Southern Housing (202514381)

Decision
Case ID	202514381
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Southern Housing
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	12 December 2025

Background

The resident is unhappy her home is damp and cold. She says the landlord has done many mould washes but has not taken lasting action to resolve the root cause of the water ingress, more than 2 years after she first reported the problem.

What the complaint is about

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
We have also investigated the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found that there was:
1. maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould
2. reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the complaint

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

Summary of reasons

Damp and mould

The landlord did not complete repairs within a reasonable timescale and has not fulfilled the commitments it made in its stage 2 response, more than 18 months after this was sent.

Complaint handling

While there were failings by the landlord in its complaint handling at both stages, it recognised this in its responses and offered appropriate compensation.

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 provided by a senior manager 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 09 January 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1,200 made up as follows: £700 offered by the landlord in its stage 2 response £500 for to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its continued failure to carry out lasting repairs 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 09 January 2026

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

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 provided by a senior manager
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

09 January 2026

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £1,200 made up as follows:

£700 offered by the landlord in its stage 2 response
£500 for to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its continued failure to carry out lasting repairs

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

09 January 2026

Completing the works

The landlord must take all steps to ensure the cavity wall insulation work is completed promptly and in any event by the due date.

If the landlord cannot complete the works in this time, it must explain to us, by the due date:

Why it cannot complete the works by the due date and provide evidence to support its reasons. It must provide a revised timescale of when it will finish the works; or
Explain the steps it has taken to ensure the works were completed and provide supporting evidence. It must provide a revised timescale if it is able to or explain why it cannot.
Whether suitable alternative accommodation is necessary and will be made available to the resident until the work is completed.

No later than

09 January 2026

Inspection order

The landlord must contact the resident to arrange a damp and mould inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed.

If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date.

What the inspection must achieve

The landlord must ensure that the surveyor:

inspects the external structure of the property and all internal rooms and produces a written report with photographs

The survey report must set out:

whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards
the most likely cause of the water ingress
whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible
a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue (if the landlord is responsible)
the likely timescales to commence and complete the work
whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works

No later than

09 January 2026

Communication order

The landlord must provide the resident with details of its liability insurer and how she can make a claim, should she wish to.

No later than

09 January 2026

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
The landlord to pay the resident £150 compensation in relation to its complaint handling failures, as offered in its stage 2 response, if it has not already done so.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
18 October 2023	The resident raised a complaint about damp and mould in her bedroom. She also raised concerns about a tree that was potentially too close to the property and an aerial left hanging on the roof.
8 November 2023	The landlord acknowledged the resident’s complaint. It said it would respond by 22 November 2023 and would update her if it needed more time.
1 December 2023	The landlord sent its stage 1 response, in which it said: it was sorry that the resident had to chase it a couple of times for a mould wash to be conducted – this was completed on 14 July 2023 a follow-up visit on 26 July 2023 found that further paint work was required – it had raised this and a contractor would be in touch it had conducted a roof inspection on 24 November 2023 and was reviewing the report – it would raise the required work by 31 December 2023 it offered compensation of £130 for its failure to follow processes and the inconvenience caused to the resident and £50 for its complaint handling
28 March 2024	The resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint. She said the issue with the damp and mould was ongoing and was affecting her wardrobe and clothes.
9 April 2024	The landlord acknowledged the resident’s escalation request and said it would respond by 7 May 2024.
8 May 2024	The landlord sent its stage 2 response, in which it said: its contractor that attended on 24 November 2023 had recommended works which were conducted on 4 December 2023 it was now evident that the guttering was not fully repaired – it had raised a new job and a contractor would be in touch it had recently conducted an inspection and observed that mould growth was affecting multiple areas of the property it would conduct an inspection of the cavity wall insulation and loft space it would conduct internal decoration once external works were completed it increased its offer of compensation to £700 for its handling of damp and mould, including £60 for the use of a dehumidifier it increased its offer of compensation to £150 for its complaint handling
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident asked us to investigate the complaint as she was unhappy that the landlord had not identified the root cause of water ingress or resolved the damp and mould issue.

