Platform Housing Group Limited (202303557)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202303557

Platform Housing Group Limited

30 June 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 resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. Reports of no hot water.
    2. Leaks.
    3. Damp and mould.
  2. This service has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, a housing association. The tenancy commenced on 17 January 2018. The property is a one-bedroom flat.
  2. The resident raised a complaint on 13 September 2022 about ongoing issues she had been experiencing in her property. This included damp, leaks and having no hot water.
  3. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 16 September 2022 and issued a stage one reply on 30 September 2022. It upheld the resident’s complaint and apologised for the issues experienced. It offered £350 compensation for delays and lack of communication. The landlord’s response said:
    1. When its surveyor visited in July 2022, it found the fans in the property were not sufficient, and causing the damp and mould experienced. It submitted a quote to have works completed however this was sent to the wrong inbox. The landlord explained it had since asked for the works to be scheduled for 4 October 2022.
    2. Regarding the resident’s complaint about the heating and hot water not working, it explained it responded to her report dated 9 June 2022 on 24 June 2022 and the operative confirmed the heating and thermostat was working correctly. It also found there was no water coming out of the tap and scheduled follow on work for 27 June 2022. The operative confirmed the issue had been resolved.
    3. The resident informed it on 20 September 2022 that she was still experiencing issues, however the landlord could not find a record to show the resident reported this again. It therefore raised a new job which its operative attended to on 27 September 2022. Follow on works were scheduled for 29 September 2022. However the operative was unable to gain access, therefore this was rescheduled for 19 October 2022. The landlord explained it was seeing if this date could be brought forward as the resident had been left without hot water.
    4. Regarding the leak in the kitchen, the landlord confirmed this was raised on 9 June 2022 and its operative attempted a visit on 13 June 2022. It was unable to resolve the leak at the time as it had no access. It followed up on 15 June 2022. At the time the operative had agreed for a dehumidifier to be provided to the resident. She had to chase this and it was provided on 27 June 2022.
    5. Following the kitchen leak, a work order was raised on 29 July 2022 to replace the kitchen sink and taps. This was inspected on 1 September 2022 and completed that month.
  4. Between March and April 2023 the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) from the local council’s Environmental Health team wrote to the landlord regarding required repairs concerning damp and mould. The landlord  advised on 31 March 2023 it had raised the required works. These were repairs to the water tank, flooring, wall and to check the bath for a leak.
  5. On 3 May 2023 the EHO visited the resident’s property to conduct an assessment of the damp and mould. They issued an improvement notice to the landlord under section 11 of the Housing Act 2004, for it to undertake remedial action to resolve the damp and mould. They explained the damp and mould had worsened, The notice asked that the required works be started by 30 May 2023 and completed by 6 June 2023.
  6. During July 2023, a report was logged for damp and mould. The landlord raised a work order to have a treatment carried out.
  7. The resident arranged to have a survey of the property completed. This found there was damp and black mould in the property. It also suspected a significant leak had happened in the property. It was unable to confirm if the leak was still ongoing. The surveyor had also noted there was damp in the communal corridor. This information was provided to the landlord.
  8. On 12 September 2023 the resident got in touch with our service to explain she had escalated the complaint on 4 August 2023, but had not had a response from the landlord. She was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of leaks, damp and mould.
  9. We contacted the landlord on the resident’s behalf on 26 November 2023 regarding the complaint. It spoke to the resident on 1 December 2023 and understood her complaint to be about:
    1. Flooring damaged by leak, damp and mould.
    2. Rising damp on kitchen walls.
    3. Damp in bedroom closet.
    4. Reimbursement of cost for professional to evaluate air pollution in the property.
    5. The resident was seeking to move property.
  10. The landlord issued its stage two response on 4 December 2023. It explained:
    1. The resident contacted it in August 2023 to explain she was still experiencing damp and mould. She further chased in October 2023. It stated a complaint should have been raised to investigate the resident’s concerns, but this was not done.
    2. Its surveyor attended on 30 November 2023 and it confirmed the damp and mould experienced was a result of an undetected leak under the bath. A repair was completed. There was no evidence of rising damp.  The surveyor had also found a leak to the toilet pan and a repair was scheduled.
    3. In response to the resident’s request to move property, the landlord explained it would arrange for the relevant team to speak to her about her housing options.
    4. Regarding the resident’s claims of damage to the flooring and cost incurred, the landlord informed her of the process to make a claim via its insurance team.
  11. When the resident initially contacted the Ombudsman, she was seeking to move property and wanted compensation. Since then, she has told us that she has moved property. To resolve her complaint she is seeking compensation.

