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Amplius Living (202310014)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202310014

Amplius Living

9 July 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:
    1. Reports of damp and mould in the property.
    2. Reports of draughts entering the property through the front and rear doors and electrical consumer unit.
  2. The Ombudsman has also investigated the landlord’s complaints handling.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord at the property, which is a one-bedroom house. The landlord has recorded that the resident has impaired mobility. The resident has told us that he has physical and mental health conditions.
  2. On 31 August 2022, the resident reported to the landlord that draughts were entering the property through the front and rear doors, and from the electrical consumer unit, which did not have a cover. The landlord inspected the property on 12 September 2022 and carried out works to adjust the front and rear doors.
  3. On 1 December 2022, the resident reported that the works had not resolved the issue and on 6 December 2022, he told the landlord he wanted to raise a complaint. The landlord attended the property on 7 December 2022 and raised works to replace the door seals and to inspect a storage heater. The landlord surveyed the property on 5 January 2023 and on 19 May 2023 it asked its contractor to raise works to supply and fit a new seal for the rear door, overhaul the lounge storage heater, investigate a draught and box in the consumer unit, treat the bedroom ceiling with thermal paint, adjust existing loft insulation, and install additional loft insulation.
  4. On 9 November 2023, we raised a complaint with the landlord on the resident’s behalf. The complaint was about its handling of his reports of damp and mould and outstanding repairs at the property following the survey of 5 January 2023. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 24 November 2023. It said that:
    1. Its contractor had completed works to adjust the doors at the property on 12 September 2022 and 28 December 2022. The resident had also reported draughts entering from around the electric meter and in a conversation on 10 November 2023 had raised a new repair for a bedroom window with mould growth. The landlord had arranged repairs appointments for 24 November 2023 for the electric meter cover and 27 November 2023 for the door seals and bedroom window.
    2. The landlord noted that the resident had telephoned on 9 and 17 May 2023 to follow up on the survey of 5 January 2023 and to request a copy of the report. The landlord apologised that this was not recorded as a complaint. It attached a copy of the survey report.
    3. The landlord apologised that it had raised a job for the works, but this had been cancelled by its contractor. It had re-raised the job with another contractor on 19 May 2023 and the works were completed on 24 August 2023.
    4. The landlord offered £520 compensation, made up of £70 for its failure to log the resident’s complaint, £300 for the delay in completing the repairs, and £150 for the trouble, stress and inconvenience the resident had experienced.
  5. At the appointment on 24 November 2023, the operative confirmed that the door seals were working as they should. Following an appointment on 27 November 2023, the landlord ordered parts to replace the fuse box cover and booked an appointment for 8 December 2023 for this to be fitted. On 6 December 2023, the resident wrote to the landlord to say that the door seals had not improved the temperature and that the doors needed replacing. On 21 December 2023, works were completed to cover and silicone the fuse box.
  6. On 30 January 2024, the resident contacted the landlord to say it had failed to respond to his complaint escalation. He said he remained dissatisfied with low temperatures in the property and with the presence of mould on his bedroom window. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 28 February 2024. The landlord said the complaint was not upheld at this stage. The landlord had carried out a post-inspection of previous works on 27 February 2024, which confirmed that all works had been completed, and no further works were required.
  7. The resident referred his complaint to us as he continues to experience draughts and low temperatures in the property. He wants the landlord to replace his rear door and to install a second door in the property’s porch area. He has also asked us to review the landlord’s offer of compensation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident has told us that the landlord’s failure to deal with the draughts and the resulting low temperatures in the property has worsened his existing medical conditions. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation, are not part of the complaints process, and are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim. The resident has the option to seek legal advice if she wishes to pursue these matters.

Landlord’s obligations

  1. Under the terms of the resident’s tenancy agreement and section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord is responsible for keeping in good repair the structure and exterior of the building, including doors, and for maintaining installations for the supply of electricity. Landlords need to make sure their homes are safe, warm, and free from hazards. When a resident reports a risk, the landlord should quickly inspect the property to check for hazards. They must determine if the home is safe and fit to live in. Ignoring hazards can lead to serious consequences for everyone involved.

