South Tyneside Council (202401842)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202401842

South Tyneside Council

28 July 2025

(Updated 17 November 2025 following review)

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 handling of:
1. Roof repairs, pointing, rendering, damp, mould, and associated work.
2. Joinery repairs to the kitchen units, boxing in, internal and external door.
The complaint is also about the resident’s report of the landlord discriminating against her when handling repairs.
We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident lives in a 2-bedroom semi-detached house owned by the landlord. This is a secure tenancy that began in 2017. The landlord has recorded the resident has asthma. The resident’s daughter has eczema. She told the landlord her daughter’s eczema had worsened due to damp and mould at the property.
The landlord’s repairs history shows various damp, mould, and associated repairs. It appears the cause of damp and mould were from various sources including a leaking roof, plumbing, and rising damp. External render and pointing work were also identified.
The landlord’s records of 28 February 2022 show an inspection of damp at the property. Its notes refer to rain penetration internally in the bathroom and passage. It arranged various work in March 2022 to check the flat roof, plumbing checks, joinery work to kitchen units, and repairs to the front door. It also carried out electrical work and applied a mould treatment to the affected areas of the kitchen, porch ceiling, bedroom, and living room wall.
In May 2022, the landlord arranged a damp inspection of walls at skirting level. The landlord’s records do not show the outcome of this inspection. It arranged a further inspection on 1 July 2022. It applied a mould treatment in the living room on 17 August 2022. The landlord arranged 3 further inspections of damp in September 2022.
On 22 September 2022, the resident reported to the landlord her concerns with various outstanding work involving water ingress, render, and joinery work. The resident said the landlord had visited her property numerous times but was unable to complete work because of a lack of equipment and or materials.
The landlord contacted the resident on 29 September 2022 and agreed a date in October 2022 for a joiner to return; however, despite a joiner visiting the property, work was left incomplete. The landlord continued to book work over the forthcoming months, but the landlord’s access arrangements did not go to plan.
The landlord arranged a further inspection of damp on 14 October 2022 and raised an order to apply a mould treatment on 2 November 2022. It then arranged another inspection on 15 December 2022 followed by work to apply mould treatment that was completed as part of planned works on 9 February 2023.
The resident complained to the landlord on 2 August 2023. She believed the landlord had acted in a “discriminatory” way in relation to its handling of outstanding repairs. The resident did not expand on her reasons for discrimination. She did, however, refer to events on 1 August 2023 when she said 2 landlord operatives attended her property and showed aggression towards her. She said that “one man rudely questioned why she was getting a new kitchen”. The resident felt humiliated by the operative’s questioning. Later, the resident described how a second operative attended her home about a job to the roof and had also been rude to her.
On 16 August 2023, the landlord sent the resident its stage 1 complaint response. It apologised for the access issues and incomplete work. It told her its team managers were dealing with the staff issues separately. It identified outstanding work and arranged completion dates as follows:
1. 5 August 2023 – Renew boxing for cables in the utility room.
2. 4 September 2023 – Remove plasterboard from utility ceiling as well as boxing if required, reboard and skim. Renew all felt to utility roof.
The landlord carried out a further damp inspection of the living room on 16 October 2023.
On 15 November 2023, the resident contacted the landlord about various outstanding work relating to a leak from the adjoining property, lobby roof repairs, repairs to window reveals, front door and internal doors.
The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 30 November 2023. It told the resident it would need longer to investigate the complaint, and it would respond by 14 December 2023. It sent a new stage 1 complaint response on 14 December 2023. It apologised that its repair service had not been up to standard. It confirmed that its surveyor had visited the property and arranged the following work:
1. Repairs to the window reveals was arranged for 5 January 2024.
2. Renew front door.
3. Roof repairs were completed on 3 October 2023. It would follow on to redecorate and stain block the affected area.
4. The internal doors would be checked.
On 1 March 2024, the landlord told the resident that the new front door would be fitted on 9 April 2024.
The resident remained dissatisfied and requested escalation of the complaint on 10 January 2024. The landlord responded to the resident at stage 2 of its complaints procedure on 12 March 2024 and told her:
1. It had delayed in repointing work to the window reveals. The work was ordered on 22 September 2023 on a planned works order. It had to rearrange the work due to adverse weather and scaffold requirements. It would begin work on 8 April 2024.
2. In September 2023 it arranged work to ease internal bedroom, sitting room and kitchen doors. The work should have been completed 30 October 2023, but it remained outstanding. It arranged another works order for 4 April 2024.
3. It was satisfied that work to the flat roof was completed, and timber was dry before the new roof felt was fitted. It had advised her to arrange repairs twice a year to unblock an internal outlet. It had arranged a survey for 12 March 2024 and would report back to her on the results of its survey.
4. It had surveyed rising damp in the living room on 30 October 2023. Remedial work was necessary in the living room, kitchen, and hallway. Plaster had been removed from the party wall in the living room, kitchen, and hallway walls. A waterproof membrane was fitted, and the walls replastered. Some kitchen units were removed to allow for the wall to be drilled and injected with a damp proof course. The kitchen units were due to be replaced on 11 March 2024 and follow on decoration on 20 March 2024.
5. It requested that the resident complete a questionnaire in response to her concerns about her daughter’s health.
6. It offered the resident £150 compensation to acknowledge that the resident’s concerns were not responded to in full within its stage 1 complaint about missed appointments.
On 26 March 2024, the landlord wrote to the resident. It confirmed there were no signs of systemic damp. It increased its compensation offer to £200 in recognition of the time she had to wait for the survey results. It confirmed additional remedial work of roof repairs, repointing work, render repairs, unblock/replace air bricks, mould treatment to the kitchen and living room, decorate a section of the living room, and boxing in work to the rear lobby.
The resident continued to express her dissatisfaction in relation to outstanding work to window reveals and the front door. An appointment had been arranged for work to the front door, but the resident was unhappy that the landlord attended outside of the appointment time. The resident told the landlord scaffold had been up at the property for over 6 months and work remained incomplete. The landlord arranged further work for the render at the end of September 2024.
In January 2025, the landlord carried out a further damp survey report which recommended a new damp course to a living room wall. It is unclear from the landlord’s records when the work was completed.
On 2 July 2025, the resident gave an update in which she told us work remained outstanding to the render.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

