Abri Group Limited (202449534)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202449534

Abri Group Limited

30 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:
   1. Reports of damp in a bedroom and the associated repairs.
   2. Reports of water pooling at the front of the property and the associated repairs.
   3. Associated complaint.

Background

2. The resident has an assured tenancy of the property where she has lived since August 2023. The property is a 2-bedroom mid-terraced house. The landlord is a housing association. The resident’s son and husband both have asthma which the landlord is aware of.
3. For clarity, this report will refer to 2 chimneys. Chimney A is located at the front on the roof of an adjoining privately owned property, with the lead flashing situated on the resident’s roof. Chimney B is located at the back between the private neighbour’s roof and the resident’s roof.
4. The resident first reported damp patches in her son’s bedroom (bedroom 1) on 4 September 2023. The landlord completed an inspection on 19 September 2023 and completed repairs to a chimney (chimney A) in October 2023. After further contact from the resident in November 2023, the landlord completed another inspection following which it said it would complete further repairs to chimney A and to the gully to the front of the property to prevent water pooling in that area.
5. On 14 December 2023 the resident complained that the leak had been occurring for some time and the landlord had not fixed it. She said the damp was affecting her son’s asthma and he could not sleep in the room. She said she had not received any update from the landlord or its contractor about the repairs and what steps it was taking to resolve the issue.
6. On 19 January 2024 the landlord issued its stage 1 complaint response. It said:
   1. It accepted it had delayed in raising the repairs following its inspection on 19 September 2023 and only raised them on 29 September 2023. It completed the repairs on 24 October 2023.
   2. It inspected the property on 13 November 2023. It found damp in bedroom 1 but there were no visible signs of mould. The surveyor said the resident could still use the bedroom.
   3. On 6 December 2023 the resident reported damp in bedroom 1 again. Following this the landlord raised repairs to remove half the chimney stack of chimney A. There had been delays in it starting the repairs due to having to consult with the neighbour, and it may not be possible to start the work until February 2024 due to weather conditions.
   4. The landlord had considered what the resident had told it about the damp issues affecting her son’s health. It had arranged delivery of a dehumidifier on 10 January 2024 as a temporary measure to try to reduce the moisture in the bedroom.
   5. It had approved a quote to remove a brick from the front of the gully to prevent water from pooling in that area. If this did not work, it would install a drain.
   6. It could not consider the resident’s reports that the damp and mould had affected her son’s health under its complaint policy. It referred the resident to its insurance team.
   7. The landlord accepted it had delayed in raising the follow-on repairs in September 2023, there had been poor communication and a lack of updates to the resident. It also accepted there had been delays in its complaint handling. It apologised for any distress and inconvenience caused and offered compensation of £200, which it broke down as follows:
      1. £50 – for the failure to raise follow-on repairs in September 2023.
      2. £50 – for the lack of communication and updates regarding repairs.
      3. £50 – for the distress and upset caused to the resident and her family.
      4. £50 – for the delay in complaint handling.
7. On 23 February 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint because she said it had not resolved the issues. She said there had been issues with her neighbour when the landlord had erected scaffolding on 18 January 2024 and the contractor had left. The landlord had not updated her on when it would start the work again. The landlord had put cement on top of chimney A but it had not resolved the issue and the wall in her son’s bedroom was soaking wet. She said as a resolution she would like the landlord to move her as she felt the property was not fit to live in.
8. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 26 April 2024. It said:
   1. It was satisfied it had responded appropriately in its stage 1 complaint response and provided sufficient redress for the failures identified.
   2. The contractor had completed the repairs to chimney A on 25 January 2024.
   3. The landlord completed a housing condition inspection on 27 March 2024 to assess for damp and mould in the property. It found there to be high damp readings in the living room, bathroom, and bedroom 1. During this visit the resident informed the landlord of a new leak to the bathroom.
   4. The landlord said it would inspect the chimney breast above bedroom 1 and the bathroom and complete any necessary repairs. Also to stain block and redecorate the affected areas in bedroom 1, bathroom, and living room.
   5. The landlord would require a Party Wall Notice before it could complete any repairs to chimney A, due to the privately owned adjoining property having joint responsibility. It had written to the neighbour and had updated the resident about this process on 18 April 2024.
   6. It was unable to provide a timescale for the repairs at that stage but said it would do all it could to resolve the issue.
   7. In relation to the issues with drainage at the front of the property. It had removed a brick from the front of the gully, but this had not worked. It had started the works to install a drain in April 2024.
   8. It accepted it had not referred the resident to its damp and mould team in January 2024 when she had reported not being able to live in a damp home any longer. It completed a mould wash on 9 April 2024.
   9. In relation to the resident’s concerns about the impact of the damp and mould on her son’s health and the property not being fit for habitation. It confirmed it had completed 2 housing condition reports in December 2023 and March 2024. The landlord had concluded the property was fit for human habitation at both inspections. It again referred the resident to its insurance team if she wished to make a claim against the landlord.
   10. The landlord accepted communication about the outstanding repairs to the chimneys could have been better and that it should have referred the resident to its damp and mould team in January 2024. It also said it could have managed the resident’s expectations better. It apologised for the failures and for the delays in its complaint handling. It offered an additional £500 compensation, which it broke down as follows:
       1. £100 – for the delay in handling the resident’s complaint.
       2. £400 – for the lack of information relating to the chimney repairs and the impact on the resident and her family.
9. The resident has told us the damp and mould in the property had affected her and her family since August 2023. During that time her son had not been able to sleep in his bedroom due to the damp and the impact this had on his asthma. She had initially asked the landlord to move her, but now the landlord had decanted her and committed to completing all the repairs, she wanted to move back into a fit and liveable property. She wanted the landlord to increase its offer of compensation to consider she did not have use of a bedroom during the time the repairs were outstanding and to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused.

