London Borough of Hackney (202427479)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202427479

London Borough of Hackney

19 September 2025

 

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman 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, mould and leaks at the property.

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, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident reported concerns about leaks, damp and mould at the property over a lengthy period. He complained formally to the landlord on 28 May 2024 about the issue saying that it had damaged his property and his health.
  2. The landlord provided a stage 1 complaint response on 27 June 2024. It apologised for the delay in dealing with the issue and offered him £300 compensation for its failures connected to the issues of damp and mould and a further £75 for delay in dealing with his complaint. It later increased this offer to £500 after a reconsideration by the investigating officer.
  3. The resident did not feel that this offer was sufficient to recompense him for the delay and the problems caused him by the landlord’s failures and asked to escalate his complaint to stage 2 of its internal complaint procedure. The landlord maintained its position in its stage 2 decision of 9 September 2024 and the resident asked us to investigate his concerns.
  4. In 2025, the landlord took legal action against the resident for rent arrears. It applied to the court for an order for possession. This was granted in August 2025.
  5. At the possession hearing, the resident applied for the possession order to be suspended and, at the same time, issued a defence and counterclaim in which he stated that the property was in a state of disrepair due to the landlord’s failure to address the issues of damp and mould. The landlord has issued a response and the matter will be heard in court.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 41.c of the Scheme states that we cannot investigate complaints which concern matters that are the subject of court proceedings. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint. The resident’s counterclaim raises the same issues that he has asked us to investigate.