Haringey London Borough Council (202504060)

Decision
Case ID	202504060
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Haringey London Borough Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	28 November 2025

Background

The resident is a tenant of the landlord. The landlord is aware of various vulnerabilities within the household, including some of the children having learning difficulties and additional needs. We determined a previous complaint brought by the resident about damp and mould. This complaint also relates to damp and mould in the property.

What the complaint is about

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

Our decision (determination)

We found the landlord responsible for:
1. Maladministration in its response to damp and mould.
2. Maladministration in its complaint handling.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Summary of reasons

The landlord delayed in formulating an action plan after an inspection on 1 March 2024. It has not completed all works identified from this inspection, or from other inspections carried out. It also did not address the resident’s request that it compensate her for the loss of use of 2 bedrooms, at 50% of her rent, as agreed. Ongoing mould in the property continues to have a significant impact on the resident and her family.
There were delays in the landlord’s complaint handling and it did not address all aspects of the complaint.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is provided by a senior member of staff, at Director level or above. The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 07 January 2026
2	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the damp and mould in the property and produces a written report with photographs The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards, including emergency or significant hazards. The most likely cause of the damp and mould. Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issues together with reasons where it is not responsible. A full scope of works and a timetable to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue, pending planned Retrofit Works. Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works. The landlord must consider if the circumstances in the resident’s home amount to a potential emergency or a potential significant hazard. If the circumstances could be, it must show it has considered its obligations under the provisions of the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025.	No later than 07 January 2026
3	Compensation order (based on rent) The landlord must pay the resident £1,462.17. This is based on a 25% proportion of rent from 20 August 2024 when the resident made her complaint to the date of the stage 2 response, 30 April 2025, at a weekly rent of £167.79 for 244 days. This is to recognise there has been confirmed ongoing damp and mould in the property. It also recognises that it is not confirmed rooms have been unfit for human habitation and that the landlord has been completing periodic mould washes.	No later than 07 January 2026
4	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £250 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures in its complaint handling. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 07 January 2026
5	Learning order The landlord is ordered to complete a senior management review of the case to identify what learning it can take from the case to prevent similar failings from occurring.	No later than 21 January 2026
6	Other The landlord must send a full response to the resident’s claim that it agreed to compensate her for the loss of 2 bedrooms from November 2023, representing 50% of her rent. It should ask the resident to provide supporting information if necessary.	No later than 07 January 2026

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Apology order

The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:

The apology is provided by a senior member of staff, at Director level or above.
The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic.
It has due regard to our apologies guidance.

No later than

07 January 2026

Inspection order

The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed.

If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date.

What the inspection must achieve

The landlord must ensure that the surveyor:

Inspects the damp and mould in the property and produces a written report with photographs

The survey report must set out:

Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards, including emergency or significant hazards.
The most likely cause of the damp and mould.
Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issues together with reasons where it is not responsible.
A full scope of works and a timetable to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue, pending planned Retrofit Works.
Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works.
The landlord must consider if the circumstances in the resident’s home amount to a potential emergency or a potential significant hazard. If the circumstances could be, it must show it has considered its obligations under the provisions of the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025.

No later than

07 January 2026

Compensation order (based on rent)

The landlord must pay the resident £1,462.17. This is based on a 25% proportion of rent from 20 August 2024 when the resident made her complaint to the date of the stage 2 response, 30 April 2025, at a weekly rent of £167.79 for 244 days. This is to recognise there has been confirmed ongoing damp and mould in the property. It also recognises that it is not confirmed rooms have been unfit for human habitation and that the landlord has been completing periodic mould washes.

No later than

07 January 2026

Compensation order

The landlord must pay the resident £250 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures in its complaint handling.

This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.

No later than

07 January 2026

Learning order

The landlord is ordered to complete a senior management review of the case to identify what learning it can take from the case to prevent similar failings from occurring.

