Sanctuary Housing Association (202515848)

Decision
Case ID	202515848
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Sanctuary Housing Association
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	26 February 2026

Background

The resident raised concerns about water coming into her property and this causing ongoing damp and mould. She also said there were other repairs needed to the bathroom, kitchen floor, electric box, and footpath.

What the complaint is about

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

Our decision (determination)

We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of:
1. Reports of damp and mould.
2. Other repairs.
We have found no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould

The landlord did not take reasonable or timely steps to investigate and resolve the damp and mould affecting the resident’s home. It identified water ingress and the need to replace fascias and soffits in September 2024, but the work was not completed until October 2025, which was an excessive delay. The landlord offered reasonable compensation for its delay up to March 2025, but there were then further avoidable delays, and water is still entering the property from the roof, which requires further repairs. We have therefore found that the landlord has not taken appropriate and timely steps to put matters right following its final complaint response.

The landlord’s handling of other repairs

The landlord reasonably assessed that the kitchen flooring and electric box did not require repair. However, it delayed completing repairs to the extractor fan and the front footpath and has not repaired the bathroom ceiling. It acknowledged delays and offered reasonable compensation for the failures and their impact at the time of its final complaint response. However, it did not do enough to put things right, as further delays occurred after the final response and not all repairs are completed.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

The landlord responded to the complaint in line with its policy and procedures. The complaint responses showed a thorough investigation into the resident’s concerns.

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	Complete the works to the roof The landlord must take all steps to ensure the repairs needed to the roof to stop the water ingress are completed promptly and in any event by the due date. If the landlord cannot complete the works in time, it must explain to us, by the due date: Why it cannot complete the works by the due date and provide evidence to support its reasons. It must provide a revised timescale of when it will finish the works; or Explain the steps it has taken to ensure the works were completed and provide supporting evidence. It must provide a revised timescale if it is able to or explain why it cannot.	No later than 26 March 2026
2	Complete the works to the interior of the property The landlord must take all steps to ensure the following works are completed promptly and in any event by the due date: Treat any mould in the property following the roof repair. Redecorate all surfaces that have been impacted by mould. Repair and redecorate the bathroom ceiling. If the landlord cannot complete the works in time, it must explain to us, by the due date: Why it cannot complete the works by the due date and provide evidence to support its reasons. It must provide a revised timescale of when it will finish the works; or Explain the steps it has taken to ensure the works were completed and provide supporting evidence. It must provide a revised timescale if it is able to or explain why it cannot.	No later than 23 April 2026
3	Contact the resident about reported damage to personal belongings The landlord must contact the resident to obtain information about the reported mould damage to her personal belongings. It should then use its discretion to decide whether to make an offer towards reimbursement for the resident or refer her to its liability insurance.	No later than 26 March 2026
4	Contact resident about energy costs The landlord must contact the resident to obtain information about a possible increase in energy costs due to the dehumidifiers she has purchased and has been running daily during the delay in repairs to stop the water ingress into the property. It should then provide her with a clear position on whether it intends to reimburse her towards the cost of running her own dehumidifiers.	No later than 26 March 2026
5	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 provided by a senior member of staff. 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 26 March 2026
6	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident an additional £800 made up as follows: £600 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of reports of damp and mould. £200 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of other repairs.	No later than 26 March 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
10 January 2025	The resident raised a complaint about ongoing damp and mould and other outstanding repairs. She said she was waiting for the landlord to: Fix the fascias and guttering. Deliver dehumidifiers that were promised in September 2024. Install airbricks. Replace the bathroom. Replace the kitchen floor. Repair the uneven front path. Replace the electric box. She also said: Water was running down the bedroom walls, and she was worried about the family’s health, especially with a 14-week-old baby in the home. She had thrown out and replaced furniture, a bed, and baby clothes because of mould damage. The decoration on the walls was ruined. She had bought her own dehumidifiers and was spending significant amounts of money on mould sprays to try to keep black mould away from the baby.
27 January 2025	The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It upheld the complaint and said: It had inspected the property on 11 September 2024 and identified works to stop the water ingress and complete other repairs. There had been a delay in obtaining the works quote and approving the dehumidifiers, and it understood the damp and mould had worsened. It inspected again on 5 December 2024 and raised jobs to: Replace the soffits and fascias on the front and back of the property. Repair the front footpath. Install 5 air bricks to the gable end wall. Replace the bathroom extractor fan and pipework in the loft. Wash down areas impacted by damp and mould. It did not find recommendations from the surveyor to replace the bathroom, the kitchen floor, or the electric box. It had asked for another survey to be arranged regarding these issues. It apologised and offered £250 in compensation, made up of: £100 for the delay in completing the damp and mould works. £150 for the trouble or inconvenience the matter caused and the time it will take to complete the outstanding works.
17 February 2025	The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2. She said: The compensation did not reflect the damage and inconvenience she had experienced. She felt let down that the repairs had not been raised and that some of the surveyor’s recommendations were not included. There had been a 4-month delay in receiving dehumidifiers, and she had only been supplied 1when she had been told she would receive 2. She was disappointed with the lack of contact from the complaints team after the stage 1 response.
20 March 2025	The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It said: There had been further delays in raising the required works due to administrative errors. The surveyor had not recommended full replacement of the bathroom, repairs to the electrical box, or work on the kitchen floor, and the complaints team could not overturn the surveyor’s findings. For compensation for damaged personal items, it would require clear evidence of mould damage along with receipts or cost estimates. It offered £677 in total compensation (including the previously offered £250), made up of: £400 for delays in repairs. £25 for delays in the works co–ordination team picking up the repairs. £150 for decorating materials as a goodwill gesture. £102 for the cost of running the dehumidifier for the 4-week period it had lent this. The landlord also offered £150 for ‘future impact’ but this amount was not added to the total.
11 April 2025	The complaints handler spoke to the resident and offered an additional £100 to cover further decoration of the painted walls. This increased the total award to £777. The resident accepted and received the payment.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought her complaint to us. She said the landlord had not completed the works it had agreed to undertake and the damp and mould remained in the 3 bedrooms and the bathroom. She wanted the landlord to complete the repairs, treat the damp and mould, redecorate the affected rooms, and provide additional 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.