Events post ICP

10. In May 2024 the landlord found it needed to complete more repairs to chimney A and chimney B, which it completed around 8 November 2024. It completed the redecoration works to the bedroom, bathroom, and living room on 28 November 2024.
11. The resident continued to report damp in the property to the landlord. In March 2025 the landlord instructed an independent surveyor to inspect the property. This identified further repairs, some connected to the damp and some not. In May 2025 the landlord moved the resident to temporary accommodation for a period of 8 weeks to complete all the repairs in the property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

12. When referring her complaint to this Service, the resident raised concerns about repairs the landlord had completed following its stage 2 complaint response. However, we have scoped this investigation up to the end of November 2024 which is when the landlord completed the repairs it said it would do in its stage 2 complaint response. Any events after this date which have not been subject to a formal complaint by the resident can be addressed directly with the landlord and progressed as a new formal complaint if required.
13. Throughout the complaint and in communication with us, the resident said this situation had a detrimental impact on hers and her family’s health and wellbeing. 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 the Ombudsman cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.

Damp in a bedroom and the associated repairs

14. Once the landlord becomes aware of a repair, we would expect it to complete the repair within reasonable timescales. The landlord’s Repair and Maintenance Policy does not give a timeframe for when it will respond to non-emergency repairs. However, we would expect landlords to deal with non-emergency and follow-on repairs within 28 calendar days and complex repairs within 90 days.
15. The landlord has accepted some failings in this case. This included the delay in raising the follow-on repairs in September 2023, its failure to refer the resident’s concerns to its damp and mould team in January 2024, and poor communication and updates throughout the complaint. We have therefore not assessed the landlord’s handling of these issues within this report. We have however, considered the compensation offered for these failures and whether it was reasonable.
16. The landlord completed an inspection on 10 October 2023 to identify which chimney was causing the leak. On 19 October 2023 the resident reported the leak was getting worse. She said the operative who had attended on 10 October 2023 had told her to call when the damp was bad again so that it could check the moisture readings in the wall. The landlord completed the repairs then a post works inspection on 25 October 2023 and found the loft to be dry. It said the resident told it she was happy to let the bedroom walls dry out. The landlord offered to provide the resident with a dehumidifier to help with the drying out. It is unclear whether the resident accepted this offer at this time, however, the landlord’s offer was reasonable in the circumstances. Although the landlord did not check the moisture readings at this visit, it had only completed the repairs on 24 October 2023 and therefore it was reasonable that it should give the area time to dry out before taking moisture readings so that it could assess whether the repair had been effective.
17. The resident contacted the landlord on 26 October 2023 to report that her son’s bedroom walls were soaking wet. The landlord inspected the property on 10 November 2023 and found there were high moisture levels in the bedroom around the chimney breast which caused the wall to be wet. It checked the loft area but did not find any signs of water ingress. It recommended further works to address the issue. The landlord concluded the property was fit for human habitation. Whilst the report does not refer to the presence of mould, we have seen internal correspondence from 3 January 2024 in which the surveyor states there was no visible mould in the bedroom when he inspected. On 13 November 2023 the landlord informed the resident it would raise the repairs that week. The landlord emailed its contractor on 17 November 2023 asking it to quote for the repairs.
18. The landlord’s response was reasonable because it inspected the property within a reasonable timeframe and raised follow-on repairs.
