Clarion Housing Association Limited (202317177)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202317177

Clarion Housing Association Limited

7 March 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

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of reports of:
1. Issues with damp and mould.
2. Issues with heating.
3. Issues with the windows.
We have also considered the landlord’s record keeping.

Background

The resident was an assured tenant of a 2-bedroom property. The resident has several health conditions.
On 30 December 2022, the landlord noted that there was only a log burner for heating in the property. This had caused severe damp and mould.
The resident wrote to the landlord on 29 January 2023. He said that someone had attended to complete a mould wash on 10 January 2023. The resident said that the landlord did not complete the mould wash on the windows as it needed to carry out a further assessment. The resident confirmed that he and his wife were sleeping downstairs on a mattress due to the mould affecting both bedrooms. The resident also included a doctor’s letter raising concerns that the mould was a risk to the resident. The resident advised mould had already begun to grow back from a previous mould wash.
On 10 March 2023 the landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint. It recognised the resident’s vulnerability and that there was only a log burner in the property. It also recognised that the resident was sleeping on a mattress downstairs. It advised it would install a new heating system on 27 March 2023, and offered £200 for delays to repairs and £50 for the delay in issuing the stage 1 response.
On 20 March 2023, the resident spoke with the landlord. He advised he was unhappy as the landlord had moved neighbours who were experiencing the same issue to a hotel. He wrote a further letter on 26 March 2023. He reiterated that there was black mould in the property. He said he had been sleeping on the living room floor since December 2022. He said this was having a significant impact on his mental health. He also said there was damage to his property and belongings. He requested that the landlord did not charge rent from January 2023 until it had resolved the matter.
The landlord responded to the stage 2 complaint on 30 May 2023. It said that there had been some no access appointments for mould washes, although it had rescheduled these. It advised that the timber windows were in good condition but needed redecorating. It also advised that it had not left the resident without heating, as there was a log burner and storage heaters in the property. It confirmed it had installed a new heating system. It offered £50 for the delay in sending the complaint response.
The resident has since left the property. He remains unhappy at how he feels the landlord treated him and has advised that the landlord never replaced the windows. He said he tried to call and ask for help repeatedly. He has asked the Ombudsman to investigate this.

Assessment and findings

The landlord’s handling of reports of issues with damp and mould.