The resident has reported that her daughter’s eczema has been affected by damp at the property. While we do not dispute the resident’s reports, this Service is unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impact on health and wellbeing. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation, are not part of the complaints process, and are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim. The resident has the option to seek legal advice if she wishes to pursue this concern further.
The resident’s complaint refers to repair issues from the tenancy start date in 2017. The landlord’s repairs history shows reports of damp at the property since 2017 onwards. In the interest of fairness and due to the time, which has elapsed, this investigation focusses on events from 2022 up to the landlord’s issue of its final complaint response in 2024. We will, however, consider the impact of any outstanding repair work related to this complaint beyond the final complaint response.

Repairs – Roof repairs

The landlord is obligated to maintain the structure of the property in accordance with section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The landlord’s repairs policy categorises repairs into emergency repairs to be made safe within 4 hours, urgent repairs 1 to 3 working days, routine repairs to be completed in 20 working days and planned repairs to be completed within a maximum of 3 months.
The landlord inspected the property at the end of February 2022. It followed up in March 2022 with various work including a check on the flat roof. While the landlord’s repairs history showed it attended, it is unclear what work, if any, was completed at this stage. It is reasonable for the landlord to provide the resident with outcomes of inspections including timeframes for completion of work. There is no evidence the landlord did so. The landlord’s lack of communication with the resident was unreasonable.
While there is evidence the landlord initially attended the roof within a reasonable timeframe, it did not fully resolve the issues until October 2023. There was evidence of water penetrating the property and therefore the delay of 1 year and 7 months to fully resolve the roof issues caused significant impact on the resident of time, trouble, and distress through her many chase ups to the landlord.
The landlord recognised some of its failures when it responded to the resident at stage 2 of its complaints procedure in mid-March 2024. It suggested preventative regular maintenance of the roof that involved checks and unblocking pipework where necessary. It recommended this work was carried out twice a year. It told the resident to contact it to report the work and suggested appropriate intervals throughout the year.
It also offered the resident £150 compensation and then later increased this to £200. However, this figure was in recognition of the landlord’s failures in relation to the full range of issues, in particular around missed appointments and not solely in recognition of the delays associated with roof work.
While it was positive that the landlord recognised preventative work to the roof, its response put the onus on the resident to contact the landlord twice a year. The landlord could have considered a proactive approach to managing the situation such as regular maintenance checks. An order has therefore been made below for the landlord to discuss its position with the resident on a regular schedule of inspections or otherwise consider any other reasonable resolution for all parties.

