Clarion Housing Association Limited (202225025)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202225025

Clarion Housing Association Limited

14 March 2024


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. This complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. Reports of damp and mould at the property.
    2. Reports of outstanding repairs at the property.
    3. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant. The property is a 3 bedroomed house.
  2. The resident has informed the landlord that a member of the household is registered as disabled, with another suffering from asthma.
  3. The resident reported damp and mould to the landlord in November 2021. The resident was forced to cancel the surveyor’s appointment due to a member of the household suffering from covid-19. The resident reported damp and mould to the landlord again in May 2022. The resident was not available for the scheduled surveyor’s appointment. The landlord has not provided evidence it contacted the resident to rearrange either appointment.
  4. The resident raised a complaint about the damp and mould in the property on 31 October 2022. He told the landlord he had reported the issues to it on multiple occasions, but these remained unresolved. The landlord performed a maintenance survey of the property on 17 November 2022. This survey listed a number of works that were recommended in order to deal with the damp and mould. The resident continued to chase the landlord for updates about completing works throughout November 2022.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 9 December 2022. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint, awarding £350 compensation for failing to follow up after the cancelled appointment. It confirmed that the surveyor’s recommended repairs would begin before the end of January. It also offered the resident an appointment with an occupational therapist to see if adaptations to the property were necessary.
  6. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the complaints process on 8 February 2023. He was unhappy that the repairs had not been completed, he also said that the landlord’s communication and customer service had been poor. In an e-mail to the landlord on 9 February 2023, he raised additional repair issues with the property, including faults with the boiler, damage previously caused by roofing contractors and concerns about the kitchen and the garden.
  7. The landlord visited on 9 February 2023 to complete a service of the boiler, which was functional, although requiring a replacement part. The resident informed the landlord the heating was not working on 14 March 2023 and the landlord completed the repair on 28 March 2023. The resident reported an emergency repair on 9 March 2023 about water coming through a light fixture, and again on 27 March 2023 when he reported the ceiling below the bathroom had caved in due to the effects of damp and mould.
  8. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response on 28 March 2023. It offered the resident £740 compensation consisting of £50 for its delay in providing its stage 1 complaint response, £50 for its delay at stage 2 of the complaints process, £40 for loss of heating, £350 for its failure to follow up on the initial reports of damp and mould, and £250 as a gesture of goodwill in relation to the historic roof repairs. It also provided a full list of the repairs it intended to undertake, with the dates of the corresponding appointments. The latest appointment was for an overhaul of all the windows to the property, which was due on 11 May 2023. It also advised that work on replacing the front door and the back door had been delayed by its supplier but that it was confident this work would be completed within 6 weeks.
  9. The resident confirmed to the Ombudsman on 6 April 2023 that he wished to escalate his complaint. He said that the work still had not been completed and his house remained in a state of disrepair. He said he felt the house was unsafe. The most recent communication from the landlord to the resident that the Ombudsman has been provided with, sent on 9 January 2024, confirmed several jobs to be outstanding. To resolve his complaint, he has said he would like all of the outstanding works to be completed. The resident confirmed in a call to the Ombudsman that a significant amount of the work remains outstanding, including to the windows.

Assessment and findings

The scope of this investigation

  1. The resident has said that the damp and mould has had a negative effect on the health of family members. It is beyond the remit of the Ombudsman to decide on whether there was a direct link between the landlord’s actions and the residents’ ill health. The resident may wish to seek independent advice on making a personal injury claim if he considers that their health has been affected by any action or failure by the landlord. While the Ombudsman cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced as a result of any service failure by the landlord.
  2. The Ombudsman is unable to comment on matters that have not been considered as part of the landlord’s internal complaints process. This means that any new issues that have arisen since the stage 2 complaints response have not been considered. However, this investigation will consider the extent to which the landlord has fulfilled the commitments it made as part of its complaint response.

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould in the property

  1. The landlord’s damp and mould policy says it ‘will carry out any repairs that are required in accordance with our Repairs and Maintenance Policy, which includes timescales and escalation routes’. It also says that ‘cases relating to leaks condensation, damp and mould will be specifically tracked and managed’. It notes that ‘where particularly severe or recurring damp or mould issues are identified’, it ‘will undertake a comprehensive risk assessment’. The landlord’s repair policy lists two different types of repairs. Emergency repairs are attended ‘within 24 hours’ and all other repairs are classed as non-emergency, with appointments offered ‘within 28 calendar days of the repair being reported’.
  2. The landlord offered the resident £350 compensation for its failure to follow up on the reports of damp and mould made in November 2021, and then in May 2022. In both instances, the resident was forced to cancel the appointment due to this not being a suitable time. There is no evidence that the resident informed the landlord that the appointments were not needed, or that the landlord informed the resident about a need for him to act in order to reschedule the appointment. It was unreasonable that the landlord was not pro-active in addressing the original damp and mould reports.
  3. The landlord performed its survey of the damp and mould on 17 November 2022. This survey recommended a significant amount of works, including replacing the loft insulation, replacing extractor fans, overhauling all windows in the property, replacing the front and back door, checking the cavity wall insulation, mould washes throughout the property, bricking up an external coal store and boarding the utility room. The landlord committed, as part of its complaint responses, to completing these works. As of January 2024, several of the works recommended by the surveyor had still not been completed meaning that the landlord failed to fulfil its commitments.
  4. None of the works which had been recommended were undertaken within the timescales set out in the landlord’s repair policy. From the landlord’s records, it appears that a majority of the listed works which it did complete were done so between November 2023 and January 2024. This was over 12 months after the survey was completed, and 24 months after damp and mould was first reported in the property. The landlord’s correspondence from 9 January 2024 highlights that works to top up the cavity wall insulation, brick up the external coal store shed and board the utility room were still outstanding.
  5. In discussions with the Ombudsman, the resident said that a significant amount of the work remains outstanding, and that the landlord’s delay in completing the work led to the damp and mould within the property getting significantly worse.
  6. The events after the end of the landlord’s complaints process have not been assessed in detail as part of this investigation. It has been noted however that the landlord has had issues gaining access to the property to perform some of the works. This does not change the landlord’s failure to honour its commitment made during its complaint responses and it is of concern that it has not sufficiently explored options to enforce access to complete works, despite being aware of the resident’s reports about the health impact on family members.
  7. The landlord’s failure to complete the repairs within its timescales or a reasonable timeframe represents maladministration. The landlord left vulnerable residents in a damp property whilst also failing to properly undertake a comprehensive risk assessment. For these significant failings, the landlord should pay the resident £1,000 compensation, inclusive of its previous offer of £350. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance which recommends figures within this range for a failure which had a significant impact on the resident. 
  8. Given the length of time the repairs have taken to complete, the landlord should perform a brand new survey of the resident’s property. It should then provide the resident with a detailed breakdown and timescale for completing the repairs this survey recommends. These timescales should be in line with the landlord’s repairs policy.

