Hyde Housing Association Limited (202504058)

Decision
Case ID	202504058
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Hyde Housing Association Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	20 April 2026

Background

1. The resident has reported leaks, and damp and mould in her flat as well as within the communal areas of the building. The landlord completed repairs, including replacing the balcony doors. However, the resident has reported there is still a draught in the property and a new leak in the living room.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of leaks, damp and mould, and repairs to the balcony doors.
3. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. We have found that:
   1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of leaks, damp and mould, and repairs to the balcony doors.
   2. The landlord made offers of redress which, in our opinion, resolved the errors in its handling of the resident’s associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Handling of leaks, damp and mould, and repairs to the balcony doors

5. There were delays in the landlord’s handling of the repairs for which it was responsible, and it was not proactive in chasing the developer. It committed to replacing the door between the balcony and second bedroom within 8 weeks of its final response but took 15 months to complete the works.

Complaint handling

6. There was a delay in the landlord sending its stage 1 complaint response. Its apology and award of compensation was proportionate to put things right.

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	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 18 May 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1,050 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of leaks, damp and mould, and repairs to the balcony doors. The £550 compensation already paid by the landlord to the resident’s rent account can be deducted from this total subject to documentary evidence it has been paid.   The additional compensation we have ordered 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 18 May 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
Compensation We recommend the landlord pays the resident the £100 it awarded for its delays in its handling of her complaint. Our finding of reasonable redress is based on an understanding the above amount was/will be paid either directly to the resident or into her rent account.
Given the resident’s concerns that there is a new leak, and that the property is draughty following the installation of the new doors, we recommend that the landlord contacts her to discuss her concerns and arrange an inspection, as necessary.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
20 January 2024	The resident complained about a leak in the living room and a separate communal leak in the building. She explained: The landlord’s contractor had missed or cancelled appointments to inspect the leak in the living room, and a wall looked rotten. Scaffolding had been installed outside her child’s bedroom window for months. Only 1 contractor had visited in that time to investigate the ongoing communal leak.
19 February 2024	The landlord told the resident that it needed further time to investigate her complaint and would respond by 4 March 2024.
19 April 2024	The landlord sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response that said: It raised a repair for the communal leak in October 2023. The leak was larger than anticipated and the temporary repairs it had completed in December 2023 had not worked. It identified the communal leak was because of a building defect which was the responsibility of its developer. The leak had been fixed, and the associated repairs in the communal corridor had been completed. It had inspected the living room leak on 5 March 2024. However, it had delayed in acting as the developer needed more time to investigate the source. It was believed that the leak was emanating from the flat above. The landlord asked the resident to confirm whether she was available on 25 April 2024 for a joint inspection of both properties. It would provide weekly updates and arranged for all works to be completed by the end of July 2024. The landlord apologised for the distress and inconvenience caused by its missed appointments and delays in handling the repairs. It awarded the resident £475 compensation broken down as follows: £100 for its handling of the complaint. £75 for the resident’s time and effort in chasing the matter. £150 for its delays in completing the repairs. £150 for the distress and inconvenience caused to her. The landlord added the compensation to the resident’s rent account stating this was because it was in arrears.
27 September 2024	The resident escalated the complaint because the repairs had not been completed.
15 October 2024	The landlord sent the resident its stage 2 complaint response that said: The developer’s contractor investigated and fixed the leak coming through the door between the balcony and the living room. The resident reported a similar leak coming through the door between the balcony and the second bedroom. The contractor inspected this and said the door needed to be replaced. On 2 September 2024 it told the resident the developer was waiting for its sub-contractor to confirm the cost for the parts to install the new door which would take 8 weeks for it to be fitted. It stopped its weekly updates due to the expected delay and agreed to update the resident every 4 weeks. The landlord apologised for the further delays in the repairs and increased its offer of compensation to £650 which it added to the resident’s rent account. This was broken down as follows: £100 for its handling of the complaint. £100 for the resident’s time and effort in chasing the landlord. £250 for its delays in completing the repairs £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused to her.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident asked us to investigate. She said: The door between the balcony and the second bedroom was fitted at the end of March 2026. This has stopped the leak, but the draught is worse than before. There is another leak between the balcony door and the living room. She suffers with anxiety and depression which has been made worse by the landlord’s handling of these repairs. She wanted the landlord to complete the outstanding repairs, apologise, and increase its offer of compensation.

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 handling of leaks, damp and mould, and repairs to the balcony doors
Finding	Maladministration

7. We have not been provided with any information about when the landlord was first advised about the roof leak impacting the communal parts of the building. For this reason we are unable to say if its initial response was in line with the published timescales set out in its repairs policy. The landlord said it raised a repair in October 2023. However, it is unclear when. We would expect the landlord to keep an accurate audit trail for the repair, including when it was notified of the issue.
8. On 7 November 2023 the landlord inspected the roof leak and identified it had been caused by a building defect. It referred the issue within 10 calendar days to the building’s developer. This was appropriate because the building defect was the developer’s responsibility. While unsuccessful, the landlord also acted reasonably by attempting a temporary repair to the roof.
9. The developer failed to respond, and the landlord waited 11 weeks to chase it noting that the situation had become urgent. The landlord acknowledged the leak had impacted multiple residents. The local environmental health team had also highlighted concerns about the impact of damp and mould within the communal corridors.
10. It is unclear why the landlord was not more proactive in chasing the developer during these 11 weeks. It also failed to communicate effectively with residents during this time, and it should have explained the circumstances which related to the communal leak. This should have:
    1. Included what action it was taking to ensure the leak, damp and mould, and the associated repairs would be resolved.
    2. Set out a timescale for a commencement and the expected completion of the works.
11. The landlord’s repairs policy does not provide a published timescale for when it will aim to complete major repairs. It said the communal leak was fixed and the associated repairs had been completed in its stage 1 complaint response, on 19 April 2024. It is noted that roof leaks and building defects may sometimes be considered complex or major repairs, taking multiple contractors and visits.
12. While the landlord was not responsible for the carrying out the roof repair, its failure to follow up with the developer for 11 weeks contributed to the overall delay. Its lack of communication also left the resident frustrated while she had been exposed to damp and mould within the building for an unreasonable amount of time.
13. On 2 December 2023 the resident said she had a leak coming through the wall in the living room. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will endeavour to arrange an appointment for a routine repair within 20 working days.
14. The landlord cancelled 2 appointments on the day due to staff unavailability, and it took 44 working days to inspect the leak. This caused the resident avoidable inconvenience.
15. The landlord said the leak, and the damp and mould in the resident’s living room had been caused by a drainage issue with the neighbour’s balcony above. It rightly referred its findings to the developer who investigated this on 4 March 2024, as this was another building defect. The developer then repaired the door between the balcony and the living room, as well as the damage caused to the living room wall, in September 2024.
16. It is acknowledged that the situation was not straightforward. The landlord had to liaise with the developer who was also using a separate contractor to complete the works. However, the landlord told the resident it had arranged for these works to be completed by the end of July 2024. The landlord then failed to meet its deadline without providing a reasonable explanation for the continued delay. The landlord also failed to keep the resident updated which caused her frustration as she spent time and effort chasing it to complete the repairs.
17. On 2 September 2024 the landlord explained that the developer’s contractor identified water coming through the door between the balcony and the second bedroom. The contractor had been unable to fix the door and recommended that it should be replaced. The landlord advised that the works to install the new door would take a further 2 months. This explanation was helpful to manage the resident’s expectations given that made to measure doors can take some time to be produced.
18. It took 18 months to install the new door between the balcony and the second bedroom. Some of the delays were outside of the landlord’s control. This included that one door had been damaged and another made incorrectly. However, the landlord failed to actively pursue the developer to fulfil its obligations for the first 13 months.
19. In October 2025 it was right the landlord agreed to take over responsibility for installing the door from the developer. However, the landlord then also took an additional 5 months to install it without providing any proportionate explanation for its continued delay.
20. The resident has told us:
    1. The newly installed balcony door has caused a worse draught into the property than before it was replaced. She believes it has not been installed correctly.
    2. There is another leak in the living room.
21. The resident said she has not contacted the landlord about these issues because of her frustration in its original handling of these repairs. While the resident’s comments are acknowledged, in the interest of fairness, the landlord should be given reasonable opportunity to respond to concerns first. In the circumstances, we have recommended the landlord contact the resident to inspect both of her outstanding issues.
22. Overall, there were lengthy delays and failings in the landlord’s communication. This has caused significant detriment to the resident over a prolonged period while she has waited for the issues to be resolved.
23. The landlord acted fairly by acknowledging its delays and apologising to the resident in its final complaint response. It attempted to put things right by offering compensation. The compensation offered of £550 was proportionate for this aspect of the resident’s complaint, given the failings the landlord had identified and associated distress and inconvenience. The landlord said it applied this compensation to the resident’s rent account because it was in arrears. This was in line with the landlord’s compensation policy which says it will offset any compensation to the resident’s rent account when it is in arrears.
24. However, the installation of the door between the balcony and second bedroom was not undertaken in an appropriate timescale following its final response. The landlord said the door would be installed in December 2024. The work was completed in March 2026. This was 15 months later, and we have seen no evidence that all this delay was unavoidable. As such, the resident has been caused further distress and inconvenience as a result of the landlord’s handling of the repair and its offer of compensation does not go far enough to put things right.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

25. The landlord’s complaints policy timescales comply with our Complaint Handling Code (the Code), which sets out our expectations for landlords’ complaint handling.
26. The landlord issued its stage 1 response 53 working days late. This delay caused some inconvenience to the resident as she was waiting longer than she should have been for a response to her concerns. The landlord appropriately apologised for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay. It also awarded £100 compensation, which was proportionate in the circumstances given the length of delay.
27. The landlord sent its final complaint response within the timescales set out in the Code.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

28. The records the landlord provided us with were incomplete and suggest that it failed to keep an accurate audit trail in relation to the repairs. The landlord may wish to review its record keeping practices, with reference to our spotlight report on knowledge and information management.

Communication

29. The landlord failed to keep the resident regularly updated and, on some occasions, it did not respond at all. This left the resident chasing the landlord whilst she was left feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. This may have been avoided if the landlord had provided regular updates throughout and communicated its actions and decisions in a clear and timely manner.