19. The resident referred to the presence of mould in her son’s bedroom in her initial complaint on 14 December 2023. The landlord arranged a further survey and a mould wash to the bedroom which it completed on 19 December 2023. Following this it provided a dehumidifier to help reduce the moisture levels in the bedroom, which it delivered on 10 January 2024. It completed an inspection and a mould wash within a timely manner and provided a dehumidifier to reduce the impact on the resident. However, as this was a repeat repair with the earlier works not being effective the landlord should have considered monitoring the area to ensure that its repairs were effective rather than relying on the resident to make multiple reports.
20. In its stage 1 complaint response the landlord said there had been a delay in starting the repairs to chimney A due to it being located on the roof of the privately owned property next door. It said it needed to speak to the neighbour about the repairs because it may impact their side of the chimney stack. The landlord spoke to the neighbour on 2 January 2024 who confirmed they were still using chimney A. On 4 January 2024 the landlord instructed its contractor to attend and reduce chimney A, on the resident’s side only. It also provided an update to the resident on this date.
21. The contractor attended on 23 January 2024 to start the repairs to chimney A. However, it stopped work due to the neighbour not allowing access. There was also a confrontation between the neighbour and the resident. The resident contacted the landlord in an upset state. The landlord appropriately referred the resident to its community safety team for advice. After further conversation with the neighbour, the landlord completed the repairs to chimney A on 25 January 2024. This was 91 days after the resident’s report in October 2023. This was reasonable because it was in line with good practice for complex works.
22. On 9 February 2024 the resident reported some broken roof tiles, following removal of the scaffolding. She also reported the guttering between her property and the private owner’s property was overflowing. She also said there was still damp in her son’s room and she did not think the repair to the chimney had been effective. The landlord’s contractor attended on 12 February 2024 to replace the roof tile, which was reasonable.
23. The resident chased the landlord about the guttering on 23 February 2024. The landlord completed this repair on 9 April 2024, which was 60 days after the resident raised the issue. We are aware the landlord needed to consult with the neighbour in relation to this repair because part of the guttering was on their property, however the delay in completing this repair exceeds what could be mitigated by having to do this.
24. In relation to the damp in her son’s bedroom, it arranged a mould wash for 25 March 2024, which the landlord changed at the resident’s request to 9 April 2024.
25. Further to this, it inspected the property on 27 March 2024. It found visible evidence of damp on the walls and ceiling of bedroom 1, but no mould. There were also high moisture readings to the walls of the bedroom. It recommended a further inspection of the chimney breast above bedroom 1 and bathroom and to test, clear and repair the guttering. To complete any required repairs and thereafter stain block and redecorate the affected areas. The landlord concluded that the property was fit for human habitation. The report noted that the private neighbour had joint responsibility for the chimneys and the landlord would need to obtain a party wall notice before completing any repairs. As mentioned earlier the landlord should have been actively monitoring the repairs as previous works had not been successful rather than relying on the resident’s continued reports.
26. Between April 2024 and July 2024 the landlord instructed an external company to draft the party wall notice and consult with the neighbour. Whilst there were some delays with this process, due to the neighbour not receiving the initial letter, it was reasonable of the landlord to take this action because it did not own the property where chimney A was situated and it was required to give the neighbour sufficient time to review its plans and respond.
27. The neighbour confirmed the chimney repairs could go ahead around 15 July 2024. The landlord’s contractor removed chimney B on 19 September 2024. The contractor attended on 21 September 2024 to start the repairs to chimney A, which it said it had arranged with the resident. However, the repairs did not go ahead on this date. The contractor said this was due to the resident refusing access. We have not seen the contractor’s communication with the resident about this appointment and therefore we cannot comment on whether the resident refused access or why.