The landlord was aware on 30 December 2022 that there was severe damp and mould in the property. It was also aware the resident had health conditions. The landlord should have assessed the risk and attended the property as soon as possible. The landlord stated that it attended on 10 January 2023 to do a mould wash. This is a positive action in response to damp and mould. However, the resident advised on 29 January 2023, that the mould wash was incomplete as the windows needed further assessment. The landlord’s records say that it washed the mould around the windows on 19 February 2023. However, the landlord’s records for the same day note that there was no access. The resident also reported that no one arrived. Due to the conflicting information, we are unable to determine if the landlord took the correct actions at this time. We note however, there was a photo in the landlord’s records, dated 21 March 2023 which shows extensive black mould around a window.
The residents made the landlord aware in a letter that they were sleeping in a mattress in one room, since December 2022. We consider that the landlord could have noticed this during its visit on 10 January 2023. As soon as it was aware the resident was sleeping on a mattress in one room, it should have conducted a risk assessment. It could have considered whether a decant was necessary. There is no evidence the landlord did this.
The landlord received a doctor’s letter which said that the mould was a potential risk to the resident’s health. Again, we would expect the landlord to assess the risk associated with the health of the resident and the condition of the property. There is no evidence it did this.
In its stage 2 response the landlord confirmed it did a further mould wash on 27 March 2023. The landlord emailed on 12 April 2023 to advise that it needed to complete another survey. It completed this on 14 April 2023 and identified that it needed to do a mould wash. We have also seen an email to the resident dated 5 July 2023 that the landlord had scheduled a further damp and mould assessment for 13 July 2023. The landlord appears to have been completing mould washes, but the mould was returning quickly. It is concerning that the landlord visited so many times for damp and mould but was unable to establish an underlying cause for why the issue continued to return.
We acknowledge that the landlord has said that there had been no access appointments. We also acknowledge that the landlord said it had some trouble contacting the resident at times. We consider that the resident should provide access for the landlord to complete repairs. We are aware that the resident has disputed some of the no access appointments and that the resident reported that the landlord did not attend some scheduled appointments. We consider that some delay was out with the landlord’s control. However, the landlord has provided insufficient evidence that it tried to discuss the access issues with the resident. We consider that better communication may have improved the access issues.
The resident reported ongoing mould issues until he moved out. He said these improved slightly once the landlord installed the heating system on 21 April 2023. We have seen that the landlord scheduled a damp and mould assessment for 13 July 2023. We consider the landlord was continuing to investigate the damp and mould.
We acknowledge that some delay to repairs was out with the landlord’s control. However, the landlord failed to consider the risk to the resident when handling the damp and mould complaint. It has not provided sufficient evidence that it was handling the matter quickly. Further the landlord knew since at least 29 January 2023 that the resident was sleeping on a mattress in a living room, which we consider to be unreasonable given the resident’s health conditions. As such there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of issues with damp and mould.
In considering our orders, we are aware the resident has moved out of the property. We will therefore make an order for an apology and compensation.
The landlord offered compensation at stage 1 of £200 for both the lack of heating and the damp and mould. We are assessing these complaint issues separately. As such we will conduct separate compensation calculations, of which the landlord may deduct £200 from the total if it has already paid this.
We have considered a loss of rooms payment for the time it is known the resident was sleeping on the mattress in the living room. We have taken the 10 January 2023, which was the date the landlord visited the resident, to be the start date. This is because the landlord should reasonably have been aware that the resident was sleeping on a mattress from this date. We have calculated the payment until 21 April 2023, when the landlord installed the heating system. During this period, both bedrooms were not in use. There was also partial loss of the living room.
We have considered the landlord’s compensation policy when calculating a percentage for room loss. The landlord states that 1 bedroom in a 2-bedroom house would be a payment of 25% of the rent. It gives no calculation for a living room. On balance we consider 50% of rent to be an appropriate amount for loss of both bedrooms and partial loss of the living room. This equates to £689.

The landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the heating.

On 30 December 2022, the landlord acknowledged that there was only a log burner in the property. However, in its stage 2 response, it said there were storage heaters. The resident said that there was only a log heater. We have not been provided with evidence that there was any other heating in the property, and due to the landlord’s conflicting evidence, we have accepted the residents statement that there was only a log burner.
On being aware that the heating system was potentially inadequate, the landlord should have considered what actions it could take to support the resident. We can see that on 4 January 2023 the landlord began considering what heating system it should install. We consider that installing a new heating system is a complex repair and would take time to organise and install.
The doctors letter submitted to the landlord advised that the resident was at risk of an illness, that can be affected by cold. We would expect the landlord to consider whether there was any temporary solution that it could offer the resident, such as portable heaters while it decided on the most appropriate permanent solution. This was particularly important given the resident reported the matter during the colder winter months.
In its stage 2 response, the landlord stated that on 2 March 2023 it had raised an appointment to install storage heaters in the bedroom. It said that the resident cancelled the appointment as he was waiting on an air source pump heating system, and the storage heater was not needed. It is unclear from the records whether the landlord wanted to install these as an alternative to the air source pump heating system, or in addition to this. While we recognise the landlord has tried to improve the heating in the property, we consider that there is insufficient evidence to support that the landlord had discussed the benefits of the storage heaters. Better communication with the resident may have meant the resident accepted the storage heaters and resolved the issue for the resident at an earlier date.
The landlord installed the heating system on 21 April 2023. The landlord was aware that the resident had an inadequate heating system for over 4 months. In its stage 2 response, it did not acknowledge its failures, stating that the resident had a log burner. We consider there to be maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the heating.
We have considered the length of time the resident had inadequate heating. We have already compensated for loss and enjoyment of rooms, and we would not look to duplicate this in this section. However, we consider a distress and inconvenience payment to be appropriate. We have considered our remedies guidance. The landlord installed extra heating however it did not address the detriment to the resident in its complaints responses. Specifically that the insufficient heating may have posed a risk to the resident’s health and no temporary heating was provided. As such we have awarded £400 compensation.

