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London Borough of Lewisham (202503271)

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Decision

Case ID

202503271

Decision type

Jurisdiction

Landlord

London Borough of Lewisham

Landlord type

Local Authority

Occupancy

Secure Tenancy

Date

20 January 2026

Background

  1. The resident moved into the landlord’s property in November 2022. In December 2022, the resident reported damp and mould in several rooms. The landlord said it would arrange works to address the issue. The resident later stated that the problem was worsening and complained.

What the complaint is about

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould.

Our decision (determination)

  1. After considering the evidence, we have found the complaint is outside of our jurisdiction. As a result, we have not investigated it.

Summary of reasons

  1. The resident complained that she had been dealing with damp and mould issues at the property since November 2022. She reported that the mould caused damp floors, a bug infestation, and damage to her personal belongings. She also raised concerns about poor communication from the landlord. She said the situation affected her mental health.
  2. The landlord addressed the issues through stage 1 in March 2023 and stage 2 in May 2023 of its complaint process and offered £100 in compensation. At the time, it operated a 3-stage complaint process, but the resident’s complaint did not progress to stage 3.
  3. The resident sought legal representation and issued legal proceedings. We have not seen the claim form and so cannot say if the issues raised were exactly the same as those raised in this complaint. However, it is clear that a disrepair claim was raised and that on 13 May 2025 the court approved, among other things, an agreement that legal proceedings were stayed on agreed terms. The terms are confidential and so we have not repeated them here. However, they addressed disrepair issues. Those issues form the basis of the complaint taken to the Ombudsman. The order stated that either party could apply to the court to enforce the agreement without issuing a new claim.
  4. As the resident had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings and legal proceedings have been issued at court, we will not investigate this complaint.