From 13 January 2026, we will no longer accept new case enquiries by email. Please use our online complaint form to bring a complaint to us. This helps us respond to you more quickly.

Need help? Other ways to contact us.

Accent Housing Limited (202330977)

Back to Top

 

A blue and grey text AI-generated content may be incorrect.

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202330977

Accent Housing Limited

03 September 2025

 

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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about water ingress at her home.

Background

  1. The resident is a leaseholder of a 2nd floor 3-bed maisonette.
  2. The resident states since 2016 she has reported water ingress issues initially in her lounge and later in her bedroom. She says it has caused damp and black marks in her lounge. The evidence shows the landlord has taken some action including in 2022 by painting stain block to the affected areas in the lounge and in 2023 initiating a process to replace the soffits and fascias.
  3. The resident complained on 19 July 2023 to the landlord. She said it has not resolved the water ingress issue.
  4. The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response on 21 August 2023. Amongst other things, it said a recent inspection confirmed the soffits and fascias were causing the water ingress. It acknowledged delays and poor communication and offered £250 towards decoration costs.
  5. The resident escalated her complaint on 9 September 2023, based on her dissatisfaction with the landlord’s first complaint response. For instance, she said the dates of her reports were wrongly stated to be from 2021. She also said she wanted it to do decorative works saying the landlord’s inaction had made the affected areas worse.
  6. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response on 13 October 2023. It said the replacement of the soffits and fascias had been added to its planned works and was part of a section 20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 consultation process for the delivery of works (s20). It apologised for the incorrect date in its previous response, said it would decorate after the repairs were completed, and offered £300 compensation for the inconvenience caused.
  7. The resident brought her complaint to the Ombudsman on 6 November 2023 seeking completion of the repair, internal decoration, and compensation from the landlord.
  8. The landlord and resident have both provided further evidence to the Service about the water ingress issue following the completion of the complaints process.

Assessment and findings

Investigation scope

  1. Complaints should be raised promptly so that landlords can take action to resolve the issues. The Ombudsman investigates complaints based on the evidence of service failure presented and it would not be feasible to investigate back to 2016, when the resident said that the issues began. This is because as time passes records may become unavailable and memories fade and will not be reliable. This investigation is therefore focused on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of water ingress from 2023.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about water ingress at her home

  1. The resident’s lease states the landlord is responsible for maintaining and repairing the external parts of the building such as walls, windows, and doors.
  2. The resident complained on 19 July 2023 about the landlord’s handling of her water ingress reports. She said initially the area affected by damp was around her lounge French doors and window, but delays in resolving the issue meant it was now affecting the area around her bedroom French doors. As part of the outcomes sought, she asked for the landlord to decorate the affected areas and provide its past and present maintenance plans.
  3. The landlord’s issued its initial complaint response on 21 August 2023 summarising its actions from 2021. This included re-raising a works order on 8 November 2022 after a year’s delay due to an oversight. It said an inspection on 17 August 2023 had found that the water ingress was caused by the soffits and fascias and these would be replaced in line with s20 processes. It apologised for its service failures including delays re-raising the 2022 order and identifying the cause of the ingress as well as its poor communication. While it said it would not decorate, it offered £250 towards the resident’s decoration costs. It said it had learned lessons around ensuring its contractors and surveyors investigated all causes at an early stage.
  4. The response was mostly appropriate and showed it was trying to put right its mistakes. However, while the landlord set out a plan (soffits and fascias), it did not address the damp areas caused by the ingress other than offering compensation toward decoration costs. The resident has her own repair obligations under the lease agreement, but as the internal issues were linked to the landlord’s inaction, it unreasonably failed to consider what more it could do to remedy the areas. For instance, it did not explore interim solutions to mitigate the impact of the ingress. Nor did it confirm or repeat a previous offer made on 14 January 2022 to deal with internal issues after completing external works.
  5. The resident escalated her complaint on 9 September 2023 repeating her concerns about the landlord’s inaction over the years to address the water ingress issue. She also said that while she had reported the matter again in 2021 and 2023, she had been reporting the same issue for years. She requested details about the soffits and fascias, such as a proposed works timeline, storm protection for the rendering, and internal remedial works. She asked again for the maintenance plans, which she said had not been provided. She declined the compensation saying it did not reflect the delays, distress caused, and impact on her health and wellbeing.
  6. In its final complaint response of 13 October 2023, the landlord apologised for an incorrect report date in its initial response saying a new customer hub would ensure more accurate records on resident’s accounts. While it said the resident was responsible for decoration, it agreed to decorate after completing the repairs. It said the maintenance plan was sent on 12 September 2023 and apologised for the delay. It stated the soffits and fascias works were part of a s20 process (starting 9 October), which would set out the intended works. It asked the resident to raise any queries she had about the rendering as part of the s20 consultation. It apologised for her having to complain and the inconvenience caused for which it offered £300 compensation.
  7. The landlord appropriately accepted the errors in its initial complaint response around the resident’s reports and demonstrated a commitment to improving its service with the customer hub.
  8. The landlord agreed to the resident’s request to decorate the areas affected by the water ingress. This was reasonable as, based on the information given by the resident to it, its delays had led to the water ingress issues worsening and spreading to a bedroom. The resident has told the Service the interior works are unresolved. The evidence shows in July 2024, after the resident asked the landlord for an update about the internal repairs, she was asked to report the issue again. The landlord has not provided up to date evidence showing if it has undertaken any remedial works to address the matter.
  9. The evidence shows on 17 August 2023, the landlord’s contractors recommended “dry storm render” at the same time as saying the soffits and fascias should be replaced. Its final complaint response said the s20 consultation included a breakdown of works and invited the resident to ask questions about the rendering during the s20 process. Further, it also directed her to the s20 process for more details about the timeline for the soffit and fascia replacement. As the consultation process was a forum to enable residents to raise questions or seek clarity, this was reasonable.
  10. The landlord appropriately apologised for not sending the maintenance plan in its initial complaint response. The evidence shows it was sent on 12 September and an email on 21 September 2023 indicates it sent the resident its ‘Expected Works’ and ‘Completed Works’.
  11. Overall, the landlord appropriately apologised for the delays, committed to progress the external works, demonstrated learning around its record keeping and offered compensation. However, the resident’s reports of the internal areas worsening should have prompted the landlord to, for example, investigate potential interim solutions given that the underlying cause could not be resolved immediately. Furthermore, the evidence indicates the internal issues continue to be outstanding. The complaint was not therefore resolved.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports about water ingress at her home.

Orders and recommendations

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report the landlord must pay the resident:
    1. £300 compensation for the distress, time and trouble, and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s report about the water ingress.
    2. This sum is in addition to the £550 compensation (£250 for decoration costs and £300 for inconvenience) previously offered by the landlord.
  2. Within 8 weeks of this report the landlord must inspect the resident’s home to assess the areas affected by the water ingress in cooperation with her. It must also provide a schedule of works by which it will complete whatever remedial works had been identified, in line with the commitment made in its final complaint response.
  3. If the resident subsequently has concerns about the landlord’s adherence to its schedule or the way it updates her about any changes, she will be entitled to raise a new formal complaint with the landlord and then bring her complaint back to the Ombudsman.
  4. Evidence of compliance with these orders must be provided by their respective deadlines.