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 landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord’s records show that the resident reported damp and mould in her bathroom on 16 January 2023. It conducted an inspection on 14 March 2023. The landlord’s repairs policy does not set a timescale for non-urgent repairs, saying it will complete them in as little time as possible. It is not clear why it took 2 months to complete this investigation, and this was not a reasonable timeframe.
The inspection found that the bathroom fan was not working. There was only mould in the bathroom and one bedroom, and it said repairing the extractor fan would help this. The landlord conducted a roof inspection on 21 March 2023, which found that the guttering was overflowing and there was visible loose mortar on ridge tiles.
The landlord completed a repair to the bathroom extractor fan on 25 April 2023 and a mould wash and painting on 11 May 2023. The landlord’s records state that its contractor did not complete this work to the required standard and it had to complete remedial work on 26 July 2023. We have seen no evidence that the external work identified on 21 March 2023 was completed, which was not appropriate.
On 18 July 2023, the resident contacted the landlord again and it raised an order for an inspection. The first available slot the landlord had was 29 August 2023, however the contractor was off sick and it rearranged this for 3 October 2023. While we appreciate the landlord experienced staffing issues, this represented an unreasonable delay.
The landlord has not provided a copy of an inspection report for this visit, so it is unclear whether this inspection went ahead. It conducted a roof inspection on 24 November 2023. In its stage 1 response of 1 December 2023, it said it was reviewing the report and would raise any required work. It did not provide a timescale for this, which was not appropriate. It offered compensation of £130 to recognise its failure to update the resident, follow its process and for the inconvenience caused. This amount was not proportionate to its failure to identify the cause of the water ingress.
The landlord’s records state that it completed roof repairs on 4 December 2023. However, these records do not state what work it completed. It raised a further inspection on 3 January 2024, which it conducted on 16 January 2024, to assess the internal damage. On 26 January 2024 it raised works and booked an appointment for 19 February 2024, to suit the resident’s availability.
At this appointment, the landlord’s contractor found the walls were too wet to conduct work. On 21 March 2024, it raised a work order as the resident told the landlord that water was still coming into the property when it rained. The landlord found that the damp and mould was worse than on the previous visit and said it needed to conduct a water test to the roof.
On 28 March 2024, the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint as she had not heard anything further and it had not completed work. She said the damp was affecting her wardrobe and clothes. She told the landlord on 2 April 2024 that she had the heating on and ventilated the property but she was still experiencing issues with condensation, damp, and mould.
In its stage 2 response of 8 May 2024 the landlord acknowledged that it had not completed the guttering repairs successfully. It said a recent survey had found significant mould accumulation affecting all 3 bedrooms and the bathroom. It said a contractor would be in touch to arrange works and it would arrange an inspection of the cavity wall insulation and loft space. It also said it would complete internal redecoration work once it completed the external work to resolve the water ingress.
The landlord told the resident she would need to claim on her contents insurance for damaged belongings as its compensation policy did not cover this. The resident has told us she does not have contents insurance. Given that it had identified failings in its handling of repairs it would have been appropriate for it to signpost her to its liability insurer to discuss a claim.
The landlord increased its offer of compensation to £700 to recognise her use of a dehumidifier and the inconvenience caused by its failings. This offer was proportionate to its failings at this time. However, it failed to set out a clear timescale for outstanding work, which was not appropriate.
The landlord’s records show that an inspection in June 2024 found that the external guttering was not fitted correctly, causing water to travel inside. However, its records do not show it took any action to repair this at that time, despite its commitment in its stage 2 response. It conducted a further survey on 12 November 2024 and identified further roof work, which it conducted on 30 April 2025.
The landlord subsequently conducted an inspection of the cavity wall insulation on 18 August 2025. This was more than a year after it committed to doing this, which represented an unreasonable delay. It removed the old cavity wall insulation at this time. However, the resident has told us it has not returned to install new insulation, leaving the property very cold. It is not appropriate that the issues remain outstanding more than 18 months after the landlord concluded its complaints process.
The landlord’s compensation policy does not set out the levels of compensation it considers appropriate. We have made our order for the landlord to pay the resident additional compensation of £500 with our remedies guidance in mind to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused to her by its failure to fulfil its stage 2 commitments.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

As can be seen from above:
1. the landlord sent its stage 1 response 32 working days after the complaint was raised (18 October 2023 to 1 December 2023) – which was not in line with its policy timescale of 10 working days
2. the landlord sent its stage 2 response 27 working days after the resident requested escalation (28 March 2024 to 8 May 2024) – which was not in line with its policy timescale of 20 working days
The landlord acknowledged its complaint handling failures at both stages and offered compensation of £150 to recognise this. This offer of compensation was proportionate to its failings and in line with our remedies guidance.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s records in relation to the repairs considered in this investigation do not appear to be complete. Its failure to keep robust records contributed to the delays in completing repairs. The landlord should consider whether its processes are sufficient to have robust oversight of repairs.

Communication

The landlord’s records for this case do not demonstrate effective communication. There is no evidence it kept the resident updated when it was unable to carry out its stage 2 commitments within a reasonable timescale. The landlord should ensure that if it is unable to carry out repairs within a reasonable period, it continues to update the resident and provide revised timescales.