Bristol City Council (202432248)

Decision
Case ID	202432248
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Bristol City Council
Landlord type	Local Authority
Occupancy	Assured Tenancy
Date	16 December 2025

Background

1. The resident complained to the landlord about delays in completing damp and mould and ventilation works following a survey in October 2023. She also raised concerns about the impact on her son’s asthma. The landlord explained that the delays were due to issues with its contractors and repairs team. It apologised, offered compensation, and arranged for a further survey. The resident referred her complaint to the Ombudsman as she considered the compensation offered to be inadequate in the circumstances.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about:
   1. The landlord’s level of compensation offered following repair delays.
   2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found:
   1. Service failure in the landlords level of compensation offered following repair delays.
   2. Service failure in the landlords complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

Compensation

4. The compensation offered was not proportionate to the prolonged delays and the residents health concerns.

The complaint

5. The landlord met its stage 1 complaint timescale but did not meet the revised deadline for stage 2 and did not provide further explanation or a remedy. The resident had to chase for a response, which was not reasonable.

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	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £375 made up as follows: £300 for the repair delays. £75 for poor complaint handling.   If it has not already done so, the landlord must also now pay the £300 it offered during the complaints process. This compensation must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment.	No later than 13 January 2026

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
September 2023 – February 2024	The landlord carried out a damp and mould inspection on 26 October 2023 and raised work following its recommendations.
29 April 2024	The resident complained that the work remained outstanding despite several attempts to chase the landlord. She raised concerns about damp, mould, and poor ventilation in her bathroom, and the potential effect on her son’s asthma.
30 April 2024	The landlord responded to the complaint. It apologised for not resolving the issue. It stated that it had learned from the complaint and would use this to improve how it inspects damp and mould in properties. It said it would contact the resident to book an inspection.
12 July 2024	The resident escalated her complaint as she remained dissatisfied that repairs were still outstanding and reiterated concerns about the impact on her son.
25 September 2024	The landlord responded to the resident’s escalated complaint. It explained that a survey had been arranged in September 2024, but the resident was not available, so it was rescheduled for October 2024. The landlord said that once the surveyor visited, it would instruct a different contractor to carry out the works. It apologised for the delay and offered £300 compensation.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought her complaint to the Ombudsman because she remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response. She told us the damp and mould has been persistent since the start of her tenancy in 2013. The repairs raised in the complaint have been addressed, but other issues have since arisen, although no recurrence of damp or mould. She is concerned about her son’s health and wants the landlord to offer further compensation.

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 level of compensation offered following repair delays.
Finding	Service failure

What we have not investigated

6. The resident told the Ombudsman that she had experienced damp and mould in her home since her tenancy began in 2013. However, she did not raise a formal complaint with the landlord until April 2024. Complaints should be raised promptly so landlords can take action and maintain accurate records, as delays can affect evidence and recollection. This investigation therefore focuses on the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports from 2023 through to her complaint in April 2024 and its final response in September 2024.
7. The resident also said that delays in repairing the damp and mould had cost her money for redecorating her bathroom and purchasing mould treatment products. However, she did not raise this issue in her complaint to the landlord. She further informed us that there is mould on her front door, her bathroom window is stuck open and there in no ventilation in the kitchen and bedroom. Before the Ombudsman can consider a complaint, it must have completed the landlord’s complaints process. The resident should therefore raise her new concerns with the landlord as a formal complaint. If she remains dissatisfied after receiving its final response, she can bring the matter to the Ombudsman as a new complaint.
8. As part of her complaint, the resident said she was concerned that damp and mould could affect her son’s asthma. The Ombudsman cannot assess the cause of, or liability for, any impact on health and wellbeing. If the resident believes her family’s health has been affected by the landlord’s actions or inaction, she may be able to make a personal injury claim. This is a legal process, and the resident may wish to seek legal advice if she wants to pursue this option. As this issue is more appropriately addressed through the courts, it will not be considered in this report.

