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Lambeth Council (202230233)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202230233

Lambeth Council

3 December 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. The complaint is about the resident’s reports about the landlord’s handling of structural repairs causing dampness and damage to his property.

Background

  1. The resident has held a lease with the landlord since December 2018. The property is a maisonette which occupies 2 floors of an end of terrace house. The resident is responsible for paying a variable service charge under the terms of the lease. He lives in the property with his partner and young children.
  2. In February 2021 an inspection report arranged by the landlord said that water was entering the property through the structure of the building causing dampness and cracks. The report recommended works which included repairs to the roof and brickwork. It said the cracks in the plaster of the resident’s property should also be filled.
  3. The landlord issued a legal notice on 27 May 2021 advising the resident of its intention to do the works, including an estimated cost. It said that the resident did not raise any formal feedback during the consultation period and as such it agreed to proceed with the works in July 2021. However it did not raise orders for the work to done until March 2022.
  4. By 16 November 2022 work had still not begun and the resident made a complaint to the landlord. He said the dampness was worsening in his property. The landlord apologised for the delay in its response on 23 December. It said it would need to issue a new legal notice with an estimated cost from a new contractor before starting works. It said this could take 2 to 3 months.
  5. The resident escalated his complaint on 6 January 2023. Within this, he said that he had first reported the issues in the summer of 2019 and nothing had been done. He said that the landlord had not adhered to the terms of his lease in carrying out the repairs within a reasonable timeframe. He said there was black mould in his home which had made one bedroom unusable, and was concerned about the damp and mould being a health and safety hazard.
  6. The landlord gave its final response to the resident’s complaint on 8 February 2023. It apologised again and said the reason for the delay was because the contract it had held with its former contractor had ended in July 2021. It said it had asked its new contractor to do the works in March 2022 and it was in the process of estimating the costs.
  7. The resident was dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and escalated his complaint to this Service. Since the landlord’s final complaint response on 8 February 2023 the work is outstanding over 18 months later. The resident has raised concerns about the impact the delay is having on his family’s health, on future service charges, and on a potential claim from the landlord’s insurers.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

  1. The resident raised concerns about the impact the mould issues may have had on his and his family’s health. Whilst this service is an alternative to the courts, it is unable to establish legal liability or whether a landlord’s actions or lack of action have had a detrimental impact on a resident’s health. Nor can it calculate or award damages. The Ombudsman is therefore unable to consider the personal injury aspect of the resident’s complaint. These matters are likely better suited to consideration by a court or via a personal injury or insurance claim, in accordance with paragraph 42.f. of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme).
  2. Paragraph 42.c. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not investigate a complaint which was not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period. This would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising. In this case the resident said he had reported issues with dampness in his property as far back as the summer of 2019.
  3. The Ombudsman encourages residents to raise and escalate complaints with their landlords at the time the events happened. This is because with the passage of time, evidence may be unavailable and personnel involved may have left an organisation, which makes it difficult for a thorough investigation to be carried out and for informed decisions to be made. Because of that, in accordance the Scheme with paragraph 42.c., this investigation considers the events from July 2021 leading up to the resident’s complaint to the landlord in November 2022.
  4. The landlord said it intends to recover the costs of the works through the variable service charges paid for by the resident. It is noted that the resident has expressed concern about the level of such charges. Under paragraph 42.d. of the Scheme we may not consider complaints about the level of service charge, or level of a service charge increase. These matters are better suited to the First Tier Tribunal. Should the resident want to challenge the reasonableness of the charges he is advised to seek independent advice before pursuing this.
  5. Additionally, the resident has raised concerns about the impact the delay may have on any potential insurance claim. In the interest of fairness, the scope of this investigation is limited to the issues raised during the resident’s formal complaint. This is because the landlord needs to be given a fair opportunity to investigate and respond to any reported dissatisfaction with its actions prior to the involvement of this Service. The resident is therefore advised to raise this matter as a new complaint with the landlord if it remains a concern.

The landlord’s handling of structural repairs causing dampness and damage to his property