The landlord has paid a total of £777 in compensation to the resident, which included £400 for delays in repairs. We have attributed £100 to its handling of other repairs and the rest to its handling of damp and mould, which in our view fairly reflects the significance of each issue.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 came into force on 20 March 2019. It requires landlords to ensure that rented homes are safe, healthy, and free from risks that could cause serious harm, including damp and mould. The landlord’s damp and mould policy says it has a zero-tolerance approach to mould, damp, and condensation, and that it will work with the residents to diagnose issues at an early stage. As the resident reported damp and mould in the home, the landlord was obliged to investigate and complete any required repairs.
In July 2024, the landlord raised a repair to address damp and mould. It inspected the property in September 2024 and found water was entering the home, and that the fascias and soffits needed to be replaced. A further inspection in December 2024 recommended installing airbricks. When the landlord attended in May 2025, it concluded these were not required and identified the fascias and soffits as the priority. The work was not completed until 31 October 2025, over 13 months after the problem was first identified. This delay was not reasonable.
When the landlord replaced the fascias and soffits, it found that the felt on the roof had perished, which meant water was still entering the property. The repair has not been completed, although the landlord’s repairs policy says it aims to complete repairs within 28 days. It is unclear why there has been a delay. The resident has provided recent photos showing damp and water running down the walls, which has continued to cause mould.
The landlord said it would provide 2 dehumidifiers in September 2024 to help dry out 2 of the bedrooms. It later supplied one dehumidifier for a short period in January 2025 and contributed towards the cost of running it, in line with its policy of reimbursing £4 per day. When the dehumidifiers did not arrive in September, the resident bought 5 of her own and said she runs these daily to manage the damp.
The resident and her family been significantly impacted by the damp and mould caused by water ingress from the roof. They have:
1. Been living with damp and mould since they reported it in July 2024.
2. Spent time regularly cleaning damp and mould.
3. Spent money on damp cleaning supplies.
4. Been worried about their health, especially the baby.
5. Spent time chasing the landlord.
6. Redecorated and then seen this work damaged again by ongoing water ingress.
In its stage 2 response on 20 March 2025, the landlord acknowledged delays in completing repairs. It said the work would be completed in approximately 3 months. It said it included £150 for future impact over the next 90 days, but this amount was not added to the total compensation and has not been paid. The means the £677 already paid for this issue consists of £300 for delays between September 2024 and March 2025, £25 for delays in the works coordination team picking up the repairs, £250 for decorating, and £102 for the cost of running the dehumidifier it lent to the resident. We consider this amount reasonable to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused up to March 2025.
Whilst the landlord’s position and offer of compensation at the end of its complaints procedure was reasonable, there have been further delays, and it has not fully put matters right. We have ordered the landlord to repair the roof, treat the damp and mould, and redecorate the surfaces that have been affected. To recognise the further delays and because the damp and mould issue has not yet been resolved, we have ordered the landlord to pay an additional £600 for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident.
The resident has provided us with photos and evidence showing more than £1,100 spent replacing items she said were damaged by mould. This evidence does not appear to have been provided to the landlord, although she had sent it photos of mould damaged items. The landlord’s compensation policy says it can consider offering compensation up to an amount which will allow a resident to purchase a like for like replacement when there has been damage or loss of personal belongings or property. As the landlord has not had an opportunity to consider this information, we have ordered the landlord to contact the resident to gather more information. It can then decide whether to offer any discretionary reimbursement to the resident for these items or refer her to its liability insurer to make a claim for damages that she believes were caused by the landlord’s action or inaction.
We recognise the landlord’s dehumidifier was larger and therefore may have cost more to run than the resident’s smaller units, but there would still have been some cost to operate the ones purchased. The resident told the landlord her electricity costs had increased. While it was reasonable for the landlord to offer some reimbursement toward the cost of running the dehumidifier it had provided, it should also have provided a response to the resident’s point that she had bought her own and the impact on costs. We have ordered the landlord to contact the resident to gather more information to consider whether compensation is appropriate for the cost of running her own dehumidifiers during the repair delays.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of other repairs
Finding	Maladministration