The landlord’s handling of reports issues with the windows.

The resident stated that the landlord had been unable to complete the mould wash to the windows because a surveyor needed to come out. The resident contacted the landlord on 10 February 2023 to ask what was happening with the window repairs. The landlord told the resident on 14 February 2023 that it was following up on the window repairs.
On 11 May 2023 an internal email said that the timber windows were in good condition and only needed redecoration. It noted that it needed to replace some sealed units. In the landlord’s stage 2 response the landlord advised that the planning team would monitor the windows and replace them if needed. It did not mention the windows which it had identified as needing replaced. This was potentially confusing for the resident. We have seen that the resident subsequently continued to chase the window repairs. The landlord has not demonstrated that it clearly communicated its position on repairs to the windows.
We understand that the landlord did not complete the replacement of the sealed units before the resident moved out. The landlord has made us aware that the resident had requested that the landlord did not replace his windows, until the landlord had replaced his kitchen. The resident made this request in March 2023. While we recognise that the landlord may have initially tried to honour the resident’s requests, we have seen a number of later emails from the resident, asking for an update on replacement windows. The landlord should have communicated clearly with the resident regarding the repairs. It should have discussed with the resident when it would complete these. We have not seen evidence that it did this.
As the repairs remained outstanding, and the resident continued to follow these up, we consider there to be maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the windows.
We consider that by not repairing the windows this likely compounded the ongoing problem with damp and mould in the property. We have already compensated for the damp and mould in the earlier section of this report and would not duplicate this here. However, the landlord did not complete the repairs, and the resident had to contact the landlord on several occasions regarding this. In line with our remedies guidance, we have awarded £250 compensation

The landlord’s record keeping.

We expect a landlord to keep a robust record of contact and evidence of its actions relating to each casefile, which can be provided upon request. Failing to keep robust records can undermine landlord’s complaints responses and can cause delays in addressing repairs. This is highlighted in the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on knowledge and information management.
The landlord did not keep detailed records of conversations with the resident around what heating system it would install, or when the resident could expect this to be completed. The records also do not provide a clear timeline as to the landlord’s decision making in installing the heating system. This impacted on the landlord’s communication with the resident which potentially caused delays in resolving the heating issue.
The records around the window repairs were insufficiently detailed. This may have led to confusion internally around what repairs were outstanding and what the landlord’s position was on completing these repairs. This resulted in the resident receiving conflicting information in the stage 2 response.
As the record keeping impacted on the communication with the resident, and potentially caused delays in completing repairs, there maladministration in the landlord’s record keeping.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s:
1. Handling of reports of issues with damp and mould
2. Handling of reports of issues with heating.
3. Handling of reports of issues with the windows.
4. Record keeping.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

The landlord is ordered to issue an apology to the resident. The apology should include the failures highlighted in this report. The landlord should acknowledge the vulnerability of the resident, and its failure to consider this when handling the repairs.
The landlord is ordered to pay £1,339 in compensation. This is made up of:
1. £689 for loss and enjoyment of rooms in the property due to damp and mould.
2. £400 for the distress and inconvenience due to the landlord’s handing of reports of issues with the heating.
3. £250 for the landlord’s handling of reports of issues with the windows.

If the landlord has already paid the £200 it offered the resident for delays in repairs during the complaints process, it may deduct this from the total.

The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of this report.
We are aware that the landlord has conducted reviews into its record keeping. It can provide details of the outcome of its reviews as evidence of compliance with the following order if it applies. The landlord must review the record keeping failures in this case and provide evidence of the systems it has in place to ensure similar record keeping failures do not arise in the future. The landlord must confirm whether further action needs to be taken.

Recommendations.

It is recommended that the landlord re-offer the £100 it awarded for complaints handling during the complaints process.