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London Borough of Lewisham (202408476)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202408476

London Borough of Lewisham

24 September 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 landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of:
    1. Repairs required to the property including to the bathroom, toilet, cupboard door, kitchen units and windows.
    2. Repairs required to address damp and mould in the property.
    3. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord under an agreement dated 30 November 2017. The landlord is a council. The property is a 2-bedroom flat in a purpose-built block. The resident lives in the property with her partner and 4 children that were aged between 1 and 10 at the time her complaint was going through the landlord’s internal complaints process.
  2. The resident raised a complaint with the landlord on 20 September 2023. She said the landlord failed to fix a broken window in her child’s bedroom. She said she had phoned the landlord 2 month’s prior, and it still had a wooden board up. She also reported rain coming into the second bedroom as the window was not shutting properly. She said that the landlord had told her it was major works.
  3. The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 10 October 2023. It said it had received a quote for the glazing on 5 October 2023, but its contractor quoted for the wrong instructions. It received a revised quote, and its contractor would contact the resident directly to arrange the work. It made an appointment for 5 December 2023 to fix the second window, however, due to staff availability it had extended the time for this repair.
  4. The resident raised a further complaint with the landlord on 3 November 2023. She said that the landlord had not done any work in response to its stage 3 adjudication. She said that her son was ill due to the damp and mould, and it was affecting her mental health.
  5. The resident requested an escalation of her complaint on 18 January 2024. She said that the landlord had not given its formal response, and she said that the landlord had completed no work in the property.
  6. The resident raised a further complaint with the landlord on 21 February 2024 concerning outstanding repairs in the property. She asked for an update on when the landlord would complete the outstanding repairs reported over the past 2 years. She informed the landlord that its damp and mould contractor had told her that overcrowding in the property would make the damp and mould worse.
  7. The landlord issued its final complaint response for all 3 complaints on 3 April 2024. In this it said that it had spoken to the resident on 2 April 2024 who had confirmed it had completed most of the repairs. It had a raised a new works order for its operative to attend on 15 April 2024 to complete the remaining repairs. It had awarded and processed £250 compensation following the resident’s previous complaint that was considered and determined by us on 14 March 2024. It gave general advice to open the trickle vents, ventilate the property using the extractor fans and to open the windows. It had arranged a mould wash and had asked its contractor to contact the resident directly to arrange an appointment. It partially upheld the complaint due to delays in completing the repairs. The landlord did not award further compensation in relation to the 3 new complaints above.
  8. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final complaint response. She referred her complaint to us on 4 October 2024. She advised that all the repairs remained outstanding and that she had expected the landlord to install double glazing.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the Ombudsman’s investigation

  1. The resident referred to the impact of the landlord’s actions regarding the damp and mould on her and her family’s health. The Ombudsman is unable to draw conclusions on specifically how the resident and her family’s health may have been affected by any errors made by the landlord. Claims of personal injury ultimately, are better suited for courts or liability insurers to decide. The Ombudsman can however consider the overall detriment, inconvenience and time and trouble experienced by the resident due to a landlord’s failings as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her and her family’s health.
  2. The resident also mentioned a complaint concerning her kitchen cupboards; however, it is not clear that this has been through the landlord’s complaints process. The resident may wish to escalate this complaint if she has not already done so. She may then wish to refer the complaint to us once it has exhausted the landlord’s internal complaints process.
  3. The Ombudsman determined a previous case on 14 March 2024 which also involved some of the complaint issues brought to us for this investigation. We investigated the resident’s reports of repairs to address damp and mould, the resident’s request for replacement windows and outstanding repairs to the WC and bathroom following a leak. We also considered the landlord’s previous compensation offer of £250. This investigation therefore focusses on the period following the end of the landlord’s previous internal complaints process from August 2023 to the date of the landlord’s final complaint response of 3 April 2024. This includes the 3 complaints raised by the resident on 20 September 2023, 3 November 2023 and 21 February 2024 that the landlord considered in its final complaint response of 3 April 2024.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required to the property including to the bathroom, toilet, cupboard door and bedroom windows

