Clarion Housing Association Limited (202420000)

Decision
Case ID	202420000
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Clarion Housing Association Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	11 December 2025

Background

1. The resident lives in a 3 bedroom semi–detached house. There were repair issues with the gable wall that were causing damp and mould inside the property. When the landlord did not complete the repairs, the resident raised a complaint.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Reports of damp and mould.
   2. The complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found that:
   1. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould.
   2. There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The resident’s reports of damp of mould

4. There were delays in completing repairs and the landlord offered some compensation in the complaints process. However, it did not fully consider the extent of the delays or the impact they would have had on the resident until 12 months after the stage 2 response.

Complaint handling

5. The landlord was late responding at both stages of the complaints process but it acknowledged the delays and awarded compensation. However, it did not show that it carried out a thorough and robust investigation through the complaint process.

 

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 08 January 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident an additional £100 compensation for the failures identified in this report in relation to its handling of the complaint. It must also pay the previous compensation awards it offered, including: £500 awarded at stage 1. £1201.67 awarded at stage 2. £800 awarded in August 2025. The total amount of compensation to be paid is £2601.67. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 08 January 2026

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
12 February 2024	The resident had repairs in her home that needed fixing, including repointing the gable wall, which caused damp and mould inside. She was frustrated from having to chase the landlord to fix the issues. Due to the amount of time the repairs had been outstanding, she raised a new complaint.
24 May 2024	The landlord responded at stage 1. It said damp and mould was first reported in November 2023, work had been completed but the issue persisted, and when it rained there was water ingress in the brickwork. It apologised that a lack of resources and roofers in the area, plus bad weather had contributed to delays in completing repairs. It had scheduled work to repoint and seal the gable end for 27 May 2024, and internal works on the hallway to start on 5 June 2024. It apologised for the delays and awarded £500 compensation; this was broken down as £100 for the late complaint response and £400 for delays resolving the damp and mould. On the same day the resident asked to escalate her complaint. She was unhappy with the landlord’s response and said that it had not addressed all her issues. These included: The damp and mould affected all rooms adjoining the gable wall, not just the hallway, including bedrooms and a bathroom. All these rooms needed redecorating because of damage caused by mould. Two bedrooms were unusable due to damp and mould. One child was sleeping in the living room, and another child had moved out because of mould in his room. She told the landlord that the situation affected her health and wanted it to consider the impact of its failings on her and her family.
21 August 2024	The landlord responded at stage 2. It said its investigation found that damp and mould was first reported in January 2023, not November as stated in its stage 1 response. It acknowledged service failures had contributed to delays in resolving the damp and mould and apologised. It said scaffolding would be erected on 30 August 2024 so repointing and water sealing on the gable end could be completed. It agreed that once the external works were completed, decorating would be done for all affected areas by the end of October 2024. It explained the resident would need to make a claim on its insurance if she felt her health had been impacted or personal items had been damaged by mould and provided the relevant details. Its investigation had also identified two occasions where it had missed appointments and apologised for this. It offered £1201.67 compensation broken down as: £50 for the error at stage 1 about when the issue was first raised. £30 for two missed appointments. £50 for inconvenience caused by the missed appointments. £50 for the late complaint response. £1021.67 for the loss of use of a bedroom (calculated from August 2023 to April 2024 at 25% of £505.97 for 7 months and 25% of £544.93 for 1 month)
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought the case to us to investigate as she was not satisfied with the final response from the landlord. She felt that the compensation it had offered was not sufficient for what she had experienced. In a phone call on 4 December 2025, the resident told us that the damp returned this winter but she has not yet informed the landlord. As the landlord has not had the opportunity to investigate the cause or attempt to resolve it, we have not included this in this investigation.

 

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	The handling of reports of damp and mould
Finding	Service failure