Assessment and findings

  1. We understand the resident expressed distress over the issues raised in this complaint, stating it has affected her health and wellbeing. Whilst we have noted this as context, we are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. This is because claims of personal injury must, ultimately, be decided by courts of law who can consider medical evidence and make legally binding findings. Nonetheless, consideration has been given to the general distress and inconvenience which the situation may have caused the resident.
  2. This investigation has looked at reports throughout 2022 and 2023. This is because the issues addressed in the stage one dated September 2022 continued throughout 2023, until the landlord issued its stage two response in December 2023.

Reports of no hot water.

  1. In accordance with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the tenancy agreement, the landlord is responsible to maintain the hot water within the property, ensuring it is kept in repair and proper working order. Therefore, when the resident informed the landlord she had no hot water it was obliged to assess and to make a repair if necessary.
  2. We have reviewed the landlord’s repair records. It shows the resident informed the landlord on 9 June 2022 that there was no hot water. The evidence shows the landlord arrange for an operative to attend on 27 June 2022. We have not seen the operative’s notes to determine the cause of the issue, however the records state a repair was completed.
  3. The Right to Repair scheme refers to the resident’s right to have essential services and repairs completed by the landlord within a reasonable time. It states where there is partial loss of water supply, the landlord has a prescribed period of 3 days to rectify this.
  4. In this instance we have seen it took the landlord 13 working days to complete a repair. It is not clear why it took this length of time. But the records show during this time the resident was left without hot water. We find this was unreasonable.
  5. The resident’s complaint on 13 September 2022, stated she had no hot water throughout the whole property.  We have reviewed the correspondence and cannot see any reference of this or a report being made to the landlord about this until her complaint. Whilst we do not dispute what the resident has stated, we rely on evidence and therefore have looked at the landlord’s actions once there was evidence that it had been informed. We see the landlord raised this report for the resident on 20 September 2022 and an attempted repair was made on 27 September 2022, however there was no access. This attempt to conduct a repair was within 6 working days of the report being raised on the system, which also was outside of the right to repair timeframes. Furthermore we see there was a delay in having the repair completed and this was not done until October 2022.
  6. In the landlord’s stage one response, it acknowledged there were delays, and a lack of communication in completing repairs. In recognition of this it offered the resident £350. However it did not specify how much of this was apportioned to the issues concerning the resident having no hot water.
  7. It is helpful for landlords to provide a breakdown of any compensation offered, so that residents can understand how the amount was calculated and assess whether it is fair and reasonable. In this instance, no such breakdown was provided. Therefore we have split the amount the landlord offered equally amongst the identified service failings in the landlord’s stage one response. There were 3 identified service failings and therefore we have apportioned £116 to each service failure.
  8. To summarise whilst we recognise the loss of hot water was eventually resolved, the length of time it took to resolve the matter was protracted. The compensation offered was not adequate to reflect the service failure and resulted in distress and inconvenience. We have therefore made an order to increase the level of compensation to fairly reflect the impact on the resident.

Leaks.