Reports of repairs required to the bathroom and toilet

  1. The landlord’s internal email of 4 December 2023 evidenced that it had arranged an appointment for its contractor to complete the outstanding work in the bathroom and toilet on 7 February 2024 for an 8.00 am start. However, the appointment did not go ahead. The evidence shows that the resident’s partner did not know about it and was heading to work. The landlord also reported in its internal email of 13 February 2024 that the operative did not know what they were supposed to be doing and neither did the resident.
  2. According to the landlord’s internal emails of 22 March 2024, it rebooked the appointment for 21 February 2024. The landlord’s repair records marked this as complete, but the actual completion date was not recorded. The description was to measure for vinyl. In the landlord’s internal email of 2 April 2024, it reported that it did not seem like its contractor had attended.
  3. This evidenced that there was a lack of suitable record keeping and a lack of appropriate follow up and communication between the landlord and the resident to notify her of forthcoming appointments. It also evidenced a lack of communication between the landlord and its contractor. This was inappropriate.
  4. As set out in our Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management (May 2023) and follow up report (January 2025), without good knowledge and information management, a landlord cannot adequately understand its own housing stock and proactively monitor the completion of repairs. The landlord should review its self-assessment of its knowledge and information management if it has not already done so to improve its record keeping practices.
  5. Between 21 February 2024 to 29 February 2024 the resident raised her complaint, reporting that the landlord’s contractor had left nails and boards everywhere in the bathroom and toilet and that the board under the bath was dangerous with nails sticking up. As this was a reported safety concern the landlord needed to progress the work more urgently to ensure that there were no hazards in the property. The landlord was also aware that the resident had young children in the property from at least 6 February 2023 when the resident told the landlord of this.
  6. The landlord’s repairing responsibilities are set out within the written tenancy agreement and the implied terms in Section 11(1)(c) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The landlord should have considered a risk-based approach using the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System Regulations 2005 (HHSRS) but failed to do so. Its required access policy (January 2024) also states that it may inspect properties to check for the 29 listed hazards and to decide if it needs to do remedial work to reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable. There is no evidence that it did this. This was therefore inappropriate.
  7. What is a reasonable time will depend on all the circumstances of a case. The landlord’s repairs policy states that it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within 3 working days and routine repairs within 20 working days. The repairs were by this point already delayed by over 2 months given the 4 December 2023 order date.
  8. The landlord requested that the work be booked in as soon as possible in its internal emails between 18 March 2024 to 22 March 2024. However, this was a month after the resident’s previous report of the bathroom and toilet repairs still being outstanding.
  9. The landlord’s further internal emails of 2 April 2024 also indicated that some bathroom repairs were outstanding including the bath panel and “a few other bits”, though it said it had completed the flooring. The landlord did not record the completion date – again evidencing record keeping issues. It said that it would raise a job for this and email the resident with a date. This would be appropriate in case it was not convenient for her considering she had young children of school age and would be out during the normal school run times. The landlord was also aware that her partner was working so would also likely be out during the day.
  10. According to the landlord’s internal emails of 2 April 2024 the landlord was unclear as to which repairs remained outstanding other than the flooring. The resident confirmed work was outstanding in her email of 3 April 2024 after she received the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response. The landlord said it could not see that it had raised works orders for the outstanding works.
  11. The landlord raised a works order on 2 April 2024, and it said it had scheduled an appointment for 15 April 2024 to complete the remaining works. It advised the resident of this appointment in its stage 2 complaint response of 3 April 2024. According to the landlord’s repair records this included renewing the bath panel and boxing in the bathroom. The landlord’s repair records evidence that its contractor was unable to gain access. It is not clear whether its contractor returned to the property again to complete the work as there is no completion date. The resident has since advised us that no works have been completed.