The resident raised concerns about other repairs needed to the kitchen flooring, the bathroom, the electric box, and the front footpath. The landlord inspected and did not agree that the electric box needed to be replaced. It also determined that the condition of the kitchen flooring was due to wear and tear, which it was not responsible for. It was reasonable for the landlord to inspect these items and relay on the opinion of its operatives in deciding whether repairs were required. The landlord clearly explained its position to the resident in its complaint responses.
There were delays in repairing the front footpath. After the resident reported it as a tripping hazard, the landlord inspected the area in December 2024 and said it would raise a job to complete the repair. The footpath was not repaired until early February 2026, which was well outside the landlord’s stated aim of completing repairs within 28 days. The resident told us the footpath is now level but is still a tripping hazard because it is not level with the grass. This issue is something the resident would need to raise with the landlord, if she is concerned about the quality of work that was completed.
When the landlord inspected in September 2024, it said the bathroom ceiling needed to be repaired and redecorated following a water leak from the loft area. The landlord attended several times to redecorate and did not complete these works, but then decided an asbestos inspection was required first. This survey was completed in June 2025 and no asbestos was found. It was reasonable for the landlord to arrange an asbestos survey before proceeding.
However, the landlord has not repaired the bathroom ceiling since the survey. This delay is not reasonable. Recent photos provided by the resident show the ceiling in poor condition, and she reported that pieces of plaster regularly fall.
When the landlord inspected in December 2024, it said the bathroom extractor fan needed to be replaced. The landlord replaced the extractor fan in May 2025.
In its stage 2 complaint response in March 2025, the landlord acknowledged delays in the other repairs due to administrative errors. We have attributed £100 of the compensation already awarded to these delays.
As there were further delays in repairing the footpath and because the bathroom ceiling remains unrepaired, we have found maladministration by the landlord. To recognise the distress and inconvenience cause to the resident, we have ordered the landlord to pay an additional £200 in compensation. We have also ordered the landlord to complete the work to the bathroom ceiling.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint
Finding	No maladministration

The landlord’s complaints policy says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, issue a stage 1 response within 10 working days, and issue a stage 2 response within 20 working days. If more time is needed, the landlord may extend the timescale by up to 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2.
The landlord met its policy timescales at both stages of the complaint. At stage 2, it extended the deadline and then issued its response 3 working days later. There was some confusion because the resident expected a response by 14 March 2025, but the response was not due until 17 March 2025. Both complaint responses showed a thorough investigation of the issues raised.

Learning

Delays resulted from inconsistencies in how repair tasks were raised, coordinated, and monitored. The landlord could improve internal communication and workflow management so repairs progress smoothly after inspections.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

We did not identify record keeping issues in this case.

Communication

The resident experienced prolonged delays and repeatedly chased the landlord for progress. The landlord could have improved communication by providing clearer timelines and proactively updating the resident when delays occurred.