What we have investigated

9. A damp and mould survey took place on 26 October 2023. The landlord raised works to mould wash the bathroom ceiling and front door and adjust the bathroom window. In January 2024, further works were raised to inspect and replace the bathroom window and door.
10. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states that, after diagnosis, it will advise the resident on the proposed remedy. Resolution times vary depending on the cause and solution, so no fixed timescale is provided.
11. In April 2024, the resident complained that repairs were still outstanding. She said the surveyor recommended replacing the bathroom window and door, but only a mould wash had been completed. She raised concerns about her son’s asthma and asked the landlord to arrange the works. The landlord apologised and said it would arrange an inspection. The resident explained another inspection was unnecessary as her complaint concerned outstanding repairs. An inspection was carried out in May 2024.
12. The resident escalated her complaint in July 2024 as the window replacement was still outstanding despite measurements being taken. She said the bathroom door had been replaced but not painted. She reported ongoing mould due to poor ventilation, said she had chased repairs with contractors, asked the ceiling to be replastered, and reiterated concerns about her son’s asthma.
13. In its final response in September 2024, the landlord apologised for delays, citing contractor and repairs team issues. It arranged a survey for 16 October 2024, noting the resident was unavailable in September. It said a different contractor would be instructed after the survey and offered £300 compensation for delays.
14. Internal emails from November 2024 show the resident had an eight-hour repair appointment, but operatives could not complete the work as other tasks needed to be done first and mould wash was still not carried out. They also noted poor internal communication. Repairs remained outstanding in January 2025 and the resident later informed the Ombudsman that the repairs were completed by March 2025.
15. The evidence shows that the work needed was not straightforward and led to some delay outside the landlord’s control while issues such as whether to renew or replace the windows were resolved, there were also delays caused by the resident’s availability. However, it also shows a lack of clear planning for the work that was needed, indicated by delays with some repairs caused by lack of progress on other work.
16. The landlord’s compensation policy states that decisions on discretionary compensation are made by an independent team using a tool to assess an appropriate remedy. In this case, the landlord offered £300 compensation in September 2024 for delays since October 2023. However, records show substantial delays continued beyond this.
17. The specific factors the landlord used to arrive at the compensation amount are not apparent. Because of that it is not possible to see what period it covered, or whether the resident’s concerns about the ongoing potential impact on her son’s health were taken into consideration.
18. There may be valid reasons for the time taken past the landlord’s final complaint response to complete the work in March 2025, but if so, they are not evident in the information seen for this investigation. There is limited evidence of updates to the resident or efforts to manage her expectations about what was happening with the work. Accordingly, when considered against the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance the £300 compensation it offered was not proportionate to the time taken to complete the work, between October 2023 and March 2025, or to the nature of the repair issues and the resident’s circumstances.
19. Overall, evidence supports the landlord’s explanation that delays were partly due to contractor and repairs team issues, but poor communication also contributed, and nothing explains the delays past the final complaint response. The compensation tool may have been used, but the calculation factors are unclear. The offer of £300 was not proportionate given the prolonged delays and the resident’s family health concerns.

Complaint	Complaint handling.
Finding	Service failure

20. The landlord operates a formal two-stage complaints process. Its policy states that it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. If an extension to the stage 2 timescale is required, the landlord must inform the resident and explain the reasons. The policy is in line with the Complaint Handling Code.
21. In this case, the landlord acknowledged the stage 1 complaint on 30 April 2024 and issued its response on the same day. The resident asked to escalate the complaint as she was dissatisfied with the response. The landlord acknowledged the stage 2 complaint on 22 July 2024 and advised that a response would be provided by 13 August 2024.
22. On 13 August 2024, it informed the resident that an extension was needed while it made enquiries with the relevant services, and that the response would now be issued by 13 September 2024. The resident did not receive the response by this date and chased the landlord. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 25 September 2024.
23. The landlord met its policy timescale at stage 1. At stage 2, it correctly informed the resident of an extension, but it did not meet the revised deadline and did not provide any further explanation for the delay. The landlord therefore did not fully follow its complaint handling policy. It also did not acknowledge the delay or offer a remedy. Given that the resident had to chase for a response, this was not reasonable.

Learning

24. The landlord should consider reviewing the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on damp and mould. The report highlights the serious health risks and the need for landlords to act promptly, communicate clearly with residents, and take full responsibility for identifying and resolving issues through a zero‑tolerance, proactive approach.