Reports of repairs required to the cupboard door

  1. The landlord’s records show that it advised the resident on 15 September 2023 that its contractor would call on 2 October 2023 between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm to measure the cupboard door and it would then order the door. The landlord raised a works order the same date. It provided a provisional date to the resident of 12 October 2023 to reinstate the door provided that the materials were in stock. It was reasonable for the landlord to provide the appointment times and a provision date of installation. However, the landlord’s contractor had reported no access and abandoned the job.
  2. The landlord reported in its internal email of 22 March 2024 that its contractor had reattended on 12 October 2023. It said that the resident had an issue with the operative and it abandoned the job. The landlord said that after the resident phoned in also on 12 October 2023 to rebook the appointment for the afternoon, its operative returned and again reported no access. It is not clear from the landlord’s records what time the operative attended and whether this was during the school run when the resident would not be in. However, there is no record of the resident reporting the issue again or follow up from the landlord.
  3. There was a gap from 12 October 2023 to the 29 February 2024 when the resident said that the landlord had not fitted the cupboard door. She explained that there were heavy objects in the cupboard and was understandably concerned for her children’s safety if something should fall on them.
  4. However, despite her notifying the landlord of this risk, the landlord did not consider the resident’s circumstances until its internal emails between 22 March and 2 April 2024.
  5. This delay in the landlord considering this issue was inappropriate considering that the landlord said in its internal email of 20 March 2024 that the lack of a door would be a hazard for young children in the property. It asked its internal colleagues to investigate this. According to the landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 3 April 2024, the landlord’s contractor was due to complete the remaining repairs on 15 April 2024. However, as mentioned the landlord did not gain access to the resident’s property to complete the repairs.
  6. The landlord said that the lack of access had hindered its completion of the repairs in the property. The resident is responsible under the terms of her tenancy agreement to provide access to allow the landlord or its contractors to attend to complete necessary repairs. As there were clearly some issues in the landlord gaining access, it needed to check why it was having these difficulties with the resident. It also needed to confirm whether there were any obvious times to avoid, such as school run times.
  7. If the no access issue continued, the landlord may have needed to consider other options and remind the resident of her obligations under the terms of her tenancy so it could complete the remaining repairs. There is no record that it did this which was not appropriate. As mentioned above, the resident reported to us that the landlord has not completed the works.

Reports of repairs required to the kitchen units

  1. According to the landlord’s repair records, it raised a works order on 29 January 2024 for a multi-trader to replace panels and a cupboard in the kitchen. It scheduled an appointment for 13 March 2024, but its contractor abandoned the job. The landlord’s records said that the resident had advised at this time that it was not convenient for the appointment to take place as it was during the school run. The landlord did not consider the resident’s circumstances, and it needed to ensure its contractor knew there would be no one at home during the school run times. We have seen no record that the landlord informed its contractor which was inappropriate.
  2. The landlord’s reiterated in its complaint response of 3 April 2024 that there was no access to complete the repairs. It said that its contractor would have encouraged the resident to phone the contact centre to rearrange this. The landlord’s records do not indicate it followed up following the resident’s report that the appointment was inconvenient and it is not clear whether its contractor completed any work. This was inappropriate. As mentioned, the resident reported that the landlord had not completed any work, and the repairs remains outstanding.

Reports of repairs required to the windows

  1. The resident reported in her complaint of 23 September 2023 that the landlord had boarded the children’s bedroom window. However, it had not been back to reglaze the window. She was naturally concerned with the weather changing that any wooden board would be destroyed. The resident reported an issue with closing the second bedroom window as she said that it was not shutting correctly. She said that she felt that she needed new windows but that the landlord had told her that it would replace the windows during its major works programme.
  2. The landlord’s records evidence that it boarded up the window on 11 July 2023 as an emergency repair after the resident reported it on 10 July 2023. The landlord completed this in line with the landlord’s repairs policy for emergency repairs which states that it will complete such repairs within 24 hours.
  3. The landlord chased up its contractor on 9 October 2023. Its contractor advised the landlord that once the glass had arrived it would contact the resident directly to arrange fitting. The evidence provided shows that the landlord’s contractor quoted for the wrong instructions, and it provided a revised quote on 10 October 2023. The quote for the wrong instructions may not have been the landlord’s fault, though this is not clear from the landlord’s records.
  4. In the landlord’s stage 1 complaint response of 10 October 2023, it said its operative would attend on 5 December 2023 between 8 am and 1.00 pm. It said this was under its 20-day priority in line with its service level agreement (SLA). It is not clear from the landlord’s records when or if the window was reglazed as its repair records show a completion date of 27 October 2023. The landlord’s stage 3 adjudicator response on 3 November 2023 in respect of the resident’s previous complaint instructed the window to be reglazed so this indicated that the landlord had not completed the work. This evidenced similar record keeping issues previously mentioned.
  5. In respect of the resident’s report of the second bedroom window not closing properly, the landlord raised a works order on 10 October 2023. The completion date noted was 17 December 2023, 49 working days later. This was outside of the landlord’s repairs policy timescale and the delay was unreasonable.
  6. It is not clear whether the landlord appropriately risk assessed the insecure window or considered the resident’s circumstances with having young children in the household. It therefore needed to act with more urgency to assess the risk under the HHSRS and to make safe where necessary.
  7. The landlord informed us that the windows were due for replacement as part of its capital programme. It was due to reassess the condition of the windows on 6 February 2024 with a view to a potentially earlier replacement. The landlord’s independent survey report of 9 April 2024 said that the windows were single framed metal windows with some signs of wear and tear but were working correctly. It recommended replacement as part of a planned programme of works. It is not known whether the landlord has informed the resident of the potential date of the planned replacement which would be appropriate.

