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Southwark Council (202445302)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202445302

Southwark Council

27 August 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 resident’s report of a leak causing damp and mould at the property.
  2. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident lives in a 2-bedroom flat owned by the landlord. This is a secure tenancy that began in 1993.
  2. The resident told us the issues began in 2022. She has provided us with 2 photos of a carpet that appeared to be stained. One of the photos was dated November 2022. The landlord’s available records start in March 2023 when it arranged for asbestos to be removed from ‘boxing in’ around an internal rainwater pipe in the bedroom so that it could fix a leak. There are no records of what happened until November 2023 when it arranged to trace and repair a leak. It is unclear if this was the same leak. It was unable to resolve the leak as asbestos work was required. The asbestos work was completed in mid-December 2023, however, it is unclear when or if the leak was fixed.
  3. There is a gap in records until the resident raised a complaint on 10 September 2024. She told the landlord there was damp present in the living room, bedroom and hallway that had been ongoing since October 2022. The resident said she could not sleep in the bedroom due to damp and mould. She said the situation was affecting her mental health and she had breathing problems. The resident also reported damaged possessions (including carpets) which she said were caused by damp and mould.
  4. The landlord sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response on 23 September 2024. It told her:
    1. It had arranged to inspect the affected areas on 30 September 2024. It would then arrange any remedial works.
    2. Leak – It arranged work on 23 July 2024 following her report that the leak was affecting the bedroom. The work involved a CCTV drain survey to identify the cause of the leak.
    3. Damaged possessions – It told her it could not consider this aspect of her complaint and that she should make a claim through her own contents insurance.
    4. It did not agree with her complaint as it had arranged an inspection, and it would then undertake any remedial works.
  5. The landlord’s inspection report of September 2024 states there was an exposed rainwater pipe in the bedroom. It confirmed there was damp and mould present. It noted the resident stated the issues had been ongoing for 3 years. It recommended scaffolding was erected to check defective pointing. It said works would be arranged and a further inspection would be carried out in 2 months to check the property had dried out before it arranged remedial work.
  6. The resident remained dissatisfied and contacted the landlord on 1 October 2024. The landlord acknowledged the complaint the same day and sent its stage 2 complaint response on 6 February 2025. It told her it had investigated the issues from 1 year prior to her complaint in line with its complaints policy. It apologised for its delayed response and agreed with the complaint as there had been significant delays in completing remedial works. It gave her the following explanation:
    1. Following the CCTV investigations, it found an ongoing leak affecting the main bedroom and living room wall. It arranged the works on 2 October 2024. It arranged scaffolding for pointing work, however, it failed to arrange full remedial works. It recognised its poor management of works.
    2. It arranged to start remedial work on 31 January 2025, however, there were delays partly due to the resident being in hospital. It had arranged to contact the resident no later than 14 February 2025. It had arranged to monitor the works.
    3. It offered the resident compensation for a delayed period of 15 weeks: £350 consisting of £150 delay in works (£10 per week for 15 weeks), £150 distress (£10 per week for 15 weeks) and £50 delayed stage 2 complaint response. It told her that if there were further delays it would re-evaluate the level of compensation.
    4. It gave the resident details of its insurance to make a claim about the resident’s reports of adverse impact on health.
  7. The landlord’s records of 30 April 2025 refer to a damp and mould inspection. It said it had arranged to treat the mould, apply a stain block, and redecorate the area.
  8. The resident provided us with an update on 7 August 2025. She told us that the full extent of remedial work had not been completed, however, it is unclear what work remains outstanding.

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. The landlord has signposted the resident to its insurer.
  2. The resident told us the leak, damp and mould began in 2022. In the interest of fairness our investigation timeline will begin from March 2023, the point at which the landlord’s records first show issues in relation to the rainwater pipe. There is a gap in evidence from March 2023 to November 2023 and it is unclear whether the events are linked, however, the evidence suggests the recurring issues had been ongoing since at least March 2023. We will continue our assessment of events after the landlord’s final complaint response (February 2025) given remedial work remains outstanding.