No later than

21 January 2026

Other

The landlord must send a full response to the resident’s claim that it agreed to compensate her for the loss of 2 bedrooms from November 2023, representing 50% of her rent. It should ask the resident to provide supporting information if necessary.

No later than

07 January 2026

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
We recommend that the landlord consider how it can assist the resident to mitigate the possible effect of furniture and items against the walls.
We recommend that the landlord discuss with the resident the possibility of moving to alternative accommodation, if requested, and how this can be achieved.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
20 August 2024	Following an email from the resident, the landlord raised a formal complaint. In the email, the resident asked for an update on: Outstanding repairs for the mould/damp. Her claim for damages to her personal belongings. Compensation for loss of use of bedrooms that she thought the landlord had promised from November 2023 to date. The resident advised that she had tried pursuing responses through the housing officer, however, the housing officer was not receiving updates.
4 September 2024	The landlord sent the stage 1 response and stated: It had raised repair jobs after a survey on 21 February 2023, but there had been 9 no access visits. It had reviewed an inspection conducted on 21 February 2023 and found there was no evidence that a bedroom was uninhabitable. It had carried out a damp and mould wash. However, it would offer £50 compensation for inconvenience caused by damp and mould issues.
26 February 2025	The resident escalated her complaint and raised several points. This included: Since returning from the temporary alternative accommodation (16 September 2023), there had been continuous mould in the property. She thought the contractor only carried out cosmetic works when she was moved into temporary alternative accommodation. Since the temporary alternative accommodation, the landlord had carried out mould washes on several occasions but this was only a temporary solution. She also cleaned the mould anyway. She wanted details of all the appointments that she was said to have missed. She had submitted a claim for damage to personal belongings. After she had provided receipts, a member of staff had agreed to deal with the claim as opposed to the resident dealing with the landlord’s insurance team directly. However, there had been no progress since March 2024. The landlord had not provided compensation for 2 unused bedrooms as promised. The landlord had not provided a start date for Retrofit Works.
30 April 2025	The landlord sent the stage 2 response and stated: It understood that the contractor had been in touch about planned upgrades to prevent future occurrences of damp and mould. It had confirmed this in an email to resident on 23 April 2025. There had been several mould washes since September 2023 but the mould was recurrent. There had been 7 carded visits since November 2022; however, it was not evident that visits were prearranged, therefore the stage 1 response was inaccurate. It could not locate a claim form and apologised if the claim was not followed up on after the officer dealing with the case left the organisation. In any case, it did not appear to be an insured event, but the resident could contact the insurance team for a definite answer.
Referral to the Ombudsman	On 22 June 2025, the resident referred her complaint to us and said: The landlord had delayed in carrying out works after our previous investigation. There was no clear schedule. The damp was recurring despite treatments. It was worse in winter and wet weather. The damp and mould mainly affected the bathroom and 2 children’s bedrooms. She had a child with additional needs. The landlord had installed a new kitchen but damp returned in the same place. The landlord had arranged a mould wash August 2025 in 2 bedrooms and bathroom; however, she had nowhere to put things out of the way. Her rent should have reduced from November 2023 until works were completed to resolve the root cause. She had been passed between the housing and repairs teams. She had provided the landlord with receipts to support her claim for damage to personal belongings, but had been given contradictory responses.

