London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202334169)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202334169

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

13 September 2024

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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.
The Ombudsman has also considered the complaint handling in this case.

Background

The resident lives in a 2 bedroom ground floor flat on an assured tenancy agreement that began in December 2021. The resident has 2 children, one child is autistic and the other child has respiratory issues.
The landlord moved the resident out of her home in February 2023 to April 2023 to allow it to conduct damp and mould work at the property. However, the damp and mould returned and she started to report concerns to the landlord around November 2023.
The landlord arranged for mould to be cleaned and treated in the main bedroom in mid-November 2023. The resident remained concerned about damp and mould and raised a complaint with the landlord in mid-December 2023. The resident was concerned about the effect of damp and mould on her child who had respiratory issues. The resident also reported to the landlord that her possessions were damaged by the recurring mould. The resident requested the landlord move her to an alternative property.
The landlord responded to the resident’s complaint in mid-December 2023 at stage 1 of its complaints procedure. However, it did not tell her what it would do to resolve the damp and mould and instead it said it would be in touch to provide an update. The landlord did, however, give the resident details of how she could make an insurance claim for damaged possessions.
The resident escalated her complaint at the end of December 2023, however, the resident had to contact the landlord on several occasions to find out what was happening with the complaint. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s contact and told her it would arrange an inspection of the property. This Service intervened and told the landlord to respond to the resident by 12 February 2024.
The landlord responded to the resident on 12 February 2024. It recognised its failure to complete full damp works from the original work order in 2023. It apologised for its late complaint response and agreed to stay connected with the resident with updates. The landlord offered the resident a total of £700 compensation for its failures that included £100 for its poor complaint handling.
The resident continued to contact the landlord for updates. She remained concerned about the effect of damp and mould on her children’s health and asked the landlord to move her to alternative accommodation. The landlord told her she did not need to move as the proposed work was to be conducted externally. In March 2024, the landlord told the resident it had priced up the required work.
The landlord conducted additional mould treatment work to the bedrooms towards the end of May 2024, but was still waiting on a start date for the full schedule of damp and mould works.
The landlord started partial work to replace a boundary wall, in August 2024. It is unclear if this is related to the damp and mould work, however, it was packaged as part of the landlord’s specification of works. The resident has recently told this Service she does not know when the full schedule of work is to start at the property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

The resident’s complaint refers to her children’s health conditions being affected by the damp and mould. We do not doubt the resident’s concerns in relation to her children’s health, but 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. However, where we identify landlord failings, we can assess the distress and inconvenience sustained by the resident because of the landlord’s actions.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.