The resident’s reports of a leak causing damp and mould at the property.

  1. When investigating complaints involving damp and mould, we will consider whether the landlord has fully and fairly investigated the issue, engaged independent expertise where appropriate, and communicated effectively with the resident. The landlord’s response should reflect the resident’s individual circumstances, including any vulnerabilities or health concerns.
  2. The landlord’s records show it was aware of a leak in March 2023. It attended the property, but it was unable to complete repairs as asbestos work was required. It is unclear from the evidence when or if the leak was resolved. The next report of a leak was in November 2023, and asbestos work was completed in mid-December 2023, however, again, it is unclear if the leak was resolved. Given the leak was on the same rainwater pipe situated in the bedroom, it is reasonable to conclude that this was a recurring issue.
  3. The landlord is obliged, in accordance with section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, to ensure that a property is fit for human habitation and free from hazards at the start and throughout the tenancy.
  4. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it will attend to emergency repairs within 24 hours and urgent work within 3 days. It was reasonable to expect the landlord to attend to rectify a leak affecting the internal fabric of the property as an emergency or urgent repair, depending on its severity.
  5. Where asbestos is present, landlords must follow the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 to decide on appropriate action. Asbestos is a hazard in the Housing Act 2004 and must be managed using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The landlord has an asbestos policy to ensure it complies with safe working practices. While it was appropriate for the landlord to stop work until the asbestos had been dealt with, the landlord’s lack of records make it difficult to establish whether the leak was resolved.
  6. We expect landlord’s to keep robust records to manage their repairs service effectively. Without essential records, the landlord does not have an audit of its actions to satisfy itself that it fulfilled its repair obligations. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information (KIM – May 2023) and our Spotlight report on repairs and maintenance – repairing trust (May 2025) for best practice.
  7. There is a gap in records up until the resident made a complaint to the landlord in mid-September 2024. The resident said she had been contacting the landlord many times about the same issue during this period. She was concerned that she could not sleep in the bedroom due to the leak, damp, and mould which she said was impacting on her health. She had also reported damage to her personal possessions.
  8. The landlord told her it had arranged to inspect the issues at the end of September 2024. It told her she could not claim for damaged possessions through its insurance provider. It did not provide her with the reasons why it had made this decision. It directed her to make a claim through her own contents insurance.
  9. Landlords are required to consider the condition of properties using a risk assessment approach – HHSRS. The HHSRS does not specify any minimum standards, but it is concerned with avoiding or minimising potential health hazards.
  10. We expect landlords to consider the individual circumstances of residents, including any health vulnerabilities, when responding to reports of damp and mould. This includes assessing whether a decant is appropriate and ensuring timely communication throughout the process.
  11. The landlord’s action in arranging an inspection of the property was appropriate. However, from the inspection report records, there is no evidence it risk assessed the situation and considered the resident’s individual circumstances in line with the HHSRS. This is a concern given the resident had reported health issues, damaged possessions and said she could not sleep in the bedroom. The landlord’s inactions were therefore inappropriate causing distress and inconvenience to the resident. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight report on damp and mould – ‘it’s not lifestyle’ (October 2021) for best practice.
  12. Further, it was inappropriate that the landlord denied her an opportunity to make a claim for damaged possessions through its public liability insurance. While it is not our role to comment on whether a public liability claim would be successful, we expect landlords to signpost residents to their insurance provider in these circumstances.
  13. After the inspection, the landlord arranged work to check pointing, however, it delayed in arranging the full extent of remedial works. This was inappropriate causing delays in resolving the issues and adding to the residents distress.
  14. Within the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 6 February 2025, it agreed with her complaint and told her it had not managed the work effectively. It acknowledged there had been significant delays in resolving the issues. It compensated the resident £300 to cover a delayed 15-week period.
  15. The landlord arranged an inspection of the property at the end of April 2025 and then arranged remedial works. It appears that the leak had been resolved at this stage as the landlord arranged remedial works including mould treatment and redecoration, however, while some of the remedial works remain outstanding, it is unclear of the extent of these works.
  16. 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.
  17. While the landlord recognised some of its failures in its handling of the leak, damp, and mould at the property we are not satisfied it recognised the full extent or the duration of its failure, nor did it put things right for the resident through its offer of £300 compensation. This is because there is evidence the leak had been ongoing since 2023. However, the landlord’s poor record keeping make it difficult to establish the extent of its failures at this earlier point. Nevertheless, it was clear there was a recurring issue with the rain water pipe situated in the bedroom and this impacted the resident’s use of the bedroom from at least March 2023. There was then a further delay in repairing the leak of approximately 7 months (October 2024 to April 2025), and it appears that the full extent of remedial work remains incomplete at the time of the investigation.
  18. Further, there is no evidence the landlord considered the resident’s individual circumstances and risk assessed the situation. This is a concern given the resident told the landlord early within the events that she could not sleep in the bedroom and damp was impacting her health.
  19. For these reasons we have found maladministration with the landlord’s handling of the leak, damp, and mould at the property. The resident was significantly impacted by the landlord’s failures and recurring issues for a prolonged period of around 25 months (March 2023 to April 2025). The landlord is therefore ordered to compensate the resident £2160 (based on £20 per week over a 108-week period ) in recognition of the significant impact caused to the resident, including the distress and inconvenience she experienced. This amount of compensation is aligned to our remedies guidance for failures causing a significant impact on the resident.
  20. In addition to the compensation order, further orders have been included below for the landlord to apologise and for it to provide the resident with a clear action plan for resolving any outstanding works at the property. The landlord is also ordered to signpost the resident to its public liability insurance team in relation to her reports about damaged possessions.