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	Damp and Mould
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord was required to inspect and understand necessary works within a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances of a case based on the condition of the property. Damp and mould can is a hazard, and landlords should inspect promptly to ensure the safety of its residents.
An inspection by the landlord on 18 October 2023 identified the following works:
1. Repair radiator leak.
2. Repair the rear gutter and roof soffit to prevent water ingress to rear bedroom wall.
3. Fix a slipped roof tile at the front to prevent water ingress into a front upper bedroom.
4. A defective gulley affecting the ground floor bedroom.
5. Loose flashing a front of property.
The works were to be completed on 25 October 2023. The contractor attended to complete other works at this time, and the landlord maintained contact with the resident. However, there is no evidence the above works were completed. If the works were completed, there is no evidence that the landlord checked the quality and effectiveness of the works. This was particularly unreasonable as the resident reported on 8 November 2023 that “all bedrooms upstairs and downstairs are currently wet on the inside of the walls which has caused my children’s bedding/ belongings to become wet and are now sleeping downstairs in my living room.” The landlord therefore failed to address a possible cause of damp and mould at this point.
Following our investigation of the previous complaint, the landlord arranged for an independent surveyor to inspect the resident’s property on 1 March 2024. This was appropriate and followed on from our order on the previous complaint. The report, received on 26 April 2024, noted:
1. Surface condensation throughout property and minor mould except for the bathroom which had moderate mould.
2. Condensation due to a combination of excessive moisture laden air, and a lack of heating and ventilation.
3. The resident should move furniture away from walls, increase the use of their heating, open trickle vents, and venetian blinds.
4. There were no plumbing leaks or damp penetration (aside from a leaking radiator in an upstairs bedroom), no roof defect, or external wall leak.
5. 8 people were living in the property which was significantly above the design intent of the building and was a contributing factor to the causes of damp and mould.
6. Further improvements and overcompensation measures would be necessary to help control the elevated levels of moisture laden air within the property.
7. In the medium to short term, the landlord would need to introduce external wall insulation to the property to achieve its Energy Performance Certificate target.
Following the survey, the landlord formulated an action plan on 28 May 2024. It was to carry out mould washes to all rooms in the property between 1 and 3 June 2024. It should also upgrade the bathroom fan and replace the bathroom window handle by 3 June 2024. It was to repair a radiator leak from an upstairs bedroom which had damaged the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom. The landlord was also to agree arrangements for a contractor to install passive wall vents in each room. It was unreasonable that the landlord took over a month to formulate a plan given that under its Mould and Damp Policy, it should respond to residents within 5 working days.
The landlord has not provided evidence that it installed the wall vents in each room as recommended or an enhanced capacity extractor fan. This was particularly unreasonable given the need to “contain elevated levels of moisture laden air.” There is also no evidence that it completed the other works in the action plan at the time the resident made her complaint. While its stage 1 response made reference to missed appointments, it accepted that they were not prearranged. Moreover, the missed visits occurred from November 2022, therefore some at least related to the resident’s previous complaint.
There is no evidence that the landlord took further action to resolve the damp and mould until it inspected on 16 October 2024. The surveyor noted mould in the kitchen and 3 occupied bedrooms. He recommended mould treatment to affected areas in the kitchen. He also recommended increasing the ventilation in the bedrooms by asking a fan/ventilation specialist to carry out a survey. This was consistent with the recommendation of the independent surveyor to increase the ventilation. However, there is no evidence that the landlord commissioned a specialist or otherwise took steps to carry out these works. This prolonged the delay in carrying out identified works to increase the ventilation to resolve the damp and mould.
The surveyor also noted a leaking overflow pipe that had stained the render may have contributed to damp and mould. He recommended the landlord repair the pipe and seal the render; however, there is no evidence the landlord completed these works. Again, this was another missed opportunity to resolve a possible cause of damp and mould.
The information provided by the parties indicates that the landlord’s focus was on carrying out periodical mould washes and completing works under its planned Retrofit Programme. The landlord’s website states “Retrofitting is all about making homes better at retaining heat and reducing carbon emissions with better insulation, better windows as well as other features that provide more efficient heat and power. Our Retrofit (…) part of our planned maintenance strategy, prioritising homes with an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of D or below – so we can support those most in need.” The landlord’s internal correspondence indicates that it will carry out the works to the resident’s property in 2026. Nonetheless, the landlord has a responsibility to ensure the eradicate the mould and damp in the resident’s property before then. It has not taken all the necessary steps as it has not carried out all identified works, in particular works to prevent water ingress and to increase the ventilation within a reasonable time or at all.
