London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202431128)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202431128

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

10 September 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:
1. Handling of a leak and the condition of the bathroom.
2. Handling of repairs.
The landlord’s complaint handling is also considered.

Background

The resident has an assured tenancy of a 3-bedroom, basement flat, where she lives with her children. The landlord is a housing association.
On 13 February 2024 the resident complained about the landlord’s handling of an electrical fault. She said she had been unable to use the oven since 7 January 2024. The resident said the repair was booked for 4 March 2024, which was too long to be without an oven.
On 14 February 2024 the resident complained about the condition of her bathroom. She said the bathroom had deteriorated since works were completed in April 2023.
The landlord sent a stage 1 complaint response on 15 February 2024. It apologised for the handling of the electrical fault and said this was now fixed. The landlord apologised for the bathroom issues and said it would inspect the damp and mould. It awarded £220 compensation for the loss of use of the cooker and £1,090 for the condition of the bathroom.
On 26 August 2024 the resident complained about the handling of the bathroom repairs. She said a burst pipe was not repaired properly, which caused a further leak. The resident said the leak was fixed but the landlord had not repaired the damage it caused. She said her son had asthma and there was damp and mould in his bedroom and the bathroom. The resident said there were multiple outstanding repairs at the property. She said the landlord’s failure to resolve the issues meant she would have to take time off work.
The landlord sent a stage 1 complaint response on 29 August 2024. It did not address the bathroom issues as it said these were part of a separate complaint. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint about the outstanding repairs. It said it would repair the kitchen panels on 13 December 2024 and the skirting and banister between 24 and 26 September 2024. The landlord said the other repairs had not been reported, which meant there was no service failure. It said the resident was organising the fan repair and it would contact her about the hallway leak.
On 2 September 2024 the resident escalated her complaint about the repairs. She disputed the landlord’s response and said she reported the repairs in February 2024.
On 22 September 2024 the resident escalated her complaint about the bathroom.
On 10 October 2024 the landlord acknowledged the escalation request. It awarded £50 compensation for the delay in providing the acknowledgement.
On 14 October 2024 the landlord sent a stage 2 complaint response. The landlord restated the information provided in the stage 1 response sent on 29 August 2024.
After the Ombudsman intervened the landlord sent a further stage 2 response on 20 March 2025. The landlord said there were no outstanding works to the bathroom.
The resident referred her complaint to us on 22 March 2025 as she was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the repairs and her complaint.

Assessment and findings

Scope of assessment

The resident said a repair to a burst pipe in September 2022 was not done properly. We encourage residents to raise complaints with their landlords in a timely manner. This is so the landlord has a reasonable opportunity to consider the issues when they are still ‘live’. It also means the evidence is more likely to be available to reach an informed conclusion on the events that occurred. We do not consider complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord within a reasonable period. This would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising. This investigation therefore considers the period from February 2023 until the landlord’s final complaint response on 20 March 2024. Issues before this period provide contextual background but are not included in the assessment.

