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Peabody Trust (202345853)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202345853

Peabody Trust

25 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 reports of leaks, bathroom repairs, damp, and mould at the property.
  2. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident lives in a ground floor flat on an assured tenancy with the landlord that began in 2020. We note the resident’s concerns that she states her mental and physical health has suffered as a result of the leaks and associated work.
  2. The complaint involves 2 separate leaks. The first report of a leak was at the end of March 2023. The landlord attended the property in April 2023; it established the leak was from the condense pipe of the boiler in the upper flat that was running through the bathroom fan in the resident’s home. It left the fan working, however it ordered a new fan to be fitted. The leak was not resolved straight away. This resulted in resident chase ups in early May 2023. In mid-May 2023 the landlord confirmed there was no leak and the areas were dry. It  completed plaster and repaint work to affected areas on 30 June 2023.
  3. The resident reported the same issue again involving a leak from the upper flat (date unknown). The landlord visited on 30 September 2023 and recommended work on a boiler flue in the upper flat to stop the leak. During October 2023 it arranged to fit a boiler flue cover.
  4. On 10 October 2023 the resident reported the bathroom floor had been damaged as a result of a separate leak in the shower area. The landlord attended on 16 October 2023. It noted floorboards were rotten and recommended these were removed to trace the leak which it believed may be from the shower waste pipe. Following work to remove the floorboards, it recommended the shower tray was raised. It attended on 14 November 2023 and reported completion of work on 5 December 2023. Its records showed it completed a reseal of the shower tray and not the full extent of work. The leak continued and further damage was caused to the bathroom floor.
  5. At the beginning of November 2023, the landlord adjusted pipework on the outside wall to prevent water penetration to the resident’s home. It is unclear if this was the pipework from the boiler condense pipe related to the upper flat or if this related to a separate pipe. During November 2023 and December 2023, it attended to inspect the bathroom floor. There was some confusion about the extent of work that was required. Damage was caused to the floor covering, leaving the floor exposed.
  6. The resident raised a complaint with the landlord on 21 December 2023. She said she was “disgusted and exhausted” with the landlord’s lack of action. She stated she had repair issues since moving into her home which she said was making her “physically ill due to the unhygienic bathroom environment”. She said the leak on the shower tray had caused damp and mould and she was unable to use the bathroom due to “chipped wood all over the floor.”
  7. The landlord sent its stage 1 response on 9 January 2024. It said it could only investigate issues that had occurred in the last 6 months as per its complaints policy. It apologised for delays in completing work and it offered the resident £350 compensation. It committed to reviewing this sum upon completion of work. It agreed to monitor works, and it appointed an officer as a main point of contact for the resident.
  8. The landlord booked in work for 10 January 2024 and 12 January 2024 to remove the shower tray, remove floorboards, trace and repair the leak, treat the mould, rebuild the shower tray, replace the floor and floor covering. It reported work was complete on 23 February 2024.
  9. The resident raised a stage 2 complaint with the landlord on 5 April 2024. The landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response on 15 May 2024. It decided to investigate issues further back from March 2023. It upheld her complaint due to delayed works, lack of coordination, poor information management, lack of risk assessment and lack of communication. It acknowledged that it should have considered moving the resident out while it completed the work. It also acknowledged its complaint handling failures and said it had reminded staff of their duty to communicate with residents throughout the repairs journey. It increased its compensation offer to £996.84. This was broken down as:
    1.  £246.84 (15% of monthly rent) for 2 months. This covered the period from removal of the bathroom floor (December 2023) to repair (February 2024).
    2. £650-time, trouble, and inconvenience.
    3. £100 delays in responding to the stage 2 complaint.
  10. In September 2024 the resident told us she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s actions. She told us bathroom work had been completed, however a wall was damp. It is unclear which wall this related to or if the work was linked to the leak on the condense boiler or if this is a separate issue. She told us she remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s level of compensation. The landlord recently confirmed that all work has been completed at the property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident refers to her health deteriorating due to damp and mould at the property. This Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impact on health and wellbeing. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation, are not part of the complaints process, and are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim.
  2. The landlord’s timeframe of investigating issues in the bathroom start from March 2023. In the interest of fairness, our investigation will also focus on the same timeline as this is consistent with our evidence and timeline of events.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, damp, mould, and bathroom repairs at the property.