The landlord’s handling of reports of outstanding repairs in the property

  1. As outlined above, the landlord’s repair policy says it will attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, and all non-emergency repairs within 28 calendar days.
  2. When the damp and mould inspection took place in November 2022, a number of other outstanding repair jobs were highlighted to the landlord. These included issues with the boiler, the garden, the kitchen, the plumbing, and the electrics in the property.
  3. The landlord responded to the issues with the boiler in line with its policy. It attended on the same day this was reported to it and performed a temporary fix. It left the boiler working, and performed the necessary follow-up works. When the resident informed the landlord that he was without heating, it provided temporary heaters and offered £40 compensation for the time without functioning heating. This represented good practice by the landlord.
  4. The landlord also responded to the resident’s concerns about the plumbing in the property by overhauling all of the plumbing, including the washing machine feed. The landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about the electricity by performing an electrical check. When the resident later reported an issue with the bathroom light, the landlord arranged for an operative to contact him in order to complete a fix. These were all reasonable actions on the part of the landlord.
  5. However, a number of the jobs the landlord committed to doing in its stage 2 complaint response remain incomplete. These included the works to the garden and to the kitchen. Given the landlord’s commitment to complete this work was made in March 2023, its continued failure to complete these works represented maladministration. These repairs, again, were addressed significantly outside the timescales of the landlord’s repairs policy.
  6. For failing to complete the works in a reasonable time, the landlord should pay the resident £300 compensation. This represents a fair amount for the distress and inconvenience the landlord’s failures caused the resident.
  7. The landlord should perform an inspection to determine the outstanding repair jobs necessary at the resident’s property. It should then provide the resident with timescales for completing any outstanding works in line with those specified by its repair policy.

The landlord’s handling of the associated complaint

  1. The landlord’s interim complaints policy states that it will log and acknowledge complaints at stage 1 within 10 working days. It will then provide its response to this complaint within 20 working days of the acknowledgement. At stage 2 of the complaints process, the landlord says it will again log and acknowledge any complaints within 10 working days. The landlord will then provide its stage 2 complaint response within 40 working days of this being logged. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code recommends complaints at both stage 1 and 2 be logged within 5 working days, and complaint responses provided within 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2.
  2. At both stage 1 and 2 of the complaints process, the landlord failed to provide its complaint responses within the timescales set out in its complaints policy. It delayed by several weeks at both stages and failed to keep the resident adequately updated about these delays.
  3. The landlord recognised its failures and offered £50 for the delays at stage 1, and £50 for delays at stage 2. Given the distress and inconvenience these delays caused to the resident over a period of several weeks, this was a reasonable offer of redress.
  4. Overall, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s associated complaint.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould at the property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of outstanding repairs at the property.
  3. In accordance with paragraph 53b of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was reasonable redress in the landlord’s handling of the associated complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. It is ordered that within four weeks of the date of this letter, the landlord should:
    1. Pay the resident £1,300, consisting of:
      1. £1,000 for its failures in the handling of the reports of damp and mould at the property;
      2. £300 for failing to complete the other outstanding repairs at the property in line with its repairs policy (this is in addition to the £40 and £250 goodwill offers it made relating to heating and a TV aerial).
    2. Apologise to the resident in writing.
    3. Perform a new damp and mould survey of the resident’s property. It should then provide the resident with a detailed breakdown and timescale for completing the repairs this survey recommends. These timescales should be in line with the landlord’s repairs policy and it should provide a single point of contact who will oversee completion of the works.
    4. Perform an inspection to determine the outstanding repair jobs necessary at the resident’s property. It should then provide the resident with a new timescale for completing any outstanding works in line with the timescales specified by its repair policy.
  2. The landlord should reply to this Service within four weeks of the date of this letter with evidence of compliance with these orders.

Recommendations

  1. The landlord should re–offer the resident the £100 compensation awarded in its stage 2 complaint response for its failures in complaint handling.