Beyond Housing Limited (202410893)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202410893

Beyond Housing Limited

18 December 2024

 

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 about damp and mould in the property.
  2. We have also considered the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord, a housing association, which began in July 2020. The property is described as a 3-bedroom house. The resident advised the landlord that his partner and child have health conditions which make them vulnerable.
  2. From the records provided to this Service, the Ombudsman notes that the resident initially raised concerns about damp and mould to the landlord on 21 November 2022. He advised that he has young children and was concerned that the condition of the property could make them ill. The landlord arranged repairs to the gutters on 25 November 2022. Due to further contact from the resident on 27 January 2023 the landlord inspected the property the same day and noted there was likely condensation but would investigate further. The landlord visited the property on 5 April 2023 and noted that it was not granted access.
  3. The landlord responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint regarding other repairs in the property on 23 May 2023. It mentioned that it had agreed to arrange a damp survey to be completed on 24 May 2023, to understand whether there were any additional issues, or ways to improve ventilation in the property. It offered the resident £125 to redress any dissatisfaction regarding the damp and mould concerns. The resident responded on 17 June 2023 that he did not wish to accept its offer as the damp and mould issues were ongoing, and the landlord had not taken any steps to address it since its last visit.
  4. The resident escalated the matter to this Service on 17 August 2023 and asked for our intervention. The landlord noted that it inspected the property on 10 October and 1 December 2023. The resident chased the landlord for an update on its plan to resolve the damp and mould between January and February 2024. This Service wrote to the landlord on 27 March 2024 and asked it to look into the resident’s concerns urgently. The landlord registered this correspondence as a formal complaint.
  5. The landlord visited the resident on 24 April 2024 to discuss his concerns. He advised the landlord that the gutters needed to be removed as they were the cause of the damp and mould. The landlord carried out investigations on 24 April 2024 and concluded that all the rooms in the property were in the acceptable range for damp and condensation apart from the bathroom. It responded to the resident’s stage 1 complaint on 2 May 2024. The landlord said although the bathroom had slightly elevated readings they were still within the accepted range. The resident requested the escalation of the complaint to stage 2 on 9 May 2024 as he remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s findings.
  6. The landlord carried out further inspections around 22 May 2024 due to concerns raised by the resident that the issue had not been satisfactorily addressed. It said the affected walls and ceilings to the property were within permissible moisture levels. The landlord apologised for the inconvenience caused. It said its investigation found that the gutters were not leaking but noted there was an issue with the insulation above the affected areas in the loft. The landlord completed the repairs to the insulation on 28 May 2024. It responded to the resident’s stage 2 complaint on 31 May 2024 and offered the resident £375 in compensation. The resident referred the complaint to this Service on 31 October 2024. He said although the landlord had taken steps to address the issue, he did not feel this would satisfactorily resolve the damp and mould.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The Ombudsman notes the resident’s concern that the damp and mould had been ongoing since 2020. We have seen from the information available that the resident reported damp and mould in November 2022. However, the evidence shows that he did not raise a formal complaint until June 2023. Therefore, this investigation focusses on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports that were investigated under the complaints process from November 2022 onwards. This is because residents are expected to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner so that the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues whilst they are still ‘live’, and while the evidence is available to reach an informed conclusion on the events that occurred.
  2. This Service notes the resident’s comments regarding his and his household members’ health and the impact caused by the delays during the course of his complaints. This Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causations 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’s handling of the resident’s reports about damp and mould in the property

