London Borough of Enfield (202424493)

Decision
Case ID	202424493
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London Borough of Enfield
Landlord type	Local Authority
Occupancy	Leaseholder
Date	13 February 2026

Background

The resident rented out her property but reported damp and mould to the landlord since 2017. The damp and mould affected 1 bedroom wall, the bathroom, and 1 living room wall. While the landlord acted between 2018 to 2025 to address this the resident expressed dissatisfaction with the work it completed. She acknowledged it completed works by 31 January 2025 but told us she still has mould in the bathroom.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s:
1. Response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

We found maladministration in the landlord’s:
1. Response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. Complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould

The landlord took several steps to address the damp and mould in line with its housing repairs, maintenance, and planned works policy. It accepted it had not effectively managed the problem and offered some compensation. However, this was not proportionate to the failings found in this investigation as it failed to fulfil commitments it made in its final complaint response. The landlord has not demonstrated it inspected to determine if it is responsible for resolving the mould in the bathroom.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The landlord failed to respond to the resident’s complaint at both stages of its complaint process in line with the timeframes within its complaints policy. It did not offer any redress for these failures.

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	Compensation The landlord must pay the resident £400 made up as follows: £300 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould. £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by 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 13 March 2026
2	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection of her bathroom. 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 bathroom no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: inspects the current state of the bathroom 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 the most likely cause of the mould in the bathroom whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue (if the landlord is responsible) the likely timescales to commence and complete any work the landlord is responsible for	No later than 13 March 2026

Order

What the landlord must do

Due date

Compensation

The landlord must pay the resident £400 made up as follows:

£300 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
£100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by 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

13 March 2026

Inspection order

The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection of her bathroom. 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 bathroom no later than the due date.

What the inspection must achieve

The landlord must ensure that the surveyor:

inspects the current state of the bathroom 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
the most likely cause of the mould in the bathroom
whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible
a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue (if the landlord is responsible)
the likely timescales to commence and complete any work the landlord is responsible for

No later than

13 March 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
We recommend the landlord responds to the resident’s concerns about ongoing damp and mould since its final response by raising a new complaint.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
21 August 2023	The resident contacted the landlord following a service request she made on 4 August 2023 referring to mould since 2017. She said she had mould in the bathroom ceiling and suspected this was from a leak from an upstairs neighbour.
14 September 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response and said: it had requested quotes to repoint the lower course brickwork and planter following an inspection on 4 August 2023 it attended on 1 September 2023, and it agreed to contact the resident once it has agreed works it referred the issue about water ingress from the property to its leaseholder team to ensure that the neighbour investigates and completes any necessary repairs
20 November 2023	The resident complained to the landlord about the return of mould despite the works it completed. She also expressed dissatisfaction at not having answers from the landlord as to the impact exterior conditions had on the mould.
23 December 2023	The landlord told the resident that it needed to extend the deadline until 11 January 2024 to provide its final complaint response.
14 January 2024	The landlord told the resident it needed a further extension to the deadline until 19 January 2024 to provide a final complaint response.
19 January 2024	The landlord provided the resident with its final complaint response and said: it had not effectively managed the cause of the damp and mould and offered its apology and £600 compensation the resident reported mould on 1 November 2022, and it attended on 23 November 2022 when it noted it needed to complete a mould wash and identified water ingress to the rear it completed mould treatment to the resident’s bedroom and living room on 2 December 2022 it injected the side walls with damp proofing on 10 December 2022 and 13 December 2022 and cleared a stack pipe on 14 December 2022 it completed a further inspection on 9 August 2023, and it agreed then to repoint brickwork which it completed on 13 September 2023 it completed work to the neighbour’s planter by 14 September 2023 it sent the resident a summary of the works on 23 December 2023 and it had told her the major works it had previously done after damp and mould returned it identified “cold bridging” on all the external walls had caused this as there were gaps that increased the risk of condensation it carried out all repair work in time and addressed any external factors it suspected had caused the damp and mould it agreed to obtain a specialist contractor to address this and agreed to arrange an inspection and to contact the resident within 2 weeks it agreed to arrange a mould wash and to arrange a post inspection following completion of the repairs
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident wants us to investigate the landlord’s response to her reports of damp and mould. While she said it completed works by 31 January 2025, she told us she still has mould in the bathroom which she wants it to resolve. She wants additional compensation including for loss of rental income, council tax, and energy bills during periods she said she could not let the property. She also said she wants compensation for loss of employment, advertisement costs, and the risk of vandalism from having a vacant property. The resident received the £600 the landlord offered in its final complaint response.