28. The contractor completed the repairs to chimney A on 8 November 2024. The landlord completed the internal plastering and redecoration works on 28 November 2024. This was approximately 10 months after the resident raised the issue on 9 February 2024. If good practice for complex works, such as this, is 90 days (3 months) and there was 3 months delay due to the party wall notice, then 6 months would have been a reasonable timeframe, 10 months was not reasonable.
29. Whilst the resident was waiting for the landlord to complete the chimney repairs, it completed a further mould wash to the affected rooms in September 2024. The resident also had continued use of the dehumidifier. This was reasonable and showed the landlord was taking steps to reduce the impact of the damp and mould on the resident and household members.
30. In her complaint to the landlord the resident said she wanted to move. This was because of her relationship with her neighbour but also because she said the property was not fit for habitation. In its stage 2 complaint response the landlord said it had inspected the property in December 2023 and March 2024. On both occasions it found the property to be fit for habitation. Whilst the resident may not have agreed with this, the landlord was entitled to rely upon the advice of its expert surveyor. The landlord also confirmed its community safety team had contacted the resident to discuss her request to move and provided signposting advice, which was reasonable.
31. We would consider the failures identified to amount to maladministration.
32. When there are failings by a landlord, as is the case here, the Ombudsman will consider whether the redress offered by the landlord (apology, repairs and compensation) put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In considering this, the Ombudsman considers whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
33. The landlord acted fairly by it apologising for the inconvenience caused to the resident due to the delays in completing the chimney repairs, delay referring her reports of damp to its damp and mould team, and poor communication. However it did not recognise its failure to complete the repair to the gutters within a timely manner.
34. It demonstrated learning from outcomes in its stage 2 complaint response by reviewing the resident’s call in January 2024 and accepted its call handler had not asked any further questions about the damp in the resident’s home. It said it would discuss this with its staff for learning purposes.
35. The landlord showed its attempt to put things right by completing the repairs to chimney A, raising further repairs to both chimneys, and by offering the resident compensation. The landlord offered a total of £550 over both complaint responses in recognition of the delays and the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the repairs. Whilst this was a reasonable offer, it took the landlord from 15 July 2024 (which is when the neighbour agreed to the works) until 28 November 2024 to complete the repairs to the chimneys, which was an additional delay of approximately 4 months. Therefore, it should pay the resident additional compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused during this time.
36. We also recognise that some of our residents’ circumstances mean that they are more affected by landlords’ actions or inactions than others. This might be due to their circumstances, or because of a vulnerability. Consideration of any aggravating factors (such as a health condition of a member of the household) may justify an increased award to reflect the specific impact on the resident. In this case, the resident said her son could not use the bedroom due to the impact on his health. Whilst the landlord was entitled to rely upon its expert surveyor’s advice that the bedroom was usable, it was reasonable that the resident would not want her son to use this room whilst the repairs were outstanding. We have therefore taken this into consideration in awarding compensation in this case.
37. Having considered the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, which is available online, a fairer level of compensation would be £1,000. This sum reflects our remedies guidance which says such a sum would be payable where there has been a failure which significantly affected the resident and the redress needed to put things right is substantial.