  1. Under the terms of the lease, the landlord is responsible for maintaining the exterior walls, joists, ceilings and floors of the building. It says the landlord is also responsible for the whole of the structure, the roof, rainwater pipes and window frames. The resident is responsible for the repairs within his own premises. This is also echoed in the homeowner’s handbook.
  2. The evidence provided shows that the landlord had been aware of structural problems since at least September 2020 when it requested an independent survey to be carried out. Following the survey in February 2021, the landlord arranged for its contractor at that time to provide an estimate for the cost of the works. The works recommended in the report included; repairs to the roof, brickwork and pathway. They also included repairing the internal cracks in the plaster of the resident’s property.
  3. A landlord is required under legal regulations to carry out a consultation process with leaseholders when it is considering major works. It must issue a notice to the leaseholder commonly known as a ‘section 20’ notice. In this case the landlord issued the notice to the resident on 27 May 2021. Within this, it informed the resident which contractor it would use and it estimated the resident’s share of the cost of the works would be £5,184.99. It gave the resident 30 days to raise any concerns (legally known as ‘observations’).
  4. The evidence provided shows that the neither the resident nor the other leaseholder in the building had raised any concerns about the work being done. As such, at the end of the consultation period in July 2021 the landlord said it signed the paperwork authorising the works to begin. The ‘repairs works order’ said it was ‘priority 4’ with a timescale of 28 days. However despite this, the landlord did not demonstrate that it was prompt in organising the works. It did not request a work order until March 2022 which was 8 months after the work had been authorised.
  5. Once on notice, a landlord should conduct repairs or works within a reasonable period, in accordance with its obligations under the lease and in law. The law does not specify what a reasonable amount of time is – it depends on the individual circumstances. In this case, as the structural problems were causing significant damp problems, the landlord should have demonstrated an awareness of the urgency the situation required. The time it took to arrange the work does not show such an awareness.
  6. The Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould (published in October 2021) states a landlord should have a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould and must ensure its response to such matters are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue. The Ombudsman expects that where works may take longer than anticipated the landlord will take interim steps to deal with damp and mould. Again, the landlord did not demonstrate that it appreciated the seriousness of the situation and did not take any interim actions.
  7. The evidence shows correspondence between the landlord and its contractors in April, May and June 2022, and discussions with the resident in April, but none of it included clear work details or timescales. The resident sought updates from the landlord at least 3 times in June and reported worsening damp and mould problems, but there is no evidence of it responding.
  8. Between July and September 2022 the resident corresponded with the landlord’s contractors. He copied the landlord into 1 of the emails. The contractors apologised for the delay and provided a partial update explaining they were waiting for a further inspection of his property.
  9. It is apparent, therefore, that by the time the resident complained to the landlord in November 2022 none of the work identified in the February 2021 inspection and subsequent section 20 consultation had been completed, despite the serious nature of the work and the resident’s reports of increasing damp and mould problems.
  10. In its first complaint response the landlord apologised for the delay. It said it would need to issue a new section 20 notice and provide a new estimate for all of the works. It said this would take approximately 2 to 3 months. The evidence shows that its contractor had changed which is why it needed to issue a new notice and provide a new quote, however it did not clearly explain this in its first complaint response. Nor did the landlord explain why there had been little, if any, progress since the first section 20 notice was issued.
  11. In its final complaint response on 8 February 2023 the landlord said it had asked its new contractor to complete the works in March 2022. It said they were in the process of estimating the costs and it expected to get them by the end of the following week. It said that it would then advise the resident. The landlord did not explain why there had been a further delay of almost 12 months since it had asked its new contractor to do the works. It failed to acknowledge the resident’s concerns about the damp and mould being a risk and making part of his home unusable. It also failed to manage the resident’s expectations by not providing an anticipated timeframe of when works would begin, and be completed.
  12. The landlord has informed this Service that it is still waiting for an update on the costs from its contractor so it can issue a new legal notice to the resident. It has not explained the further delay which has extended over 18 months beyond its final complaint response.
  13. Overall, there were significant failings in the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports of structural repairs and dampness within the property. The landlord failed to treat the matter with the importance its circumstances required. It did not communicate effectively with the resident or adhere to its repairing obligations under the lease within a reasonable period. While it recognised the delays it failed to offer any compensation or other remedies.
  14. In November 2023 the Ombudsman’s determination of the landlord’s separate case (202207348) found maladministration with its repairs handling, and made a wider order to the landlord to complete a review. The order specifically referred to the landlord’s handling of window and door replacements. However, the landlord evidenced that it used its review to consider its broader repairs service and record keeping in line with Ombudsman’s determinations of its other similar cases. The landlord provided its review findings to the Service in January 2024. The findings referred to its new ‘repairs journey assurance team’ and other measures implemented with the aim of preventing the type of delays and issues experienced by the resident. As such, the Ombudsman has not made further orders regarding the landlord’s repairs service.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme;
    1. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of structural repairs causing dampness and damage to the resident’s property.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Apologise to the resident for the failings identified within this report.
    2. Pay the resident £1,000 in compensation for the distress, inconvenience and frustration caused to him in the landlord’s handling of structural repairs causing dampness and damage to his property.
  2. The compensation awarded by this Service should be treated separately from any existing financial arrangements between the landlord and resident and should not be offset against any service charges.
  3. Within 8 weeks of the date of this report, the landlord is ordered to:
    1. Provide the resident with a schedule of works for the property to include all remaining external and internal works. This must also include a clear deadline of when the works will be completed, taking into account any additional factors such as section 20 consultations. It must demonstrate that it will complete the works with the urgency they require.
    2. Arrange an inspection of the resident’s home to first identify what interim measures it can implement to reduce the impact of the damp and mould until the necessary structural works are complete. This inspection should also identify what remedial actions it needs to take following the completion of the structural works to remedy any damage or deterioration caused by the damp and mould. Essentially, the landlord must return the property to the condition it would have been in but for the failings found in this report. The landlord must commit to undertake the inspection’s findings.
  4. The landlord is to provide evidence of compliance with these orders to the Ombudsman by their respective deadlines.