6. The resident raised a previous complaint in relation to the repairs to the gable end of the property that was causing damp and mould internally. This complaint exhausted the landlord’s complaint procedure and compensation was agreed and accepted by the resident in September 2023. This investigation therefore focuses on events from February 2024 when the resident raised a new complaint about these matters as the repairs were still not completed.
7. A surveyor attended on 4 March 2024 and after the visit, repairs were raised following the recommendations that had been made. Between 4 March and 24 May the landlord showed that it completed works such as mould treatments of the hallway, bathroom and bedroom and stain blocking and water staining in the front bedroom.
8. The landlord responded at stage 1 on 24 May 2024. It explained that a lack of resources and roofers, as well as bad weather had contributed to delays completing repairs. It said it had scheduled work to start on the gable end on 27 May 2024 and internal works were due to start on 5 June 2024.
9. It apologised for the delays and awarded £400 compensation. This was in line with its compensation policy that said compensation can be awarded when repairs have gone over target times. It was a reasonable response and showed that it considered the impact of the delays on the resident at the time.
10. Between 27 May and 21 August 2024, the landlord showed that it completed a further five jobs that it had raised, including raking out of mortar and re-pointing, sealing of the gable end and mould washes.
11. The damp and mould was not resolved by the time the landlord issued its stage 2 response on 21 August 2024. It explained that it had identified failings that had contributed to further delays including a job that had been cancelled and incorrectly referred to the wrong team. It apologised for the error. It said scaffolding was due to be erected on 30 August 2024 so external works could be completed and all works would be completed by the end of October 2024.
12. As part of her complaint the resident said she had been unable to use two bedrooms because of the damp and mould. In its stage 2 response, the landlord showed it made an assessment and agreed that one bedroom would have been unusable until it completed repairs in April 2024. Its repairs records confirm that it completed mould treatment in the bedroom on 2 April 2024. As part of the previous complaint response, it had already awarded compensation for loss of the use of this room until August 2023, so it awarded further compensation from August 2023 until April 2024 totalling £1021.67.
13. Its compensation policy says it can consider compensation when there is loss of a room for more than 28 calendar days so it was reasonable that the landlord considered the resident’s request and awarded further compensation.
14. The resident also told the landlord that personal items had been damaged by mould, these included furniture items and clothes. In its response the landlord provided information on how the resident could make a claim through its insurance policy for damaged items, or impact on health. This was appropriate as its compensation policy says it cannot consider payments for personal injury or other liability insurance claims.
15. There were many positives in the landlord’s response. It explained failures that contributed to delays, apologised and set out a clear plan with timescales for work to be completed. It identified missed appointments and awarded compensation for them. It considered the resident’s loss of a room and awarded compensation.
16. However, it failed to show it considered compensation for the further delays from May to August 2024 in completing the works, or that it took into account the impact these delays had on the resident in terms of distress and inconvenience.
17. In its stage 2 response the landlord said it would repoint and water seal the gable wall, and when this was complete it would arrange for the effected internal areas to be decorated. The landlord’s repair records show that the repointing and water sealing were completed by 15 November 2024.
18. By 14 January 2025 the landlord had completed all works, including internal decoration. It had said it would complete all works by the end of October 2024 in its stage 2 response and the additional delays were likely to have added to feelings of frustration for the resident.
19. On 25 July 2025 the landlord completed an internal review of its complaint handling in this case and awarded a further £800 compensation for the delays in resolving the leak and the distress and inconvenience caused. This will be assessed later in this report, in the handling of the complaint.
20. The landlord initially offered £1201.67 compensation at stage 2. We would not consider that to be proportionate to the findings identified in this report due to the impact the matter had on the resident and the time that the matter was outstanding.
21. After the stage 2 response, the landlord increased the compensation by £800 to recognise there had been further delays and the impact they had on the resident. This would increase the total amount to one that was reasonable in line with our remedies guidance when there was a failing that had a significant impact on the resident. However, as the increase happened after the stage 2 response, we have still made an adverse finding in line with our Scheme but have not made an award for further compensation. 

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

22. The landlord’s complaint policy says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days and within 20 working days at stage 2. If it is unable to provide a response on time, it will agree an extension of up to 20 working days. The policy aligned with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
23. The landlord was 2 days late acknowledging the stage 1 complaint and it then took a further 58 working days to provide a response. This was outside the timeframes set out in its policy. However, it acknowledged the delay in its response, apologised and awarded £100 compensation.
24. The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 24 May 2024. When the landlord did not acknowledge this, she caused a response on 12 June 2024. The landlord then sent two acknowledgements, one on 20 June and another on 2 July 2024. Both said the resident asked to escalate her complaint on 12 June 2024, which was incorrect. The duplication and errors had the potential to cause confusion for the resident and add to feelings of frustration.
25. The landlord contacted the resident on 16 July and 9 August 2024 to request an extension to its response due date, in line with its policy. It said it would provide a response by 20 August 2024, but the response was sent a day late on the 21 August 2024. The landlord acknowledged the delays at stage 2 in its response, apologised, and awarded £50 compensation.
26. Following a referral of this complaint to us, the landlord completed an internal review of its complaint handling on 25 July 2025 and found further services failures to those it had identified during the complaints process. The review it completed was thorough and comprehensive. It showed that it reviewed all its records, assessed its complaint responses, considered how it had contributed to delays and how this may have impacted the resident.
27. It told the resident that it had identified unacceptable delays to repairs during the time of the complaint process, failed visits and poor internal communication. It accepted these failures contributed to delays in resolving the issue and would have caused the resident inconvenience and awarded further compensation.
28. The Code says that landlords must consider all relevant information and evidence carefully at each stage of the complaint process. The landlord did not show that it did this during the complaints process which was unsatisfactory and not in line with the Code. This led the landlord to carrying out a further review sometime after the end of the complaints process, after the resident had referred their complaint to us.
29. In summary, there were delays at both stage 1 and 2 of the complaints process which the landlord acknowledged and awarded compensation for. However, it did not show that it had carried out a thorough and robust investigation through the complaint process and so a finding of service failure is appropriate.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

30. The landlord provided sufficient records to assist with the investigation of this complaint and responded promptly when additional information was requested.

Communication

31. The landlord acknowledged that internal communication had been poor in its review. It could consider any improvements needed for internal communication between departments to ensure it can monitor agreed actions to ensure timely completion of works.

Complaint handling

32. The review that the landlord completed on 25 July 2025 was thorough and comprehensive. The landlord could consider implementing a similar approach during the complaint process.