Birmingham City Council (202324164)

Decision
Case ID	202324164
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Birmingham City Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	28 November 2025

Background

1. The resident says he has experienced repeat issues with damp and mould for 12 years. He says the landlord failed to acknowledge his concerns in a timely manner.

What the complaint is about

2. The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. damp and mould.
   2. the kitchen cabinets.
3. We have also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
5. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the kitchen cabinets.
6. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Damp and mould.

7. The landlord did not address the damp and mould in line with its policy. There were significant delays. It did not offer compensation to reflect the impact caused to the resident.

Kitchen Cabinets.

8. The landlord’s actions were reasonable as it responded to the resident’s concerns, arranged multiple inspections, and relied on its operatives’ findings that the kitchen cabinets were not beyond repair.

Complaint handling.

9. There were delays in acknowledging and responding to the resident’s complaint. This was not in line with the landlord’s complaint’s policy.

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 05 January 2026
2	Compensation order     The landlord must pay the resident a total of £500 compensation, to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its failures. This includes: £300 for its handling of damp and mould. £200 for its complaint handling.	05 January 2026

 

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our recommendations
The landlord should review when the resident’s kitchen is due for an upgrade and provide written confirmation of its position.

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
19 October 2023	The resident raised a complaint about the ongoing issues he was experiencing with damp and mould in the property.
2 February 2024	The landlord issued its stage 1 response and apologised for the delay. It found the following: It had received multiple reports of damp in the property for 2 years, which prompted it to undertake a survey in November 2023. Between November 2023 and January 2024 it completed mould treatments and applied mould paint in response to the resident’s reports of damp and mould. It confirmed further works identified in the survey would be raised once the contractors’ quote had been agreed.
12 February 2024	The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 and explained: He had been suffering from poor housing conditions. The kitchen cabinets were beyond repair and needed replacement. Mould covered the kitchen cabinets and bathroom, but no “proper” action had been taken despite repeated reports. Contractors often arrived unprepared and unaware of the actual repair jobs. There was rising damp throughout the property. The front door lacked a porch, allowing rainwater into the living room. There were holes in the walls, allowing access to rats.
24 May 2024	The landlord apologised to the resident for its delay in providing a stage 2 response. It explained it was awaiting information to be able to fully respond to the resident’s concerns.
19 June 2024	The landlord issued its stage 2 response and apologised for the delays. It explained: An advanced damp and mould survey took place on 27 November 2023. The surveyor identified vermin in the loft. On 1 February 2024 the landlord agreed the required works. It stated that it would need to resolve the pest issue before any damp works could take place. It visited in May 2024 and found no active pests in the property, however it decided to lay traps. It also checked for ingress points.  A further visit was arranged in June 2024 to ensure the pests were gone.  It acknowledged the damp issues were outstanding and confirmed an appointment had been scheduled to address this.
Referral to the Ombudsman	To resolve the resident’s complaint he is seeking for the landlord to: Replace the kitchen unts that have rotted. Treat the mould at the back of the kitchen units. Treat the mould under the sink.

 

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	The landlord’s handling of damp and mould.
Finding	Maladministration

