Places for People Group Limited (202343141)

Decision
Case ID	202343141
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Places for People Group Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	2 April 2026

Background

The resident reported concerns about water ingress in his home which he said was causing damp and mould. He was also concerned about the landlord’s delays in completing a damp and mould survey and the associated remedial works.

What the complaint is about

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

Our decision (determination)

We found:
1. Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
2. Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs

The landlord recognised it had not responded to the resident’s concerns about damp and mould in accordance with its policy timescales. However, it failed to complete repairs assured at stage 2, taking over 2 years to complete the external roof works.

Handling of the complaint

The landlord failed to recognise it delayed in acknowledging the complaint at stage 2 in line with its policy timescales.

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 06 May 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £2,530 made up as follows: £2,080 it offered at stage 2. £400 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its failings in its handling of damp and mould and the associated repairs. £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its failings in its handling of the complaint. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid.	No later than 06 May 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must inspect the property. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by a suitably qualified surveyor. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve: The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the property for any concerns with damp and mould. The survey report must set out: Whether there is an emergency or significant hazard under the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 – based on the conditions in the property and the household’s health and circumstances. Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards. The most likely cause of the damp and damage to the walls and floors. 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 repair to the issue (if the landlord is responsible). The likely timescales to commence and complete the work. Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works. The landlord must ensure it provides the resident and the Ombudsman with a copy of its report by the due date.	No later than [6 weeks] 20 May 2026
4	Take specific action order – compensation The landlord must calculate whether there was any avoidable delay from the date of our decision until the due date. If there is, it must pay the resident compensation for those delays in line with its compensation policy and our guidance on remedies and compensation guidance. The landlord must provide us with documentary evidence of its reasons on whether it will pay compensation and the amount. If no amounts are due, it must specify this. The landlord also must confirm in writing to the resident and us that, should there be any further delays, beyond the due date – it will pay compensation under its policy and our guidance on remedies and compensation guidance. It must do this by the due date.	No later than 06 May 2026
5	Take specific action order – roof repairs The landlord must write to the resident setting out a schedule of works planned for the roof repair scheduled in May 2026. It must explain what work it will do, when it aims to completed them by and who the resident can liaise with if he has any questions. If it cannot do this it must explain why with supporting evidence. A copy of this must be provided to us by the due date.	No later than 06 May 2026
6	Learning order The landlord must review the failures identified in this report and set out what went wrong and what it will do differently. A copy of the review should be provided to us by the due date.	No later than 20 May 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
25 September 2023	The resident complained about the landlord’s delayed damp and mould inspection. He was also unhappy with the landlord’s delays in booking the repairs.
2 October 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 response. It apologised for the delayed inspection and said it was because there was a high demand for inspections. It said following an inspection on 18 September 2023 it would carry out various remedial works and checks to the gutters, roof, chimney stack, bathroom plumbing, walls, and ceilings. It would install new kitchen and bathroom fans. It said it could not confirm when the works would start but offered £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.
3 October 2023	The resident escalated his complaint. He was unhappy that the repairs were outstanding and said the offer of £100 was inadequate. He said there were potential health risks associated with mould and as he had reported the issues 6 months ago, the landlord had not dealt with it in a timely manner.
17 October 2023 and 19 November 2023	The resident added he wanted a surveyor to check everything in his property, including the presence of asbestos, the electrics and an upgraded heating system. He said he wanted compensation for the costs of using a dehumidifier.
12 January 2024	The landlord provided its stage 2 response. It said: It booked contractors to attend on 18 October 2023 and 8 December 2023 but apologised that work was not completed. Its contractor completed a survey on 5 December 2023 to assess the scope of works. It booked all work to start the week commencing 26 February 2024 and scaffolding would be erected the week before. It would assess a further bathroom leak on 17 January 2024 with a view to completing the works in February 2024. It offered compensation of £2,080 comprising of: – £150 for missed timescales – £250 for lack of communication – £250 for distress and inconvenience – £870 for loss of use of the rear bedroom – £560 for the cost of using a dehumidifier
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident referred his complaint to us and told us that only work in the bedroom had been completed. He said “severe” damp was affecting the bathroom, small bedroom and the wall above the front door. He said the landlord’s inaction was causing him stress and anxiety. He added that he had not been able to use the bedroom and lost personal items due to damage from damp and mould. He wanted the landlord to complete the work, compensate him and improve its procedures.
After the complaints process ended	The landlord cancelled the works booked in for February 2024 due to a change in contractor. It completed the damp and mould works internally, but on starting the roof repairs, its contractor identified further structural concerns. It completed a specialist structural survey in August 2024 which made recommendations for further external repairs. The roof repair has been scheduled for 11 May 2026.