Summary and conclusions

  1. Whilst the landlord attended the property to complete some of the outstanding repairs, the poor communication and record keeping, along with a lack of follow up led to no access and failed appointments. The landlord also failed to take account of the resident’s circumstances in assessing the risks to her and her family of the outstanding repairs, along with ensuring that its contractor was aware of times to avoid calling at times where there would be no one in.
  2. The Ombudsman considers that these failures amount to maladministration for which we have made some orders. After carefully considering our guidance on remedies, we have ordered £500 in compensation. Though there were multiple repair issues reported, the evidence does not confirm a significant or lasting impact so the compensation ordered is at a lower level that still reflects the landlord’s failings and impact on the resident. This comprises £300 in respect of the delays in completing the work and a further £200 to recognise the distress, inconvenience and time and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s failings.
  3. We have also ordered the landlord to complete an inspection of the property within a 4-week period to clarify what works remain outstanding. It must also provide a schedule of works, along with proposed completion dates to the resident and to us within the same period. We have also ordered the landlord to provide the resident with the dates that it plans to replace the windows as part of the capital programme.

The landlord’s handling of repairs required to address the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property

  1. The landlord’s records evidence that it had raised a previous works order for a mould wash on 27 February 2023 that its contractor completed on 5 April 2023. It took the landlord 27 working days to complete the work which was not in line with the landlord’s repairs policy. This was inappropriate.
  2. The resident reported extreme damp and mould again on 3 July 2023 and the landlord emailed the resident the same date to say it had contacted its damp and mould team. There was delay in the landlord advising the resident on 15 September 2023 that it had asked its damp and mould contractor who had recently installed a positive input ventilation system and bathroom fan to ensure that it was working correctly. The resident also reported in her 20 September 2023 complaint that rain was getting into the property through the boarded-up window which she believed would not have helped alleviate dampness in the property. We have considered the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of the window repairs above.
  3. The landlord’s contractor reported that it was unable to gain access when it called on 23 September 2023. The appointment was delayed as the landlord did not arrange this until 60 working days after the resident’s 3 July 2023 report. This was outside of the landlord’s repair policy timescales. The landlord failed to appropriately follow up on the appointment. The landlord’s stage 3 adjudicator said on 3 November 2023 that the landlord needed to check the ventilation system and fan again. However, the landlord further delayed its response and there was evidence of a lack of follow up. The landlord asked if it had arranged an appointment in its internal email of 5 December 2023 and it said it needed to arrange a further survey. However, we have seen no record of a further survey until 9 April 2024. This delay was unreasonable and again outside of the landlord’s repairs policy timescale.
  4. The landlord is obliged to keep the property free from mould and damp and fit for human habitation as per the Homes (Fitness for Habitation) Act 2018 (‘the Homes Act 2018’). The landlord is obliged to respond to repairs within a reasonable timescale under the Homes Act 2018 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  5. The landlord’s damp and mould policy (April 2023) states that the landlord will treat all reports of leaks, damp and mould seriously. It will consider specific circumstances and additional risks when taking action. It will follow up on remedial action and keep residents informed of what action it will take, when it will take action and why. It will inspect, use additional lines of enquiry or follow up visits. The landlord completed a damp and mould self-assessment based upon our Spotlight report (October 2021) and follow up report (February 2023. However, it is not clear when this was updated as some completion dates for actions were to be confirmed and some were to be completed by March 2024. We have therefore recommended that the landlord revisits its self-assessment ensuring actions are specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-bound actions (SMART).
  6. It is not clear from the landlord’s records when its damp and mould contractor attended the property again evidencing issues with the landlord’s record keeping. However, the resident advised the landlord in her complaint of 21 February 2024 that overcrowding in the property would not be helping in the condensation and mould being present. The resident explained in her MP enquiry to the landlord that it had so far completed several mould washes and had knocked down and replastered the wall twice. She said that despite this, the damp and mould had returned. There was a lack of communication with the resident to discuss her concerns which was inappropriate and not in line with the landlord’s damp and mould policy.
  7. The resident repeated the report of damp and mould in her complaint escalation request of 29 February 2024. She also said that the living room floor required replacement. The landlord confirmed in its final complaint response that as this was already in the property when the resident moved in it was not responsible to replace the living room flooring as it was not a repair. It was true that this was not a repair, and that the living flooring was not the landlord’s responsibility according to its lettable standard. However, the landlord could have provided some details concerning its insurance policy if the resident wished to make a claim for the damaged flooring.
  8. The landlord asked in its internal emails between 20 to 22 March 2024, whether it could pass all the repair issues including damp and mould to a contractor to complete. It said this would avoid dealing with the issues “piecemeal – which has led us to this point.” The landlord said it had not raised any works orders in a further internal email of 22 March 2024. This was inappropriate given the resident’s continued reports of damp and mould in the property.
