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Citizen Housing Group Limited (202344488)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202344488

Citizen Housing

26 August 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 the resident’s reports of:
    1. Damp and mould and associated repairs.
    2. Rats in her home.

Background

  1. The resident has lived in the property as an assured tenant since February 2021. The property is a 2-bedroom house.
  2. Records provided by the landlord show the resident reported damp on 2 October 2022. A surveyor visited on 21 October 2022 and found damp on a chimney breast. The landlord left a message for the resident on 15 November 2022 asking her to contact it to arrange an appointment. On 9 May 2023, the landlord contacted the resident to arrange an appointment. When the landlord attended on 17 May 2023, there was no response.
  3. On 8 August 2023 the resident told the landlord her home had a problem with rats since she moved in. The landlord called the resident and said it would arrange a 3-visit pest control treatment.
  4. Following a report of damp and mould, the landlord inspected the property on 19 October 2023. It found no mould but said there was damp on the chimney breast. It said it needed to inspect the roof. It requested scaffolding.
  5. The resident complained on 20 December 2023 that she had reported rats for the last 2 years. She said the landlord told her in August 2023 that it would arrange pest control, but nothing happened. She complained there was damp in her home, but the landlord had done nothing since the visit in October 2023.
  6. In its complaint response on 5 January 2024 the landlord said it did not usually arrange pest control in a resident’s home. It accepted it told the resident in August 2023 that it would arrange treatment. It said it was sorry it had not done this and would arrange an appointment. On damp and mould, it said following the inspection on 19 October 2023 it requested scaffolding, but it had not followed this up. It apologised for this. It offered £100 compensation.
  7. The resident escalated her complaint on 5 February 2024 as she said she had had no updates. In its final response on 6 March 2024 the landlord apologised for the lack of updates. It said it would inspect the chimney on 11 March 2024 and pest control would attend the same day. It apologised for further delays. It increased the offer of compensation to £250.
  8. The resident escalated her complaint to the Ombudsman. She said she had problems with damp and rats since she moved to the property. She said the landlord repaired the roof in March 2024 but there were outstanding repairs and a rat infestation.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The Ombudsman has seen the resident said there had been a problem with damp and rats since she moved to the property in 2021. The resident first complained to the landlord in December 2023. Due to the passage of time and available evidence, this investigation will look at events after October 2022. Any reference to events before this date is for context only.
  2. In August 2025 the resident told the Ombudsman she had made a new complaint about rats. The Ombudsman cannot consider the new complaint as part of this investigation. This is because the Scheme says the Ombudsman may not investigate matters that have not exhausted a member’s complaints process. Once the new complaint has exhausted the landlord’s complaints process, the resident may bring it to the Ombudsman. This investigation will look at the events up to the landlord’s final response in March 2024.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould and associated repairs