Repairs – Pointing and render work

The landlord arranged render works for the beginning of May 2022. However, it is unclear from the landlord’s records, what work, if any, was completed. The landlord’s lack of communication with the resident left her in the dark not knowing when it would complete work. The landlord’s inactions were therefore unreasonable.
The landlord also arranged to repoint the external window reveals on 22 September 2023 as part of planned works. The work did not go ahead due to adverse weather and the need for scaffold. The landlord subsequently arranged to begin work on 8 April 2024. The landlord did not keep the resident informed of what was happening throughout the delayed period. This was unreasonable and added to the resident’s frustrations and avoidable contacts with the landlord. It is unclear from the landlord’s records whether the repointing work was completed in April 2024.
Poor communication is a recurring theme in the landlord’s response to the damp and mould complaints. Landlords must ensure that residents are kept informed of inspection outcomes, planned works, and any delays. Follow-up visits and aftercare should be scheduled to confirm that issues have been resolved. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight report on damp and mould – it’s not a lifestyle (October 2021) for best practice.
The landlord’s repairs policy states it will carry out planned work in a maximum of 3 months. It is unclear from the landlord’s records whether it classified render work as planned repairs; however, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to arrange work of this nature as planned work to be carried out within its target timeframe of 3 months.
While there were mitigating circumstances relating to adverse weather that resulted in delays, it was unreasonable that the landlord delayed in carrying out pointing work by 7 months.
The landlord wrote to the resident at the end of March 2024 when it confirmed it would arrange the outstanding render repairs. While it appears that the landlord has completed some work to the render, the resident has recently confirmed work remains outstanding. Therefore, an order has been made below for the landlord to provide the resident with its action plan and timescales for completion of the work.

Repairs – Damp, mould, and associated work

When investigating complaints involving damp and mould, we will consider whether the landlord has fully and fairly investigated the issue, engaged independent expertise where appropriate, and communicated effectively with the resident. The landlord’s response should reflect the resident’s individual circumstances, including any vulnerabilities or health concerns.
The landlord’s initial inspection of damp and mould took place at the end of February 2022. It followed up in March 2022 and arranged work that included a mould treatment.
Between May 2022 and October 2023, the landlord carried out around 9 inspections of the damp and mould. It applied mould treatment on 3 occasions.
The landlord is obligated to keep the property free from mould and damp and ensure it is fit for human habitation as per the Homes (Fitness for Habitation) Act 2018. The landlord is also obligated to respond to repairs within a reasonable timescale under the Homes Act 2018 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
We understand that it is not always straight forward to resolve damp and mould issues especially where there are several potential causes. However, we expect landlords to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould. This does not mean zero cases, but it does mean taking proactive steps to identify and address issues before they escalate.
The landlord’s response to damp and mould was reactive rather than proactive. It lacked a coordinated approach and action plan. This led to an excessive amount of damp inspections and delays of 1 year and 5 months in resolving the issues. The landlord’s inactions and delays were inappropriate.
The resident raised a complaint in mid-November 2023, and the landlord responded in mid-December 2023. It told her it had arranged to stain block affected areas and redecorate. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s actions and escalated her complaint in mid-January 2024. The landlord responded in mid-March 2024, and it agreed with her complaint and offered her £150 compensation. It asked the resident to complete a questionnaire about her daughter’s health.
Landlords are required to consider the condition of properties using a risk assessment approach called the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS does not specify any minimum standards, but it is concerned with avoiding or minimising potential health hazards.
The landlord has not provided us with the questionnaire about health and therefore it is unclear of its purpose. There is no evidence that it provided the resident with any guidance on what it intended to do with this information. The landlord missed opportunities to risk assess the property and the resident’s household individual needs from a much earlier point. The landlord’s inactions were therefore inappropriate.

Repairs – Summary

At the end of March 2024, the landlord confirmed the results of its survey which recommended various work to resolve damp and mould internally and externally. The landlord increased its compensation offer from £150 to £200 in recognition of the time the resident had to wait for the survey results. However, there is no evidence the landlord provided the resident with its action plan of works or timeframes for completion.
The landlord carried out a further inspection in January 2025 due to the resident’s concerns of recurring damp. The survey findings recommended damp work to a living room wall. It is unclear from the landlord’s records when work was completed.
In conclusion, the landlord delayed significantly in completing roof, pointing, and render works. These delays no doubt impacted on the landlord resolving the root cause of damp and mould at the property. While the landlord carried out some reactive work in an attempt to resolve damp and mould, its record keeping let it down.
There were several failures in the landlord’s handling of roof repairs, repointing, render, damp, mould, and associated work at the property. These include:
1. Significant delays in completing the full range of work.
2. Lack of action plan and timeframes for completion of work.
3. Lack of co-ordination and planning of work.
4. Lack of communication with the resident.
The landlord recognised some of its failures and offered the resident compensation of £200. Where the landlord has recognised its failures and attempted to put things right for the resident, we will refer to our Dispute Resolution Principles of:
1. Be fair.
2. Put things right.
3. Learn from outcomes.
Given the significant delays of over 3 years in resolving the full range of issues, the adverse impact caused to the resident, the landlord’s offer of £200 compensation falls short of what we would expect for failures over a prolonged period.
For these reasons we have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of roof repairs, render, pointing, damp, mould, and associated work at the property. The landlord should therefore pay the resident £1,500 compensation. This includes £800 for its overall delays in resolving the issues, £400 distress and inconvenience and £300 time and trouble in in recognition of the adverse impact caused to the resident. This amount of compensation is aligned to our remedies guidance.

