Norwich City Council (202315609)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202315609

Norwich City Council

30 January 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:
    1. Damp and mould reports.
    2. The resident’s complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has a secure tenancy which began on 15 November 2004. The property is a 2-bed ground floor flat. The landlord said its records indicate that the resident’s daughter has asthma.
  2. The resident reported damp and mould in the property for several years prior to her complaint. In July 2022, the resident said that recent treatment works had been unsuccessful, and the property continued to show signs of damp. In October 2022, a damp and mould survey took place and further repair and treatment works were recommended.
  3. The resident’s MP raised a stage 1 complaint on 26 January 2023 due to the outstanding damp and mould works and the landlord’s management of them. The landlord provided a response on 31 January 2023 which said that works were underway, and larger scale works to balconies were planned. The resident replied the same day and requested an escalation of the complaint as she was not satisfied with the works completed. The resident referenced the quality of the works, the attitude of the operatives and damage to her property.
  4. The landlord provided a stage 2 response on 17 March 2023 and apologised for the overall delays, saying it was due to working with “numerous agencies”. It said that damp works had been completed, the works to the balcony were due to start on 20 March 2023 and a third party damp surveyor would then attend to make an assessment.
  5. On 2 June 2023, the resident raised another stage 1 complaint about the operatives that attended earlier in the year. She questioned the quality of the workmanship and the professionalism of the operatives. The landlord provided a stage 1 response on 16 June 2023. It said that it had offered feedback to the supervisor of the operatives following the complaint. The landlord added that it had attended the property on 8 June 2023 and would be arranging any required works based on its findings. It advised that a different contractor would complete those works.
  6. In July 2023, the resident contacted this Service with her complaints and chased works with the landlord. An asbestos survey was carried out in September 2023 and a further test was carried out in November 2023. Neither identified any asbestos in the property.
  7. Following contact from this Service, the landlord provided a stage 2 complaint response on 27 November 2023. The landlord apologised for the lack of communication and progress with the damp reports. It offered a point of contact for the remaining works and said that another asbestos contractor would attend and any required damp works would be completed following this.
  8. The landlord cancelled the outstanding damp works after it said the resident refused a further asbestos survey. The resident continued to raise damp concerns with the landlord in 2024. The landlord most recently completed a damp survey on 4 November 2024. Following this survey, it raised a series of damp related works at the property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. Within her complaint submission, the resident said that she has experienced issues with damp and mould over a number of years. When she contacted this Service in July 2023, the resident made reference to the complaint which was raised on 26 January 2023.
  2. In accordance with the Housing Ombudsman Scheme in place at the time of the initial complaint, this Service may not consider complaints which were not brought to the landlord as a complaint within 6 months of the matter arising. In view of this, the scope of this investigation will be from July 2022 until the complaint process was exhausted in November 2023. We may review what occurred after the end of the complaints process in order to assess how the landlord completed actions it proposed in its complaint response(s).
  3. It is evident that in June 2023 the resident raised a second complaint with the landlord. This complaint also referred to the damp and mould within the property. When the Ombudsman requested evidence from the landlord relating to the complaint from January 2023, it provided a further stage 2 response, dated 27 November 2023, and evidence relevant to both complaints.
  4. As the central theme for both complaints is damp and mould and the landlord’s related actions, we consider it reasonable to address both complaints within this investigation.