The condition of the bathroom and handling of a leak

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. The landlord’s repair policy says it will provide safe, warm, and secure homes. It also says it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours and aim to complete routine repairs in 25 calendar days.
On 6 April 2023 the landlord ordered a repair to the bath panel and toilet. The landlord’s records show the works were subsequently cancelled. A surveyor visited the resident’s property in September 2023. Complete and accurate records allow a landlord to meet its repair obligations and to demonstrate it has done so. The landlord has not provided any records from the visit to the resident’s property. This is a record keeping failure.
On 14 February 2024 the resident complained about the bathroom. In its stage 1 response the landlord apologised and awarded £1,090 compensation for the condition of the bathroom between April 2023 to April 2024. The landlord said the resident had reported damp and mould and it would arrange an inspection.
The landlord was unaware there was an ongoing leak until 19 February 2024, when the resident asked when it would be fixed. When the resident confirmed there was a leak the landlord should have raised a repair, but it failed to do so.
The landlord visited the property on 21 February 2024. It has not provided a report or record of the visit. This is a record keeping failure.
The landlord ordered and completed a repair on 22 February 2024. It was appropriate for the landlord to handle the leak as an emergency repair, however it should have ordered the repair sooner.
On 28 February 2024 the landlord completed a damp and mould treatment and inspection. This found the bathroom skirting boards were rotten due to a previous leak. The landlord provided a dehumidifier and told the resident the bath panel had not been reattached to help the drying out process. These were reasonable steps to assess the damage and dry out the leak. However, the landlord did not set out the next steps or provide a timeline for completing the remaining repairs.
On 15 March 2024 the landlord ordered works to the skirting boards. On 4 July 2024 it ordered the bathroom flooring to be replaced.
The landlord’s records say it repaired the skirting boards on 12 July 2024. This was 57 days after the target timeline in its repairs policy. The records say the landlord replaced the bathroom flooring on 1 August 2024. This was within the target timeframe for a ‘routine’ repair.
On 26 August 2024 the resident complained to the landlord about its handling of the bathroom repairs. The resident said there was damp and mould in the bathroom and her son’s room. She told the landlord her son was asthmatic. The landlord should have conducted a damp and mould inspection, but it failed to do so.
The resident contacted the landlord several times in September 2024 about the bathroom. There is no evidence the landlord responded to concerns the resident raised.
The resident contacted us on 29 January 2025. She said the bathroom repairs were completed in October 2024, but the landlord had not responded to her concerns about the handling of the works. After we told the landlord to respond to the resident it provided a stage 2 response on 20 March 2025. It completed a check of the works on 7 April 2025.
Where the landlord admits failings, we consider whether its offer of redress puts things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. In doing so, we consider whether the redress was in accordance with the dispute resolution principles of ‘be fair’, put things right’ and ‘learn from outcomes’.
The landlord acknowledged the condition of the bathroom caused the resident distress. In February 2024 the landlord awarded £1090 compensation. This amount is within the range set out in our guidance for failings that had a significant impact on the resident.
The landlord stopped the leak and took the appropriate action to assess the damage and dry out the bathroom. However, the landlord’s communication was poor. It did not explain how long the ‘drying out’ process would be or provide a schedule of works for the repairs. It did not follow its repairs policy and did not respond to the resident’s concerns about the handling and scheduling of repairs. As a result, we have made a finding of maladministration.
We have ordered the landlord to apologise and to pay £1390 compensation. This comprises £1090 awarded at stage 1 and £300 for the additional failures set out above. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failing that had a significant impact on the resident.

The landlord’s handling of repairs

The landlord ordered a repair to the kitchen panels on 2 April 2024 and completed the works on 10 June 2024. This was 44 days after its target response time for routine repairs.
On 26 August 2024 the resident complained about the handling of repairs. She said the following repairs were outstanding: a leak to the hallway, broken kitchen extractor fan, damaged plasterwork, broken kitchen panels, broken skirting boards and damaged staircase.
The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint about the handling of repairs to the kitchen panels, banister and skirting boards. It said the resident had not reported the other issues and therefore there was no service failure.
The landlord acknowledged the repair to the kitchen panels was inadequate and said it would complete another repair on 13 December 2024. It said this was booked to accommodate the resident’s availability. The landlord said it would repair the banister and skirting boards between 24 and 26 September 2024. The landlord said the resident told it she would book an appointment for the kitchen fan. It said it would contact the resident when an appointment to fix the hallway leak was available.
The resident disputed the landlord’s account. She said she reported repairs to the surveyor who visited the property in February 2024. The resident said she explained the issues during the visit and in messages sent thereafter. The resident provided an extract of a text exchange with the surveyor, however it is unclear which repairs it relates to. The resident said other exchanges were lost due to issues with her phone. It is crucial landlords maintain complete and accurate repair and contact records. The landlord has not provided a record of the visit carried out in February 2024 and the information in the text exchange with the surveyor is not included in the evidence it provided. This is a recordkeeping failure.
The landlord’s repair records say the leak in the hallway was repaired on 7 January 2025 and repairs to rendering and plasterwork were completed on 20 March 2025. The records show repairs to the banister and skirting were completed on 28 April 2025.
The resident told us the handling of the repairs affected her mental health. She said the landlord’s failure to complete the repairs in February 2024 meant she had to accommodate appointments after she returned to work in September 2025, which caused her inconvenience.
The landlord did not follow its repairs policy. It did not complete the repairs to kitchen panels, staircase or skirting boards within the target timeframe for routine repairs. The landlord’s recordkeeping and communication were inadequate and had a detrimental effect on the service it provided to the resident. As a result, we have made a finding of maladministration.
We have ordered the landlord to apologise and to pay £250 compensation. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failing that had an adverse effect on the resident.

