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West Kent Housing Association (202348418)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202348418

West Kent Housing Association

24 September 2025

 

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 the resident’s concerns and reports of:
    1. Repairs including damp and mould, insulation issues, and a bathroom leak.
    2. Rewiring works and associated temporary accommodation.

Background

  1. The resident’s assured tenancy began in 2017. The property is a 3 bedroom house where she lives with her partner and children. For the purposes of this report the resident and her partner are both referred to as ‘the resident’.
  2. The landlord completed various repairs and mould treatments, from January to May 2023. This included an electrical repair following the resident’s report of “green liquid oozing out of 3 sockets”. It completed an electrical inspection in May 2023, which recommended that the property be rewired.
  3. The resident chased the rewire until November 2023, when the landlord proposed that she move into temporary accommodation to allow the work. She asked that this be delayed until after Christmas. A hotel was arranged from mid-January 2024. The resident moved to the hotel the day before the works but said that it was unsuitable for her family’s needs and returned home the same day. The landlord postponed the rewire.
  4. The resident complained, on 16 January 2024, about the unsuitability of the hotel, and the time taken and standard of various repairs. This included damp and mould, woodlice, insulation issues, a bathroom leak, rewire delays, and safety concerns regarding the green substance coming from her electrical sockets. The landlord completed a damp and mould inspection on 30 January 2024.
  5. The landlord sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response on 15 February 2024. It addressed each of the issues she had raised and said all repairs, including its recent damp and mould inspection, had been completed within its policy timeframes. It advised dates for the further repairs it had identified, including a bathroom leak inspection on 27 February 2024.
  6. The resident escalated her complaint the following day, reiterating her original concerns.
  7. The landlord sent the resident its stage 2 response on 13 March 2024. It confirmed that the rewire was almost complete. It acknowledged an error about the insulation in its first response, that the repairs had caused inconvenience, and a leak inspection needed to be rescheduled. It apologised, offered £500 compensation, and explained what it would do about the inspection and insulation.
  8. The resident asked the Ombudsman to investigate the matters above. She said that works had been completed but she was unhappy with the workmanship. She said that there were still unresolved issues with the insulation behind the cladding and associated damp concerns. She said that she still had a woodlice infestation as a result.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has said that the current issues she has told us about are a continuation of those raised in her original complaint, which concluded the landlord’s process in March 2024. No evidence has been seen that the landlord has had the opportunity to investigate and respond to her current concerns via its formal complaint process. Because of that, these matters have not been considered in this investigation.
  2. The resident could consider making a new complaint to the landlord about the current issues. She could then return to the Ombudsman and ask us to consider her new complaint. A recommendation has been made to the landlord about this.

The landlord’s handling of repairs and damp and mould

  1. The landlord completed numerous repairs during the first half of 2023, many associated with the resident’s reports of damp and mould. Her complaint, on 16 January 2024, highlighted her belief that the issues she had raised would not be present if the earlier 2023 works had been of a better standard.
  2. The evidence shows that, except for 2 elements that the landlord later accepted, all jobs were completed in line with what had been identified and within the timeframes in its repairs policy. This included its damp and mould inspection, on 30 January 2024, and the works it identified.
  3. The exceptions to this were the loft insulation, which the landlord stated at stage 1 it had completed in August 2023, and the bathroom leak inspection booked for 27 February 2024.
  4. The landlord’s stage 2 response acknowledged and apologised that it had been mistaken about the insulation. It committed to complete a top up, which it later did, and offered £100 compensation. It explained that the operative who had been due to attend the bathroom leak inspection had been delayed at a previous job. It apologised that this had taken the completion of the job beyond the 21 day timeframe in its policy, and offered £50 compensation. Its compensation for both these elements was in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance (the Guidance).
  5. The landlord further stated that it had found no service failures in its handling of the resident’s damp and mould reports, which is supported by the evidence seen. It nonetheless acknowledged the inconvenience of having so many repairs, particularly alongside the separate rewire. It offered a further £100 compensation for this, which was in line with the Guidance.
  6. However, the resident’s complaint also referred to a persistent woodlice infestation, which she made clear she attributed to the damp. No evidence has been seen of the matter being raised prior to her complaint, nor of the landlord referring to it. Nonetheless, her escalation request stated that it had previously told her it was not responsible for this.
  7. The landlord’s complaint responses provided comprehensive summaries of its previous, and more recent damp and mould works. However, it was a failing that it did not explain its position regarding responsibility for the woodlice infestation, or otherwise address the issue, despite the resident raising it at both stages of the complaint process. She has more recently expressed her continued uncertainty to us about responsibility for the matter, and provided photographs that she said depict the ongoing infestation.
  8. Overall, the landlord accepted and apologised for its postponed appointment and its insulation error at stage 1, which it corrected. It completed its repairs and damp and mould works in line with its policy and offered compensation, which would have represented reasonable redress. However, it twice failed to respond to the woodlice infestation element of the resident’s complaint, which was therefore unresolved.

The landlord’s handling of the rewire and temporary accommodation

  1. The landlord completed an electrical installation condition report (EICR) on 23 May 2023, which recommended that the resident’s property be rewired. Its electric testing policy states that it will ensure any works identified at an EICR are completed. Its repairs policy says that major planned works, such as rewires, will be done within 12 months.
  2. The evidence shows that the resident periodically chased her rewire over the following 6 months. While the landlord did respond, and advised her that its contractor would be in touch, no meaningful progress was made until November 2023.
  3. Over the following 4 months, the landlord demonstrated its responsiveness to the resident’s circumstances, both in terms of the timing of the works and the arrangement of temporary accommodation. When the accommodation proved unsuitable, it showed a resolution focused approach by agreeing to complete the rewire with her at home. It completed the rewire within the 12 month timeframe in its policy.
  4. The resident’s chasing, during 2023, had been in part due to her understandable safety concerns regarding the green substance coming from the sockets. Aside from its complaint responses, the only evidence seen of the landlord referring to this was in November 2023. Its internal discussions at that time explained the cause, and that the substance could be simply wiped away without any safety concerns. However, there is no evidence that this assurance was passed to the resident prior to her complaint.
  5. The landlord’s complaint responses stated the resident had said that its contractor, on different occasions, had told her that the substance both was, and was not, a safety concern. It apologised for its unclear communications and provided assurances. It highlighted that the rewire had been completed in line with its policy, but accepted and apologised that there had been delays and inconvenience. Its offer of £250 compensation for this was again in line with the Guidance.
  6. Overall, the landlord accepted and apologised for its communication failings and for the worry and disruption the resident experienced. It offered compensation in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. It showed a resolution focused approach to her needs, and completed the rewire in line with the timeframe in its policy.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53.b of the Scheme, the landlord has offered redress to the resident prior to investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, satisfactorily resolves the complaints regarding rewiring works and temporary accommodation.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks the landlord must pay the resident £75 compensation in relation to its failure to address the woodlice infestation element of her complaint.
  2. This amount is additional to its own £500 award, which it must pay any part of that it has not already done so.
  3. Within 4 weeks the landlord must write to the resident to explain its position regarding the woodlice and any action it may take, as it should have previously.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord should consider proactively contacting the resident within 4 weeks to obtain details of her current concerns about the insulation behind the cladding and associated damp, and handle the matter as a formal complaint if necessary.