The landlord advised us that it has not installed air vents or air bricks on the advice of the Retrofit programme. However, there is no evidence of this advice. Ultimately, the landlord has taken no action to improve the ventilation to prevent mould formation, nor does the Retrofit works scheduled for the resident’s property include ventilation works.
The inspections noted that items against the walls may have contributed to mould forming and made areas difficult to inspect and treat. The landlord missed opportunities to consider how it could mitigate this issue and assist the resident, given the overcrowding. This may include erecting if necessary and placing possessions in a secure garden shed or using a locally accessible storage unit. The landlord also missed opportunities to proactively explore the possibility of transferring the resident and her family to more suitable accommodation.
The resident noted the number of mould washes to her property when pursuing her complaint. She has advised us that in preparation, she has to spend time and energy moving possessions and clearing spaces. This impacts her child who has additional needs. The resident also informed the landlord and us that she has to regularly clear mould herself to stop the spread. The resident has also advised us that there is mould in the downstairs bedroom where her infant child and her partner (who has sleep apnoea) sleep. She told us that the lack of updates and timeframes has caused her distress and inconvenience.
An aspect of the resident’s complaint was compensation for loss of use of bedrooms. She stated that the landlord agreed to compensate her 25% of her rent for the loss of use of 2 bedrooms each, making compensation equivalent to 50% of the rent. This rate would be consistent with the landlord’s Compensation Policy. The resident has provided an email sent on 14 November 2023. This agreed compensation for “2 bedrooms unsuitable for habitation since 2 October 2023” at 25% of the weekly rent, £151.70, per room. The landlord agreed to pay £455.10 (up until 12 November 2023). It would pay the final balance once the works were completed onto the rent account as the resident had requested. There is no evidence that the landlord kept to this agreement, reviewed the circumstances or otherwise sought to amend it. It also did not respond to this aspect of the complaint. Therefore, we find that there was a service failure regarding this aspect of the resident’s complaint.
The resident also stated she provided information to a former member of staff regarding a claim for damage to her possessions. She said the information included receipts and that the member of staff agreed to progress her claim on her behalf with the landlord’s insurance team. While the landlord noted the staff member had left the organisation, neither party has provided evidence of the claim or supporting evidence. Therefore, we have not considered possible service failings regarding this issue.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord’s housing feedback policy states that formal complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days. It will then provide a stage 1 complaint response within 10 working days. For stage 2 complaints, it will acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days and provide a stage 2 complaint response within 20 working days of the acknowledgment. This is in line with our Complaint Handling Code (the Code)
The landlord sent the stage 1 response of 20 August 2024 within the timescale set out in the policy. However, it did not address the resident’s claim for compensation for loss of use of bedrooms from November 2023. It is also unreasonable that it referred to a survey from February 2023 when this had been considered under a previous complaint and there had been a more recent survey which had identified repairs to be completed. The response was not in line with the Code which states “Landlords must address all points raised in the complaint definition and provide clear reasons for any decision…”. Also, in focussing on missed appointments, the landlord, in effect, attributed responsibility onto the resident, which was unreasonable and without clear substantiation.
The landlord did not meet the timeframe for responding to the resident’s stage 2 complaint and there is no evidence it sent a holding response. The response focussed on the fact that there would be planned Retrofit works scheduled for the future. It therefore overlooked that there had inspections since the resident moved back in after the decant which had identified repairs and other action. Correspondingly, the landlord did not focus on timely resolution to the complaint. The landlord again failed to address the resident’s claim for compensation for loss of use of bedrooms.
Given the failings of the landlord, we find that there was maladministration in respect of its complaint handling.

Learning

Communication and Record Keeping

Our spotlight report on repairs and maintenance explains that failures can be avoided when landlords:
1. let residents know what to expect regarding repairs and provide a clear schedule for repair visits
2. gather feedback from residents and conduct inspections to ensure the work is satisfactory.
In this case, the records do not show if the landlord regularly updated the resident on the status of repairs. Frustration and dissatisfaction may have been avoided if the landlord’s repairs and maintenance team followed our spotlight report recommendations.