  1. This Service’s spotlight report on damp and mould published in October 2021 recommends that landlords should ensure their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue. While the landlord’s records indicate it sought to address the underlining course of the damp and mould in the property, there is no evidence of an attempt on its part to inspect the affected areas in the property until 27 January 2023. Despite the resident’s concerns about his family’s health conditions, we have not seen that it considered if any mould or damp in the property posed a health risk to the resident and his household’s health and wellbeing.
  2. The resident reported damp and mould throughout the property on 21 November 2022.The landlord’s damp specialist team said they would book an appointment urgently. But from the records seen an inspection did not take place until 27 January 2023. This was approximately 45 working days after the resident made contact. The landlord’s damp and mould policy did not come into force until November 2023. However, under the tenancy agreement, it agrees to carry out all repairs which it is responsible for within a reasonable time giving priority to urgent repairs. The landlord did not treat the resident’s concerns as an urgent matter as it took approximately 6 weeks to inspect the condition of the property. This is not appropriate.
  3. The landlord appeared to have learned from its error as it arranged an inspection on 27 January 2023. It found there was no mould present in the bathroom and said the resident was keeping it “at bay”. In response to the resident’s concerns about damp throughout the property, it said this was condensation and it would investigate further. From the evidence se there was a further delay of around 3 months. The records indicate the resident called on 22 March 2023 to rearrange a damp inspection. It is unclear from the information available if the landlord made attempts to inspect the property before this date. However, the landlord noted that it was not granted access to the property on 5 April 2023. We have not seen records of communication with the resident concerning this appointment, or if it sought to understand why access was not granted. This is unreasonable.
  4. The Ombudsman has noted from the limited evidence provided by the landlord that it arranged an inspection for a damp survey on 24 May 2023. This was noted from its stage 1 response dated 23 May 2023 regarding other unrelated repairs. It said the purpose of the inspection was to understand if there were any additional issues or ways to improve ventilation in the property. It offered the resident £125 to redress his dissatisfaction regarding its handling of the damp and mould reports. This was in line with its compensation policy, however the resident expressed further concerns about the delays on 17 June 2023.
  5. The resident said he had 1 visit where the operative confirmed the presence of mould in the property, but he had not received any further contact since then. He said it would not be reasonable to accept compensation for an unresolved repair. We have not been able to ascertain if the visit scheduled for 24 May 2023 took place because the landlord did not provide evidence relating to the appointment. However, indications are that the landlord did not follow up with the resident, which left him with no choice than to escalate the matter to this Service on 17 August 2023. He said the landlord had not returned to treat black mould in the bathroom, kitchen and at the front of the property. As previously noted, there is little evidence of attempts on the landlord’s part to communicate with the resident regarding a resolution to the issues raised. It failed to manage the resident’s expectations. The resident raised a concern in November 2022 but as of August 2023 (almost 9 months after) there was no clear resolution or plan of action to address the issue. This would have caused the resident some distress and frustration.
  6. On 17 August 2023 the resident said the damp and mould had not been rectified by the landlord and was getting worse. He said environmental health had inspected the property. He was concerned that the ongoing issues could cause long term adverse effects to the vulnerable members of his household particularly his disabled child. The landlord noted that it attended the property on 10 October 2023, but everything was dry. It has not provided a full explanation of what occurred during this visit, or any advice it may have offered the resident. We have seen that the landlord visited the property again on 1 December 2023. This was due to his request for an update around 29 November 2023. The landlord has not provided evidence of any resolutions agreed with the resident on the visit. This is evidence of poor communication and record keeping practices.
  7. The landlord’s damp and mould policy (effective November 2023) states where the resident has expressed concerns relating to health, safeguarding or cost of living issues then relevant referrals or sign posting should be made. The resident expressed further concerns to this Service about the delays between 7 December 2023 and 7 February 2024. On 22 February 2024 the resident reminded the landlord of its responsibility tackle any concerns about damp and mould in its properties and not to blame it on the residents. He said mould was affecting either side of the house and spreading into his daughter’s bedroom due to the gutters not being flushed. He reiterated that his family’s health could be compromised due to underlining health conditions. There is no evidence throughout the life of this case that the landlord applied a risk-based approach in dealing with the resident’s concerns. It has also not showed that it followed its policy in considering any support that it could offer the resident when he continued to report concerns about the wellbeing of the member of his household.
  8. From the evidence seen, the landlord actively took steps to investigate and resolve the resident’s concerns from April 2024. This was after this Service’s letter dated 27 March 2024 to the landlord asking it to urgently contact the resident regarding his concerns about damp and mould. While this evidenced some learning on its part, this was not in time to prevent the distress, frustration, time and trouble and inconvenience to the resident. Under its equality and diversity statement the landlord said it will seek to identify residents who are vulnerable and account for their specific needs when handling their complaint by making appropriate and reasonable adjustments. We have not seen evidence that it committed to this promise.
  9. From April 2024 onward we have seen that the landlord took active steps to resolve the issue. It inspected the property around 24 April 2024 and reported its findings to the resident. It noted that:
    1. The resident wanted the gutters to be removed as they were faulty.
    2. The gutters were not leaking and moisture levels in the bathroom were within the acceptable range.
    3. There were small amounts of mould around the window in the main bedroom and signs of condensation. It said this could cause mould if moisture is left.
    4. It offered advice to the resident on how to tackle the issue, but it said the resident asked the staff to leave.
  10. The landlord arranged for a surveyor to inspect the property on 29 April 2024 as the resident remained dissatisfied with its findings. The surveyor reported that all the rooms were in the acceptable range for damp and condensation, apart from the bathroom which had slightly elevated readings associated with the bathroom environment and possibly the ventilation set up. It also inspected the gutters on 22 May 2024 and concluded that there were no issues. While it did not agree with the resident’s concerns that the gutters to the property were leaking, it suggested that the cause of the damp and mould was likely due to the insulation above the affected areas of the bathroom. It promptly took steps to resolve this on 28 May 2024. This is reasonable.
  11. The landlord discussed reimbursing the resident compensation to redress the time and trouble, and inconvenience and offered £250. It also offered £125 to assist the resident with redecoration costs. The offer aligns with the landlord’s compensation policy, but it fails to reflect the full extent and cumulative impact of the failings on the resident. Overall, it is evident that there were delays in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports. Although it arranged visits to the property, the purpose of the inspection, outcome, advice, and resolution offered was not always clear from the evidence provided. It failed to manage the resident’s expectations or provide satisfactory evidence of clear communication, which meant that he incurred time and trouble in following up the matter. While there are references in the landlord’s internal communication that the damp and mould in the property was mild, it failed to consider any adverse impact this could have had on the resident and family. Therefore, the overall failings amount to maladministration. An order will be made to address this.

