London Borough of Camden Council (202453391)

Decision
Case ID	202453391
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London Borough of Camden Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	30 April 2026

Background

The resident has repeatedly reported water leaks which he said caused damp and mould. The resident has disclosed to us and the landlord that he has asthma.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to:
1. Water leaks into the property.
2. The resident’s complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found that:
1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to water leaks into the property.
2. There was service failure in the landlord’s response to the resident’s complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Water leaks into the property

The landlord did not act with the urgency that the damp, mould and water leaks required. There were repeated delays to carrying out work identified in surveys. The water leaks into the property causing damp and mould remain unresolved.

Complaint handling

The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s escalation request in line with the timeframe in its complaint policy and our Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The delay in acknowledgement meant the stage 2 response was issued 32 working days later than it should have been.

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 29 May 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £1250 made up as follows: £600 for distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s response to water leaks into the property. £600 for time and trouble caused by the landlord’s response to water leaks into the property. £50 for complaint handling failures. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date. This amount is inclusive of the £500 the landlord awarded in its stage 2 response.	No later than 29 May 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. A suitably qualified person must complete the inspection. 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 discusses the matters with the resident and inspects the following aspects of the property and produces a written report with photographs: all external walls of the property, with particular attention to the living room wall the roof terrace, with particular attention to the garden area and raised planter the skylight the whole property for damp, mould and water leaks. The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards The most likely cause of any problems with the external walls especially the living room wall, the roof terrace especially the garden area and raised planter, the skylight, and damp, mould and water leaks within the property 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 resolution to any repairs identified 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.	No later than 29 May 2026
4	Completing works to damp, mould and water leaks in the property. The landlord must take all steps to ensure the work identified in the ordered inspection is completed within the landlord’s applicable repair policy timescales. The landlord must provide evidence of the completed works within the appropriate timescales (e.g. 20 days from the date of inspection report).	No later than the applicable timescales set out in landlord’s repairs policy, starting from the date of the ordered inspection report.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
1 March 2024	The resident made a complaint. He said repairs to water leaks had not been completed correctly and some repairs had not been carried out at all. The resident said this had led to significant damp and mould in the property. He said the problems began when major works were completed on the roof and the living room wall was rendered. The resident said he was 71 years old and asthmatic. He said the damp and mould were affecting his condition and also isolating him as his clothes and home smelt. The resident asked for works to be carried out as a matter of urgency.
18 March 2024	The landlord issued its stage 1 response. It said on 26 October 2023 the resident had contacted the repairs team to report a water leak from the communal flat roof when it rained. The landlord said all the repairs were completed on 15 December 2023. It said it had arranged for a damp and mould inspection to take place on 26 March 2024.
12 July 2024	The resident escalated his complaint. He said the leaks from the roof were a separate problem that had been repaired. The resident said the problem was the living room wall which he said he had reported several times. The resident said surveyors had attended in November 2022 and June 2024. He said both had identified the living room wall to be wet and needing work. The resident said his living room had an awful smell which was becoming unbearable. He asked for the water leak to be identified and fixed as a matter of urgency.
2 October 2024	The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It acknowledged that the resident had been reporting damp and water leaks at the property for a long time. The landlord said these had become worse since 2021. It said roof repairs were carried out in November 2023 and further roof repairs were booked for 2 October 2024. The landlord said it was not satisfied that full investigations had taken place into all the origins of the damp until recently. It said once roof and render repairs had taken place the damp and mould team would return to carry out work. The landlord acknowledged the delays and awarded the resident £500 compensation.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident asked us to investigate as he was dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response. He said the water leaks and damp and mould still remained. The resident said the landlord was not listening to him about the source of the leaks. He wanted the works carried out and compensation for damage to his belongings and the stress of the living conditions.