  1. During the resident’s time in the property she experienced leaks, damp and mould. The evidence shows these leaks were in several areas of the home, including the toilet, water cylinder, kitchen sink, and bathroom.
  2. In the landlord’s stage one response it only referred to the leak in the resident’s kitchen which had caused damage to the cupboard. We reviewed the resident’s initial complaint and she refers to leaks, however she does not specify which leaks she is complaining about. For the purpose of this investigation we have therefore reviewed how the landlord handled the resident’s reports of leaks throughout 2022 and 2023.
  3. We understand how frustrating it must have been for the resident to experience these leaks. In such circumstances we would expect the landlord to be taking steps to resolve the matter within its expected timeframes.
  4. The landlord’s repairs policy sets out that it is responsible for repairs concerning leaks. Therefore when the resident made a report, it was obliged to assess and make any necessary repairs. The repairs policy states it aims to attend to emergency repairs within 24 hours. For appointed repairs, residents will be offered a mutually convenient appointment where possible.
  5. We have reviewed the repair records. Reports were made on the following dates:
    1. 13 April 2022 – Records states there was a water leak but does not specify where. It says a repair was completed on 30 May 2022.
    2. 6 May 2022– This concerned a toilet leak. It says a repair was completed that same day.
    3. 9 June 2022 – This concerned leaks from the kitchen sink. It states an attempted repair was made on 13 June 2022. However the contractor had no access. A repair was then completed on 15 June 2022.
    4. 30 March 2023 – This stated there was a water leak and it asked the contractor to trace and rectify. It attended on 5 April 2023, but was unable to locate a leak.
    5. 18 April 2023 – Contractors attended that same day to change the ball valve.
    6. 17 May 2023 – This concerned a burst pipe. Its contractor attended the following day to complete a repair.
  6. Whilst the records show the landlord was attending to the various reports of leaks in the property, there was a delay in responding to the EHO who was chasing repairs on behalf of the resident.
  7. On 31 March 2023 the EHO had contacted the landlord on behalf of the resident concerning water leaks. They then further chased on 5 April 2023 stating it had been 2 weeks since they reported the issues, but there had been no progress. The repair records above confirm this was the case.
  8. We see during April 2023 the EHO was in contact with the landlord several times with regards to the leak and works not progressing. During May 2023 the EHO visited the resident’s property and contacted the landlord that same day, stating they were “appalled” at the damp condition the resident had to endure. The EHO stated this was a category 1 Hazard under the Housing Act 2004. They also explained they could hear a hissing sound coming from beneath the bath, the top part of the bath waste had disintegrated and they believed this had been leaking for some time. The EHO explained the resident could not use the bath without flooding the flat and stated a repair was required that day otherwise the resident would be left without water. The evidence shows when the report was made on 17 May 2023, a repair was completed the following day. We are satisfied this was in line with the emergency timescale set out in the landlord’s guidelines.
  9. We understand the resident was seeking reimbursement of monies paid for flooring and a refund of payments she had previously made for bathroom units and tiles.
  10. In circumstances where the resident is claiming damage to personal belongings we would expect the landlord to provide information to the resident of the process to make a claim. We see the landlord wrote to the resident to explain this in its formal response. Based on the evidence we are satisfied the landlord appropriately informed the resident on how to make a claim.
  11. While we acknowledge the landlord appropriately made the resident aware regarding the claim process. Overall we find there were multiple reports of leaks in various areas of the property, with delays in the landlord’s response and in progressing the required repairs. The £350 compensation offered at stage one of the complaints process related only to events that occurred prior to September 2022. However no further consideration was given to the issues experienced by the resident after that point, up to the landlord’s stage two response dated 4 December 2023. As we have identified additional service failures during this period, we have made a further compensation order in line with our remedies guidance to reflect the continued impact on the resident.

Damp and mould.

