. Although it is recognised that the resident works full time and was unable to take any further annual leave it was reasonable of the landlord to request a further inspection to investigate and resolve the resident’s complaint. There is no evidence to suggest that the resident offered any alternative dates or times, nor is there any evidence that the landlord proactively pursued the matter. The landlord’s obligation to repair and maintain the property remained, it would therefore have been appropriate and in line with these obligations for the landlord to have continued to attempt to gain access.
  7. Within his correspondence with this Service the resident has stated that he would like the landlord to have his carpet professionally cleaned and a replacement sofa. It is unclear from the evidence if this request had been communicated direct to the landlord. Had this been the case we would have expected the landlord to have provided information on how the resident could make a claim to its liability insurer.
  8. In reaching a decision we consider whether the landlord has kept to the law, followed proper procedure and good practice, and acted in a reasonable way.
  9. Whilst it is acknowledged that the resident has found the situation distressing and upsetting, the evidence demonstrates that the landlord did appropriately respond to the resident’s concerns of damp and mould from April 2023 onwards. It made reasonable efforts to carry out timely repairs in line with its obligations. When it was informed of the resident’s continued dissatisfaction it attempted to put things right by arranging a follow on inspection.
  10. It is however noted that matters remain unresolved, and that the landlord ultimately has an obligation to repair and maintain despite the access difficulties. Although this does not amount to a significant failure a recommendation has been made below to try and resolve the dispute.

The landlord’s handling of the residents reports of outstanding repairs to the bathroom.

  1. The occupancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the internal installations such as light fittings.
  2. Within his complaint the resident reported that his shower was not working and that he didn’t have a light in his bathroom. The evidence shows that following the resident’s complaint in April 2023 the landlord raised a repair for the light and shower pull cords to be replaced. The repair was completed on 7 July 2023 and the resident has confirmed that this matter is now resolved.
  3. The resident remains dissatisfied as he claims that the issue had been reported to the landlord previously, but no action had been taken. The landlord disputed having any prior knowledge of these issues.
  4. The landlord is expected to keep robust records of contacts and repairs. When there is a disagreement in the accounts of the resident and the landlord with regards to outstanding repairs, the onus would be on the landlord to provide evidence showing how it satisfied its repair obligations. In this case the landlord has provided records to show that all recorded repairs have been completed. Although we do not dispute the residents claim that the landlord was previously made aware and acknowledge the inconvenience that this may have caused, we have seen no evidence in the form of emails or job numbers to support this, therefore we are unable to make a detrimental determination against the landlord in this instance.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the residents reports of outstanding repairs to the bathroom.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord provides the resident with a written update regarding his kitchen upgrade. This should be done within 28 days of this report. If the resident remains dissatisfied the landlord should progress the matter through its complaint process in line with its policy.
  2. It is recommended that the landlord contacts the resident to arrange for a surveyor to inspect the property at a mutually convenient time within the next 28 days (unless such an inspection has already taken place).