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	Reports of leaks, damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states landlords are responsible for repairs to the structure of the property, and to the installations for providing services. The tenancy agreement, repairs policy and damp and mould policy further reflect this. Its repairs policy states it will complete emergency repairs within 24 hours and appointable repairs in 28 to 60 days. It will complete planned repairs within 90 days. Its damp and mould policy states inspections and responsive repairs to diagnose and alleviate damp and mould will be carried out in accordance with its repair policy.
There is no record of when the resident first reported his concerns. The landlord raised a job on 22 April 2023 for cracks, damp on walls and a water damaged ceiling indicating the issues began around this time. Before it could attend, the resident reported a bathroom leak which was fixed promptly. It is unclear whether this leak affected the landlord’s plans to assess the original reports or why appointments were cancelled. However, it did not attend, meaning the issue was left outstanding and we have not seen that it updated the resident accordingly.
The landlord raised a job for a damp and mould survey on 22 August 2023. It took 5 months to do this survey on 18 September 2023 which was outside of its policy timescales and a significant failing. It appropriately acknowledged this delay at stage 1. The survey identified severe mould and likely rainwater ingress and recommended mould treatments, leak checks, plaster repairs, and upgraded extractor fans.
The landlord appropriately raised several repair orders in October and November 2023 following the survey. On 9 October 2023, it appropriately installed the extractor fans in accordance with its policy timescales. On 5 December 2023 the landlord completed a further damp and mould survey. It identified a number of works and said scaffolding would be needed along with a roofer and plasterer.
However, the records show many jobs were not completed:
1. The electrician, roofer and plumber were scheduled to attend on 18 October 2023, but this did not go ahead and there is a lack of evidence to support why.
2. Installation of thermal boards was attempted along with a mould clean and removal of coving on 6 December 2023, but there was no access.
3. Chimney brickwork repairs were attempted on 14 December 2023. However, it was not completed as there was no equipment. This was despite an internal request for ladders to be erected on 13 December 2023, which records show was later cancelled.
4. Flashing repairs were scheduled for 15 December 2023 and were also dependent on scaffolding which the landlord had not ordered or erected.
The landlord used systems to log and monitor works. However, the records do not always confirm the progress of repairs nor explain why some are recorded as no access. It is unclear whether appointments were communicated to the resident. There is no evidence of attempts to reschedule missed work or to chase contractors after the September 2023 survey. There is also no evidence the landlord explained cancellations or delays to the resident.
When the contractors provided their earliest available appointment dates, they were significantly delayed:
1. Roof tile overhaul was scheduled for 7 March 2025.
2. Mortar joint repairs were scheduled for 10 January 2025.
3. Downpipe and gutter repairs were scheduled for 24 March 2025.
In these circumstances, we would expect the landlord to seek alternative solutions or contractors to deliver the work sooner. There is no evidence it did so or that it communicated these long timescales to the resident. This was a missed opportunity for it to demonstrate it was attempting a timely repair and to also manage his expectations about timescales.
On 20 December 2023, it received a quote from its contractor and appropriately updated the resident. It authorised the work on 9 January 2024 and said it would start on 26 February 2024. We have seen that the landlord was chasing the contractor and internally which was appropriate, especially as the landlord wanted to provide an update in its stage 2 response. It demonstrated that it wanted to resolve the matter, however it should have acted with this level of urgency after the initial survey in September 2023.
The records show the landlord completed the following work:
1. Cleaned the gutters on 31 January 2024 despite this being raised in October 2023. It took 3 months to complete work which was not in accordance with its repairs policy.
2. Repaired the flashing and the surrounding brickwork on 5 January 2024. Again, this was raised in October 2023, and it was not completed in a timely manner.
3. Repaired the chimney stack and cracks on gable on 6 June 2024 after the complaints process ended.
After the complaints process ended, the contractors attended on 29 April 2024 to do the work but instead recommended a full structural report. This was completed in August 2024. The September 2023 survey had already identified possible structural concerns where the landlord was advised to appoint a structural surveyor or have an engineer attend to check for possible subsidence issues. It was a significant failing that this was not addressed at the time.