10. The resident explained that he has reported damp and mould issues to the landlord since 2013. Our scheme rules state that we may not investigate complaints which were not referred to the landlord within a reasonable time, normally 12 months. The resident has stated that they experienced damp and mould since 2013, but did not raise a formal complaint until October 2023. There is no evidence that the complaint was raised promptly, or within 12 months of the resident becoming aware of the issue. We have not seen evidence that the resident was prevented from raising a complaint sooner. For that reason, we will not investigate the complaint about damp and mould prior to 2023.
11. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will carry out routine repairs within 30 days of them being reported. Its process for damp and mould is to arrange an inspection of the property within 14 days. Its operative will visit and advise what can be done to resolve the problem.
12. The repair records show the resident raised concerns in October 2023 about repeat issues of damp and mould throughout the property.
13. Given the resident had experienced repeat issues with damp and mould. It was appropriate that the landlord carry out an advanced damp and mould survey in November 2023. We have not seen a copy of this survey, but the correspondence confirms that pests were found in the loft. This needed to be resolved first before the landlord could carry out any repairs identified.
14. The landlord did not offer an explanation as to why pest issues had to be attended to first. It would have been appropriate for it to have explained its approach to the resident to give the reason for the delay.
15. The landlord carried out damp and mould treatments and applied mould paint between November 2023 and January 2024. It acted appropriately by completing the damp and mould works while waiting for the pest issues to be resolved.
16. While we understand the landlord’s position regarding the pest issues, its records show that it did not approve these works until 3 months after completing the survey.
17. In May 2024 the landlord confirmed there were no pests in the property. However it scheduled a further appointment in June 2024 to confirm the pests were gone. This was an appropriate step to take to make sure the issue had been resolved.
18. The landlord did not explain why it took around 8 months to resolve the pest issues. This length of time was unreasonable and caused avoidable delays, as the pest problem was first noted in November 2023 but not resolved until May 2024.
19. We would expect the landlord to complete any necessary follow-on actions about pest issues and damp and mould within a reasonable timeframe. We are not satisfied this was done, which caused further delays to address the damp and mould.
20. Although the repair records show a further mould treatment was carried out in June 2024, we have not seen evidence confirming that the works identified in the November 2023 survey were completed. While the resident told us in October 2024 that the works were complete, the landlord has not demonstrated that it completed them within a reasonable timeframe, given that the works needed were identified in November 2023 or documented this clearly in its records.
21. In the resident’s October 2024 email he said that the landlord had installed a device in his home to help mitigate condensation. He also confirmed that this had improved the mould issues. While this is positive, it is unreasonable that it took the landlord around a year to resolve the matter. This was not in line with its repairs policy.
22. The landlord confirmed that it inspected the residents property on 27 August 2025. It confirmed that there was no evidence of damp and mould.
23. At the time of the landlord’s stage 2 response, the works had not been completed. However it would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider its compensation policy and, if appropriate, make a commitment to give this further consideration after the works needed were completed. The policy states discretionary payments may be made where there are delays in completing a repair. The maximum amount it awards is £250.
24. Given the length of time it took for the landlord to complete repairs identified in the survey, we are ordering it to pay £300 to the resident. This is in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused.

Complaint	The landlord’s handling of the kitchen cabinets.
Finding	No maladministration

25. The resident had raised repeated concerns from October 2023 about his kitchen cabinets being ruined by mould. The repair records show operatives removed the mould with treatment. Operatives carried out a visit in January and February 2024 and found there was nothing wrong with the kitchen cupboards.
26. On 8 February 2024 the resident emailed the landlord stating that its operatives were unable to deal with the mould issues on the kitchen cabinets, as they were beyond repair. We have reviewed the records and the operative’s comments do not state this. The landlord appropriately arranged a further appointment for 6 March 2024. The notes confirmed that the mould was removed from the cupboards at this time.
27. It was appropriate for the landlord to arrange a further inspection to inspect and carry out any required repairs. The landlord’s actions were proportionate and in line with its policy. We understand the resident was seeking to have these replaced, however there is no evidence to confirm that the landlord was required to replace the kitchen cabinets.
28. Whilst we recognise the resident is unhappy about this and would like a replacement, it is reasonable for the landlord to rely on the information provided by its operatives who inspected the cabinets.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint.
Finding	Maladministration

29. The landlord has a 2 stage complaints process. It aims to:
    1. Acknowledge complaints in 2 working days.
    2. Respond to stage 1 complaints within 15 working days.
    3. Respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
30. Although the resident raised a complaint in October 2023, the landlord did not provide a response to his concerns until 2 February 2024. The landlord’s delay was unreasonable and caused avoidable distress and inconvenience to the resident
31. The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s escalation request on 12 February 2024 until 29 April 2024. It apologised for the delay on 24 May 2024 and explained it was awaiting information to complete its investigation. We find it was appropriate for the landlord to inform the resident of the delay. However it took an additional month for it to provide the resident with a stage 2 response.
32. We recognise there are circumstances where a landlord may not be able to provide a response to the resident on time. However it is unreasonable that it took the landlord 8 months to respond to the resident’s complaint at both stages of its complaints procedure.
33. We acknowledge the landlord apologised for the delays. Given the length of time, it would have been appropriate for the landlord to consider its compensation policy. This states it may consider discretionary payments where there has been poor complaint handling. There is no record to show it considered this when responding to the resident’s complaint.
34. We have considered the landlord’s compensation policy and ourremedies guidance. We have made an order for the landlord to compensate the resident in line with this. This is in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping).

35. The landlord’s record keeping was poor. We have not seen information which we asked for which was relevant to our investigation, such as repair records and surveys. This is an area where the landlord should consider what improvements are needed.

Communication.

36. The landlord’s overall communication was poor throughout the process of repairs and complaint handling. The landlord should consider what learning it can take from this investigation in terms of its overall communication and how the resident was kept updated.