Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council (202328159)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202328159

Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

15 August 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 complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. The resident’s reports of damp and mould and subsequent repairs.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has been an assured tenant with the landlord since 2019. He lives in a bedsit. The landlord has noted that the customer suffers from mental health and mobility issues. It has also advised that there are warning markers on the account regarding the resident’s previous behaviour.
  2. The landlord has noted not to attend the resident’s property alone. Furthermore, the landlord has arrangements to attend repairs alongside the police.
  3. The resident reported a problem with the extractor fan in the bathroom on 25 July 2022. He advised the fan was not working and this was causing damp. Issues with damp were reported by the resident by phone on 5 occasions between April 2023 and October 2023. He told the landlord that the mould was “killing him” and affecting his health.
  4. The resident contacted us on 15 November 2023 advising he raised a formal complaint over the phone with the landlord in 2023 and received no response. We requested the landlord raise a complaint and respond at stage 1 to the resident by 18 December 2023.
  5. The landlord responded to the complaint on 24 April 2024. The landlord advised that it had been trying to address the issues in the property. It explained it had failed to gain access on several occasions and the resident had been obstructive, preventing repairs from being completed. The landlord gained access on 7 June 2023 and identified repair works to be completed. They were unable to gain access to complete these repairs. A date was confirmed in the response for an asbestos survey and the necessary repair works to begin on 17 June 2024 and take 5 days to complete. It offered a temporary move during these works, but this was declined by the resident.
  6. The resident told us he escalated his complaint to stage 2 verbally on 12 July 2024. He advised that the landlord lied in the stage 1 response about attending and refused to provide temporary accommodation. He explained that the property is killing him due to the mould issues.
  7. The landlord responded to the stage 2 on 9 April 2025. It explained that the appointment detailed at stage 1 did not go ahead as there was no access. This was re-booked for July 2024, but no access was granted. Due to an increase in unacceptable behaviour from the resident, the landlord took legal action and provided the resident with a single point of contact as part of a court injunction. An inspection was carried out on 27 November 2024 where a minor area of mould was identified. The landlord completed a wash-down on this day and confirmed to the resident what repairs were to be completed on 14 January 2025. The landlord advised there was no access on arrival. It confirmed repairs were agreed to be completed on 15 April 2025. It advised that that repairs remained incomplete due to it being unable to gain reasonable access. It did not change its decision, and the complaint was not upheld.

Following the complaints process

  1. The resident contacted us on 12 May 2025 asking to review the case. He advised that the landlord had not resolved the damp and mould issues in his property. He explained is health was being impacted by the damp and mould and he had spent savings on staying away from the property. He wanted to be moved out of the property, the repairs to be completed and compensation to be awarded.
  2. The landlord confirmed that all repairs identified in the inspection in November 2024 were completed on 15 April 2025.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. In his correspondence with us, the resident indicated that he wished to be moved permanently into a different property. The way the landlord allocates its social housing is governed by its statutory obligations and its allocation policy which determines the priority of applicants on its waiting lists. The Ombudsman is unable to make orders that could cause an adverse impact on other individuals who may have a higher priority than the resident for the landlord’s properties.
  2. The resident has advised that he first reported issues with damp and mould in 2019. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise complaints with their landlords at the time the events happened. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for a thorough investigation to be carried out and for informed decisions to be made. Based on the evidence seen and the availability and reliability of evidence, we consider it fair and reasonable to focus our assessment on the period from 2022 onwards.

