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London Borough of Hackney (202449374)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202449374

London Borough of Hackney

29 August 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 reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the property owned by the landlord, a local authority. They live in a 2-bedroom flat with their daughter.
  2. The resident reported damp and mould to the landlord on 6 occasions between 14 March 2024 and 16 January 2025. The landlord’s contractors completed 2 inspections of the damp and mould during that time. They also completed repair works of mould washes and applying anti-mould paint on 2 occasions. However, the resident reported the damp and mould always returned.
  3. On 17 January 2025 the resident raised a complaint to the landlord. They said the landlord and its contractors had not contacted them and they had to keep chasing up appointments for repairs. They said the damp and mould had made them and their daughter unwell. They asked for compensation to be paid directly to them.
  4. The landlord responded at stage 1 of its complaint process on 28 January 2025. It said it a surveyor had attended on 18 November 2024 and subsequent repair works were completed on 16 December 2024. A surveyor then completed a further inspection on 24 January 2025 due to the resident’s further reports of damp and mould, with an appointment booked for 31 January 2025 to complete the repair works. It apologised for the inconvenience and distress caused by its delays and poor communication. It offered compensation of £410 (£300 for the distress and inconvenience, £50 for delays by its contractor, and £60 for delays treating mould as it had returned since treatment in December 2024.)
  5. The resident said they were dissatisfied with the landlord’s decision the next day. They asked to escalate to stage 2 of the complaints process. They said damp and mould reoccurred every few months causing damages and health issues. They wanted direct compensation not compensation applied to rent arrears. They also said they had incurred extra energy costs by needing to leave windows open with the heating on.
  6. The landlord provided its final complaint response on 5 March 2025. It provided a timeline of the resident’s reports of damp and mould along with the actions it had taken. It acknowledged damp and mould had been a recurring issue and there had been avoidable delays. It increased its offer of compensation to £625 (£150 for distress and inconvenience, £150 for time and trouble, £40 for delays treating mould, £150 for delays completing repair work, £110 for delay repairing cracks in a wall, and £25 for a missed appointment.) It also confirmed it would only apply any compensation against rent arrears and asked for evidence of increased energy costs.
  7. The resident has told us they want the damp and mould issue resolved permanently instead of temporary mould washes and painting. They said they also wanted compensation for this issue paid directly to them. They confirmed their energy provider had waived all outstanding charges related to the issue.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. In this case, the resident told us they had experienced damp and mould issues in the property for over 20 years. However, the complaint brought to our Service was raised with the landlord in January 2025. Therefore, our investigation will focus on the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould from January 2024. We encourage residents to raise complaints with their landlords at the time the events happen, so that they have a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and whilst the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events which occurred. As the substantive issues become historical, it is increasingly difficult for either the landlord, or an independent body such us, to conduct an effective review of the actions taken to address those issues.
  2. In the resident’s complaints, and in communication with us, they said this situation had a detrimental impact on their health and wellbeing and that of their daughter. The courts are the most effective place for disputes about personal injury and illness. This is largely because independent medical experts are appointed to give evidence. They have a duty to the court to provide unbiased insights on the diagnosis, prognosis, and cause of any illness or injury. When disputes arise over the cause of an injury, oral testimony can be examined in court. While we cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident and their daughter experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.

