Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council (202530622)

Background

1. In May 2025 the resident reported to the landlord that the guttering between her home and the neighbouring property was not connected and leaking. She explained that the leak had caused damp and mould in her home, which affected her asthma. The landlord repaired the gutter in September 2025.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported gutter repair and associated damp and mould in her home.
3. We have also assessed the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported gutter repair and the associated damp and mould in her home.
5. There was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Reasons

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reported gutter repair and the associated damp and mould in her home

6. Once notified about damp and mould in a resident’s home, landlords have a legal obligation to investigate and resolve the potential hazard within a reasonable timeframe. The landlord’s repair policy says that it will carry out major works within 90 working days. Its damp and mould policy says that it will carry out a mould wash within 3 working days of receiving a report of damp and mould.
7. While unclear, the evidence suggests that the resident raised concerns about the gutter in March 2025. She asked for an update on 6 May 2025. However, it took until 9 July 2025 for the landlord to carry out an inspection. It then took approximately a further month – until 28 August 2025 – to raise an order to complete the works. There is no evidence to demonstrate that the landlord took meaningful steps to progress the repair during these periods or that the delays were unavoidable. Therefore, while the reason for the delays is unclear, that they occurred is unreasonable.
8. The resident also told the landlord that she had damp and mould in her home when she asked for an update on the gutter repair in May 2025. However, there is no evidence to show that the landlord considered or offered the resident a mould wash in line with its policy. This was particularly unreasonable given that she told it she had severe asthma at the time.
9. It is acknowledged that the landlord subsequently repaired the gutter within its 90-working-day timeframe following the August 2025 order. It is unclear whether it took steps to resolve the damp and mould at the time. However, it is noted that the resident has told us that the issues have been resolved. If she has any current concerns about damp and mould in her home, she should report the matter to the landlord.
10. The resident has told us that she considers that the landlord’s handling of the matter impacted her mental and physical health. We are unable to draw conclusions on the causation of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. Matters of personal injury or damage to health, their investigation and compensation, are more appropriately addressed by way of the courts or the landlord’s liability insurer as a personal injury claim.

The landlord’s complaint handling

11. The landlord’s stage 2 response did not appropriately address the resident’s escalated complaint concerns – such as that the damp and mould had impacted her asthma, and that she had been chasing it for updates and her concerns about its record keeping. Therefore, her complaint was not fully answered. This caused her distress and inconvenience that may have been avoidable. The landlord’s failure to respond to all aspects of the resident’s complaint was also not in line with our statutory Complaint Handling Code.

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.