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Basildon Borough Council (202332048)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202332048

Basildon Borough Council

20 March 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 reports of leaks, damp, and mould.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord. The property is a 1 bedroom first floor flat. She has lived at the property since March 2018.
  2. On 13 November 2023 the resident reported mould growing in the bathroom. The landlord conducted a mould wash, but was concerned there was a leak coming from a neighbouring property. The wall was spongy and wet during the inspection.
  3. The landlord inspected the property on 27 November 2023 but was unable to identify the source of the leak. It arranged inspections for the roof and the neighbouring property and conducted mould washes.
  4. The resident complained to the landlord on 7 December 2023. She was unhappy with the lack of updates regarding the works. She wanted to know what was causing the leaks, damp, and mould. She said the landlord had removed a section of plaster in the bathroom and it was allowing slugs to enter.
  5. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 21 December 2023. It partially upheld the complaint. It listed dates that it planned to conduct further repairs between 3 and 12 January 2024. It said it believed the leak was coming from a neighbouring property and was conducting related repairs.
  6. The resident sought to escalate her complaint with the landlord on 6 January 2024. She said the mushrooms kept growing back in the bathroom. She felt the landlord was not resolving the cause. She wanted the landlord to survey the walls and find the source of the leak. She requested an action plan from the landlord to complete the repairs.
  7. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 16 January 2024. It partially upheld the complaint. It listed the actions it had taken to investigate the potential leak. It apologised for the resident feeling that it had not dealt with things properly. It said that it inspected the property multiple times to find the cause of the leak and maintained regular contact with the resident.
  8. The landlord issued a follow up response on 21 February 2024. It said that it had conducted repairs to the roof, gutters, plumbing, and brickwork to remedy any possible leak. It had treated the mould and provided dehumidifiers to reduce the moisture in the air. It planned to conduct further internal works once the property was dry. It said it would conduct a further inspection on 7 March 2024 and provide a sensor to monitor the air quality. It offered to pay £25.54 for the resident’s costs to run the dehumidifier between 12 and 26 January 2024. It also offered £200 compensation for the delay and inconvenience caused.
  9. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response and escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman in February 2024.
  10. In a call to the Ombudsman in March 2025, the resident said that the landlord found a leak from her neighbour’s boiler in December 2024. It replaced the boiler and this stopped the fungi growing and the wall dried out. She said the additional time taken to remedy the leak caused her distress an inconvenience. She was concerned that the landlord could have acted sooner to access the neighbour’s property.

Assessment and findings

Leaks, damp, and mould

  1. Sections 11 and 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 require the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the resident’s property in repair. It must ensure that the property remains fit for human habitation throughout her tenancy. The landlord must look at the condition of its properties using a risk assessment approach called the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). HHSRS does not set out any minimum standards, but is concerned with avoiding, or minimising potential hazards.
  2. The landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s initial report of mould in the bathroom. It conducted a mould wash and recognised the need for further investigation into the cause of the mould growth. Between December 2023 and April 2024, the landlord conducted various inspections to identify the source of the damp and mould. It found gaps in silicone around the bath panel that it replaced in January 2024. It checked the roof and replaced some roof tiles in February 2024. It conducted mould washes and removed mushrooms that returned several times across this period. It maintained good communication with the resident throughout.
  3. The landlord’s records show that it conducted further visits to the property after the end of the complaints process. It did so each month between March and October 2024. It took steps to identify the source of the leak and treated the mushrooms that grew. It found that the boiler in the neighbouring property was leaking on 22 November 2024. It promptly attended and resolved the leak by replacing the boiler on 9 December 2024.
  4. It can be difficult to diagnose the cause of a leak but the Ombudsman recognises that the landlord acknowledged there was a delay. The time taken to resolve this problem would have contributed to the resident’s distress and inconvenience. It was clear from her communication with the landlord that she was becoming increasingly frustrated by the number of appointments and its inability to stop the leak.
  5. The landlord used its complaint handling effectively to address the outstanding repairs. It took the opportunity to provide a clear action plan and describe details of its investigations to identify the cause of the damp and leaks. It showed that it had taken reasonable action to mitigate the impact on the resident throughout. It provided dehumidifiers which would have removed some of the moisture from the air. It promptly returned to conduct mould washes and remove fungi that grew in the bathroom.
  6. The Ombudsman welcomes and encourages landlords to learn from complaints. It is positive that the landlord reviewed its final response in February 2024 and considered ways to put things right for the resident. The landlord appropriately recognised the inconvenience caused to the resident. Its offer of £200 compensation and £25.25 for the additional energy use was reasonable.
  7. The Ombudsman finds no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of leaks, damp, and mould. It is clear from the resident’s communication with the landlord that the situation was distressing for her. She took time and trouble reporting repairs and chasing these with the landlord. She had to allow access for many operatives to attend repairs which would have caused her some nuisance and annoyance.
  8. However, the landlord promptly responded to the resident’s initial reports of damp and mould. It took reasonable action to identify the source of the leak and repair the faults it found. It maintained communication with the resident and took reasonable efforts to reduce the impact on her.
  9. The landlord’s records show that it continued to resolve the repairs in 2024 and committed to redecorating the areas affected by damp and mould. Its offer of £200 compensation and £25.25 for additional energy costs was reflective of its own guidance on compensation. It was also within a range that the Ombudsman would recommend where there was a failure that adversely affected a resident. The Ombudsman has not identified specific failings on the part of the landlord. Its financial award showed it was seeking to put things right for the resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of leaks, damp, and mould.

Recommendations

  1. If it has not already done so, the landlord should re-offer the £200 compensation and the £25.54 for additional energy use proposed in its follow up response on 21 February 2024.
  2. The landlord should consider the additional time taken to remedy the leak and the distress and inconvenience this caused the resident. It should write to the resident to confirm if additional compensation is warranted as a result.