Damp and mould and the associated repairs

  1. The landlord has a responsibility to ensure a property remains fit for human habitation under s.9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Landlords need to make sure their homes are safe, warm, and free from hazards. When a resident reports a risk, the landlord should quickly inspect the property to check for hazards. Damp and mould growth are a potential hazard, and the landlord is required to consider whether any mould problems in its properties amount to a hazard that requires a remedy.
  2. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould (published October 2021) provides recommendations for landlords, including that it should:
    1. Adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould interventions. Landlords should review its current strategy and consider whether its approach will achieve this.
    2. Ensure it can identify complex cases at an early stage and have a strategy for keeping residents informed and effective resolution.
    3. Ensure that it clearly and regularly communicates with its residents regarding actions taken or otherwise to resolve reports of damp and mould.
    4. Identify where an independent, mutually agreed and suitably qualified surveyor should be used, share the outcomes of all surveys and inspections with residents to help them understand the findings and be clear on next steps. Landlords should then act on accepted survey recommendations in a timely manner.
  3. In response to the Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould, the landlord has committed to inspecting all reports of damp and mould within 5 working days. It has also committed to get to the root cause of the issues and apply interventions to resolve the problem and prevent reoccurrence and not just treat and paint over mould. It also states it will monitor cancelled work orders and that, following a missed appointment, it will proactively contact residents to rebook appointments and follow up on damp and mould cases.
  4. The landlord’s published information on repairs sets out its target response times for various repairs. These range from “immediate” (attend within 2 hours) and “emergency” (attend within 24 hours) to “normal” (attend within 21 working days).
  5. On 14 March 2024 the resident reported to the landlord they had damp and mould in the bathroom, kitchen and toilet. The landlord booked an appointment on 20 March 2024 for a surveyor to inspect the property on 23 March 2024. This was outside of its commitment to inspect damp and mould within 5 working days.
  6. On 23 March 2024 the surveyor reported to the landlord there was mould in several areas of the property. They also said plastering was completed that same day, but the property needed mould treatment and painting to redecorate.
  7. The landlord raised a work order to treat the mould and paint the bathroom and toilet on 23 April 2024. It is unclear why there was a delay of 1 month from the surveyor’s report and the landlord raising the work. We consider this delay to be inappropriate as it is outside of the landlord’s repair timescales.
  8. The resident telephoned the landlord on 3 May 2024 to chase up the repairs. The landlord contacted its contractor and asked for an update. However, following no further action, the landlord cancelled the work order on 30 May 2024 with no work taking place. We consider this to be inappropriate.
  9. The landlord reraised a new work order on 30 May 2024 for a mould treatment and painting in the bathroom and toilet. It booked an appointment for 18 June 2024. There is no evidence that appointment went ahead. The landlord’s records show the work order was closed down as being completed on 21 June 2024. However, the resident contacted the landlord on 10 July 2024 and said the appointment of 18 June 2024 did not go ahead and no work had been carried out. The landlord has been unable to provide any evidence or clarification of why its records show the job completed on 21 June 2024. We therefore consider that to be inaccurate information and evidence of poor record keeping by the landlord.
  10. The resident contacted the landlord again on 3 October 2024 and again confirmed it had not completed any work. The landlord reraised a new work order on the same day for a mould treatment and painting in the bathroom and toilet for 4 October 2024. The evidence shows that appointment was successful. However, the overall length of time the resident waited for work to be completed was unreasonable. It is also not in line with the landlord’s commitment to rebook failed appointments and follow up on damp and mould cases.
  11. The resident reported to the landlord on 12 November 2024 the damp and mould had returned. They said there was damp and mould in the living room, kitchen, 1 bedroom and the bathroom. The landlord booked an appointment on 13 November 2024 for a surveyor to inspect the property on 18 November 2024. This was within its timescale of 5 working days to inspect the property.
  12. On 18 November 2024, the surveyor confirmed the mould to the landlord. They recommended a 3-stage damp and mould treatment with anti-mould paint. However, there was no reference to the cause of the damp and mould. This is not in line with the landlord’s commitment to get to the root cause of the issues and apply interventions to resolve the problem and prevent reoccurrence and not just treating and painting over mould.
  13. On 6 December 2024 the landlord raised a work order to treat the damp and mould as recommended by its surveyor to treat and paint the affected arears on 16 December 2024. It is unclear why there was a delay from the surveyor’s report of 18 November 2024 and the landlord raising the work on 6 December 2024. The landlord completed the work on 16 December 2024, but we consider the delay from the resident’s report of 12 November 2024 to be unreasonable and it is outside of the landlord’s repair timescales.