The landlord’s handling of joinery repairs to the kitchen units, boxing in, internal and external door

The landlord inspected the property at the end of February 2022. It arranged joinery work to the kitchen units and the front door to be completed in March 2022. It is unclear from the landlord’s record what work, if any, was completed.
There is also evidence the landlord arranged for a joiner to complete work in October 2022; however, the work did not go to plan. It then arranged boxing in work in August 2023 and September 2023. It is unclear when the work was completed. Later in November 2023, the landlord agreed to renew the front door and check internal doors.
The landlord’s repairs policy states it will complete day to day repairs within 20 working days. The landlord’s lack of records make it difficult to establish the exact delays for each of the joinery repairs. However, outstanding work continued over the forthcoming months. The landlord therefore delayed unreasonably in completing work which caused additional frustration and inconvenience to the resident.
The resident escalated her complaint in mid-January 2024. The landlord responded in mid-March 2024. Further work to the kitchen units was arranged for mid-March 2024. It had arranged to renew the front door at the beginning of April 2024 and ease internal doors. It appears front door work was delayed due to access issues in September 2024.
The landlord’s repairs policy categories are not specific in relation to replacement work; however, we do not expect landlord’s to complete kitchen renewal work within the same timeframe as a standard repair. However, where there is an extended period of works, it is reasonable for a landlord to keep the resident updated throughout and provide indicative timeframes. It is not evident that the landlord did this, causing frustration for the resident.
Additionally, the landlord’s record keeping is confusing and limited. Without accurate records, landlords cannot effectively manage a repairs service. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight on: Knowledge Management and Information (KIM) (May 2023) for best practice.
In conclusion, it is unclear of the extent of delays to all items of joinery work due to the landlord’s poor record keeping. However, we can establish that the landlord did not complete the majority of joinery work within its 20-working day timeframe. In fact, the evidence indicates it delayed by over 2 years to complete some of the work. The landlord did not keep the resident informed throughout its delays and this added to the resident’s frustrations, time, and trouble of trying to find out what was happening. The landlord’s poor record keeping, its delayed work, and lack of communication were therefore unreasonable, causing adverse impact of distress and inconvenience to the resident.
The landlord did recognise some of its failures when it sent its complaint response to the resident. However, its total offer of £200 compensation did not solely relate to its handling of joinery repairs. This offer was in recognition of its full failures that included other aspects of the complaint. The landlord’s offer of compensation falls short of what we would expect where there has been failures over a significant period of time. The landlord should therefore pay the resident £300 to put things right in recognition of the adverse impact of distress and inconvenience caused to her. This amount of compensation is aligned to our remedies guidance.

The resident’s report of landlord discrimination against her when handling repairs

It is not within the Ombudsman’s role to determine if there has been a breach of the Equality Act 2010. Such a determination is more appropriate for the courts. However, we can decide whether a landlord has properly considered its duties and followed its own related policies and procedures.
The Equality Act 2010 provides a discrimination law to protect individual from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The Act requires any person or organisation which carried out public functions to have ‘due regard’ (properly consider) how they can eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in doing so.
On 2 August 2023, the resident complained to the landlord. She believed the landlord had acted in a “discriminatory” way against her. The resident referred to 2 incidents involving the landlord’s operatives.
The landlord responded to the resident at stage 1 of its complaints procedure on 16 August 2023. It told her it would handle the staff issues separately; however, it did not address the resident’s discrimination concerns.
It would have been appropriate for the landlord to demonstrate how it intended to respond to the staff issues rather than stating it would handle them separately. A reasonable response would involve discussions with both parties to ascertain evidence and facts. This would then inform the most appropriate action. While we understand its response to the resident may have been limited due to personnel issues, if it had gone one step further in explaining how it had investigated her concerns, then it may have assured the resident it was taking the complaint seriously.
While the landlord noted staff issues, it was inappropriate that the landlord did not specifically respond to the discrimination part of the complaint. We expect landlord’s to investigate discriminatory concerns by discussing the issue with both parties and determine appropriate action. The landlord should have responded to the resident on this issue, reporting its findings and what, if anything it would do to put things right. The landlord missed an opportunity to address the equality issue which no doubt added to the resident’s lack of confidence in the landlord.
For these reasons, we have found service failure in the landlord’s lack of response to the resident’s discrimination concern. The landlord should apologise to the resident. It should also consider its learning from this aspect of the complaint providing assurance to the resident and our Service of how it will improve its service in relation to future reports of discrimination.