The resident reported damp and mould at her home. The landlord moved her to alternative accommodation in February 2023 to April 2023 to allow it to conduct work at the property. The repairs conducted involved drainage work, however, the full specification of work has not been provided to this Service. The resident noticed damp and mould returned to the property around November 2023. The landlord has not provided the record of the resident’s contact and so the exact date of her report or the extent of damp and mould within the property is unknown.
The landlord ‘cleaned and shielded’ damp and mould areas in the main bedroom on 16 November 2023. The landlord said that when a resident reports damp and mould, it will conduct a ‘healthy homes’ assessment to identify any repairs required and a ‘clean and shield’ treatment will be applied to the areas. It says it will monitor the area for 12 months and it will provide regular communication with the resident. Due to the landlord’s lack of records, there is no evidence to support whether it assessed the damp and mould or whether it went ahead and arranged the ‘clean and shield’ treatment without first conducting an assessment.
It is important for the landlord to demonstrate it had fully assessed the damp and mould and identified any potential hazards and risks, even more so given the recurring issue and the resident’s reported vulnerabilities. Without robust records, the landlord cannot evidence or demonstrate the events that it conducted to effectively manage the damp and mould.
The resident remained concerned about damp and mould and on 14 December 2023, she telephoned the landlord for an update. The landlord recorded the resident was “very upset” and reported the mould was affecting her child’s breathing. The resident also reported her furniture and personal possessions were affected by the mould and some of these possessions had been replaced 6 months previously because of the same recurring damp and mould issue. The resident requested to be moved to an alternative property as she did not believe the property was safe for her children. The resident asked the landlord to raise a complaint because of the landlord’s lack of response to the issues.
The landlord acknowledged and responded to the resident’s complaint at stage 1 of its complaints procedure on 15 December 2023. It told her its specialist contractor had recently visited her home and the landlord would contact her with an update. It gave the resident details of how she could make an insurance claim for her damaged possessions. Despite the resident’s concerns about the effect of damp and mould on her children and her possessions, it is of concern the landlord was not proactive about owning the response to provide her with details of how it would resolve the ongoing damp and mould.
The resident responded to the landlord on 18 December 2023 to say she had already submitted an insurance claim on 25 October 2023. However, the insurer had told her it could not progress the claim until the landlord had confirmed the damage had been caused by damp and mould. The resident was concerned the landlord had been “unresponsive” for several weeks. The resident told the landlord the damp and mould issue had been ongoing since she moved to the property in January 2022, she had already been decanted once, she was concerned about her child’s health and her GP had written to the landlord due to the child’s breathing and sinus issues. The resident believed “events were repeating themselves.”
The resident contacted the landlord on 31 December 2023 to escalate her complaint. She contacted the landlord again on 4 January 2024 to ask it to confirm it had escalated her complaint. The resident then had to chase up the landlord again on 9 January 2024 and 14 January 2024. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 15 January 2024 and told her it was arranging an inspection of her home. The same day, the landlord arranged for a CCTV drain survey to be conducted at the property.
The resident contacted this Service on 26 January 2024 because she was dissatisfied with the way the landlord was managing the damp and mould complaint. This Service intervened and formally requested the landlord respond to the resident by 12 February 2024.
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 5 February 2024 at stage 2 of its complaints procedure and responded on 12 February 2024 when it apologised for its late response and provided the following information:
1. Major damp work had previously been undertaken at the property that included drainage work. The resident was decanted to allow the work to be conducted. The installation of drainage should have stopped damp and mould. However, the work had not been completed correctly and only part of the drainage work had been completed. It apologised for its failings and it acknowledged the situation had caused the resident severe disruption.
2. It would arrange for the outstanding drainage work to be completed and additional work to remove and rebuild external walls.
3. It assured the resident all work was external and so there was no need to decant her again.
4. It had spoken to its insurance department and it had confirmed damp and mould was present at the property and had affected personal items.
5. It agreed to stay connected with the resident to ensure she was kept updated.
6. It agreed there had been failures in the following areas:
  1. Its stage 1 complaint had not been thorough.
  2. Its stage 2 complaint was delayed.
  3. Work remained outstanding to stop damp and mould.
  4. The resident’s vulnerabilities had not been considered.
7. The landlord offered the resident £700 compensation as follows:
  1. £160 – Distress for failure to recognise the impact on the resident due to vulnerabilities.
  2. £160 – Inconvenience for its failure to recognise the impact on the resident due to vulnerabilities.
  3. £200 – Incomplete work.
  4. £80 – Time and effort to resolve the complaint.
  5. £100 – Poor complaint handling.
The resident contacted the landlord on 15 February 2024 as she had found more mould on her possessions and she sent a video to the landlord as evidence. The resident expressed her concerns as she did not feel the proposed work would resolve the recurring damp and mould. She requested a move to an alternative property. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s contact on the same day and told her it would investigate her concerns urgently.
The resident had to contact the landlord again in March 2024 as she had not heard from the landlord. The landlord responded to the resident on 20 March 2024 to say it had priced up the proposed work and it would contact the resident again the same week with an update. The resident continued to chase the landlord during April 2024 and on 11 April 2024, the landlord responded with an update on proposed work that entailed the following:
1. Repointing and render repairs.
2. Remedy ‘bridged’ damp proof course.
3. Fit thermal boards to 2 bedroom external walls, skim and decorate the rooms.
4. Extend a drainage ‘aco channel’ .
5. Build new walls to the front garden and fit a fence to the top of the wall.
6. Re–concrete front garden.
7. Mould wash treatment.
On 23 May 2024, the landlord provided a damp and mould report that evidenced before and after photographs of mould treatment in the bedrooms at the property.
The resident has told this Service she received an update from the landlord on 5 June 2024 to say it had approved the proposed work and it would meet the contractor on site within the next few weeks.
On 10 June 2024, the resident said the landlord contacted her and told her she would not be moved to alternative accommodation as the work could go ahead while she lived at the property.
On 12 June 2024, the resident said the landlord visited her home and told her its contractor would arrange a start date for the proposed works.
The landlord provided a drain service report dated 15 July 2024 that confirmed no issues. It recommended a check to be conducted inside the property.
The resident provided an update to this Service on 4 September 2024 and copy emails from the landlord. The evidence shows an external boundary wall has been replaced. While it is unclear if the boundary wall work is part of the damp and mould work, the landlord agreed with the resident for this work to be undertaken within the specification of damp and mould works. The resident also reports the drainage contractor visited her home and told her standing sewage water was found under the property and the pipes are cracked. The resident is awaiting a response from the landlord.
By the landlord’s own admission, it had not completed the full extent of damp and mould work from February 2023 and this resulted in recurring damp and mould at the property. The landlord failed to demonstrate it had risk assessed the damp and mould in November 2023, it has delayed significantly in starting the work, and it failed to keep the resident informed throughout this process. In doing so, the landlord therefore failed to proactively manage the damp and mould work at the property. The landlord’s failings were aggravated as it did not demonstrate it took into account the resident’s individual circumstances and her concerns about the effect of damp and mould on her children’s health.
The landlord has committed to conduct a ‘healthy homes’ assessment for all damp and mould reports. While it did conduct mould treatment at the property, its lack of record keeping meant it could not demonstrate it had assessed the damp and mould present in accordance with its ‘healthy homes’ process. It is important that the landlord keeps to its commitment so that it can demonstrate it complies with its duties under the Housing Act 2004 in relation to the assessment of hazards and risks at the property.
The landlord’s record keeping must support its complaints process and be able to be interrogated respectively to facilitate learning and continuous improvement. The failure of the landlord to have in place or demonstrate the ability to undertake these actions is unreasonable and has contributed to ineffective management of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
When the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint at stage 2 of its procedure, it apologised and acknowledged its failures to complete initial damp works, and it had not taken account of the resident’s vulnerabilities. The landlord committed to keep the resident updated with its plan of works. The landlord offered the resident £600 compensation to put things right. It also committed to stay connected with the resident and complete the damp and mould work.
Despite the landlord’s commitment to stay connected with the resident and ensure damp and mould work was completed at the property, the work remains outstanding. The landlord’s prolonged delays of 10 months to start damp and mould work has caused significant impact on the resident of distress and inconvenience. These prolonged delays coupled with the resident’s vulnerabilities and its failure to proactively manage damp and mould work cumulatively amount to severe maladministration
Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord puts things right and resolves the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so, the Ombudsman considers whether the redress was in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Principles of: Be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
The landlord had recognised most of its failures and attempted to put things right when it responded to the resident at stage 2 of its process. The landlord offered the resident £600 compensation. However, this amount does not reflect the level of distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s failures or compensate for the issues still not being fully resolved in the time of writing this report. This amount of compensation falls short of what the Ombudsman would expect where there are severe failings and significant impact on the resident.
The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance states where the landlord repeatedly failed to provide the same service which had a seriously detrimental impact on the resident and its failures accumulated over a significant period of time, it is appropriate to compensate the resident in the region of £1000, depending upon the individual circumstances of the case. Given the resident had already had significant impact due to the landlord’s inability to resolve the damp and mould work since February 2023, it is appropriate for the landlord to compensate the resident £1500 in this case.

