Karibu Community Homes Limited (202312617)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202312617

Karibu Community Homes Limited

19 March 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 leaks, condensation, damp, and mould in her winter balcony.

Background

  1. The resident is a shared owner of a flat in a residential block owned by the landlord.
  2. The building, constructed six years ago, originally featured open balconies but due to planning constraints these were reconfigured as winter balconies – enclosed by glass panels. In 2021 and 2022, it was found that this change led to poor ventilation, resulting in recurring condensation, damp, and mould issues in several winter balconies.
  3. In September 2022, the resident reported a leak in her balcony from a pipe coming from the floor above. The landlord repaired this in October 2022. On 7 June 2023, the resident raised a formal complaint about ongoing leaks, condensation, and mould in her winter balcony, resulting in the corrosion of metal beams. The landlord inspected the balcony and confirmed in its 20 June 2023 stage 1 response that it would arrange for water testing from the floor above and subsequently carry out the necessary repairs to stop the leak. It also said it was finalising remedial works to address the condensation and mould in her winter balcony.
  4. The resident escalated her complaint on 10 July 2023. She said the landlord did not contact her to repair the leak. She also said she was heavily pregnant, and the mould in the balcony could cause health issues for her and her baby.
  5. The landlord sent its final response letter on 3 August 2023. It said it had been trying and would continue to try to gain access to the property above to conduct water testing. It also said it would include the resident’s property in its upcoming remedial works trial to address the condensation in balconies.
  6. It is not clear whether the landlord gained access to the neighbour’s property and repaired the leak. Nonetheless, it carried out remedial works on 22 May 2024. There is no evidence that the resident raised either issue after this time.
  7. The resident brought her complaint to the Service on 23 May 2024. She asked the Service to order compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience she had experienced. She informed us in March 2025 that the leaks, condensation damp and mould in the balcony are ongoing. She said she had not reported this to the landlord after May 2024 because she was waiting for us to investigate.

Assessment and findings

Investigation scope

  1. In her complaint, the resident explained that she had experienced leaks in her balcony for 4 years. Under paragraph 42.c. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the Ombudsman may not consider complaints not formally raised with the landlord within a reasonable time, typically within 12 months of the issues arising. As issues become historical, evidence can be difficult to obtain and authenticate, and accounts become less reliable. As such, this assessment focuses on events in the period leading up to the resident’s complaint to the landlord in June 2023. References to earlier periods are for context only.
  2. The resident reported to us that the leak, condensation damp and mould have returned after May 2024 and are ongoing. If the resident remains dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the repair after May 2024, she is entitled to raise a new complaint. In accordance with paragraph 42.a. of the Scheme, if she remains dissatisfied after receiving the landlord’s final response to her new complaint, she has the option of asking the Ombudsman to undertake a further investigation.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, condensation, damp, and mould in her winter balcony

  1. The resident’s lease reflects the landlord’s repairs obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to “keep in repair” the structure and exterior of the property. A landlord is only liable to carry out repairs inside individual properties once they have been notified of the need for repair and have failed to do so within a reasonable time. What constitutes ‘reasonable’ is not defined in law and is determined according to the circumstances of a case.
  2. Prior to her June 2023 formal complaint, the resident reported in September 2022 a leak from a broken or blocked pipe in the ceiling of her balcony; she said it could be a drain issue. The landlord completed the repair on 25 October 2022, which was within its target of 28 days.
  3. In her formal complaint on 7 June 2023, the resident reported a leak in her balcony again. It is unclear whether this new leak was related to the previous leak and whether either leak was connected to the condensation issues which affected a number several of properties.
  4. In response to the resident’s reports of the leak, the landlord inspected the property and in its 20 June 2023 stage 1 response, it said it would conduct water testing from the flat above and would then carry out the necessary repairs. However, there is no evidence that it had raised this job with its contractor.
  5. In its 3 August 2023 final response, the landlord apologised for the delay and recognised that the resident had received a poor service. It said it would continue to try gaining access to the property above for the water test. The leak appears to have been resolved in May 2024, 10 months after its final complaint response. No information has been provided explaining what actions the landlord took over that period, or how it kept the resident updated. The time taken may have been due to factors outside the landlord’s control, but not evidence of that has been seen. Accordingly, the time taken to resolve the issue was not reasonable and was a service failure.
  6. The condensation issue had been long running and the landlord sought expert advice in 2021 and 2022. It provided leaseholders with several updates regarding the advice it received, which, in summary said:
    1. The issue was very complex. Any chosen repair method would need to be tested on smaller areas of the building to assess effectiveness.
    2. The planning authority would need to consent to any proposed remedial works. Any variation in the scope of work could have significant financial implications.
  7. In its stage 1 response to the resident’s complaint, the landlord said it was finalising plans for remedial works and would provide more information within three months. In its August 2023 final response letter, it said that the resident’s property would be included in the trial works, and it scheduled a meeting with the resident to discuss the scope of works a week later. In October 2023, the landlord also conducted a residents’ meeting to discuss the implications that the works may have on service charges. It completed the remedial works in May 2024 and there were no further reports since.
  8. It took 11 months from June 2023, when the resident raised her formal complaint, until the landlord completed the remedial works in May 2024. Unlike the leak issue, the evidence about the condensation problem shows the issue was complex, affected multiple properties, and required a process of trial and investigation to identify the appropriate solution. It also required planning consent and consultation with leaseholders about the financial implications. The time taken to resolve the matter appears therefore to be a consequence of the particular circumstances of the issue, rather than any clear failings by the landlord.
  9. The resident has explained that following the work in May 2024 similar problems reoccurred, but that she did not report them to the landlord. Without such reports the landlord could not respond to investigate and address any further or new problems. As mentioned above, should the resident remain dissatisfied with the landlord’s handling of the repair after May 2024, she is entitled to raise a new formal complaint with the landlord.
  10. Overall, the landlord inspected the resident’s property in a timely manner. However, it did not provide evidence that it progressed with the leak repair or that it acted reasonably in trying to access the property above. It missed an opportunity to manage the resident’s expectations, and as such, this aspect of the resident’s complaint remained unresolved. Orders have been made below for the landlord to put things right to the resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord with respect to its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks, condensation, damp, and mould in her winter balcony.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks from the date of this report, the landlord must pay the resident a compensation of £250 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the resident’s reports of leaks. Evidence of compliance must be sent to the Service.
  2. In June 2023, we investigated complaint 202115670 for the landlord. As part of the orders issued, the landlord completed an integration of its system with its contractors. It now has visibility of the status and stages of the repair journey. It also launched a resident repair interface that allows residents to initiate, track, and schedule repairs. Additionally, the landlord provided all staff with training on record keeping, and all its complaint-handling staff completed the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolutions training, available in our centre for learning. Because of that, no further orders have been made in this report.