Leeds City Council (202323151)

Decision
Case ID	202323151
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	Leeds City Council
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	17 November 2025

Background

The resident lives in a 2-bedroom flat on the first floor of a high-rise block. In November 2022, the resident reported a leak entering her flat through the ceiling. The resident brought the case to us as she was concerned the cause of the leak had not been resolved.

What the complaint is about

The resident’s complaint is about the landlord’s:
1. Handling of leaks into the property.
2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

We have found maladministration in the landlord’s:
1. Handling of leaks into the property.
2. Complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

Handling of leaks into the property

The landlord took an unreasonable amount of time to identify and resolve the source of the leaks. Repairs to damage in the kitchen and bathroom were delayed. The landlord’s communication was poor, and the resident was left uncertain about whether the issue had been resolved.

Complaint handling

The resident’s initial complaint was not logged, and she had to raise the issue again. This resulted in a delay of more than 4 months, which the landlord did not acknowledge in its response.

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.

Order	What the landlord must do	Due date
1	Inspection order We have made an inspection order because of information about blistering and streaks in the painting completed by the landlord. What the landlord must do: The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. The landlord must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. A suitably qualified person must complete the inspection. The landlord must write to the resident, and provide a copy to the Ombudsman, with the outcome of the inspection and whether it is responsible for further works. The letter should confirm the likely timescales to commence and complete the work (if work is required).	No later than 15 December 2025
2	Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure: The apology is specific to the failures identified in this decision, meaningful and empathetic. It has due regard to our apologies guidance.	No later than 15 December 2025
3	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £500 (in addition to the £100 already paid) made up as follows: £350 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in fixing the leaks and redecorating. £150 for complaint handling failures. This must be paid directly to the resident by the due date. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of payment by the due date.	No later than 15 December 2025

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
13 March 2023	The resident called to complain about the landlord’s handling of a leak that had been coming into her property since November 2022. She said that despite her chasing the landlord, the leak had not been fixed.
26 July 2023	The resident emailed the landlord to raise a complaint. She said the leak had continued and caused extensive damage to her property and belongings.
7 August 2023	The landlord provided its stage 1 response. It: Acknowledged that it was delayed in tracing the leak and gaining access to the upstairs flat. Said the leak was traced to a pipe behind the washing machine in the flat above and was fixed on 22 July 2023. Said it would repair and paint the ceiling, coving, and wall. Apologised for the lack of communication to the resident. Offered £100 as a goodwill gesture due to the delay in tracing the leak.
August-September 2023	The resident reported that leaks continued, and redecoration was not completed during an August appointment due to a wet ceiling. A further leak was repaired in early September.
5 February 2024	The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2. She said that: The leak had not been property investigated or resolved. Promised redecorating works were still outstanding. The leak had caused damage to a carpet, a wall mounted fire, and a heater.
14 March 2024	The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response. It said: An inspection took place on 13 March 2024, and works were scheduled for 21 March 2024 to address damage in the kitchen and bathroom. It advised the resident to complete corporate insurance forms for the damaged items and said these had been sent.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought her complaint to us because she was dissatisfied with how the landlord handled the leaks. She requested that the landlord seal off the pipe room to prevent future leaks.

What we found and why

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Complaint	Handling of leaks into the property
Finding	Maladministration