On 6 November 2023, the landlord’s internal surveyor said further investigation may be needed depending on the severity of the issue. This was not actioned until August 2024. It is unclear if the structural issues contributed to concerns about water ingress. However, the structural concerns impacted the timely progress of the roof repair. The roof repair was highlighted to be a cause for rainwater ingress, so the issues were interlinked. This further demonstrates the lack of coordination with landlord’s handling of this repair which caused avoidable delays.
The landlord appropriately recognised it had caused delays. Its offer of compensation at stage 2 was reasonable and factored in its poor communication and the distress and inconvenience caused. However, we are unable to make a finding of reasonable redress. This is because there have been further delays after the complaints process ended and we are also not satisfied that the external repairs have all been completed yet. The landlord stated it has scheduled an appointment for 11 May 2026. However, it is not clear what work it will do and by when. The resident has also explained he is not confident the mould issue has been resolved.
Our remedies guidance sets out a payment range which is appropriate to put right failings where there was a failure which adversely affected the resident. In ordering £400 compensation, we have considered the additional distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s further delays.
The resident has told us he is concerned about the damp and mould in his property and feels it has got worse as the external repairs are outstanding. We believe this could constitute a material change in respect of Awaab’s law, which came into effect on 27 October 2025. We have notified the landlord that this could be a material change under the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025. While we cannot make any findings on Awaab’s law in this case, the landlord does need to consider whether Awaab’s law applies and assess if this could be a potential significant or emergency hazard. We have made an order to reflect this for completeness.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) applicable from April 2022 was in use at the time. This sets out when and how a landlord should respond to complaints. The landlord had a published complaints policy which broadly aligned with the Code.
The landlord responded and acknowledged the complaint at stage 1 in accordance with the Code and its policy. At stage 2, the resident clearly stated in an email of 3 October 2023 that he wished to escalate his complaint. However, the landlord took 27 working days to issue its stage 2 acknowledgement. This was outside of the prescribed timescale of 5 working days in its policy and the Code. It also took 43 days to respond at stage 2. However, it appropriately notified the resident on 12 December 2023 that it needed further time to respond. The Code permits extensions and anything beyond 20 days should be agreed by both parties. However, when combined with the landlord‘s delay to acknowledge the escalation request, the resident was inconvenienced as he had to chase it for updates.
Overall, the landlord failed to properly assess its handling of the complaint against the Code and its policy timescales. Had it done so it would have identified the above failings. It also missed an opportunity to put things right. We order it to pay £50 compensation in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay. This is in line with our remedies guidance for failings that had an impact on the resident.

Learning

We appreciate that the repair was complex in nature and required the coordination of different contractors to resolve. However, the landlord’s overall handling of the repairs was poorly managed resulting in significant delays. It should consider how it can make improvements to managing repairs which require a multi-step approach to resolve.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord’s record keeping was not appropriate. It had systems in place to record progress with repairs however the data recorded was insufficient in places. We have seen several no access visit records, with no corroborating evidence that appointment dates were given to the resident in advance. It should also review its procedures for responding to missed appointments and ensuring they are rescheduled appropriately.
There are also some records where the landlord has cancelled jobs without recording the reason. This has made it difficult to establish if these were unavoidable and reasonable. Overall, it indicates that its staff may not be recording data accurately or with enough details. This was further supported by the landlord’s uncertainty around the outcomes of some of the jobs raised.

Communication

The landlord’s overall communication with the resident was poor. We have not seen that it kept him updated when lengthy delays arose, which it should have done in order to manage his expectations. It should consider how it can better manage communication in complex repairs.