The landlord’s complaint handling

Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code) says landlords must:
1. Acknowledge stage 1 complaints within 5 working days and respond within 10 working days.
2. If all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction at stage 1, it must be progressed to Stage 2.
3. Not refuse to escalate a complaint without a valid reason.
4. Acknowledge stage 2 complaints and respond within 20 working days of escalation.
5. Notify residents of any delays and seek to agree a new deadline.
6. Address all points of a complaint in the response.
The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 13 February 2024 about the handling of an electrical fault and on 14 February 2024 complained about the condition of the bathroom. The landlord sent a stage 1 response on 15 February 2024.
On 26 August 2024 the resident complained about the handling of repairs, and the condition of the bathroom and handling of the leak.
The landlord sent a complaint acknowledgement and stage 1 response on 29 August 2024. The response did not address the bathroom issues. The landlord said these were part of a separate complaint. It told the resident to contact the staff member handling that complaint. This was inappropriate. The landlord should have either recorded a new stage 1 complaint or escalated the resident’s previous complaint to stage 2.
On 2 September 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint about the handling of repairs. On 4 September 2024 she contacted the staff member about the bathroom complaint. The staff member did not respond.
On 22 September 2024 the resident asked the landlord to escalate her complaint about the bathroom.
The landlord acknowledged this on 10 October 2024. It apologised for the delay and awarded £50 compensation. The response was inaccurate as it did not refer to the escalation request the resident made on 2 September 2024.
The landlord sent a stage 2 response on 14 October 2024. This was 10 working days after the response time required by the Code. The response did not address the resident’s complaint about the bathroom issues.
After we intervened the landlord provided a further stage 2 response on 20 March 2025. This was 105 working days after the response time required by the Code.
The landlord said there was nothing it could add to the stage 1 response sent in February 2024. The landlord failed to investigate the bathroom issues after February 2024. It did not acknowledge the failures in its complaint handling.
We found maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling. This is because it did not follow the Code. The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint about the bathroom caused her distress. It required our intervention for the landlord to provide a stage 2 response. That response was inadequate. The landlord did not investigate issues that occurred after February 2024 and failed to acknowledge or account for the complaint handling failings. We order the landlord to apologise to the resident and pay £350 compensation. This comprises £50 awarded prior to stage 2 and £300 for the failures identified above. This is in accordance with our remedies guidance where there was a failing that adversely effected the resident.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s
1. Handling of a leak and the condition of the bathroom.
2. Handling of repairs.
3. Complaint handling.

Orders and recommendations

Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord must:
Pay the resident £1,990, this comprises:
1. £1390 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failings in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp, mould and excess cold.
2. £250 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failings in the landlord’s handling of repairs.
3. £350 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failings in the landlord’s complaint handling.

The landlord can deduct from this amount any compensation paid at stage 1 or stage 2. The compensation awarded by the Ombudsman must be paid to the resident and not to a rent or service charge account.

Carry out a damp and mould inspection at the resident’s property. The landlord should provide the resident and the Ombudsman with a copy of the inspection report and a schedule for any works identified. The works should start no later than 6 weeks after the date of the survey.