  9. The landlord asked about a works order it had raised on 25 March 2024 for a mould wash and treatment in its internal emails of 2 April 2024. The landlord had marked the works order as abandoned. It is not clear from the landlord’s records why this was the case. In the landlord’s final complaint response of 3 April 2024, it said that its damp and mould contractor had said the fans were working correctly. It gave general advice about ventilating the property by opening the windows and using the trickle vents. It said it had arranged for a mould wash and that its contractor would contact the resident directly. It advised the resident to chase this up if she had not heard anything by 5 April 2024. The landlord unreasonably delayed the response which was 9 months after the resident advised the landlord of the damp and mould returning on 3 July 2023. This was not in accordance with the landlord’s repairs policy or its damp and mould policy.
  10. Following the landlord’s final complaint response, the landlord’s independent surveyor inspected the property on 9 April 2024. The surveyor confirmed the presence of black spot mould to all external walls and around the window reveals to all habitable rooms. It said that minimal remedial internal wall insulation previously installed had not been effective. It recommended a mould wash and the installation of wall insulation. The landlord delayed raising a works order for the mould wash until 28 May 2024. There was a 13 month delay from the surveyor’s report in the landlord’s contractor completing the mould wash on 25 February 2025, which was unreasonable.
  11. The insulation work was due to start on 24 June 2024. However, according to the contractor’s emails of 3 July 2024 the resident refused the work as she was concerned it would make the rooms smaller and she was living in overcrowded conditions. She was also concerned about the potential disruptive nature of the works. There is no record that the landlord considered the resident’s circumstances, and whether it would be appropriate for her and her family to remain in the property whilst it completed extensive works in the property which was inappropriate.
  12. The Ombudsman considers that these failings amount to maladministration. After carefully considering our guidance on remedies, as above, we have ordered the landlord to pay £350 compensation comprising £200 in respect of the delay in taking action and poor record keeping and £150 in respect of the distress, inconvenience, time and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s failings.
  13. As it has been nearly one and a half years since the previous damp and mould inspection, we have also ordered the landlord to complete a further independent damp and mould inspection within 6 weeks of the date of this report to consider what further works it may need to do. It must also consider the resident’s circumstances and whether it should provide temporary accommodation whilst it completes any required works. We have also ordered the landlord to provide the resident with its insurance details.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The resident raised a complaint on 20 September 2023, and the landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response on 10 October 2023, 14 working days later. We have not seen any record that the landlord sent an acknowledgement. This was a small delay.
  2. The resident raised a further complaint with the landlord on 3 November 2023. She reported outstanding repairs, along with damp and mould. There is no record that the landlord sent a formal stage 1 complaint response or an acknowledgement. This was not appropriate and not in line with the landlord’s policy or our Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The Code states that where a resident raises additional complaints once a stage 1 complaint response has been issued, and the new issues are unrelated to the issues already investigated, a landlord must log this as a new complaint. The complaint of 20 September 2023 was specifically about the windows so the landlord needed to raise a new complaint but failed to do so.
  3. The resident then requested an escalation of her complaint on 18 January 2024, saying that the landlord had given no formal response. There was further delay in the landlord responding to the resident. It did not contact the resident until 30 January 2024 when it asked for clarification from the resident as to which complaint she was referring to. It referenced a previous damp and mould complaint that was determined by us on 1 April 2024. It asked for further clarification on 29 February 2024 when the resident raised a further complaint on 21 February 2024 and approached her MP who also contacted the landlord on 23 February 2024 about the same issues. The resident told the landlord on 29 February 2024 that she wanted the landlord to escalate all her stage 1 complaints to stage 2 listing the complaint issues that the landlord considered in its final complaint response of 3 April 2024.
  4. The landlord recognised in its internal emails of 2 April 2024 that it was raising new complaints when there was already a complaint open. As a result, it was unsurprisingly finding it “difficult to keep track.” The landlord’s final complaint response of 3 April 2024 was issued 53 working days after the resident’s escalation request of 18 January 2024. There was no record that the landlord explained its response would be delayed and in event it was outside of its complaints policy and the Code’s timescales for a response to be sent.
  5. The landlord did not consider awarding any further compensation in respect of the resident’s 3 complaints that it considered in its final complaint response of 3 April 2024. It only referred to the compensation it offered the resident for her earlier complaint that we considered in our previous determination. Its compensation policy allows discretionary payments to reflect delays or the landlord’s failure to act in line with service standards as was the case. The landlord should have given this further consideration in line with its policy.
  6. The Ombudsman considers that there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint. After carefully considering our guidance on remedies, as above, we have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £150 in compensation to reflect the additional distress, inconvenience, time, and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s complaint handling failings.
  7. We have also ordered the landlord to conduct a senior management review of the case so that it can consider learning that it can apply to future cases to prevent similar failings for occurring.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required to the property including to the bathroom, toilet, cupboard door, kitchen units and windows.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s report of repairs required to address damp and mould in the property.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration in respect of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders 

