London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (202345933)

Background

1. The resident lives in a 2-bedroom flat on the ground floor of a purpose-built block. She lives with her son and daughter. There are no vulnerabilities. The resident reported damp and mould in one of the bedrooms to her landlord.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Response to reports of damp and mould.
   2. Complaints handling.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s response to damp and mould.
4. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s complaints handling.

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

Summary of reasons

5. The landlord delayed repairs by not acting on recommendations made following inspections of the bedroom. It did not address the resident’s complaint about loss of a bedroom.
6. The landlord did not address the resident’s complaint about damage to her belongings.

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.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

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.

7. The landlord’s damp and mould policy was introduced in December 2024, after the internal complaints process for this case. At the time of the complaint, the landlord had a damp and mould works process, which did not include timescales. Under the damp and mould works process, when a resident reports damp or mould, the landlord will send a surveyor to inspect. The surveyor will raise works for mould removal and treatment. If needed, the landlord will then arrange works to diagnose and resolve the cause. Six weeks after the landlord has completed works, it will contact the resident to see if any issues remain.
8. The resident reported damp and mould on 13 February 2023. An operative attended on 15 March 2023, 22 days later. The landlord did not provide an explanation for this period of time. The operative carried out a mould wash and recommended thermal boarding for the bedroom. The landlord should have acted on this recommendation and completed the necessary works within a reasonable timeframe. However, this did not occur.
9. The evidence we have shows that the landlord booked further appointments between April and August 2023,but they were marked as no access. The resident stated this was because each appointment was for another mould wash, which had not solved the problem so far. She wanted a lasting solution as advised by the operative. On 21 September 2023, a subcontractor attended to complete another mould wash and survey. The landlord did not act on the earlier recommendation in March 2023to install thermal boarding in the bedroom, to resolve the cause of damp and mould. The mould returned, and more treatments were needed.
10. The resident made a stage 1 complaint on 16 January 2024. She said it had been 80 days since the September 2023survey, and she had not received any communication about the outcome. She had contacted the repairs team several times, but they could only raise orders for more mould washes. Although the repairs team asked the damp and mould team to contact her, they did not. This was poor customer service and led to the complaint.
11. In its response on 29 January 2024, the landlord said it was seeking authorisation for remedial works based on the September 2023 survey. Its processes should not be taking 4 months to authorise works. Guidance in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould recommends landlords act promptly on damp and mould and keep residents informed. The landlord should have a robust repair procedure to prevent delays and keep residents updated. The landlord has identified this as learning.
12. The resident escalated her complaint to stage 2 on 7 February 2024 as she still had not heard from the damp and mould team. This was now 96 days after the September survey. On 16 February 2024, the landlord inspected the property for the third time. It raised an order for the affected wall to be stripped, treated, reskimmed, and painted. An operative had first identified damp and mould in March 2023 and made recommendations to resolve the cause. It is not clear why the landlord did not raise these works 11 months earlier. The work began on 18 March 2024. This was 13 months after the resident first reported the issue. This was a significant delay and failing.
13. There is no evidence that the landlord carried out a post inspection or contacted the resident to confirm the issue was resolved. This is not in line with its damp and mould works process.
14. The landlord’s delay in addressing the root cause led to repeated mould washes, incorrect orders, the resident having to chase works and poor communication. This caused the resident inconvenience, frustration, time and trouble and distress. There was also a breakdown in trust between the resident and landlord leading to no access. The resident did not believe the works the landlord was proposing would resolve the issue.
15. The landlord offered £410 compensation for service failures in its handling of reports of damp and mould. We have ordered an additional £100 for delays, in line with our remedies guidance.
16. The resident stated that she has had to throw away items that were damaged by mould, including furniture, a bike and clothes. The landlord’s compensation policy applies to poor service but does not cover damage to belongings. While its policy excludes this, the landlord failed to address the resident’s concerns about damaged belongings or signpost her to its housing liability claim form.
17. The landlord’s compensation policy includes a room loss allowance of up to 20% for the loss of a bedroom. This is based on a surveyor’s assessment at the time of the repair request. The landlord did not address the resident’s complaint that her children were sleeping in her bedroom. It did not consider room loss compensation. The resident said she closed the door of the affected bedroom due to smell and potential harm. The landlord’s failure to follow its damp and mould process and the resulting impact on the resident amounts to maladministration. We have ordered compensation based on 20% of the rent for the 57 weeks from the initial report to the resolution.

18. The landlord’s complaints policy says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days, which can be extended by 10 days for complex cases. It will respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days, which can be extended by 20 working days for complex cases.
19. The landlord met the timescales in its policy. It upheld the complaint at each stage, apologised, and offered compensation for distress, inconvenience, and time and trouble. There was no maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

20. The landlord record keeping is very good in relation to complaints handling. Information is logged efficiently and easy to follow.

Communication

21. The resident was complimentary of the communication from the complaints team and the subcontractors who carried out the repairs. However, she reported poor communication from the damp and mould team and housing office. The landlord has identified learning around its repairs process to prevent delays and keep residents updated, this should be extended to all related teams.

Damp and mould

22. The landlord has had a damp and mould policy in place since December 2024. This is a positive step to ensure that reports of damp and mould are dealt with fairly and consistently.