London Borough of Lambeth (202338105)
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Decision |
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Case ID |
202338105 |
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Decision type |
Investigation |
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Landlord |
London Borough of Lambeth |
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Landlord type |
Local Authority / ALMO or TMO |
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Occupancy |
Assured Tenancy |
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Date |
28 January 2026 |
Background
- The resident lives in a 3 bedroom property. She experienced a leak in her bedroom and when the repairs remained outstanding, causing electrical issues, she raised a complaint.
What the complaint is about
- The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
- Reports of a leak.
- The complaint.
Our decision (determination)
- We have found there was:
- Maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of a leak.
- Service failure in the landlord’s handling of the complaint.
We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.
Summary of reasons
The handling of reports of a leak
- There were significant delays addressing repairs to the roof. The landlord’s communication was poor, it did not consider the impact of a prolonged period of partial power loss and it did not show it had met the commitments made at stage 2.
The handling of the complaint
- The landlord was late providing responses at both stage 1 and 2. It did not acknowledge delays in its responses.
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 |
Apology order The landlord must apologise in writing to the resident for the failures identified in this report. The landlord must ensure:
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No later than 25 February 2026 |
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2 |
Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident a total of £1,100 for the failures identified in this report, 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. The landlord may deduct from the total figure any payments it has already paid. |
No later than 25 February 2026 |
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3 |
Inspection order
The landlord must contact the resident to arrange an inspection. It must take all reasonable steps to ensure the inspection is completed by the due date. The inspection must be completed by someone suitably qualified to complete an inspection of the type needed. If the landlord cannot gain access to complete the inspection, it must provide us with documentary evidence of its attempts to inspect the property no later than the due date.
What the inspection must achieve The landlord must ensure that the surveyor:
The survey report must set out:
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No later than 25 February 2026 |
Recommendations
Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.
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Our recommendations |
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The resident told this Service she has not received updates in relation to the liability claim she submitted to the landlord for carpets damaged by the leak. We recommend the landlord seeks an update and provides this to the resident. |
Our investigation
The complaint procedure
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Date |
What happened |
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20 October 2023 |
The resident raised a complaint. She said that water had been coming into her bedroom since April and it was now coming into the utility room from the roof. She said that the electrics had blown in September because of the water ingress. Plumbers attended and said it was a roofing issue. She wanted the landlord to resolve the issue as her house floods every time it rains. |
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4 December 2023 |
The landlord responded at stage 1. It partly upheld the complaint as it had not been able to answer the complaint in full. It said it had made safe the electrics and that scaffolding would be erected shortly so the leak could be resolved. It apologised for any distress caused. |
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5 December 2023 |
The resident asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage 2. She said apart from scaffolding been erected on 1 December 2023, there had been no progress, and she had no contact from the landlord. She said the electric was not fixed and she was walking on damp carpets. She told the landlord she was having to live in her living room due to the problems with the electric. |
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19 January 2024 |
The landlord responded at stage 2. It upheld the complaint and apologised that the resident had not received the standard of service expected. It said that the electrics had been made safe, the roof and an internal downpipe had been repaired, and half of the asbestos had been removed. It said once the remaining asbestos had been removed, the ceiling would be replaced and remedial works would begin on 29 January 2024. It awarded £150 compensation. |
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Referral to the Ombudsman |
The resident asked this Service to investigate. She said that not all repair issues have been resolved. As an outcome to the investigation, she wanted the landlord to complete all outstanding works, communicate better and consider additional compensation to recognise the impact the situation had on her. |
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 |
The handling of reports of a leak. |
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Finding |
Maladministration |
What we did not investigate
- The resident has told us the leak returned in April 2024 after repairs were completed. We cannot investigate issues that the landlord has not had the opportunity to respond to through its internal complaints process. Therefore, we have not considered new events that occurred after the date of its stage 2 response. However, we have considered whether the landlord met any commitments made in its complaint responses.
What we did investigate
- On 14 April 2023, the resident reported a leak in her bedroom. The landlord marked the job as a priority, which, according to its repairs manual, should be fixed within 7 days. It attended on the same day, noted the leak was coming from the roof and roofers would need to investigate. However, there was no evidence the landlord arranged any follow on works for roofers to attend.
- The leak remained unresolved, and the resident reported further issues on 22 September 2023. The leak had entered the utility room and had affected the electrics. The landlord attended the same day and made the electrics safe. It noted the leak appeared to be from the roof and roofers would need to attend as soon as possible. Again, there was no evidence the landlord arranged any follow up works.
- This was a failing. At this stage the leak had been ongoing for 5 months. The landlord had attended twice and was aware further investigation was required but did not take any steps to arrange this. It should have taken necessary action to carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe, and in line with its policy, once it was aware of the problem.
- On 26 October 2023, the resident told the landlord the utility room ceiling had collapsed, and she was concerned the bedroom ceiling would also give way. She continued to chase the landlord regularly throughout November for updates. There was no evidence to show the landlord provided the updates she requested.
- The lack of communication likely left the resident feeling uncertain about the progress of repairs and caused additional stress and frustration. This was especially significant given the condition of the property following the ongoing leak, the collapse of the utility room ceiling and her concerns about the stability of the bedroom ceiling.