Events after the landlord’s internal complaints process

  1. On 15 July 2024 operatives attended the property for other repairs and identified 2 leaks in the gutter corresponding with the areas where damp was present in the property. The landlord completed the repairs on 22 July 2024.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaints

  1. The landlord’s complaints policy defines a formal complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, however made,about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.We have not seen a copy of the resident’s stage 1 complaint regarding his concerns about damp and mould. However, the landlord mentioned in its stage 1 response dated 23 May 2023 regarding other unrelated repairs, that it would inspect the property for damp and mould on 24 May 2023. It also offered the resident £125 but it failed to explain the reason for the offer.
  2. The resident raised concerns about the ongoing damp and mould as part of his stage 2 complaint to the other repair issues on 17 June 2023. He rejected the landlord’s offer and said he could not discuss compensation for an ongoing disrepair. He said although issues were identified during a visit by the landlord’s staff no one had returned to offer any redress. The landlord did not incorporate the concerns about the damp and mould into the stage 2 response sent on 5 July 2023. This is not appropriate.
  3. The landlord did not address the complaint until this Service’s intervention on 27 March 2024. On 23 April 2024 (approximately 9 months after his complaint in June 2023) the landlord wrote to the resident and acknowledged the complaint. The landlord responded to the complaint within 10 working days (2 May 2024) as explained in its acknowledgement letter. The resident requested the escalation of the complaint to stage 2 on 9 May 2024 and the landlord responded on 31 May 2024. The Ombudsman notes that both complaints were addressed within the published timescales set out in the landlord’s complaints policy. This shows some learning from its mistakes and that the landlord sought to put things right for the resident.
  4. The landlord’s compensation policy states that it will offer discretionary payment for time, distress and inconvenience and complaint handling failure where there has been a service failure that impacted the resident. It says it will pay up to £125 for a complaint handling failure that has impacted the resident. The landlord failed to acknowledge the severe delays in investigating and responding to the resident’s complaint. The resident expressed dissatisfaction regarding its handling of his reports of damp and mould in June 2023, but it did not respond to the complaint until 2 May 2024.
  5. The resident incurred time and trouble in chasing up a resolution to the ongoing issue. Although the resident brought the matter to us in August 2023, we were unable to investigate the complaint as the complaints process had not been exhausted. This would have caused the resident distress and inconvenience. The landlord did not acknowledge the failures or offer compensation in line with its policy. This is not appropriate. Based on the above, there is evidence of maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould in the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaints.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report the landlord is ordered to carry out the following:
    1. A senior member of the landlord’s staff to apologise to the resident for the failures identified in this investigation.
    2. Pay the resident a total amount of £1,075 broken down as:
      1. £375 offered on 31 May 2024 if it has not yet been paid to the resident.
      2. £400 for the distress and inconvenience for its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
      3. £300 for the time and trouble for its handling of the associated complaint.
    3. The landlord has provided evidence of its self-assessment against this Service damp and mould spotlight report. The Ombudsman has therefore not made any further orders in this respect but expects the landlord to take all relevant learning points from this case into account when dealing with similar cases.
    4. Due to the resident’s concerns that the issue may be reoccurring, the landlord should contact the resident to discuss this. If further issues are identified it should agree an action plan to address them including dates for any proposed repairs. This should be shared with the resident in writing and a copy provided to this Service.