Leak 1

  1. At the end of March 2023, the resident reported issues with a leak. The landlord attended towards the end of April 2023. It noted the ceilings and walls were wet and the leak needed to be resolved. It had established water was leaking through the bathroom fan from the condense pipe on the boiler in the upper flat. It arranged to replace the bathroom fan, however, there is no evidence the leak was resolved resulting in resident chase ups in early May 2023. The landlord confirmed there was no leak in mid-May 2023; it followed up with remedial work during May 2023 and June 2023. This involved plaster and repainting affected areas.
  2. Around September 2023 the resident reported the same issues with a leak from the upper flat. The landlord attended at the end of September 2023 and recommended work on the boiler flue in the upper flat. It is unclear when work was completed, however, evidence suggests this was around the beginning of November 2023.
  3. The landlord was under a duty to repair the leak and associated work within a reasonable time of being given notice of an issue. This is set out in the written tenancy agreement and the implied terms in section 11(1)(c) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  4. The landlord’s repairs policy states it will attend and complete emergency work within 4 hours or, if out–of–hours make it safe within 24 hours. Non-urgent work is to be completed within 28 calendar days.
  5. The landlord attended the initial leak within 1 month. While this is aligned to its repairs policy timescales, where there is indication of a leak causing potential damage to a property, we would expect the landlord to expedite this type of work to a more urgent timeframe which would depend on the severity of the reported leak. The landlord’s initial timeframe of 1 month to investigate a leak was therefore unreasonable.
  6. The landlord evidenced it carried out investigation works in an attempt to resolve the leak. The records indicate the issue was initially resolved in May 2023. Therefore, it took the landlord 2 months to complete work. However, we do not have full records to support the landlord’s actions to give us reassurance the issues were fully resolved at this point.
  7. In September 2023 the issue recurred suggesting the landlord’s initial investigations and remedial work were unsuccessful. The landlord resolved the issue in November 2023; 2 months later. While we understand it is not always possible to resolve issues on first attendance, given the resident had indicated it was from the boiler in the upper flat, and how the issues were affecting her health, we would expect the landlord to have a clear plan in place to investigate and resolve issues within a reasonable timeframe. The landlord’s delay and lack of coordination of work was therefore unreasonable causing additional delays, distress, and inconvenience to the resident.

Leak 2

  1. On 10 October 2023 the resident reported damage to the bathroom floor as a result of a separate leak. The landlord attended 6 days later. It noted damaged floorboards and recommended that these should be removed to trace the leak. It followed up in December 2023 and resealed around the shower. However, it did not resolve the leak or deal with the damaged floor.
  2. The landlord continued to work to resolve the issues over the following months. . On one occasion it removed part of the damaged floor covering, leaving damaged floorboards exposed. However, it failed to complete the full extent of work until towards the end of February 2024.
  3. The landlord is obliged to keep the property free from leaks, damp and mould and fit for human habitation as per the Homes (Fitness for Habitation) Act 2018 (‘the Homes Act 2018’). The landlord is obliged to respond to repairs within a reasonable timescale under the Homes Act 2018 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  4. We expect landlords to consider the individual circumstances of residents, including any health vulnerabilities, when responding to reports of leaks, damp, and mould. This includes assessing whether a decant is appropriate and ensuring timely communication throughout the process.
  5. The landlord’s initial timeframe of attending to complete works was reasonable. However, it delayed in completing follow-on work which was unreasonable, causing additional delays, distress, and inconvenience to the resident.
  6. The resident raised a complaint towards the end of December 2023. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response on 9 January 2024. It decided to investigate issues up to 6 months prior to the complaint in accordance with its complaints policy. It upheld the complaint and offered the resident £350 compensation. It committed to a review of the compensation figure once work was fully completed.
  7. The resident escalated her complaint at the beginning of April 2024, and the landlord sent its stage 2 complaint response in mid-May 2024. The landlord decided to go back further and investigate issues from March 2023. It upheld the complaint and recognised its failures in relation to:
    1. Delayed work and lack of coordination.
    2. Poor information management.
    3. Lack of risk assessment dating back to December 2023.
    4. Lack of communication.
  8. It identified learning and said it should have considered moving the resident out while it completed work. The landlord increased its compensation offer from £350 to £896.84.
  9. Where the landlord has attempted to put things right for the resident, we consider our Dispute Resolution Principles of:
    1. Be fair.
    2. Put things right.
    3. Learn from outcomes.
  10. It was positive that the landlord recognised the full extent of its failures and was transparent in how it had reached its compensation offer of £896.84. Given there were 2 months of delays in resolving the bathroom floor, it was appropriate that it recognised the disruption to the resident’s use of the bathroom and deducted a proportion of rent for this period.
  11. Additionally, we consider Its offer of £650 distress and inconvenience caused to the resident is an appropriate level to cover the significant impact caused to her throughout the full duration of its delays including the 4-month duration in resolving leak 1 in March 2023 and September 2023. We have therefore found reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the leaks, bathroom repairs and damp and mould at the property. It is however recommended the landlord contact the resident to discuss her reports about her recent reports of damp on an external wall.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident raised a complaint with the landlord towards the end of December 2023. The landlord acknowledged the complaint at the beginning of January 2024 and sent its stage 1 complaint response on 9 January 2024.
  2. The landlord responded within 10 working days and in compliance with our Code – April 2022).
  3. The resident escalated her complaint at the beginning of April 2024. The landlord sent its stage 2 response in mid-May 2024. It acknowledged its failures, it identified learning and increased its compensation offer.
  4. The landlord responded to the stage 2 complaint within 27 working days and slightly outside of the Code (April 2024) timeframe of 20 working days. The landlord recognised its delay in responding to the stage 2 complaint. It apologised to the resident and offered her compensation of £100. We consider this to be appropriate to resolve this failure. We have therefore found reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 53b there is reasonable redress in the resident reports of the landlord’s handling of leaks, bathroom repairs, damp, and mould at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Scheme there is reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Recommendations

  1. If not already done so, the landlord should pay the resident the £996.84 compensation it offered during the complaints process.
  2. It is recommended that the landlord should arrange to contact the resident to discuss her reports about the damp on an external wall.
  3. The landlord should confirm its position on the recommendations.