- On 14 November 2023, the resident said her daughter had been forced to move out as she was unable to use her bedroom due to outstanding repairs. This should have prompted the landlord to assess the room, as its compensation policy allowed for reimbursement of rent where a room was unusable due to disrepair. There was no evidence the landlord took such action.
- When she asked to escalate her complaint to stage 2, the resident said the electrics were still not fixed and she had been living in the living room due to the electrical issues. On 19 December 2023, she clarified that she had no electricity upstairs and no working sockets in the kitchen since the ceiling collapsed in October 2023. Again, this should have prompted the landlord to assess the property and determine if any rooms were considered unusable but there was no evidence it did so.
- While the evidence did not definitively show that rooms were unusable, it is reasonable to conclude that having no working electrical sockets in the kitchen and no electricity upstairs would have caused significant disruption for the resident and considerable loss of enjoyment of the home.
- It was unclear when the electricity was restored. The resident told us the electrics were affected for two months, and the evidence showed the landlord arranged post inspection of electrical work in January 2024. This would support what the resident had said and indicated that electrics were affected for around two months.
- In her escalation requestion, the resident also said her carpets had been damaged because of the leak. The landlord appropriately advised her that she could make a liability claim through its insurers. This was submitted in April 2024, but the resident has told us that, as of December 2025, the status of the claim remained unknown.
- Communication with the resident remained poor. She continued to contact the landlord for updates in December 2023 and January 2024, causing unnecessary time and trouble. There is no evidence it provided the updates she asked for.
- In the stage 2 response on 19 January 2024, the landlord confirmed the roof had been repaired on 15 December 2023. This was 8 months after the repair was raised and far exceeded the timescales set out in it repair manual.
- The landlord also said in its response the electrics would be reinstated, the ceiling would be replaced, and remedial works had been scheduled to begin 29 January 2024. It offered £150 compensation for the delays, distress and frustration caused. However, the response did not acknowledge its poor communication or the period the resident did not have full use of some rooms.
- The resident disputed the amount of compensation offered, and on 21 February 2024, the landlord offered an additional £200 to recognise the upset and distress caused. This brought the total compensation offered to £350.
- The landlord completed the redecorating of the hallway by 14 February 2024, and electrical works by 20 February 2024. However, there was no evidence the ceiling works were completed before the resident reported the leak had returned in April 2024. For this reason, we cannot satisfactorily say the landlord met the commitments it made in its stage 2 response.
- Overall, the landlord did not consider the impact its poor communication and the prolonged period of partial loss of electricity had on the resident. It also did not demonstrate it fulfilled the commitments made at stage 2. As a result, we find maladministration in the landlord’s handling of reports of a leak.
- Although the landlord awarded compensation, the amount offered was not proportionate to the additional failings identified. For this reason, further compensation has been ordered. The amount we have awarded reflects our remedies guidance for failings that have had an adverse effect on the resident.
- The resident reports that repairs remain outstanding. As it is unclear whether the landlord completed the repairs it committed to in its stage 2 response, we have also issued an inspection order.
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Complaint |
The handling of the complaint |
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Finding |
Service failure |
- The landlord had a 2 stage complaint process. It aimed to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It then aimed to provide a formal response within 10 working days at stage 1, and 20 working days at stage 2. This aligned with our Complaint Handling Code.
- The resident complained on 20 October 2023 and the landlord acknowledged it the same day, in line with its policy. However, it did not respond until 4 December 2023, 31 working days later.
- The resident asked to escalate her complaint on 5 December 2023, but it was unclear that the landlord formally acknowledged the request in line with its policy. It responded on 19 January 2024, 30 working days after the complaint was submitted.
- In both her stage 1 and stage 2 complaints, the resident raised concerns including poor communication, damp carpets and having to live in her living room. The landlord did not address these issues in its responses. This was unreasonable, as the Code requires landlords to address all points raised in a complaint. This likely added to the residents distress, as she may have felt the landlord was not seeking to resolve her concerns.
- The landlord’s complaint handling was not entirely satisfactory. Its responses did not address all complaint points and were delayed at both stages of its procedure, including by 4 weeks at stage 1 and it did not acknowledge this. It was also not evident it followed its policy to contact the resident about the delays. This likely caused the resident additional frustration and undermined her confidence in the landlord. This leads us to find service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.
- We order that the landlord must pay the resident £150 compensation. This is in line with our remedies guidance for circumstances where there was a failure by a landlord in the service it provided, and it did not acknowledge this or put it right.
Learning
Knowledge information management (record keeping)
- The landlord’s repair logs were confusing and difficult to interpret. The date the repair was raised was recorded as after the date the repair was completed on many occasions making it difficult to comprehensively assess the repairs timelines. The landlord is encouraged to reflect on how to ensure its records are accurate and detailed. Taking into account the guidance we have published on knowledge and information management.
Communication
- Communication with the resident was poor and her requests for updates were not responded to. The landlord could improve its communication with residents by providing timely updates on the progress of repairs and inspections.