Damp and mould reports

  1. Within this Service’s Spotlight report on damp and mould (October 2021), we said that landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue. The landlord’s own damp and mould policy states that following a resident’s report of damp and mould, a survey will be carried out within 14 days. It says that following the survey, any required works would be scheduled to start within 7 working days.
  2. After the resident reported a reoccurrence of damp and mould to the landlord on 22 July 2022, it took until 13 October 2022, 84 days later, for it to conduct a survey. This was 6 times longer than it should have taken. This is a service failing by the landlord. It showed no urgency to treat the problem and left the resident uncertain as to whether, or how, it intended to remedy the damp. This likely caused distress and inconvenience to her.
  3. During the survey, the landlord identified damp and mould at the property. It recommended structural surveys as part of its findings. It is evident that the resident had to contact the landlord repeatedly to chase the proposed damp and mould treatment works. Despite the inspection taking place on 13 October 2022, the landlord did not raise a related works order, to clear the guttering, until 21 December 2022, some 70 days later. This works order was not completed until 16 January 2023, a further 27 days later.
  4. The landlord did not raise the next set of treatment works until 4 January 2023, some 84 days after the survey was carried out. Although exact dates for the completion of those works were not provided by the landlord, it said in its complaint response that it had completed them by 27 January 2023. This meant that it took over 27 weeks for the completion of works to treat the damp and mould that the resident had reported on 22 July 2022.
  5. This is a significant service failing which caused detriment to the resident in both the time and trouble spent chasing the landlord and the overall distress and inconvenience caused by managing the damp and mould problem. The landlord was aware as early as October 2022 that the damp was affecting the resident’s bedroom and living room.
  6. Within its stage 2 response in March 2023, the landlord indicated that works to the balconies would begin shortly as part of larger scale works programme. It said that following completion of those works, a third party damp assessment would be carried out. Despite a request from this Service, it did not provide evidence of any such assessment taking place in 2023.
  7. Within its stage 1 response to the second complaint, in June 2023, the landlord said that it had attended on 8 June 2023 to review the works that were still outstanding at the property. It said that following this visit, it would arrange for a different contractor to attend and carry out those works. The landlord has not provided any evidence of its findings during that visit, or that it completed any works following it. This is another service failing by the landlord. It continued to demonstrate of lack of adequate oversight of the required damp and mould works.
  8. The landlord carried out two asbestos surveys – on 26 September 2023 and 3 November 2023. Both tests found no evidence of asbestos in the property. Landlord records from 20 November 2023 show that despite the previous two tests, it wanted to carry out a third test with another contractor present. This demonstrates a lack of adequate planning prior to the initial tests. The landlord failed to identify this requirement before attending to the appointment that occurred just 17 days earlier. This is a further service failing by the landlord as it failed to consider the inconvenience and disruption caused by carrying out the same test twice in such a short period of time. 
  9. Landlord records note that the resident refused a third asbestos survey that it proposed in its stage 2 complaint response in November 2023. Given that it had already conducted two such visits in the previous 3 months, it is understandable that the resident questioned the need for a third visit.
  10. It is evident that following the noted refusal, the landlord cancelled all remedial works around damp and mould. The landlord wrote to the resident on 6 December 2023 and advised her of its cancellation of those works. The landlord said it would look to mediate the situation with her. The landlord provided no evidence of making any attempts to mediate with the resident, despite a request from this Service.
  11. In February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord again about the outstanding damp and mould works. She said she had not refused any works and questioned why the landlord did not attempt the mediation it had proposed. Following the resident’s contact in February 2024, landlord records show that it acknowledged the outstanding works at the property. However, it is evident that it took until 4 November 2024 for the landlord to carry out a further damp survey. The landlord advised that works were due to take place in January 2025.
  12. Ultimately, the landlord failed to ensure that its response to the resident’s concerns about damp and mould were timely or reflected the urgency of the issues. During the complaint period, it carried out some treatment works but its actions fell outside the timeframes set out in its damp and mould policy. The works that it completed were insufficient and have not provided a lasting solution to damp and mould problems that the resident experienced for years prior to her complaints. Given the number of reports from the resident over the years, the landlord should have sought to identify the source of the problem, rather than just continuing to treat the visible effects of it.
  13. Although it is evident that the landlord recently carried out the required assessment and scheduled works, the overall time taken was unreasonable. Even after raising the two complaints considered in this report, the resident had to continue to chase the landlord. It was almost a year after the complaint response in November 2023 before the landlord took the actions proposed in its responses to both complaints.
  14. The landlord failed to demonstrate necessary oversight of works to address the long-standing damp and mould. Had it done so, the resident’s living conditions could have been improved much sooner. This would have reduced the significant detriment caused to the resident in having to live with the problem and chasing the landlord to act. The delays extended over a period of more than 2 years and the landlord’s approach was apparently confused with repeated inspections and a lack of clarity on how it would eradicate the cause of damp and mould. Having considered the service failings identified, the Ombudsman makes a finding of severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould reports.

The resident’s complaint

  1. The landlord’s complaint policy says that it will provide an acknowledgement of a stage 2 escalation within 5 working days of receiving it. The landlord’s records do not show any acknowledgement of the escalation request from 31 January 2023.
  2. The complaint policy says that it should provide a stage 2 response within 20 working days. In this instance, it took 34 working days. The resident was not informed of any delay, or the reason for it. Although it is understandable that delays can happen, it would be reasonable for the landlord to keep the resident informed of the current state of play with their complaint.
  3. The complaints policy says that the landlord will confirm its understanding of the reason for the escalation and seek any clarification needed. Within the resident’s escalation request, she questioned the workmanship and the attitude of the operatives that attended her property in January 2023.
  4. It is clear the landlord did not have a full understanding of the escalation request as it did not address this area of the complaint within its response in March 2023. Had it done so, this could have prevented the need for a second complaint in June 2023, which was primarily about the same issues she raised within the January 2023 escalation request.
  5. It is clear from the resident’s second complaint raised months later that she felt strongly about her interactions with the operatives. It is understandable that she raised a second complaint given that those concerns were ignored within the first complaint investigation. This is a service failing by the landlord as it did not act in line with its own policy. The resident was left feeling her concerns were ignored. Having considered these failings, the Ombudsman makes a finding of service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould reports.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders

  1. Within 28 days of this report, a senior manager of the landlord is required to provide an apology to the resident either in person, or in writing. The resident should be given the option as to how the apology will be delivered.
  2. Within 28 days of this report, the landlord is ordered to make a compensation payment of £1,200 to the resident, made up of:
    1. £1,100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of damp and mould reports;
    2. £100 for the time and trouble caused by its handling of her complaint.
  3. Within 28 days of the date of this report, the landlord should complete a damp and mould survey. This should be done by a surveyor who has not previously attended the property. A risk assessment should be carried out to consider whether the damp and mould represents a health hazard.
  4. The survey should ensure that all possible causes of damp and mould have been repaired and that all remedial works have been completed to a good standard. If any further repairs are required, it should put in place a schedule of works with proposed timescales for completion.
  5. The landlord should provide a copy of the survey report to the resident within 14 days of the inspection along with details of the timescales for any works that it finds to be outstanding. It should offer a specific point of contact who she can speak to for regular updates pending completion of works.
  6. The landlord must reply to this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescales set out above.