B3 Living Limited (202534120)

Background

1. During August 2023 the resident’s bedroom ceiling collapsed. The landlord carried out works, including repairing and redecorating the ceiling. During 2025 the resident reported a crack in the ceiling. In October 2025 the landlord carried out works to repair the ceiling and fix a leak.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a ceiling collapse.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to the resident’s report of a ceiling collapse.

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

Reasons

4. The landlord’s repairs policy says it aims to accurately diagnose the problem at first point of contact. Where it cannot accurately diagnose the repair it will contact the resident to support the diagnosis of the issue.
5. On 8 August 2023 the bedroom ceiling collapsed. The resident said that the debris was wet. However, the landlord’s repair logs says there was no evidence of a leak. It failed to offer an alternative explanation for the collapse, causing uncertainty to the resident. It moved the resident to a hotel and arranged for its asbestos contractor to remove the debris. The landlord has been unable to provide us with any further evidence relating to the move or the removal of asbestos. This is a record keeping failure which has impacted on our assessment of its response.
6. During her call with the landlord on 28 August 2023, the resident said a contractor had told her the leak was connected to the water storage tank in the loft. She also said that belongings she’d been told would need to be removed weren’t. She also complained that the landlord made her feel like her storing items in the loft had caused the issue. She was also upset that she’d found the contractor standing on her bed to carry out works to the ceiling.
7. The landlord’s stage 1 complaint response of 1 September 2023 upheld the complaint due to the conduct of its contractor which it said had been addressed with them. It apologised if the resident felt she was blamed for the ceiling collapse. It said it had tried to explain heavy loads may have caused the incident. However, it failed to confirm whether this was the case. By not doing so it failed to adhere to its repairs policy to diagnose the issue. It advised that its asbestos contractor had removed all contaminated items and that an air test was carried out for reassurance. There’s no evidence that this was disputed further by the resident.
8. The landlord completed a further inspection of the bedroom ceiling and roof space in September 2023. The contractor’s report confirmed that there was no risk of a repeat ceiling collapse and no signs of an active leak. They noted that there was a minor cosmetic stain on the bedroom ceiling, but the ceiling was dry
9. A year later, in September 2024, the resident again raised concerns about the condition of the ceiling. The landlord attended and recommended that the ceiling crack was filled and a stain block applied. The resident was not at home when the landlord attended to carry out the works on 2 occasions.
10. On 8 September 2025 the resident contacted the landlord to report that the stain and crack remained. She said her mental health was not good around the time of the stage 1 complaint which is why she did not request to escalate it. She asked for her complaint to be reopened to which the landlord agreed. It also raised a new repair. Its repair logs show that on 7 October 2025 it fixed a leak in the loft and filled a crack in the ceiling and painted over a stain on the ceiling.
11. It’s unclear if this was a new leak or a continuation of the original issue which is a record keeping failure. Given the previous history of ceiling collapse, the landlord should have taken more steps to confirm exactly what the source of the leak was, what action had been taken to remedy it and whether further monitoring was required. This information should then have been clearly relayed to the resident. This is a shortfall in service.
12. The landlord’s stage 2 complaint response of 5 November 2025 said there had been no evidence of an active leak. It said it had carried out works in 2023 but that “a definitive source for the leak could not be confirmed”. It therefore confirmed there was a leak and that it had not identified the cause. It also acknowledged the disruption caused to the resident and her household including the impact on her mental health. It said it understood the frustration caused by not knowing the cause of an issue, despite extensive repairs being carried out.
13. The landlord’s response to the collapsed ceiling and subsequent repairs lacked clarity. This was reflected in its response to the resident. Consequently, she did not know why the ceiling had collapsed or the reason for additional works that were later carried out. This caused uncertainty and eroded her trust in the landlord/tenant relationship. It failed to adhere to its repair policy to diagnose the problem at first point of contact. There’s also no evidence that it contacted the resident to support the diagnosis of the issue.
14. Our compensation guidance sets out that payments of £100 and above are appropriate to put right failings where the landlord’s failures adversely affected the resident. In ordering £150 compensation, we have considered the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident by the landlord’s response.
15. As the resident continues to feel that she is unable to sleep in the bedroom, it is recommended that the landlord contacts her to discuss this and consider what actions it can take to help. The landlord could consider arranging an up-to-date inspection of the bedroom and loft space to put the resident’s mind at rest. The landlord could also offer to help her to change the use of the rooms so that the bedroom becomes the living room and vice-versa.

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.