Complaint handling

The resident complained to the landlord at the beginning of August 2023. The landlord sent its stage 1 complaint response in mid-August 2023.
Our Complaint Handling Code (the Code – March 2022) states landlords must acknowledge and log a complaint at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within 5 working days of receipt. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 17 November 2023, 1 day after receiving the complaint. The stage 1 complaint response within 10 working days and in compliance with the Code.
In mid-November 2023, the resident raised her dissatisfaction with the landlord. The landlord acknowledged the complaint at the end of November 2023 and sent a new stage 1 complaint response to the resident in mid-December 2023.
The Code states that where all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction, it must be progressed to stage 2 of the landlord’s procedure. However, as the resident had raised existing and new issues it decided to raise another stage 1 complaint. While this may have been reasonable, it would have been helpful had the landlord offered the resident the opportunity to have the existing issues raised straight to stage 2, or to have otherwise explained why it was appropriate to re-raise all issues at stage 1. However, the landlord did not offer this opportunity.
The resident contacted the landlord in mid-January 2024 to express her dissatisfaction with its latest response. The landlord responded in mid-March 2024. It offered the resident £150 compensation as it had not previously responded to her in full about missed appointments. In March 2024, the landlord increased its compensation offer to £200 to take into account its delayed survey results.
The Code states that landlords must respond to a stage 2 complaint within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated. Exceptionally, landlords may provide an explanation to the resident containing a clear timeframe for when a response will be received. This should not be more than an extra 10 days without good reason.
The landlord responded to the resident 44 working days later without giving an explanation of its delays to the resident. The landlord’s delayed response was therefore inappropriate.
In conclusion the delayed stage 2 complaint was inappropriate.
For this reason we have found service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. The landlord should compensate the resident £100 in recognition of its failure which had an adverse impact of delay and its opportunity to put things right for the resident. This amount of compensation is aligned to our remedies guidance.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of roof repairs, render, pointing, damp, mould, and associated work at the property.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of joinery repairs of the kitchen units, boxing in, internal and external door.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was service failure in the resident’s report of landlord discrimination against her when handling repairs.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

The landlord is ordered to pay the resident compensation of £1,900 (including the £200 the landlord has already offered the resident), made up of:
1. £1,500 the landlord’s handling of roof repairs, render, pointing, damp, mould, and associated work at the property.
2. £300 the landlord’s handling of joinery repairs of the kitchen units, boxing in, internal and external door.
3. £100 the landlord’s complaint handling.
This replaces the landlord’s previous offer of £200. The ordered amount (less any amount already paid by the landlord as part of its previous offer) must be paid within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.
Within 4 weeks of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
1. Apologise for the failures identified within this report.
2. Provide its position on a regular schedule of inspections or otherwise consider any other reasonable resolution for all parties.
3. Provide an update on outstanding work. This should include its action plan and timeframe for completion of the work.
Within 6 weeks of this report the landlord should provide us with its learning and action plan from this complaint in relation to:
1. It’s repair and maintenance service. In particular in relation to how it will ensure it complies with its repair policy timeframes while keeping the resident updated throughout the complaint journey.
2. It’s record keeping. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight reports: Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) (May 2023) and Repairs and maintenance – repairing trust (May 2025) for best practice.
3. Its handling of damp and mould. The landlord should refer to our Spotlight report: Damp and mould – it’s not a lifestyle (October 2021) for best practice.
4. Equality, diversity, and inclusion. In particular how it will ensure it addresses any EDI issues in its response to residents.
5. Its complaint handling. In particular in relation to its complaint responses and progression of the complaint in accordance with our Code.
The landlord should reply to our Service with evidence of compliance with these orders within the timescales set out above.