  1. The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for keeping in repair the structure of the property. The occupancy agreement says the landlord will repair the structure and exterior of the home. This means the landlord had an obligation to repair the roof and chimney. The landlord did not dispute it had responsibility for the repairs.
  2. The landlord’s repairs policy says it will complete repairs to its published timescales. On its website, the landlord says when a resident reports a repair, it will offer an appointment and will aim to complete the repair within 25 working days. It says some jobs may take longer if it needs to arrange specialist materials or contractors. It says it will let the resident know if this happens.
  3. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence showing when the resident first reported damp in her home. However, in its complaint response on 5 January 2024, the landlord said the resident reported damp on 2 October 2022. It said a surveyor visited on 21 October 2022 and found damp patches on an internal wall and chimney breast. The landlord said the surveyor requested “further work”. The Ombudsman has seen the resident did not dispute these dates. Because of this, the Ombudsman will use 2 October 2022 as the date of the first report. This is over 12 months before the complaint in December 2023, but in this case it is the Ombudsman’s view that it is reasonable to consider events after the report on 2 October 2022.
  4. It is unclear from the information provided, what further work the surveyor asked for. In its complaint response on 5 January 2024, the landlord said it called the resident on 15 November 2022 and left a message asking her to contact it to arrange a visit. This call was 18 working days after the surveyor’s visit and 32 working days after the report on 2 October 2022. The Ombudsman has seen no evidence the landlord tried to call the resident again or send an email after 15 November 2022. It is the Ombudsman’s view that this was a failure by the landlord to meet the timescales in its repairs policy. The landlord also did not communicate effectively with the resident.
  5. In mitigation, the resident does not appear to have reported damp again until 9 May 2023. Following this the landlord contacted the resident and arranged an appointment. The landlord’s records show it attended on 17 May 2023 but there was no access. It said it left a card asking the resident to get in touch. The Ombudsman has found this was a reasonable response, as the landlord arranged an appointment in a reasonable time and left a card when there was no answer.
  6. The Ombudsman has seen no evidence of further contact from the resident about damp until October 2023, when she asked for an inspection. It is unclear from the records when the resident made the request but on 19 October 2023 the landlord inspected the property. It found no mould, but it said there was moisture on the chimney breast and walls. Its records said it needed to inspect the roof. It raised a request for scaffolding.
  7. The resident complained on 20 December 2023 that the landlord had visited in October 2023, but she had heard nothing since. She said plaster was now falling off the walls.
  8. In its complaint response on 5 January 2024 the landlord acknowledged the resident first reported damp in October 2022 and when it attended it found damp patches. It said following the inspection on 19 October 2023 it asked for scaffolding so it could inspect the roof. It said it did not follow up the request. It apologised for this failure and offered £50 compensation.
  9. It is the Ombudsman’s view that it was reasonable for the landlord to apologise and offer compensation for the failure to follow up the scaffolding request. However, although the landlord accepted the first report of damp was in October 2022, it did not acknowledge in its complaint response that it did not do the work recommended at that time. The landlord had found damp on the chimney breast in October 2022. The resident could have reasonably expected the landlord to have done investigations to the roof. This did not happen at that time and there was a significant delay until the landlord requested scaffolding. In mitigation, there was no evidence of mould and there appears to have been some access difficulties. However, it is the Ombudsman’s view that there was a significant failure, and the compensation offered was insufficient.
  10. Records show the landlord spoke with the resident on 12 January 2024 and told her it was chasing the repairs.
  11. The resident escalated her complaint on 6 February 2024. She said she had heard nothing since 12 January 2024. In its final response on 6 March 2024, the landlord apologised for the lack of an update and for the scaffolding company not contacting her before it erected scaffold on 1 March 2024. It said it was sorry for further delays and inconvenience caused.
  12. The landlord increased its compensation offer to £250. However, this included compensation for failures in the way it dealt with reports of rats. The landlord did not provide a breakdown on how it decided on £250. However, it told the Ombudsman in August 2025 that it considered the issues with damp and mould as the more serious failing. On this basis, the Ombudsman has concluded the compensation for failures in the handling of reports of damp and mould and associated repairs was £150.
  13. The landlord completed work on the roof in March 2024. In August 2025, the landlord told the Ombudsman it visited the resident’s home on 28 April 2025 to assess any work it needed to do. It then raised work to replaster the chimney breast. It said its contractor attended on 16 June 2025 but was unable to gain access. It said it had booked an appointment for 27 August 2025, subject to the resident’s availability.
  14. Overall, the Ombudsman has found there was a failure by the landlord in the way it dealt with reports of damp and mould and the associated repairs. This failure amounts to maladministration. This is because the landlord did not follow its repairs policy and did not communicate effectively with the resident. There were delays and communication failures after the first report in October 2022. The landlord did not follow up the repair with the resident after 15 November 2022 and instead left the resident to contact them.
  15. Following the report in October 2023, the landlord did not arrange scaffolding. After the complaint response in January 2024, there was a further delay of 2 months until the landlord completed the work on the roof. The landlord did not do work to repair the damaged chimney breast, and this was still outstanding in August 2025. In mitigation, the Ombudsman accepts there were some access issues and there were significant gaps between the resident’s reports of damp.
  16. However, the delays and failure to follow the repairs policy caused inconvenience and distress for the resident. Damp affected her home for 18 months and there continued to be damage to the plaster after the landlord fixed the leak. In line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, it is the Ombudsman’s view that the £150 compensation offered was insufficient in the circumstances. Because of this the landlord must pay the resident £500 compensation up to the time of the final response, inclusive of the £150 already offered. This is made up of:
    1. £50 for failure to request scaffolding, inclusive of £50 already offered.
    2. £50 for communication failures.
    3. £200 for delays, inclusive of £100 already offered.
    4. £100 for inconvenience caused.
    5. £100 for distress caused.
  17. The landlord told the Ombudsman in August 2025 that it had not completed some related repairs. Because of this, the Ombudsman recommends the landlord considers whether to pay further compensation from the time of its final response in March 2024 until the date it completes repairs. However, it should consider any access issues it had.
  18. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord reviews its complaint responses to ensure they provide a clear explanation of compensation offered.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of rats in her home