Water pooling to the front of the property

38. The resident first reported this issue to the landlord during an inspection on 10 November 2023. The landlord recommended removing a brick from around the gully at the front of the property to allow water to disperse. It also said it would recommend installing a drain.
39. The resident raised the issue again in December 2023 and January 2024 when she asked the landlord’s complaint team to speak to the surveyor about the recommended repairs because she had not heard anything further. While the resident had not included this issue in her initial complaint, she had expressed dissatisfaction with the landlord’s action before the landlord had sent its stage 1 complaint response and therefore it was reasonable that the landlord included this issue in the resident’s complaint.
40. We do not know the exact date when the landlord removed the brick from the gully. However, we have seen emails between the landlord and its roofing contractor in January 2024 when it asked the contractor to complete the repair to the gully when it completed the repairs to chimney A. The contractor completed the repair to chimney A on 25 January 2024. This was approximately 2 months after the resident first reported the issue of water pooling. Whilst it is reasonable that the landlord wanted to group repairs together, the landlord should have raised this as a separate repair to ensure that it completed it within a reasonable timeframe.
41. The landlord’s records show it noted damp rising in the hallway and living room during its inspection in December 2023. As outlined above, it provided a dehumidifier to help address the moisture in the property, which was reasonable. However, there is no evidence to show that it referred its findings to its damp and mould team at this time, which it should have done.
42. The resident raised the issue of water pooling at the front of the property again on 9 February 2024 and on 19 March 2024 when she reported damp and mould all over the property.
43. The landlord inspected the property on 27 March 2024. It noted there was evidence of damp in the living room but no evidence of mould. It noted the gully was damaged which allowed water to escape into the brickwork and cavity, causing damp in the living room. It raised repairs to ensure the gully was watertight, which included installing a drain. The landlord completed these repairs approximately 3 months later, on 29 April 2024. Whilst we can see the resident changed an appointment from 22 April 2024 to 29 April 2024, we cannot say the time taken was reasonable. This is because the landlord should complete such repairs within a reasonable period which would be about 28 calendar days.
44. In summary, there were failures in that the landlord delayed in removing a brick from the gully in January 2025 and installing the drainage in April 2024. This leads us to a finding of maladministration.
45. We can see the landlord attempted to put things right by completing repairs and a mould wash to the living room. However, there were delays and therefore it should pay the resident compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused. We have made an order that the landlord pay the resident £200. This sum reflects our remedies guidance which says such a sum would be payable where there has been a failure which adversely affected the resident but did not cause a permanent impact.

Complaint handling

46. In its complaint handling the landlord acknowledged the delays in providing both of its complaint responses. It apologised and offered £50 compensation at stage 1, which it increased to £150 at stage 2, to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused.
47. On 31 January 2024 the resident spoke to the landlord about the costs of running the dehumidifier. The landlord told her she could submit a low-level compensation claim. This was after the stage 1 complaint response. However, the resident was still using the dehumidifier when she escalated her complaint to stage 2 and therefore the landlord should have considered this as part of its stage 2 complaint investigation. Whilst we do not know the exact date the landlord removed the dehumidifier from the resident’s property we can see from internal correspondence that it was still in use until at least 2 September 2024. The landlord’s Putting Things Right Policy states it will consider reimbursing residents for the cost of running a dehumidifier at £2 per day. We have therefore made an order below to reflect this.
48. Due to the delays and the failure to consider reimbursement for the costs of using the dehumidifier, there was maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. Whilst the landlord attempted to put things right by apologising and offering compensation, having considered our remedies guidance, a fairer level of compensation would be £200.

Determination

49. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s report of damp in a bedroom and the associated repairs.
50. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s report of water pooling to the front of the property and the associated repairs.
51. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders and recommendations

52. The landlord must, within 4 weeks of the date of this report:
    1. Provide the resident with a full written apology for the failures identified in this report. The apology must come from a manager.
    2. Pay the resident compensation of £1,400. This is comprised of:
       1. £1,000 (an additional £450) in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the damp to the bedroom and associated repairs.
       2. £200 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the water pooling to the front of the property.
       3. £200 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
    3. Reimburse the resident in the sum of £472 for the cost of running a dehumidifier from 10 January 2024 until at least 2 September 2024 – 236 days at £2 per day.
53. This award replaces any offer made to date by the landlord through its internal complaints process. The landlord is entitled to offset against this sum any payments already made to the resident. All payments must be paid directly to the resident and not credited to the rent account unless otherwise agreed by the resident.
54. The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of how it has complied with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report.