Damp and mould

  1. The standards landlords are expected to meet when dealing with reports of damp and mould include taking a proactive approach to treating the issue, taking responsibility and not blaming residents, seeking to resolve the issues, and learning from complaints.
  2. It is not clear from the evidence we have received when the resident first reported damp and mould at the property to his landlord. The resident has provided evidence that he reported the issue to his local council and that they attended to investigate on 29 July 2022. Their inspection recorded that there were no current issues with damp and mould at the property, although the resident noted it was summer and that he regularly cleaned to remove the mould.
  3. The resident’s correspondence with the council referred to a previous visit from a damp contractor, so it appears that the landlord had been made aware of the issue and taken action to investigate. The landlord is reminded of its obligation to keep sufficiently detailed and accurate records of all repairs reports and appointments. Its failure to provide this information has hindered our ability to fully investigate this aspect of the complaint.
  4. The landlord arranged an environmental and mould survey, which took place on 5 January 2023. The report did not mention the presence of damp and mould within the property or suggest any remedial works to address damp and mould. The landlord acted appropriately by arranging a full survey of the property to investigate the environmental conditions. As there were no findings relating to damp and mould, it was appropriate that the landlord took no further action at that time.
  5. The landlord spoke to the resident about his formal complaint on 10 November 2023. The landlord says that during this call the resident reported mould on his bedroom window frame. In response, the landlord raised a repairs appointment for 24 November 2023 to investigate and repair the bedroom window seal. At that visit the operative confirmed that the window seals were in working order and concluded that mould was appearing on the window frame due to a lack of ventilation. The operative cleaned the area and provided advice to the tenant. This was a proportionate response to the extent of the issue and the landlord met its obligations in respect of the damp and mould by attending, investigating, cleaning the area, and providing advice.
  6. On 20 January 2024 the resident told the landlord that he remained dissatisfied with the presence of mould on the bedroom window. In response to the resident’s complaint escalation, the landlord arranged a further inspection of the property. Although the surveyor’s notes did not mention the presence of damp and mould, they did confirm that no further works were required at the property. We consider that the landlord took appropriate action in response to the resident’s continued concerns about the presence of mould on the window, although it may have been helpful to repeat its advice about ventilating the area.
  7. There was no maladministration by the landlord in its response to the resident’s concerns about damp and mould at the property. The action taken to identify damp and mould, and the advice given to prevent it, was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.

Draughts from doors and electricity box

  1. At the inspection by the local council, the operative noted large gaps between the front and rear doors and their frames. He said he would ask the landlord to inspect the doors and reduce the gap, fit a cover over the electrical consumer unit, and check all the storage heaters in the property. The resident reported the draughts and missing electricity box cover to the landlord on 31 August 2022. The landlord’s repairs records from 12 September 2022 show that it had attended and adjusted the doors. It noted that it may be possible to improve the temperature in the porch area by fitting an additional external door. It also noted that the electrical consumer box door needed replacing. A job was raised on 29 September 2022 to fit a new external meter box, as the door was broken.
  2. The landlord responded appropriately by arranging for an operative to attend to adjust the doors. It also raised some works to address the draughts coming through the electrical consumer unit, however, it is not clear whether the external meter box door was fitted. There is no evidence that it investigated the storage heaters at this time.
  3. The resident next reported draughty doors on 1 December 2022. The landlord attended and completed a repairs survey on 7 December 2022. It identified that the door seals needed replacing and arranged the survey of 5 January 2023 to investigate draughts and low temperature in the property. The repairs survey of 7 December 2022 and the environmental survey of 5 January 2023 both concluded that the temperature in the property was below the recommended level of 18 degrees Celsius.
  4. The landlord acted appropriately by attending within a reasonable time and ordering further investigations. This was a proportionate response, as the landlord needed to determine whether there was any action it was obliged to take to reduce the draughts or improve the temperature in the property. The surveys conducted by the landlord concluded that the property was not being heated sufficiently for comfortable habitation, noting that some storage heaters were obstructed or switched off. The landlord raised repairs to overhaul a living room heater that the resident said was not working, which was appropriate to meet its obligations.
  5. As the report from the environmental inspection on 5 January 2023 concluded that it was not necessary to fit an additional door, it was reasonable that the landlord relied on this expert advice to decide not to complete these works. The report also noted that the resident had requested thermal treatment be applied to the walls, but it concluded that the landlord was not required to do this, as the property had cavity wall insulation. The landlord did later apply thermal treatment to some areas of the property, demonstrating that it did want to put things right for the resident.
  6. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response acknowledged that there was an unreasonable delay in completing recommended works to address draughts. It offered the resident £520 compensation, £450 of which related to the delays in completing recommended works and the time, trouble, stress and inconvenience he had experienced as a result. It arranged for works to be completed on 24 and 27 November 2023, to replace the electrical consumer unit cover and front and back door seals. The seals were replaced as planned, although the cover was not replaced until 21 December 2023. In our view, this did not amount to service failure, as the landlord was waiting for parts and could not have prevented the additional delay.
  7. In its final complaint response, the landlord concluded that all works have been completed, and it did not uphold the escalated complaint. The Ombudsman considers that the landlord’s initial offer of £450 compensation was reasonable in all the circumstances, and in line with the sums recommended in our remedies guidance where a landlord’s failures have adversely affected a resident. It was also reasonable that the landlord concluded that all works had been completed, and that no further compensation was required in respect of delays in completing repairs.
  8. The landlord met its obligations by conducting an environmental survey and completing recommended repairsto prevent draughts. However, we do think there is more the landlord could have done, in line with best practice, to proactively and holistically respond to the resident’s concerns about low temperatures.At various points, the resident raised concerns about his heating costs, and there is no evidence that the landlord enquired about his financial circumstances or considered reimbursing additional heating costs during its complaints process. The resident did not provide evidence of additional costs to the complaints process, but the landlord could have invited him to do so and considered this, with reference to its compensation policy.
  9. The Ombudsman considers that, overall, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the resident, which in our opinion satisfactorily resolves his complaint about draughts entering the property. This is because it identified delays in completing repairs during its complaints process and it offered a proportionate amount of compensation. However, it is recommended that the landlord contact the resident to discuss any financial challenges he faces in heating the property and consider whether there is any help or support it can offer. We also recommend that it asks him to provide evidence of any additional heating costs incurred whilst the recommended repairs were outstanding and considers whether it should reimburse these.