  1. The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for keeping in repair the structure of the property. The occupancy agreement says the landlord will repair the structure and exterior of the home. This means the landlord had an obligation to repair any holes in the structure of the property that may allow rats to enter.
  2. The landlord’s estates management policy says residents are responsible for non-communal areas, such as their gardens. It says, when a resident reports an issue to the landlord that is not its responsibility, it will direct the resident to the relevant authority, such as environmental health.
  3. The landlord’s website says in most cases, it is the resident’s responsibility to deal with a pest problem in their home or garden. It says residents need to let it know of any situation that might cause pests to enter their home and if the problem is due to disrepair on its part, it will deal with it.
  4. The Ombudsman has not seen evidence showing when the resident first reported rats. However, in its complaint response on 5 January 2024, the landlord said the resident reported rats in April 2021 and it filled possible access holes in November 2021 and April 2022. These events are outside the scope of the Ombudsman’s investigation due to the passage of time and available evidence.
  5. The landlord responded to a report of rats on 8 August 2023. The landlord’s record of the phone call to the resident said it would arrange a 3-visit pest control treatment.
  6. The resident complained on 20 December 2023 about the landlord’s response. She said the landlord told her in October 2023 that it would send pest control, but nothing had happened. She said the rats were causing damage, leaving faeces in her home, and scaring her daughter.
  7. In its complaint response on 5 January 2024 the landlord accepted there were reports going back to April 2021. However, it said it had told her it was her responsibility under the tenancy agreement. It said it had done work in 2021 and 2022 to fill possible access holes. It said as a gesture, it had told the resident in August 2023 that it would arrange pest control treatment. It said it was sorry it had not arranged this and offered £50 compensation for the failure. It said it would look to arrange an appointment.
  8. The Ombudsman has not seen a specific reference in the tenancy agreement to pest control. However, the estates management policy and website make it clear that pests in the home are the resident’s responsibility, unless there is disrepair that is the landlord’s responsibility. The Ombudsman cannot determine what caused rats to get into the resident’s home but has noted the landlord previously filled access holes. Because of this, it would be reasonable for the landlord to inspect the property to ensure it was meeting its obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
  9. Having offered to do a pest control treatment, it was reasonable for the landlord to apologise for the failure to do this and offer to make a new appointment. It also reasonably offered compensation for the failure.
  10. The landlord spoke with the resident on 12 January 2024 and said it was chasing up the appointment. The resident escalated her complaint on 5 February 2024. She said she had heard nothing since 12 January 2024.
  11. In its final response on 6 March 2024, the landlord said it told the resident it would arrange a 3-visit treatment. It said this was incorrect information, as a 3-visit treatment could not be used for rats. It said it was sorry about the misinformation. It said its pest control officer would visit on 11 March 2024 and would provide information and advice. It offered £100 compensation for the failures, inclusive of the £50 already offered.
  12. The Ombudsman cannot advise on the correct treatment for pests but has noted that 3-visit treatment is a common practice for rats.
  13. The resident told the Ombudsman in August 2024 that the appointment arrange for 11 March 2024 did not take place and there was still a problem with rats. In September 2024, the landlord contacted the resident, following contact from the Ombudsman, and arranged a pest control appointment.
  14. Overall, the Ombudsman has found there were failures in the landlord’s response to reports of rats. The landlord offered a pest control treatment in August 2023, and when it did not do this, it offered a reasonable amount of compensation in its complaint response. However, it said the treatment was a gesture. It is the Ombudsman’s view that it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have arranged an investigation in August 2023 into how rats were entering the resident’s home. This is especially the case as the landlord had previously found access holes. The landlord did not do this, which was a failure to meet its obligations.
  15. In its complaint response, the landlord said it would arrange an appointment. It did not do this. In its final response it said an appointment would take place on 11 March 2024. This appointment did not happen, and an appointment did not take place until September 2024. This was 6 months after the final response and after the Ombudsman contacted the landlord.
  16. It is the Ombudsman’s view that these failures amount to maladministration. During this time, the resident was living with rats in her home that were causing damage, leaving faeces which was a health hazard, and upsetting her daughter. In line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, the Ombudsman finds maladministration when there has been a significant failure. It is the Ombudsman’s view that the £100 compensation offered was insufficient in the circumstances. Because of this the landlord must pay the resident £300 compensation, inclusive of the £100 already offered. This is made up of:
    1. £50 for failure to arrange pest control in August 2023, inclusive of £50 already offered.
    2. £50 for providing incorrect information in stage 1 response, inclusive of £50 already offered.
    3. £100 for delays in arranging an appointment after the complaint response.
    4. £100 for distress caused.

Determination

  1. In line with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord on its handling of the resident’s reports of:
    1. Damp and mould and associated repairs.
    2. Rats in her home.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The landlord must apologise to the resident for the failures found in this report.
  2. The landlord must pay the resident £800 compensation. This is inclusive of £250 already offered. The landlord must pay compensation directly to the resident and not offset it against any arrears. The compensation is made up of
    1. £500 for failures in the handling of reports of damp and mould and associated repairs, inclusive of £150 already offered.
    2. £300 for failures in the handling of reports of rats, inclusive of the £100 already offered.
  3. The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of compliance with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report.

Recommendations

  1. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord considers whether to pay further compensation from the time of its final response in March 2024 until the date it completed repairs. However, it should consider any access issues it had.
  2. The Ombudsman recommends the landlord reviews its complaint responses to ensure they provide a clear explanation of compensation offered.