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	Water leaks in the property
Finding	Maladministration

The landlord’s damp and mould policy states it will visit the property where damp and mould have been reported within 10 working days for moderate–risk cases and 20 working days for low-risk cases. As the resident is asthmatic it would be appropriate to identify this household as having vulnerabilities which increase risk factors. This meant a visit was appropriate within 10 working days.
The landlord carried out 2 damp and mould inspections. The first of these was carried out in line with the moderate risk timescales in the landlord’s damp and mould policy. The resident reported damp and mould on 9 January 2023, and the landlord inspected the property on 12 January 2023.
Another inspection was carried out on 26 March 2024. The work order was raised on 13 March 2024, so the inspection was carried out within 10 working days of the work order being raised.
However, this was an action that arose from the stage 1 response, and the resident had reported the damp and mould within his complaint dated 1 March 2024. This meant the inspection did not occur within 10 working days. It happened within 18 working days of the resident’s report, and outside of the applicable policy timescale. This demonstrated a failure to follow the policy and give due consideration to the resident’s disclosed vulnerabilities.
Two surveys were also carried out on the property. The first of these took place on 28 November 2022. This survey identified “saturation” on the kitchen ceiling which it said was probably caused by a defective roof. It said the roof needed investigation and repair. The survey found a plaster repair and redecoration would be needed after remedial work.
The living room, bathroom and all 3 bedrooms were found to be damp. The survey found the external wall was damp and suggested this was due to the defective roof. It was identified that the property had no motorised extraction, and an extractor fan was recommended to be installed for the bathroom.
A landlord internal email recommended a “few” dehumidifiers be provided for the property. There was no evidence that the landlord acted upon these recommendations. The resident said in his complaint that he had asked the landlord for a dehumidifier, but it had declined his request. This outcome was not in line with the recommendation discussed in the landlord’s internal email. The resident said in his complaint that he had bought a dehumidifier to help improve the issue.
Despite the survey findings, the evidence showed that no work orders were raised to carry out the work after the survey. A work order was not raised for the roof until 2 August 2023. This was 247 calendar days after the survey identified a problem with the roof. This was an unreasonable delay and considerably exceeded all the timescales in the landlord’s repairs policy.
The initial work on the roof was completed on 15 September 2023. However, the problems remained and the resident raised the matter again in October 2023. The landlord’s stage 1 response confirmed that this work was completed on 15 December 2023.
The resident had raised in his complaint that the roofing appointments had been cancelled by the roofer on many occasions. The landlord did not address this point raised by the resident but stated in its response that there had been “several appointments”.
It would have been appropriate for the landlord to have addressed the resident’s concern about the number of cancelled appointments. The evidence showed that 6 different appointment dates had been logged on this repair.
Despite roof work being completed in December 2023, the problems with damp, mould and water leaks in the property continued. A contractor emailed the landlord on 12 January 2024 to advise that the resident had reached out to it because he was not getting a response on the ongoing damp and mould problems from the landlord. The contractor requested the landlord called the resident. There was no evidence to show this call took place.
On 29 February 2024 the resident used the landlord’s online chat to chase up a resolution. He told the landlord water leaks continued despite the roof repairs. The resident said every time it rained the moisture was adding to the damp and mould in the property.
The resident explained that the property and his clothes were smelling of damp. He said the use of the dehumidifier was significantly increasing his electricity bills and he was having to place a bucket in the kitchen to collect rainwater. It would have been reasonable for the landlord to have addressed these concerns by arranging a prompt appointment. However, there is no evidence to suggest it did.
Further work orders to address some of the recommendations from the damp survey that took place in November 2022 were not raised until April 2024 and June 2024. This demonstrated further poor handling of the resident’s concerns, delaying the repairs significantly and failing to follow the repairs policy.
Despite the resident repeatedly raising the matters, further progress did not occur until June 2024. A landlord internal email requested a damp survey to take place as soon as possible, stating this prompt response was required due to our involvement in the case. It was unreasonable that this was the motivation to resolve the issues. The same urgency was not evident when the resident was raising the matters, which was a failing, especially as the resident had vulnerabilities.
Another damp survey was carried out on 10 June 2024. This survey found “defective external renders, poor drainage to the terrace, high sub-surface damp readings to the external walls of the living room, parapet walls and beneath the terrace”. It also said there was black mould on the external walls.
The surveyor said that the “saturation of masonry and moisture ingress from defective renders” were causing conditions for mould growth. The report concluded that the fabric of the building appeared to be damp. It said it is likely that the problems occur after rainfall.
The survey findings aligned with what the resident had been trying to explain to the landlord. The resident told us that he felt the landlord had not listened to him.
The recommendations from the survey were to:
1. Inspect and repair the defective external render, terrace roof coverings and drainage.
2. Upgrade existing extractors in the kitchen and bathroom.
3. Carry out making good and redecorating to the area of water ingress and damp staining.
There is no evidence that the work identified in this survey took place. Both surveys in 2022 and 2024 recommended work regarding extractor fans. We have seen no evidence of any work orders for extractor fans.
The landlord awarded the resident £500 compensation in its stage 2 response dated 2 October 2024. It said this was because of the delays the resident had experienced in progressing the matters. It said the compensation was made up of £300 for distress and inconvenience and £200 for time and trouble. The resident told us he has not received this compensation.
The resident also told us on 21 April 2026 that the problems with water leaking into the property causing damp and mould are unresolved. He explained very clearly where he thinks the source of the problems are from – the external wall that runs the length of the property and blocked drainage in a raised planter that is on the roof terrace. This suggests the landlord has continued to fail in permanently repairing the issue, causing ongoing impact to the resident.
As the matters remain unresolved and the evidence showed significant delays in the landlord carrying out work identified, we have awarded the resident additional compensation. We have awarded an additional £300 for distress and inconvenience and an additional £400 for time and trouble. Our compensation guidance allows for consideration for both distress and inconvenience and time and trouble.