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to issue a written apology to the resident from a senior leader. It should send a copy of this to us.
  2. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident £1,000 in compensation. This comprises:
    1. £500 in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required to the property including to the bathroom, toilet, cupboard door, kitchen units and windows. This comprises £300 in respect of the delays in completing the work and a further £200 to recognise the distress, inconvenience, time and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s failings.
    2. £350 in respect of the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of repairs required to address damp and mould in the property. This comprises £200 in respect of the delays and record keeping issues and £150 in respect of the distress, inconvenience, time and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s failings.
    3. £150 in respect of the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint to recognise the additional inconvenience, time and trouble caused to the resident by the landlord’s complaint handling failings.
  3. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to complete an inspection of the property to clarify with the resident what works remain outstanding in relation to the bathroom, toilet, cupboard door and kitchen units. It must also provide a schedule of works, along with proposed completion dates to the resident and to us within the same period.
  4. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to provide details of its insurance policy to the resident to explain how she may be able to make a claim, with a copy of its response to us within the same period.
  5. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to provide the resident with the dates that it plans to replace the windows as part of its capital programme. It must provide a copy of this to us within the same period.
  6. Within 6 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to complete an independent damp and mould inspection, using appropriate equipment, to consider what further works may be require in the property. It must consider the need for temporary accommodation whilst it undertakes any required works. It must provide its report and a schedule of works to the resident and to us within the 6-week period.
  7. Within 6 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to complete a senior management review of this case. It must consider learning from the outcomes and how it can prevent similar failings from recurring. It must send a copy of its report to the resident and to us within the 6-week period.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord reviews its self-assessment based upon our Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management (May 2023) and follow up report (January 2025), to improve its record keeping practices.
  2. It is recommended that the landlord reviews its damp and mould self-assessment based upon our Spotlight report (October 2021) and follow up report (February 2023. It should ensure its actions are specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-bound actions (SMART).