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	The landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

What we have investigated

While the resident said she had complained about damp and mould in the property since 2017 she told us that between 2018 and 2022 she managed the mould with her tenant. She added that the summer of 2022 was a “turning point” when she raised the issue again with the landlord. We have therefore investigated the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould from 2022 until its final complaint response on 19 January 2024. This has included any specific commitments it made in this.

What we have not investigated

We will only investigate complaints and issues that have exhausted a landlord’s complaint process. It would otherwise be unfair to attempt to investigate these before the landlord had considered and responded to them under its formal complaint process. We have therefore not investigated any issues or events that occurred after the landlord’s final complaint response on 19 January 2024, unless they specifically relate to commitments it made during the complaint process or in its final response.
In line with this, we have not investigated the additional complaint the resident raised on 2 April 2024 about the standard of work relating to major works and the impact this had on any damp and mould.
The investigation has also not considered the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for compensation for lost rental income, property advertisement costs, council tax, energy bills, and loss of earnings connected with the damp and mould. She raised this on 9 October 2024 and 17 November 2024 which was several months after the landlord’s final complaint response. Instead, we have asked the landlord to open a new complaint about these issues with the resident’s agreement. We have made a recommendation regarding this.
The resident told us that the landlord’s response to damp and mould caused her anxiety which affected her mental health. It would be fairer, more reasonable, and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

The landlord’s response to damp and mould

Damp and mould can be caused by several factors, including water ingress caused by broken gutters, external pipework, and structural defects. These are issues the landlord was responsible for under the resident’s lease. We have found that:
1. The landlord raised a job to inspect the property for damp and mould on 1 November 2022 which it completed on 23 November 2022. It took it 22 days against a target of 21 days in the its repairs policy for inspections.
2. It raised a job for a mould wash on 24 November 2022 which it completed within 6 working days. While its repairs policy did not specify a timeframe for completing such washes the time taken by the landlord was reasonable compared to other timeframes in its policy.
3. It cleared the neighbour’s planter on 8 December 2022 which was 7 working days from when it identified the neighbour’s raised patio may be a cause of the problem. This was against a target of 90 days in the landlord’s repairs policy for planned work.
4. It took it 4 and 6 working days respectively to inject damp proofing into walls from when it raised the job (5 December 2022). This was against a target of 90 days for planned work.
5. It completed an inspection for damp and mould on 9 August 2023 which was within 5 days of when the landlord raised the job, against a target of 21 days within its repairs policy for inspections.
6. It completed the recommended ground works on 29 August 2023 which was 12 days from the date of inspection, against a target of 30 calendar days for routine repairs.
7. It completed another mould inspection on 7 December 2023 which was 17 days from when the resident reported the mould had returned, against a target of 21 days for inspections.
8. It recommended affixing thermal boards in the resident’s property on 12 December 2023 and it said it had raised a job for a mould wash on 27 December 2023, but the resident told it 2 days later that she did not want one at the time.
The landlord acted reasonably and in line with the timescales in its repairs policy in relation to the above jobs. In contrast we have found the following failures:
1. The resident reported on 4 December 2022 that the condition of her garden, and presence of mud above the damp proof course, had contributed to mould. We have not seen the landlord addressed this until it completed the ground works on 30 August 2023, this was 269 calendar days after the December 2022 report.
2. On 23 March 2023, the resident told the landlord she had continued issues with drainage and a possible issue in the external pipework. However, the landlord did not respond. As external pipework was the landlord’s responsibility and leaks can contribute to damp and mould it ought to have investigated this further. In the absence of evidence it did so, we cannot be satisfied it acted reasonably.
3. The landlord agreed on 14 September 2023 to raise the resident’s concerns about a possible leak from her upstairs neighbour with its leaseholder team. However, in the absence of evidence to show what the outcome was we cannot be satisfied it did so.
4. It also told the resident in its final complaint response that it would arrange a mould wash and an inspection. It agreed to complete any recommended repairs before completing a post work inspection and said it would contact the resident within 2 weeks. However, we have not seen that it completed a mould wash following this and it did not arrange an inspection until 10 June 2024, nearly 5 months after its final complaint response.
These failures likely caused the resident distress and inconvenience. The landlord apologised and offered the resident £600 compensation. Our dispute resolution principles require landlords to act fairly, to put things right, and to learn from outcomes where failures occur. The landlord was unable to resolve the damp and mould at the time of its final complaint response. It committed itself to arranging an inspection, addressing “cold bridging on all external walls”, and the completion of repairs to resolve the problem.
However, the landlord failed to offer specific timescales which was not in line with its repairs policy. As we have noted it did not arrange the inspection until 10 June 2024 and it took the landlord until 30 August 2024 to develop an action plan to address the “cold bridging”. We also note that while the landlord agreed to additional damp proof course injections in January 2024 it did not complete these until 2 December 2024, nearly 12 months after its final complaint response. In the absence of evidence to explain the length of time it took to complete the steps it agreed to we cannot be satisfied it acted reasonably.
These failings likely caused the resident additional distress and inconvenience following the landlord’s final response. They amounted to a failure to fulfil promises the landlord made during the complaint process and were not in line with its repairs policy. The £600 compensation was therefore not proportionate to the failings identified in this investigation.
We have therefore awarded additional compensation of £300 to reflect the additional distress and inconvenience caused. With the previous compensation this amounts to a total compensation of £900. This is in line with our remedies guidance which allows for compensation of this amount where a landlord’s failures have caused a significant long term impact. As the resident has said there is still mould in the bathroom, we have made an order for the landlord to inspect and determine if it is responsible for works to resolve the issue.

Complaint	The landlord’s complaint handling.
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord’s complaint policy at the time of the complaint complies with the definition of a complaint in our Complaint Handling Code (April 2022). The timescales in the landlord’s complaint procedure in respect to its final complaint (Stage 2) response referred to 30 working days or in line with our Complaint Handling Code.
We have found the following failures:
1. It took the landlord 17 working days to provide its stage 1 complaint response on 14 September 2023 from the date it received the resident’s complaint (21 August 2023), against a target of 10 working days.
2. It took the landlord 41 working days to provide its final response on 19 January 2024 from the resident’s escalation request. This was against the landlord’s complaint policy target and the target of 20 working days in our Code.
3. The landlord requested 2 extensions on 23 December 2023 and on 14 January 2024. While both the landlord’s complaint’s policy and our Code allow for extensions the landlord ought to have provided the resident with our details at the time of its request. This is because we have not seen the landlord agreed an extension with the resident which was a requirement of our Code.
The landlord’s complaint response did not offer any redress for these failures which likely caused the resident distress and inconvenience. We have therefore ordered the landlord to pay the resident £100 compensation for this. This is in line with our remedies guidance which allows for payments of this amount where the impact was of short duration and did not affect the overall outcome of the complaint.

Learning

The landlord did not follow through on the actions outlined in its stage 2 response. Our learning from severe maladministration report (December 2025) contains some key learning for landlords about complaints involving leaseholders including failures from previous reports, pages 23-24.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s record keeping was lacking in places. While it was able to provide some repair records it was unable to show the outcome to the resident’s reports of:
1. A possible blockage in pipes outside the boundary reported after 23 March 2023.
2. A possible leak from an upstairs’ neighbour.

Communication

Between complaint responses the quality of the landlord’s communication was poor. It did not provide an action plan on the work it proposed with clear timescales and failed to show it regularly updated the resident. This meant that it was unable to meet the resident’s expectations or show effective management of the repairs.