Complaint	Complaint handling
Finding	Service failure

The landlord’s complaints policy, including complaint definition and timescales, were compliant with the Code.
The landlord issued its stage 1 acknowledgement and stage 1 response in line with the timescales in its complaints policy and the Code.
The resident escalated his complaint on 12 July 2024. However, the landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s escalation until 18 September 2024. This was 47 working days later which exceeded the 5 working days timescale stated for issuing acknowledgements in the landlord’s complaints policy and the Code.
The evidence did not show why the landlord was delayed in acknowledging the resident’s escalation request. But it did show that the resident had to chase up a response to his stage 2 response, the evidence did not show what date this happened.
The landlord did not acknowledge its failure in its stage 2 response. It would have been appropriate and reasonable to do so.
The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 2 October 2024. This was within the 20 working days after the acknowledgement was sent in line with the timescales in the landlord’s policy and Code.
However, if the landlord had acknowledged the resident’s escalation request within the 5 working days stated in its complaints policy and the Code, the resident’s stage 2 response would have been due no later than 16 August 2024. The delay in the landlord acknowledging the resident’s escalation meant the resident’s stage 2 response was issued 32 working days later than it should have been.
Our compensation guidance sets out that payments of £50 are appropriate to put things right when there has been service failure in complaint handling.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping) and communication

The landlord should ensure it keeps thorough records of the outcomes of its surveys and work orders. We would encourage the landlord to review the recommendations in our Spotlight Report on knowledge and information management and the key learnings in our Spotlight Report on complaints about repairs. This is to decide if it needs to take any action to improve its record keeping.

Communication

The landlord should ensure it has appropriate communication with its contractors and internal staff to ensure adequate oversight of jobs. We would encourage the landlord to review the key learnings in our Spotlight Report on complaints about repairs. This is to decide if it needs to take any action to improve its communication with contractors and internal staff regarding outcomes of surveys and actioning work orders in a timely manner.