  14. The resident reported to the landlord on 16 January 2025 that the damp and mould had returned again. The landlord booked an appointment on 16 January 2025 for a surveyor to inspect the property on 24 January 2025. This was outside of its commitment to inspect damp and mould within 5 working days.
  15. On 24 January 2025, the surveyor reported to the landlord there was mould in the living room, kitchen, bathroom and toilet. They said those rooms required mould washes, stain block and painting. The landlord booked an appointment for 31 January to complete the work.
  16. When the landlord issued its stage 1 decision of 28 January 2025, it had been over 10 months since the resident raised the damp and mould issue. Although it acknowledged delays with its repair work and confirmed an appointment was booked for 31 January 2025, it had not yet identified the root cause of the problem. It offered £410 compensation, which included £60 for delays treating the mould as it had returned since its work of 16 December 2024. However, it did not acknowledge the fact the mould had previously returned following its work of 4 October 2024, or the delay from the initial report of 14 March 2024.
  17. The landlord’s contractor attended the property on 31 January 2025 and completed more mould wash treatments and applied more anti-mould paint to all affected areas.
  18. The resident reported to the landlord on 12 February 2025 the damp and mould had returned. They said there was damp and mould in both bedrooms and the bathroom. The landlord booked an appointment for a surveyor to inspect the property on 17 February 2025. This was within its timescale of 5 working days to inspect the property. However, it is clear the previous work completed was ineffective and was again not in line the landlord’s commitment to get to the root cause of the issue and not just treating and painting over the mould.
  19. On 4 March 2025 the landlord raised a work order to treat the damp and mould as recommended by its surveyor to treat and paint the affected arears on 28 March 2025. It asked its contractor to remove all flaking and damaged paint and to smooth over and fill any gaps. Then remove mould from the walls and ceiling in the lounge, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and toilet by completing mould washes with stain block and anti-mould paint.
  20. In its final complaint response of 5 March 2025, the landlord acknowledged the damp and mould had been a recurring problem and there had been avoidable delays in resolving the problem. It said it would only pay compensation towards rent arrears and offered an increased amount of £625. This included £40 for delays treating mould between 18 November 2024 and 16 December 2024, £150 for delays completing work between 18 June 2024 and 3 October 2024, and £110 for delay repairing cracks in walls from 20 November 2024 and 12 February 2025, plus £25 for the missed appointment of 18 June 2024. However, it did not acknowledged that it had failed to identify the root cause of the issue since the resident’s first report of 14 March 2024.
  21. Since the landlord’s final complaint response, the evidence shows the appointment of 28 March 2025 failed to take place and was rearranged and completed on 25 April 2025. The resident has since told this Service the damp and mould issues have not returned, but they are concerned they will return once the weather gets worse as the landlord has not identified the root cause of the matter.
  22. In summary, the landlord has not arranged an inspection of the property within 5 working days after each report of damp and mould. It has not provided evidence it has identified the root cause of the problem and appears to have completed mould washes and painting instead of following its own commitments in line with our Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould. It has also delayed completing proposed work and has failed to attend 2 appointments.
  23. We are therefore ordering the landlord to apologise to and pay directly to the resident £1,000 compensation. This replaces the £625 offered by the landlord and takes into account the failings mentioned above. It includes an additional amount to acknowledge the time and trouble experienced due to the landlord’s failure to identify and treat the cause of the ongoing damp and mould. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance for failures of this nature resulting in maladministration that adversely affected the resident.
  24. It was reasonable for the landlord to state it would only apply any compensation offered against rent arrears, as that it in line with its compensation policy. However, it is our position that any compensation we award, should be paid directly to the resident and not offset against rent arrears.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs.

Orders

  1. The landlord must within 28 days of the date of this determination:
    1. Provide the resident with an apology for the failings outlined in this report.
    2. Arrange for an independent damp and mould surveyor to inspect the property and provide a detailed report into the root cause of the recurring damp and mould problem.
    3. Provide the resident and this Service with its schedule of works to resolve all issues relating to the damp and mould.
    4. Pay the resident total compensation of £1,000 (this includes the £625 previously offered by the landlord plus an additional £375) in recognition of the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused by its failures to appropriately handle repairs to the damp and mould.
  2. All payments must be paid directly to the resident and not credited to the rent account unless otherwise agreed by the resident.