London Borough of Camden Council (202527094)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202527094 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
London Borough of Camden Council |
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Landlord type |
Local Authority |
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Occupancy |
Secure Tenancy |
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Date |
27 February 2026 |
Background
- The resident complained to the landlord on 22 July 2025 about outstanding repairs and structural issues with her property. Around 22 August 2025 a solicitor acting on her behalf sent a pre-action letter due to the ongoing issues. There is no evidence proceedings have been issued.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
- Reports of outstanding repairs and structural issues with her property.
- Complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We found service failure in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
- Reports of outstanding repairs and structural issues with her property.
- Complaint.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
Reports of outstanding repairs and structural issues with the property
- The landlord did not act in accordance with our guidance for Pre-Action Protocols for Housing Conditions Claims. However, it demonstrated that it had completed the repairs reported by the resident and took steps to complete the outstanding plastering repair.
Complaint handling
- The landlord failed to acknowledge the resident’s escalated complaint and was delayed in responding at stage 2. It did not acknowledge or address this in its complaint 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.
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Order |
What the landlord must do |
Due date |
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1 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident compensation of £225. This is made up of:
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 27 March 2026 |
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2 |
The landlord must ensure all appropriate staff members are reminded of the Ombudsman’s approach to Pre-Action Protocols for Housing Conditions Claims. |
No later than 10 April 2026 |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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22 July 2025 |
The resident complained to the landlord. She said she had reported cracks, leaks, and instability of the structure. Despite multiple inspections, she said the landlord had completed no meaningful repairs. She believed the property was unsafe for her and her family. She said she urgently wanted to move, but the landlord refused to relocate her. |
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29 July 2025 |
The landlord issued its stage 1 response, explaining that it attended the property on 21 July 2025 to repair plaster cracks. However, the resident did not want the work conducted while she was at home. The landlord said it would write to her to remind her of the need to allow access for essential repairs. It added that it had no evidence that the property was uninhabitable or that work could not be completed with the resident in the property, and therefore it could not approve temporary accommodation. The landlord also provided guidance on how to bid for alternative properties online. |
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30 July 2025 |
The resident escalated her complaint. She said that due to the size of her property, it was not safe to complete repairs whilst she and her son were there. She said the property was “dilapidated”, there were cracks throughout the property, including the windows. She said the landlord could not repair the cracks and constant leaks in 1 day. She asked to be moved whilst repairs were done and for a further survey to be completed. |
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22 September 2025 |
The landlord issued its stage 2 response. It said it had addressed all repair issues the resident had reported. It said plastering the cracks was the only outstanding repair. It was still willing to complete this and was considering temporary relocation for a day. It said the resident’s disrepair case was outside of its complaints process. However, it would wait for the disrepair survey to be completed and would then act in accordance with its legal disrepair process. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident told us she was concerned for her family’s safety in the property. She provided the completed legal disrepair survey, which she said showed the landlord had neglected the condition of the home. She wanted the landlord to rehouse her as a result. On 6 February 2026 she told us the landlord told her it would complete the repairs recommended by the legal disrepair survey within 90 days. |
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.
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Complaint |
Reports of outstanding repairs and structural issues with her property |
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Finding |
Service failure |
What we will not investigate
- The resident told us her partner’s health had been impacted by concerns about living in the property. We are unable to assess the cause of, or liability for, impacts on health and wellbeing. The resident’s partner can make a personal injury claim if he considers his health has been affected by the landlord’s action or inaction. This is a legal process, and he may wish to seek legal advice in pursuing this option. It will not be considered in this report.
What we will investigate
- The resident complained on 22 and 30 July 2025 that the landlord had not completed any repairs since she moved in in 2009. She said she had not allowed plastering repairs to go ahead in July 2025 due to concerns that the repairs would be unsafe for her and her son to stay in a confined space whilst the repairs took place. She did not believe it would take 1 day as the landlord had suggested to repair cracks and the “constant leaks” at the property.
- The landlord stated it was untrue that it had not completed repairs at the property. It detailed its repair history from January 2024 up to the time of its complaint response. This was a reasonable approach as its response went beyond the 12 months (from the resident’s initial complaint) that its complaints policy confirms it can investigate.