Complaint handling

The resident raised a complaint to the landlord on 14 December 2023. The landlord acknowledged her complaint the following day and provided its stage 1 response at the same time. The landlord therefore complied with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code target of responding to a stage 1 complaint within 10 working days.
The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response did not provide any information about how it would tackle the recurring damp and mould at the property. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code states landlords shall address all points raised in the complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate. The landlord’s failure to provide the resident with a response that answered her complaint in full was not compliant with the Code. It also missed an opportunity to put things right for the resident and reassure her how it could proactively manage the issues going forward.
The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlords complaint response and escalated her complaint on 31 December 2023. The resident had to contact the landlord on several occasions in an attempt to progress her complaint. This Service had to intervene on 26 January 2024 to formally request the landlord respond at stage 2 of its complaints procedure by 12 February 2024.
The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint on 5 February 2024 and provided its stage 2 response to the resident on 12 February 2024, 30 working days later and outside of the landlord’s 20 working day time frame and the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code that says landlord’s should respond to complaints within 20 working days. The landlord acknowledged and apologised to the resident for its late response. The landlord also recognised its stage 1 complaint response was not thorough and it offered the resident compensation of £100 for its poor complaint handling.
Where there are admitted failings by a landlord, the Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the redress offered by the landlord put things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so, the Ombudsman considers whether the redress was in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Principles of: Be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes. The landlord recognised its complaint handling failures within its stage 2 complaint and put things right through its offer of £100 compensation which recognised the adverse impact caused to the resident of distress and inconvenience of her chase ups to the landlord. The landlord’s offer of £100 compensation is aligned to the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.

Determination

In accordance with Paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.
In accordance with Paragraph 53(b) of the Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling

Orders and recommendations

Orders

Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord’s senior executive team should apologise in writing to the resident and provide this Service with a copy of the letter.
Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to pay compensation of £1500 to the resident in relation to the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.
Within 4 weeks of the report, the landlord should provide the resident and this Service with the following:
1. A risk assessment that is reflective of the ongoing damp and mould, the areas affected and the resident’s individual circumstances and reported vulnerabilities. This should be considered in line with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
2. Its action plan and schedule including timescales to complete damp and mould work at the property. This should include a proactive communication plan with the resident and include an update on the issues identified in her communication to this Service on 4 Sep 24, namely the reports of standing sewage water and cracked pipes.
In accordance with paragraph 54(g) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord should conduct a review of the key failures highlighted in this report. Within 10 weeks, it should present this review to its senior leadership team and provide the Ombudsman with a report summarising its identified improvements. It is noted the landlord has self assessed against the Ombudsman’s damp and mould Spotlight report (October 21). The review should include, but may not be limited to:
1. Understand why the landlord was unable to evidence it had undertaken a ‘healthy homes’ assessment, why the records of this assessment were incomplete and why actions required under the assessment were not completed, and any changes it needs to make to ensure this assessment is embedded.

The landlord is free to include other issues. Identified improvements should be cascaded to its relevant staff for learning and improvement purposes.

Recommendations

Reasonable redress is contingent on the landlord’s payment of £100 compensation to the resident in relation to its complaint handling failures. The landlord is to provide this Service with evidence of payment.
It is recommended that the landlord clarifies Its position in relation to the resident’s request for a move to alternative accommodation.
The landlord should reply to this Service with evidence of compliance with these orders and its response to the recommendations within the timescales set out above.