The resident reported water leaking through the ceiling in her bathroom and kitchen in November 2022. Evidence shows that two separate leaks from properties above caused the issue. The landlord repaired the leak from the flat directly above on 22 July 2023 and fixed a second leak from a flat three floors above on 7 September 2023.
The evidence shows that the landlord:
1. Did not follow through repairs policy after failing to gain access to the flat above in November 2022.
2. Did not follow through again the timeframes in its repairs policy and with taking steps necessary to gain access to the upstairs flat in March 2023, despite raising two emergency repair orders.
3. Accepted the upstairs neighbour’s assurance that there was no leak without conducting its own inspection, until 22 July 2023, when it identified and repaired a leak behind the neighbour’s washing machine.
The delay of over 8 months in gaining access upstairs and resolving the leak was not reasonable. The landlord acknowledged this in its stage 1 complaint response and apologised.
After the first leak was fixed, water continued to enter into the resident’s property. Once this was established, the landlord acted appropriately by:
1. Taking steps to gain access to other flats to trace and repair the leak, including issuing formal letters and following up.
2. Identifying then promptly repairing a second leak from the flat three floors above.
Although the landlord responded reasonably to the second leak, it did not communicate the actions it was taking to the resident. As a result, she remained concerned that the issue had not been resolved.
The leaks caused damage to the resident’s property. She submitted an insurance claim and accepted a payment for damage to her personal belongings. Referring her to its insurance process was an appropriate step for the landlord to take.
The resident has requested that the landlord seal off the pipe room in her flat so that water cannot go along the ceiling from that room to her bathroom and kitchen. She says this was something she suggested and one of the operatives who came to the property agreed it might be something to try. While we understand why the resident has asked for this work, there is no evidence that this is necessary, and so we have not ordered the landlord to carry out this work.
The leaks have been traced and repaired, and there have been no further reports of water ingress. In our view, the resident’s ongoing concern stems from poor communication by the landlord, which failed to reassure her that the issue had been resolved.
The landlord said it would redecorate the bathroom and kitchen in line with its repairs policy. It attempted to do so after the first leak was fixed, but the ceiling was still wet due to the unresolved second leak. The resident continued to chase the landlord and the redecorating was completed in March 2024. Given that the leaks were resolved by early September 2023, this delay was not reasonable.
The resident said the redecorating did not restore her property back to its previous condition. She reported blistering and water streaks in the paintwork. A repair note indicated a reaction between the stain block and paint may have caused the blistering. There is no evidence of the landlord taking any further action about this. We have therefore ordered the landlord to inspect the affected area and carry out further works if needed.
We have found maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the leaks due to:
1. The prolonged delay in tracing and repairing the leaks.
2. Poor communication following the repairs.
3. The delay in completing redecoration.
The landlord’s handling of the leaks has had a significant impact on the resident, as she:
1. Lived with leaks for over 9 months, which damaged her decorations and belongings.
2. Was not given clear information confirming the repairs were complete, causing ongoing concern.
3. Spent time repeatedly chasing the landlord for updates and action.
The landlord has provided £100 in compensation to the resident for its handling of the leaks. This offer was made in its stage 1 reply, but it did not consider whether this should be increased in its stage 2 response. Given the extent of the failures and their impact, we do not consider this sufficient. We have ordered the landlord to pay an additional £350 in recognition of the overall distress and inconvenience caused.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Maladministration

Under our Complaint Handling Code, a complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about the landlord’s actions or lack of action. Complaints must be acknowledged within 5 working days. The resident called the landlord on 13 March 2023 to raise a complaint about its responses to the ongoing leak. The landlord did not log this as a formal complaint, which was an error.
The resident continued to contact the landlord and submitted a further complaint by email on 26 July 2023. The landlord acknowledged and responded to this complaint within the timeframes set out in its policy. However, it did not acknowledge its earlier failure to log the complaint.
The landlord was 3 days late in acknowledging the escalation to stage 2. This was a minor delay. It issued its stage 2 response within the required timeframe.
The delay of over 4 months in logging the resident’s complaint and the failure to acknowledge this delay were not reasonable. This caused inconvenience and frustration for the resident, who was trying to resolve the leak and felt the landlord was not taking the issue seriously. We have found maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.
To recognise the distress and inconvenience caused, we have ordered the landlord to pay £150 in compensation for its complaint handling failures.

Learning

Record-keeping

The repair records show that the landlord closed the repair after it was unable to gain access to the upstairs flat. This led to a delay in identifying and resolving the leak, as the resident had to follow up to have the repair raised again. This is an area the landlord could improve on to ensure outstanding repairs needs are tracked and addressed and that staff are clear on what to do where there are challenges around access.

Communication

The landlord did not keep the resident updated throughout the period of the leak, which meant she had to chase for updates. It also did not confirm when the second leak was identified and repaired, leaving the resident uncertain about whether the issue had been resolved. Providing clear and timely updates would have reassured the resident and may have helped prevent some of the of the failures identified in this report.