- As part of this, the landlord detailed repairs it completed in response to the resident’s reports about damp and mould in January 2024 and a cracked window and ventilation in April 2024. It stated that the only other repair during this time was the plastering repair the resident reported in June 2025, which it attempted to repair in July 2025. The landlord’s account of the repairs is reflected in its repair records.
- The landlord also made appropriate efforts to resolve the resident’s concerns about completing the outstanding plastering repairs. It assured her the repairs would only take 1 day, and it had no evidence that the repairs could not be safely completed with her in residence. As such, it said it could not move her to temporary accommodation overnight. This was in accordance with its alternative accommodation policy. It confirmed it was considering offering her temporary accommodation during the day whilst the repair took place. This was a reasonable approach to take given the resident’s concerns.
- The resident also complained that there was serious structural deterioration of the interior and exterior of the property, and her windows were cracked. She said the property was uninhabitable. The landlord said it received no reports to suggest this. However, the landlord has not provided evidence of inspection reports relating to this. As such it has not demonstrated it was assured there were no recent structural issues or issues with the windows. When a report is made to a landlord, it should assess it and take reasonable steps to assess whether the property is affected by hazards and is fit for human habitation.
- The landlord also confirmed it received a pre-action letter under the Pre-action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims. It said this ordered an independent survey of the property to be completed by 2 October 2025. It confirmed that if the report deemed more extensive repairs were required, it would abide by this. It said that, as this was a legal issue, it was outside the scope of its complaint. This was not appropriate. No legal action had started at that time, and so, in line with our guidance on Pre-action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims, the landlord should have responded fully to the issues in the complaint (including structural issues and windows) and attempted to resolve them at the earliest possible opportunity. The complaint procedure is an opportunity to resolve all complaints. In accordance with paragraph 2.2 of the Complaint Handling Code, landlords should deal with all matters in the complaint procedure unless legal proceedings have started. That means a claim has been issued at court.
- In summary, the landlord demonstrated that it had responded to the resident’s repair reports back to the beginning of 2024. It took appropriate steps to resolve the resident’s concerns about completing the outstanding plastering repairs and managed her expectations. It did not act in accordance with our guidance regarding the Pre-action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims. For this reason, we have found service failure. We have ordered the landlord to pay compensation for the inconvenience this caused and improve its understanding of our guidance.
- The resident has said she should move home. However, as the landlord has agreed to complete the works – there is no basis on which we could order that.
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Complaint |
Complaint handling |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- The landlord’s complaints policy confirms it will acknowledge all complaints within 5 working days. It will provide its stage 1 response within 10 working days and its stage 2 response within 20 working days of sending the acknowledgement. It can extend complaint timescales by 10 working days but must inform the resident. It confirms it will also learn from complaints.
- The landlord acted in accordance with its complaints policy in the handling of the stage 1 complaint. It did not act in accordance with the policy in its handling of the stage 2 complaint, as follows:
- On 30 July 2025, when the resident escalated her complaint, it confirmed it would formally acknowledge her complaint within 5 working days. There is no evidence that it went on to do this.
- The landlord took 38 working days to provide its stage 2 response. It exceeded the timescale in its complaints policy by 18 working days. There is no evidence that it informed the resident that it was extending this timescale.
- It did not acknowledge the delays in its complaints process. As such, it did not apologise, consider compensation or detail how it would learn from this.
- We have found service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. This is for the inconvenience and distress caused by its delayed stage 2 response and its failure to acknowledge or remedy this. It has been ordered to pay £75 compensation, in line with our remedies guidance.
Learning
- We have made an order for the landlord to improve its understanding of our approach to Pre-Action Protocols for Housing Conditions Claims.
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord failed to provide records detailing when it had inspected the property. Furthermore, it was difficult to establish in its repair records when repairs were completed. However, the landlord provided commentary on this, which supported our understanding of this.
Communication
- The overall communication regarding the substantive issue was appropriate, and there is evidence of the landlord keeping the resident updated on all issues throughout.