Complaint handling

  1. The resident raised a complaint to the landlord on 10 September 2024. The landlord acknowledged her complaint 2 days later and told her it would respond at stage 1 of its complaints procedure on 26 September 2024. It sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response on 23 September 2024.
  2. Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states that a complaint must be acknowledged within 5 working days and issue its full response within 10 working days. The landlord therefore complied with the Code.
  3. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and escalated her complaint to the landlord on 1 October 2024. The landlord acknowledged a stage 2 complaint on the same day. There is no evidence it contacted the resident to agree an extension leading to resident chase ups. The landlord delayed in providing its full stage 2 complaint response until 6 February 2025.
  4. The landlord complied with the requirements of the Code to acknowledge requests for a stage 2 complaint within 5 working days.
  5. The Code states that landlord’s must issue a final response to the stage 2 within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint. It must inform the resident of the expected timescale for response which must be no more than 20 working days.
  6. It was inappropriate that the landlord failed to comply with the Code and delayed by 4 months in issuing its full response without providing an explanation to the resident. This caused the resident time and trouble in chasing the landlord for a response.
  7. The landlord recognised its delayed response when it sent the resident its stage 2 complaint letter. It apologised and offered her £50 compensation. We are therefore satisfied that the landlord put things right for the resident through its apology and compensation offer. The landlord should however reflect on the significant delay in its stage 2 response and tell us how it will learn from its failure.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the resident’s reports of a leak causing damp and mould at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Scheme there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord should write to the resident and apologise for the failures identified within the report.
  2. Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord should pay the resident compensation of £2160 (this includes the landlord’s offer of £300).
  3. Within 4 weeks of the report the landlord should provide the resident and our Service with its action plan of outstanding work and timescales for completion.
  4. Within 4 weeks of the report the landlord should provide us with evidence that it has signposted the resident to its insurance department to make a claim under its public liability insurance in relation to the resident’s report of damaged possessions.
  5. The landlord should reply to our Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescales set out above.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should confirm it has paid the resident £50 compensation in relation to its complaint handling failure.
  2. The landlord should provide us with its learning from its complaint handling in relation to how it will improve its response timeframes to ensure compliance with the Code.
  3. The landlord should confirm its position on the recommendations