Octavia Housing (202400028)

Background

1. The resident lives in a flat owned by the landlord. He reported water ingress that resulted in damp and mould in 2 bedrooms. The landlord acknowledged that it had delayed resolving the issue and accepted that 1 of the bedrooms was unusable. It offered an apology and compensation to put things right. However, the resident brought his complaint to us as he remained dissatisfied with the level of compensation offered.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling damp, mould, and associated repairs at the property.
3. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. We have found maladministration with the landlord’s handling of damp, mould, and associated repairs at the property.
5. We have found reasonable redress with the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

6. The landlord recognised it had delayed in completing works. However, it did not factor into its compensation distress and inconvenience caused to the resident. There are also discrepancies with the information it has provided on the completion date of works.
7. The landlord recognised its complaint handling delays. It apologised and offered an appropriate level of compensation 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.

Recommendations

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

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

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.

8. The landlord is obliged, in accordance with Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, to ensure that a property is fit for human habitation and free from hazards at the start and throughout the tenancy.
9. 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.
10. 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, rather than relying solely on residents to report them.
11. The landlord’s damp and mould policy aims to identify and remediate cases of damp and mould, preventing an impact on its residents and properties. It commits to communicating clearly with residents on the cause of damp and mould, follow up actions and the level of works required including an appropriate timeframe.
12. In October 2023, the resident reported damp and mould in the bedroom. There is evidence the landlord attended and attempted to resolve the issues. It inspected the property on 22 December 2023, identified a roof leak, and noted damage to the bedroom ceiling. However, the issues remained unresolved and by mid‑December 2023, the resident raised further concerns with the landlord, explaining that his son was unable to sleep in the room because “the ceiling was dripping,” and the problem worsened during rainfall. The landlord arranged repairs to a balcony on a flat above the resident’s home.
13. In March 2024, at stage 1 of the complaint process, the landlord offered the resident £250 in compensation accepting that it had delayed in resolving the issue and its communications had been poor. Although this showed an attempt to resolve the matter, the amount was lower than would be expected given the significant delays in completing the repairs and the adverse impact on the resident’s ability to use a bedroom.
14. In May 2024, the resident escalated his complaint, and the landlord issued its stage 2 response in July 2024. The landlord acknowledged the loss of use of a bedroom, and increased its compensation offer to £2,521.83. This was calculated as 20% of the rent for a 7‑month period from October 2023 to April 2024. These were positive steps that aligned with our remedies guidance.
15. It is unclear if the works were completed in April 2024. This is because the landlord has provided 2 dates – April 2024 and July 2024. If the bedroom was out of use until July 2024 because of outstanding work, then the landlord must recalculate the compensation to take account of this additional 3-month period based on 20% of the rent. While the landlord showed that in its stage 1 complaint it had taken account of the distress and inconvenience in its offer of £200 compensation, this was not factored into its compensation within its final response. Given the significant impact on the resident, we would expect the landlord to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused and to offer compensation specifically for this within its final complaint response.
16. For these reasons, we have made a finding of maladministration and ordered the landlord to pay the resident £400 for distress and inconvenience in addition to the £2521.83 it had already offered him for the reduction of use of a bedroom. The total compensation we order the landlord to pay the resident is therefore £2921.83. The landlord must also provide us with evidence of the date work was completed and if this was a later date than April 2024 then it must recalculate the compensation based on 20% rent for the additional period from April 2024 up until the outstanding work to resolve the use of the bedroom was completed.
17. We have also ordered the landlord to provide information to the resident on how he can make a claim under its liability insurance for damaged possessions.

18. On 13 December 2023, the resident raised a complaint. The landlord acknowledged the complaint on 4 January 2024 and provided its stage 1 response on 23 March 2024.
19. The Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states complaints must be acknowledged, defined, and logged at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within 5 working days of the complaint being received. Landlords must issue a full response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of the complaint being received. The landlord did not comply with the Code’s timeframe. Its stage 1 response was issued 3 months later and there is no evidence it agreed an extension to its timeframe with the resident. The landlord’s lack of compliance with the Code was inappropriate.
20. The resident escalated his complaint on 20 May 2024. It is unclear from the evidence if the landlord acknowledged the complaint however it provided its stage 2 response on 15 July 2024.
21. The Code states requests for stage 2 must be acknowledged, defined, and logged at stage 2 of the complaints procedure within 5 working days of the escalation request being received. Landlords must issue a final response to the stage 2 within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. The landlord responded 2 months later. There is no evidence the landlord agreed an extension of this timescale with the resident. The landlord’s lack of a stage 2 acknowledgement and delayed response was inappropriate and did not comply with our Code.
22. The landlord recognised its delayed responses within its stage 2 response. It apologised and offered him £100 compensation in recognition of the adverse impact caused to him. This level of compensation is aligned to our remedies guidance. We therefore consider the landlord put things right for the resident and have found reasonable redress in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Learning

23. It was positive that the landlord identified delays in completing works at the property. However, it must ensure it reviews the complaint and puts measures in place for improvements in its repairs service and complaint handling.

Communication

24. The landlord identified that its overall communication was poor. As part of its review, it must ensure that it learns from this complaint to improve communications.