Complaints handling

  1. The landlord has provided a copy of its Complaints Policy, which says that it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It says it will respond at stage 1 within 10 working days, and at stage 2 within 20 working days.
  2. The landlord identified in its stage 1 complaint response that it had failed to log the resident’s complaint. It offered £70 compensation. The evidence shows that the resident first attempted to raise a complaint on 6 December 2022. The landlord did not log a complaint until we contacted it on 9 November 2023 asking it to respond. This was despite the resident expressing dissatisfaction with its service again on 9 May 2023 and 17 May 2023. The Ombudsman considers that the landlord’s offer of £70 compensation was appropriate to reflect the adverse effect on the resident of its failure to log the complaint. This is in line with the recommendations in our remedies guidance.
  3. At stage 2, the resident expressed frustration that the landlord had not logged his complaint escalation until 31 January 2024. The landlord’s records show that the resident contacted it on 6 December 2023 to report that the new seals had not improved the temperature in the property. The resident referred to his complaint and the distress he was experiencing as a result of the landlord’s failure to resolve the issues. In our view, the landlord should have logged this as a complaint escalation.
  4. There was a delay of 8 weeks in the landlord logging the resident’s complaint escalation and it would have been appropriate to acknowledge this and offer additional compensation in its stage 2 response. The Ombudsman considers that there was service failure in the landlord’s response to the complaint and the landlord is ordered to pay an additional £70 compensation, to recognise the adverse effect of the further delay at stage 2. This amount is in line with our remedies guidance in cases where the landlord has delayed in getting matters resolved.
  5. The Ombudsman previously ordered the landlord to review its policy and practice in relation to knowledge and information management, including record keeping, and completing timely repairs. Some of the issues identified in this case are similar to the cases already determined. The landlord has demonstrated compliance with our previous wider orders, so we have not made any orders or recommendations as part of this case that would duplicate those already made to landlord. The landlord itself should consider whether there are any additional issues arising from this later case that require further action.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53.b. of the Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress to the resident, which in the Ombudsman’s view satisfactorily resolves the complaint about its handling of the resident’s reports of draughts entering the property.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaints handling.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Pay the resident £70 compensation to recognise the effect of the delays in its complaints handling.
  2. The landlord should confirm to the Service that it has complied with the above order within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord contact the resident to discuss the challenges he faces in heating the property, including heating costs, and consider whether there is anything it can do to support him.
  2. It is recommended that the landlord invite the resident to submit evidence of additional heating costs incurred during the period the repairs remained outstanding, and that it considers reimbursement of these costs, with reference to its compensation policy.