Handling of damp and mould reports and associated repairs

  1. The landlord’s approach towards damp and mould repairs compliance was published on 6 April 2023. It says that the landlord will wash down mould and eliminate the risk to the customer within 3 working days. A building technician or surveyor will attend depending on the severity, and all works should be completed within 40 working days.
  2. The landlord’s repair policy states that it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours to make the situation safe. Urgent repairs are to be attended within 3 working days and if possible, complete the repair on that appointment. Any further works identified on these appointments will be raised as a new job and placed within its appropriate repair category.
  3. The repair policy advises that where requested, customers must allow access for pre-arranged appointments. If the customer does not allow access, then the repair will be cancelled. Where the repair is of an emergency or health and safety matter, the landlord will continue to attempt to make contact and gain access to complete the repair and/or make safe. If not completing a repair or make safe poses a safety risk to other customers or the property, then it will take appropriate steps to gain access. It explains that it has the right to charge for the call out costs should no access be a continuous issue.
  4. On 25 July 2022, a repair was raised for the extractor fan in the bathroom which was not working and causing damp. The landlord attempted to arrange access on 3 occasions between August 2022 and December 2022. The landlord arranged an appointment for 27 January 2023, and left the resident a answerphone message and a text message advising them on this appointment. There was no access, and so the landlord tried calling him and left a calling card. The job was closed. This was an appropriate response by the landlord who had demonstrated it tried to contact the resident to arrange an appointment by different methods.
  5. On 12 April 2023, the resident called the landlord chasing about the mould problem. He advised that the mould was really bad and was affecting his health. On 13 April 2023, the resident called the landlord saying he could not live in the house due to the mould, and he could not breathe. He advised he was sleeping in a tent outside the property. Notes on 13 April 2023 state the customer was not engaging and wanted to move out. The landlord explained it needed to assess the issue. A repair was raised to inspect damp and mould. An appointment was arranged with the resident’s probation officer for 24 April 2023, but the resident was not in when the landlord attended. It would have been appropriate for an inspection to take place within 3 working days as per its damp and mould compliance report. However, the landlord acted reasonably by arranging an appointment with the resident’s probation officer on an agreed date due to previous unsuccessful attempts to gain access.
  6. On 25 May 2023, a repair was raised to inspect for damp and mould, and this was scheduled to take place on 6 June 2023. This was not appropriate as it was 11 working days after it was raised which is not in line with its damp and mould compliance report. The landlord attended on 6 June 2023 and repairs were raised to install a positive input ventilation (PIV) unit and foam-fill windows. The property was deemed as habitable; however, an asbestos survey was required prior to carrying out repairs. An appointment was raised on 8 June 2023 to complete the asbestos survey which was a reasonable timescale, and notes state that the contractor tried to gain access on multiple occasions. It is not clear from the repair history provided by the landlord when this took place. It was not appropriate that the landlord did not record the dates it contacted the resident about repairs or tried to gain access to the property. This information would be important in the event that the landlord was required to take formal action to obtain access.
  7. On 14 August 2023, the resident called the landlord requesting the Environmental Health Team attend to test levels of damp on walls due to mould in the property. The email was passed to the landlord’s repair team. There is no log of a repair or inspection being raised. There is evidence that the landlord was notified of the issue, and it was not appropriate that no action was taken. It would have been reasonable to attempt to contact the resident to reorganise the repairs previously raised or otherwise organise a further survey.
  8. On 19 September 2023, the resident told the landlord that due to the mould issues, his lungs were in pain, he could barely breathe and was worried about long term health conditions. The landlord offered to log a complaint, but the resident declined and advised he would “put something in writing” and that he wanted the mould to be sorted and be moved elsewhere during the repairs. The landlord had not visited the property since June 2023. It was inappropriate that the landlord did not arrange to reinspect the mould to determine the severity. It could have then acted appropriately to arrange a clean-down of the mould within 3 working days as per its damp and mould report.
  9. The landlord’s contractor arranged an asbestos survey to be completed on 6 October 2023. This is not recorded in the repairs history and there is no evidence showing this took place or was cancelled by the resident. This is not appropriate as this further demonstrates poor record keeping by the landlord.
  10. On 19 October 2023, the resident called the landlord to book an environmental health appointment regarding the mould issue. He wanted this to take place before repairs were completed as “proof to sue the landlord”. It was appropriate for the landlord to pass this relevant information on to environmental health or advise the resident on how to do that themselves. Evidence shows that the phone call was left unresolved. The neighbourhood officer responded the same day advising that the mould was “negligible” however there is no evidence that the landlord had recently attended to assess the mould. It was not appropriate that the landlord did not organise a survey or clean-down following the resident’s contact, as per its damp and mould report.
  11. On 24 November 2023, the customer contacted the landlord, and a repair was raised to wash down mould around windowsills in the resident’s hallway, bedroom, bathroom, and living room. An appointment for 14 December 2023 was given to the resident verbally over the phone – 14 working days after the contact was made. This was not appropriate as this was not booked within 3 working days as per the landlord’s report on damp and mould. The landlord has not provided any explanation of this delay. Notes state that the contractor was unable to gain access to the home on 14 December 2023 and there was an altercation with the resident.
  12. In December 2023, communication between the landlord and its contractor explained that the resident was contacting the contractor to chase appointments. The contractor asked the landlord to contact the resident to discuss what was happening. The landlord advised that the resident was not engaging with them and not providing a contact phone number. The landlord suggested that if the resident calls the contractor again, they could arrange an appointment with him. While the landlord had said the resident was not engaging with them, it would have been helpful if the landlord wrote to the resident to organise an appointment as it was responsible to ensure repairs are carried out.
  13. The resident called the contractor on 4 January 2024 and agreed to an appointment for 9 January 2024. The landlord agreed to send somebody to accompany the contractor. The appointment was cancelled by the resident on 9 January 2024 due to mental health issues. It is unclear if this was rearranged. It was inappropriate that the landlord did not attempt to contact the resident to arrange another appointment to demonstrate it was trying to carry its responsibility to repair the property.
  14. In the stage 1 complaint response, the landlord confirmed a provisional date of 17 June 2024 to complete an asbestos survey, and the repair works previously identified. They explained that they had offered a temporary move to the resident, but this was declined. The landlord attended on 17 June 2024 but there was no access. This was appropriate of the landlord as it had attended as it advised it would in its stage 1 response.
  15. A letter was issued to the resident on 26 June 2024 confirming there was no access, and explained the asbestos survey was rearranged to 4 July 2024, and the repairs would start on 17 July 2024. The resident was asked to confirm with his point of contact that access would be given. An opportunity was also given to discuss temporary accommodation. It was appropriate of the landlord to write to the resident following each no accessed appointment. It is not clear if access was provided for this appointment. This was not appropriate as the landlord should have recorded the result of this appointment.
  16. On 13 November 2024, the landlord wrote to the resident confirming an appointment had been arranged for an asbestos survey, mould wash and an inspection to be carried out on 27 November 2024. A key safe was to be provided prior to the visit as per the resident’s request to his local Councillor, letting him leave the property during the appointment. A police escort was to be present at the appointment. The landlord felt there was a requirement to complete another inspection because of the time that had lapsed since the previous inspection. This was reasonable of the landlord. Access was granted on 27 November 2024 and although repairs were identified, the landlord deemed the property to be habitable.
  17. All repairs noted on the visit were raised on 11 December 2024. A letter was sent to the resident on 16 December 2024 confirming an appointment for the repairs to take place on 14 January 2025. This was within it’s damp and mould report of 40 working days to complete works following a survey which was appropriate. It advised the resident that due to previous behaviours, police would be present during this visit. There was no access when the landlord attended on 14 January 2025.
  18. The landlord sent a letter to the resident on 11 March 2025 confirming a new appointment date of 15 April 2025 to complete the repairs, which was appropriate. This was re-iterated in its stage 2 response letter on 9 April 2025 where the landlord also advised that further failures to allow access may result in the resident being charged for missed appointment fees. It was appropriate to warn the resident of this in line with the repairs policy.
  19. Overall, the landlord noted several issues with gaining access to the property where appointments had been scheduled with reasonable notice. The landlord has shown that they took reasonable actions following this including attempting to contact the resident, leaving calling cards and writing to the resident detailing another appointment date. However, we have found that there were failures in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould, including:
    1. The landlord failed in its record keeping of the resident’s repairs in June 2023, October 2023, and July 2024.
    2. The landlord did not adhere to its timescales set out in its repairs policy and damp and mould compliance report when scheduling a survey on 25 May 2023, and an appointment to clean mould on 24 November 2023.
    3. The landlord should have raised a repair upon contact from the resident on 14 August 2023, 19 September 2023, and 19 October 2023.
    4. The landlord should have attempted to contact the resident about missed appointments on 14 August 2024 and January 2025.             
  20. On balance, the landlord has shown that it did arrange to clean and treat mould, completed surveys at the property and schedule appointments to complete the repairs identified. While the landlord is responsible for ensuring repairs are completed in a timely manner, in this instance, issues with access meant they were unable to attend scheduled appointments. However, the landlord did not acknowledge its failures in its own procedures during its investigation. Therefore, we have made a finding of service failure, and we order the landlord to pay £100 compensation for its handling of the damp and mould reports.

Landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint

  1. The landlord’s complaint policy states the following:
    1. There are 2 stages to the complaints policy as set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Code.
    2. Acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint.
    3. Provide a stage 1 response within 10 working days of acknowledgement.
    4. Acknowledge a request for a stage 2 review within 5 working days.
    5. Respond to the stage 2 within 20 working days of acknowledgement.
  2. The resident contacted us on 15 November 2023 complaining about mould in his property and a lack of action. He said he had raised a complaint over the phone with the landlord in 2023 and received no response. The Housing Ombudsman wrote to the landlord on 27 November 2023 asking that it raise a stage 1 complaint for the resident and respond to him by 18 December 2023. If it did not believe a stage 1 complaint should be raised, it should write to the resident by that date providing an explanation.
  3. On 19 April 2024 we contacted the landlord as it had not evidenced a response had been provided to the resident. The landlord responded on 22 April 2024 requesting we provide a copy of the email sent on 27 November 2023 and evidenced that it had been sent to the landlord. This was sent to the landlord on 25 April 2024. The landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint on 24 April 2024 – 104 working days after it was requested. This was not appropriate from the landlord as the response was outside of its timescales.
  4. On 12 December 2024, the resident contacted us explaining that he had escalated his complaint verbally on 12 July 2024 but had not received a response. We contacted the landlord on 5 March 2025 asking it to escalate the resident’s complaint to stage 2. We asked it to respond to the resident by 9 April 2025. No evidence was provided by the landlord demonstrating it had acknowledged the complaint with the resident which was not appropriate. The landlord responded to the resident on 9 April 2025 which was appropriate given the lack of evidence of the complaint being escalated by the resident in July 2024.
  5. Overall, the landlord responded to the stage 1 complaint 104 working days outside of its timescales which was not appropriate. The landlord also failed to acknowledge that the resident’s complaint was escalated to stage 2 following our request to the landlord on 5 March 2025. Consequently, we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint, and we order the landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in relation to its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaints.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered within 4 weeks of this report to provide evidence that it has:
    1. Written to the resident to apologise for the failings identified in this report.
    2. Paid the resident a total of £100 compensation for its handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
    3. Paid the resident a total of £100 compensation for its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord reviews its complaint handling procedures to ensure that contacts from The Housing Ombudsman are monitored and actioned to fall in line with its complaints policy and procedure.