  1. When the resident raised a formal complaint on 13 September 2022, she explained the damp and mould was inside the flat and the corridor outside. She stated she had been complaining about the issue for 4 years but it had not been resolved.  Whilst we recognise the resident stated this had been ongoing since 2018, we have considered reports related to the resident’s complaint of 2022. This is because we would expect residents to raise a complaint within a reasonable period of time, usually 12 months of the event.
  2. We understand the resident has had an ongoing issue with damp and mould. On 8 July 2022 a report for damp and mould was made. We see the landlord logged this in its system stating that a damp survey was required. However there was no completion date.
  3. From the correspondence, we see an operative had attended on 27 July 2022. We have not seen a copy of this report, however can see an email was sent from the surveyor to the landlord on 29 July 2022. This provided the report and quotation for the works. It is understood the surveyor had recommended ventilation be installed as the current vents in the property were insufficient.
  4. We see there was a delay of 3 months in progressing the remedial works required to the property. Whilst we recognise the landlord states this quote was sent to an incorrect inbox, we are satisfied it received the quote. It would have been reasonable for the landlord’s internal team to redirect the email or inform the surveyor of where to resend the information to. This would have enabled the landlord to deal with the quote and required work efficiently. We have not seen this was done, which caused further delays.
  5. The evidence shows the quote was resent to the correct department on 12 September 2022 and it scheduled the works for 4 October 2022. We have reviewed the landlord’s repairs records which confirm this was completed.
  6. Throughout 2023 the resident still had concerns about the damp and mould in the property. A report of damp and mould was raised on 26 January 2023. This stated there was a medium amount of black mould and a clean was required to the kitchen, bathroom and hallway. This had a target date of 2 February 2023, however the record does not show a repair was completed until 19 July 2023.
  7. The EHO had contacted the landlord on 3 May 2023 explaining that the damp had become much worse. They served an improvement notice under section 11 of the Housing Act 2004 asking the landlord to take action to resolve the issue.
  8. The repair records shows during May 2023 a report was raised and the landlord asked its contractors to trace and rectify the leak.
  9. The evidence shows the resident had arranged for an air quality report to be completed on 6 June 2023.This report found high levels of damp and several areas of black mould in the property and suggested this was a result of a bathroom leak and possibly another source. It was unable to confirm if the leak was still ongoing, but explained it was likely the leak was significant. It had also found a separate leak in the communal corridor not associated to her bathroom. It advised the landlord to investigate and determine the cause and carry out remedial repairs.
  10. We have reviewed the repair records and its shows that a report was logged on 6 July 2023 to do a damp and mould clean. No further description was added to show if any other work was completed at the time.
  11. We understand the landlord thought the leak had been rectified at the time. However we see the resident continued to experience issues with damp and mould. The evidence shows on 30 November 2023 the landlord arranged for its senior repairs surveyor to visit. They found the issues experienced with damp and mould were as a result of an undetected leak under the bath. We are unable to confirm if the initial leak reported in May 2023 was ongoing or resolved. However the evidence shows the area where the leak was found coincided with the previous reports on July 2023. The repair records state repair works were completed on 23 January 2024.
  12. Overall it is evident there were delays in 2022 in carrying out the required remedial works. With regards to 2023, while we understand the landlord conducted a repair to the leak in May 2023, the report which speculated there may have been a significant leak was completed in July 2023. Following this report, the landlord should have carried out a further assessment to ensure the issue was resolved. In this instance we cannot see this was done. We have not seen evidence to confirm the landlord appropriately handled the resident’s reports of damp and mould. Therefore we have found maladministration. In line with our remedies guidance we have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation, this is to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident as a result of the delays in resolving the damp and mould.

The landlord’s complaint handling.

  1. Section 5 of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code sets out what is expected of landlords when responding to residents’ complaints. It explains that a two-stage complaint procedure is ideal. In this instance the landlord has two complaint stages and provided the resident with two formal responses.
  2. The landlord’s complaints policy states it will acknowledge a complaint within five working days and appoint a case handler. It aims to provide a full response within 10 working days. If still unsatisfied the resident can request a review of the complaint. It will then aim to provide a final response within 20 working days.
  3. The evidence shows the resident raised a formal complaint on 13 September 2022 and the landlord provided her with a response on 30 September 2022. During August 2023 the resident expressed dissatisfaction with the landlord’s response however the landlord did not acknowledge this until prompted by our service during November 2023. A stage two response was then issued on 4 December 2023.
  4. Whilst we acknowledge the landlord apologised for the delay in its stage two response. The length of time to bring the complaint to a resolution was considerably lengthy and longer than we would expect. This caused further inconvenience and distress to the resident.
  5. The landlord’s compensation policy does not state the amount it awards for delays in complaint handling. The Ombudsman has considered the circumstances of the case and find £100 compensation for the delays in complaint handling to be reasonable. This reflects the inconvenience, stress and impact to the resident as a result of waiting for the landlord to respond within its internal complaints procedure.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of having no hot water.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of leaks.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  4. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders.

  1. The landlord to pay the resident a total of £800 compensation in recognition of the distress and inconvenience identified in this report. This is made up of:
    1. £100 for its service failure when dealing with the resident’s reports of no hot water.
    2. £400 for its handling of leaks.
    3. £200 for its handling of damp and mould.
    4. £100 for its service failure when dealing with the resident’s complaint.
  2. This replaces the landlord’s previous offer of £350. The ordered amount (less any amount already paid by the landlord as part of its previous offer) must be paid within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.
  3. The landlord must provide evidence to us showing it has complied with these orders.