Orbit Group Limited (202303362)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202303362

Orbit Group Limited

18 July 2025


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, in accordance with paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme, I have determined that the complaint about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord at the property, which is a 2-bedroom flat. The landlord has no vulnerabilities recorded for the resident.
  2. On 2 November 2022, the resident reported a leak from the property’s hot water tank. On 28 November 2022, the resident made a formal complaint to the landlord about the presence of damp and mould at the property. She asked for compensation for damage to her personal possessions and for reimbursement of the cost of running dehumidifiers. The resident moved out of the property and in December 2022 she stopped paying rent.
  3. The landlord provided a stage 1 complaint response on 8 February 2023. It did not uphold the complaint, as it said that the resident had been advised to report the issue to the contact centre after its property manager identified the source of the leak at a visit in November 2022. As the resident did not take any action, the property manager had raised the repair the following week. The resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and asked it to escalate her complaint.
  4. The landlord provided a final complaint response on 28 June 2023. It said it had taken immediate action to address the leak, which was the underlying cause of the damp and mould. It had since been actively progressing the necessary repairs and improvements, which were completed on 28 June 2023. The landlord noted that there had been avoidable delays, as it had not received a damp and mould report from an inspection completed on 8 February 2023 until March 2023. It acknowledged the distress and inconvenience caused, and that the unnecessary delay had contributed to the damage to the resident’s property. It offered her £1,065 compensation.
  5. In October 2023, the landlord issued possession proceedings against the resident for rent arrears incurred between December 2022 and March 2023. According to the resident’s representative, at a possession hearing on 21 November 2023, the resident raised the subject of the property’s condition with the court. The hearing was adjourned to allow the parties time to discuss. On 27 February 2024, the judge adjourned a second hearing with a direction that someone attend from the landlord organisation to speak to the extent of the disrepair, damp and mould. At a hearing on 23 April 2024, the proceedings were adjourned generally while the resident paid her current rent plus £5 per week towards the arrears. The landlord has permission to restore the proceedings if the resident defaults on payment of the arrears.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme states as follows:

“42. The Ombudsman may not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion:

…

e. concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings”.

  1. The resident’s complaint to the landlord was dealt with between 28 November 2022 and 28 June 2023. The rent arrears accrued between December 2022, when the resident moved out of the property due to its condition, and March 2023. The possession proceedings therefore related to a period of time when the resident’s complaint was live.
  2. The resident’s representative has told us that the resident made the court aware of the issues with damp and mould during the possession proceedings. It is evident from the information provided by the landlord that the court requested further information about the condition of the property. In addition, the resident’s representative has said that the extent of the disrepair, and outstanding works to the property’s radiators, were taken into account when the court made its order at the final hearing on 23 April 2024.
  3. In our view, the resident has had the opportunity to raise the matters that were the subject of the complaint during the possession proceedings. Although there is no evidence that a counterclaim was filed in relation to the disrepair, the court was made aware of the damp and mould as part of the resident’s defence. As the proceedings have been adjourned, the resident could still raise a counterclaim for the disrepair. For this reason, the complaint is considered outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, in accordance with paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme.