Peabody Trust (202406659)

Decision
Case ID	202406659
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Peabody Trust
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	22 June 2026

Background

1. The resident and her daughter moved into the property in January 2023. The property is a 2-bedroom flat arranged over the ground floor and basement. Shortly after moving in, the resident reported damp in the basement, where her daughter’s bedroom is located. She later raised a complaint, as she said she had been advised by the landlord, the issues would be resolved before her tenancy began.

What the complaint is about

2. The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Reports of a leak causing damp and mould.
   2. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found the landlord made an offer of reasonable redress which resolved its failures in its handling of:
   1. Reports of damp and mould.
   2. The associated complaint.

Summary of reasons

Handling of reports of damp and mould

4. The landlord failed to identify and resolve the underlying cause of the damp and mould within its published repair timescales, despite being aware of issues prior to the resident moving in. This led to prolonged delays in completing both the necessary repairs and internal remedial works, causing significant inconvenience and loss of use of part of the property. However, the landlord acknowledged these failings, completed the required works, and offered compensation that is proportionate to the impact on the resident.

 

Handling of the associated complaint

5. The landlord did not address all issues at stage 1 and did not offer appropriate compensation at that stage. The landlord did not act on the resident’s requests to escalate the complaint within a reasonable timeframe, acknowledging the escalation significantly outside the 5 working day requirement and delaying in formally logging it. These delays and omissions caused time and trouble for the resident. However, the landlord later acknowledged these failings, apologised, and offered compensation which we consider reasonable to recognise the impact of its complaint handling 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.

 

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
We recommend the landlord pay £2,660 in compensation to the resident, as offered in its stage 2 response. Our findings of reasonable redress are dependent on this amount being paid.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
7 March 2023	The resident raised a complaint. She said: She had been advised that damp and mould works would be completed before she moved into the property, but the damp and mould remained present. The plumbing issue she believed was causing the damp and mould had not been resolved. She had repeatedly requested reports related to damp and mould works carried out during the void period but had not received these.
22 March 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 response. It said:  It attended on 10 March 2023 and identified moisture on the stack pipe located behind the wall in the affected area. A damp and mould appointment was booked for 24 March 2023. An appointment to identify any leaks would be scheduled. The resident would need to raise a separate complaint with the voids team regarding concerns that damp and mould issues were not addressed before she moved in. It apologised for any inconvenience caused and said it would continue to monitor the progress of outstanding works. outstanding jobs.
19 December 2023	The landlord issued a further stage 1 response. It confirmed that works were completed and offered £325 in compensation, made up of:  £250 for time, trouble, and inconvenience. £75 for poor complaint handling.
4 January 2024	The resident asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage 2. She said the compensation offered was not adequate given the severe impact that the ongoing leak had on her living conditions, health, and wellbeing.
15 July 2024	The landlord provided its stage 2 response. It said: The stage 1 response did not address all points raised, provided incorrect advice about raising a separate complaint regarding void works, and did not offer adequate compensation. It failed to carry out sufficient investigation to identify the cause of damp before the resident moved in. There were delays in identifying and resolving the underlying cause of damp and mould. There were delays in completing internal remedial works. The resident may wish to submit a personal injury claim and was advised to contact its insurance team if she wanted to pursue this. The resident was advised to claim through her contents insurance for damaged belongings. If uninsured and she believed the landlord was liable, she could submit a liability claim through the landlord’s insurers. It apologised and offered £2,660 in compensation, made up of: £1,000 for the distress and inconvenience caused. £1,360 for the loss of use of a bedroom. £300 for time and trouble caused by complaint handling failures.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident referred her complaint to this Service, as she did not consider the compensation offered sufficient to reflect the impact on her and her daughter.

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 handling of reports of damp and mould
Finding	Reasonable redress

6. The landlord’s damp, mould, and condensation says it will carry out and complete any necessary repairs causing damp and mould in a proactive manner. Its repair policy says that complex repairs requiring a specialist contractor should be completed within 60 days. In this case, the damp and mould in the basement resulted from cracks in the wastewater system beneath the property, which caused a build-up of wastewater.
7. The landlord was aware of damp in the basement before the resident moved into the property in January 2023. However, it did not identify and resolve the underlying cause until 30 August 2023. It then did not complete repairs to the internal damage until December 2023. This was significantly outside its published repair timescales.
8. The landlord acknowledged the history of events and delays in completing the repairs. The resident agrees that the substantive issue has now been resolved. The key issue is therefore whether the landlord has provided sufficient redress to recognise the impact of its failings and to put matters right, in line with our dispute resolution principles: Be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
9. In reaching a decision, we consider both the events giving rise to the complaint and the landlord’s response. The extent to which the landlord recognises, and addresses failings is as relevant as the original service failure. We will not make a finding of maladministration where a landlord has acknowledged its failings and taken reasonable steps to resolve them.
10. The resident advised that the condition of the property affected her and her daughter’s 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 place 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 can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.
11. In its stage 2 response, the landlord provided information on how the resident could make a personal injury claim through its insurers. This was reasonable. The resident confirmed she did not pursue a claim. The landlord also advised how the resident could make a claim under its liability insurance for damage to personal belongings, where this may have resulted from its actions or inaction.
12. The delays in completing repairs had a significant impact on the resident, including:
    1. Her daughter’s bedroom being unusable for a period of approximately 10 months after the repair was reported.
    2. Time and effort spent pursuing the landlord and its contractors, causing distress.
    3. Concern about the potential impact of damp and mould on her daughter’s health.
13. The landlord offered compensation which we consider reasonable to put matters right. In its stage 2 response, it offered £1,000 for distress and inconvenience. This is consistent with our compensation guidance where there have been serious failings with a significant impact on the resident.
14. It also offered £1,360 for the loss of use of the bedroom, calculated at approximately 20% of the rent for the relevant period. This aligns with our guidance where a resident loses the use of part of their home.
15. The resident confirmed she did not accept the landlord’s offer and has not received any compensation to date. We have therefore made a recommendation for the landlord to pay these amounts.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

16. The Complaints Handling Code and the landlord’s complaints policy state that it should acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, respond at stage 1 within 10 working days, and respond at stage 2 within 20 working days. Where additional time is required, the landlord should clearly explain this and not extend timescales by more than 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2.
17. The landlord provided its stage 1 response within its timeframes. The resident first sought to escalate her complaint to stage 2 on 4 January 2024. She made several further attempts to progress the escalation. However, the landlord did not acknowledge this until 22 May 2024, which was significantly outside the 5 working day requirement. It then did not log the escalation until 10 June 2024, causing further delay. After this point, the landlord followed its timescales, notifying the resident of an extension and issuing its response within the revised deadline.
18. The landlord acknowledged shortcomings in its complaint handling, including that it: 
    1. Did not address all issues raised in stage 1.
    2. Did not offer appropriate compensation at stage 1.
    3. Delayed progressing the complaint to stage 2 by failing to act on escalation requests.
19. As the landlord has acknowledged these failings and apologised, the remaining issue is whether the compensation offered was reasonable to put matters right. Our compensation guidance indicates awards of up to £250 where complaint handling failures have had a significant impact on the resident. The landlord offered £300. In our view, this amount is fair and reasonable to recognise the time and trouble caused by its complaint handling failures. We have recommended that it pays this amount.

Learning

20. The repairs were completed in 2023. Given the time that has passed, we have not identified any specific learning in this case, particularly as we are aware the landlord has since taken steps to improve its services.
21. In its stage 2 response, the landlord advised that it had implemented structural changes and recruited additional staff to improve its complaint handling. It also completed a self-assessment of its approach to damp, mould, and condensation, published in March 2024.This document set out commitments to improve its management of damp and mould cases.

Record keeping

22. We did not identify any record keeping issues in this case.

Communication

23. There was poor communication with the resident during the period she was waiting for repairs and after she escalated her complaint, causing her to have to chase for responses. There was also poor communication between the landlord and its contractor.