bpha Limited (202446415)

Decision
Case ID	202446415
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	bpha Limited
Landlord type	Housing Association
Occupancy	5 year Fixed Term Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Date	12 June 2026

Background

The resident’s tenancy started in 2017. She complained about an ongoing issue with damp and mould.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of damp and mould.
We have also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould.
There was service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Damp and mould

The landlord missed opportunities to resolve the damp and mould issue at an earlier stage. It is unclear whether it provided extra cavity wall insulation as promised. Although it offered some compensation at stage 2 of the complaints process it is unclear why, as it did not identify its failings.

Complaint

There were minor delays in the complaint handling process although the landlord agreed an extension in providing the stage 2 complaint response. There was a delay in the landlord providing the full compensation payment.

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: a manager provides the apology 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 10 July 2026
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £400 for the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused by the failings in its handling of the damp and mould issues. The landlord must provide documentary evidence to show that it has paid this amount directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already made.	No later than 10 July 2026
3	Inspection order The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection and borescope survey of the cavity wall insulation at the front of the property, if not already completed. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure that it completes these by the due date. A suitably qualified person must complete the inspection. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date. What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: • inspects the front elevation of the property and produces a written report with photographs. The survey report must set out: • the results of the borescope survey • consideration of whether the insulation of the front of the property is adequate • a full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective resolution to the issue (if the landlord is responsible) • the likely timescales to commence and complete the work.	No later than 24 July 2026

Recommendations

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

Our recommendations
The landlord should provide the resident with its insurance details again.
The landlord should review the expired tenancy if it has not already done so.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
9 February 2025	The resident complained to the landlord. She said that: there was mould growth in the property the landlord had completed work previously including adding boxing to the ceiling in a bedroom but the issue remained unresolved she thought that the cladding on the front of the property was not providing adequate insulation the landlord had previously put insulation work on hold due to her high-risk pregnancy the mould was all on outside walls on the front of the property she would like the issues addressed, compensation for the years of stress, and compensation for the damage to curtains and a sofa.
13 February 2025	The landlord responded. It said that it rejected the complaint because the issues she had complained about had occurred more than 12 months previously.
4 June 2025	We contacted the landlord on the resident’s behalf. We asked it to raise a new complaint because it had not re-assessed the damp and mould since the resident complained in February 2025.
18 June 2025	The landlord provided a stage 1 complaint response. It said that: it had completed damp and mould work historically in the property it had offered an appointment for a damp and mould inspection on 19 June 2025, which the resident had rearranged for 23 June 2025 following this it would book follow-on work to address the root cause of the issue it did not uphold her complaint because she had not reported a further issue following completion of the previous work.
30 June 2025	The resident asked the landlord to escalate the complaint to stage 2 of the complaints process. She said that: she had told it she had reported the damp and mould issue more recently via web chat she had also reported the issue during a visit regarding replacement windowpanes and the staff member had given her a damp and mould leaflet
8 August 2025	The landlord provided a stage 2 complaint response. It said that: it partially upheld the complaint it had instructed a contractor to top-up the cavity wall insulation on the front elevation of the property it had instructed another contractor to clear the guttering and downpipes on the front of the property and top-up the loft insulation she should make a claim for any damaged items via its insurance company and it provided details on how to make a claim it made a goodwill gesture of £100 compensation to reflect her experience and the inconvenience.
Referral to the Ombudsman	In June 2026 the resident told us that the landlord has completed further work to rectify the damp and mould however she would like compensation more proportionate to the impact suffered. She said she was not aware that any cavity wall insulation had been added to the front elevation of the property and that she would like to ensure that the damp and mould issue does not reoccur.

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	Damp and mould
Finding	Maladministration

We encourage residents to raise complaints with their landlords at the time events happen. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for the landlord and us to complete a thorough investigation. Taking this into account and the availability and reliability of evidence, our investigation has focussed on the period from February 2024 onwards.
The landlord’s website advises residents that they can report repairs in 2 ways. Either online or via telephone.
We have seen no evidence that the resident reported that there was an ongoing damp and mould issue in the property in the year prior to her complaint. She told the landlord that she had reported the issue on a webchat and the landlord asked her for an approximate date for this so that it could search for the interaction. However, we have seen no evidence that the date was provided. The resident also told the landlord that she had reported the issue to a member of staff that attended the property to inspect the windows, however in the absence of any evidence we cannot determine what did or did not happen.
There is evidence however, that the resident made the landlord aware of the issue on 9 February 2025, when she logged a complaint. In an email dated 13 February 2025, the landlord told her that it had asked the repair team to raise a mould inspection at the property. However, instead a note dated 14 February 2025 says that it sent a text to the resident asking her to contact it to discuss the issue further. It then closed the case. This was a missed opportunity to resolve the issue at an earlier stage.
The resident contacted us for assistance, and in May 2025 we asked the landlord to investigate the matter. It advised us that it had not received any reports of damp and mould in the preceding year. It should then reasonably have made sure that it inspected the property. However, we have seen no evidence that it took further action such as completing a damp and mould survey, until we contacted it again on 4 June 2025. This was a further missed opportunity to resolve the issue at an earlier stage.
A surveyor completed a damp and mould survey on 26 June 2025 which found mould in the lounge, bathroom, and 1 bedroom. The surveyor concluded that the cause was condensation. The landlord then ordered completion of various works including checking the loft insulation and completion of a borescope survey to check for cavity wall insulation and its condition. Although we have seen evidence that a contractor attended the property to inspect the roof, gutters, and loft space resulting in a top-up of loft insulation, we have seen no evidence that a borescope survey was completed.
In the stage 2 complaint response the landlord said that it had instructed a contractor to top-up the cavity wall insulation. However, the repairs job raised on 7 August 2025 to complete the work was cancelled and we have seen no reason recorded for the cancellation. We have therefore made an order for the landlord to inspect the property to clarify the current position on this.
The landlord advised the resident to make a claim for damaged items via its insurance company and it gave her details on how to do this. This was an appropriate action to take. The landlord has advised us that it has not received a claim from the resident. We have therefore recommended that the landlord contacts the resident again to offer this information.
The landlord offered the resident £100 compensation as a gesture of goodwill but it did not specify why it was offering this. This meant that it was unable to learn from any failings. Our compensation guidance says that payments of up to £600 are appropriate when there was a failure that adversely affected the resident but the landlord has failed to acknowledge its failings. In ordering £400 we have considered the time, trouble, distress, and inconvenience caused.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

There were minor delays in the complaint handling, however the landlord agreed an extension with the resident.
The Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code (the Code) says that landlords must follow any proposed remedy through to completion. In this case however, there was a long delay in the landlord paying the full amount of compensation offered. This cost the resident time and trouble chasing the payment and undermined the complaint handling process.
Our compensation guidance says that an apology is appropriate to put right complaint handling failings that had a minimal impact and did not affect the overall outcome for the resident. Therefore the landlord must make sure that it considers this in its apology.

Learning

The landlord should consider why it failed to inspect the mould and damp as soon as the resident made it was made aware that it was an issue again.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord should consider why it is not clear if it has installed extra wall insulation at the property, and whether this is a record keeping failure.

Communication

There was a breakdown in communication following the complaint made in February 2025 where the repairs team did not book the damp and mould inspection promised to the resident.