London Borough of Lambeth (202419912)

Decision
Case ID	202419912
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London Borough of Lambeth
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Leaseholder
Date	30 October 2025

Background

1. The resident lives in a ground-floor 2-bedroom flat with his wife, who has asthma. The resident complained to the landlord about damp in the property.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and associated repairs.
3. We have also investigated the landlord’s complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

4. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and associated repairs.
5. There was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

The resident’s reports of damp and associated repairs

1. The landlord failed to act in line with its repairs guide, and its communication was poor.
2. There were unreasonable delays in carrying out the necessary repair work.
3. The landlord’s apology did not reflect the level of detriment caused to the resident, especially given the household circumstances.

Complaint handling

4. The landlord failed to respond to the complaint at stage 2 within its policy timescales, and its apology was not sufficient to put things right.

 

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	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 27 November 2025
2	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident £550 made up as follows: £500 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of reports of damp and associated repairs.   £50 to recognise the time and trouble caused by the landlord’s complaint handling. 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 November 2025

 

 

 

 

 

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
28 March 2024	The resident made a formal complaint. He said he reported damp on 11 February 2024. The landlord was supposed to visit on 12 March 2024 but did not show up. The resident was frustrated by the delay. He explained that the damp was damaging the property which was a health risk to his wife. He asked the landlord to inspect the issue and resolve it as soon as possible.
11 April 2024	The landlord responded to the complaint at stage 1. It said its contractor attended on 12 March 2024 but found that the problem was with the communal brickwork. It was therefore outside of their remit, and they passed the job back to the landlord. The landlord acknowledged there was an avoidable delay in rescheduling a new appointment and apologised for this. It explained that it had arranged an inspection for 12 April 2024.
8 July 2024	The resident asked to escalate the complaint. He said the landlord had agreed that damp proof course (DPC) and repair works were needed. However, he had not been contacted about this, despite chasing. He said the sale of his flat had fallen through because the work was not carried out. He also repeated that the damp was a health risk to his wife.
2 October 2024	The landlord issued its stage 2 final response. It apologised for the delayed response. It said the work planned for 6 September 2024 could not go ahead because of bad weather. The landlord also apologised for the delays, poor communication, and the effect this had on the household’s well-being. It confirmed that the work would now take place on 7 October 2024.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident disputed the landlord’s claim about bad weather and said it had failed to show up to do the work in September 2024. He was concerned about potential mould and how it could affect his household’s health. He explained that the damp had damaged several walls and the internal wiring, which he had to fix himself. He also said the sale of his property had fallen through twice because the landlord had not carried out the repairs. This matter has now been resolved, and the landlord installed a new DPC around August 2025.

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	The landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and associated repairs.
Finding	Maladministration

6. The landlord accepts that there were failings in how it handled the matter. When failings are admitted, we assess whether the landlord resolved the complaint fairly and whether it offered suitable redress. We also consider if the landlord’s actions followed our Dispute Resolution Principles: be fair, put things right, and learn from outcomes.
7. The landlord followed its repairs guide at first by arranging a damp inspection broadly within its 28-day timescale. However, the resident did not know the contractor had attended, which caused inconvenience because he stayed home for the appointment. There was also poor communication and a lack of follow-up afterwards.
8. The landlord inspected the property on 12 April 2024, nearly 2 months after the resident first reported the issue in February 2024. This delay was unreasonable. It’s also unclear what the inspection found or what actions were agreed upon, which highlights poor record-keeping. We found no action plan with timeframes to resolve the damp, which goes against the landlord’s repair guide. As a result, we have made learning recommendations below.
9. The landlord’s repair records showed that a damp surveyor, instructed by the resident, said the external wall was causing the damp. During the complaint, the resident arranged at least 2 more independent reports. These reports found that several external repairs were needed, including a faulty DPC, a damaged downpipe, and defective pointing.
10. Although it’s unclear when the landlord received these reports, it did not take meaningful steps to repair the external issues for several months. This delay caused distress and inconvenience for the resident, who worried about the damp’s effect on his wife’s health and spent a lot of time chasing updates. The landlord failed to arrange the needed repairs or stay in touch with the resident until the work was completed, contrary to its repairs guide.
11. The landlord said it had scheduled external repairs for 6 September 2024 but could not carry them out due to bad weather. The resident disputed this. There’s no evidence to support the landlord’s claim, which again points to poor record-keeping. There’s also no evidence that the landlord told the resident about the cancelled appointment, showing further communication issues.
12. The landlord’s final response acknowledged the effect the prolonged delays and poor communication had on the household and apologised for this. However, this did not go far enough to put things right.
13. The landlord did not act quickly enough, even though it knew about the household’s situation and the likely impact of the damp. We also recognise the resident’s frustration that the landlord’s delayed repairs contributed towards unsuccessful property sales. The resident also said the damp damaged internal walls and wiring, which added to his worry and distress.
14. There is no evidence that the landlord kept its promise to carry out the work on 7 October 2024, as it said in its final response. In fact, the resident told us in February 2025 that nothing had changed, and the repairs were still outstanding, about a year after the initial report.
15. It is unclear when the landlord carried out the external repairs, but the resident told us that a new DPC was installed around August 2025. Overall, the delays in completing repairs were unreasonable and contrary to the landlord’s repair timescales.
16. We find maladministration and have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £500. This follows our remedies guidance, which suggests awards from £100 when a landlord acknowledges its failings, but does not offer a proportionate remedy. In this case, the landlord only apologised, did not offer any compensation, and did not progress the necessary repairs in a timely manner.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Service failure

17. The landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s escalation request within 5 working days, contrary to its policy. This caused time and trouble for the resident, who had to chase the landlord for an acknowledgement.
18. The landlord told the resident he would receive a formal response by 13 August 2024. However, this did not happen. This caused further time and trouble for the resident, who had to chase the landlord again.
19. The landlord took 63 working days to issue its stage 2 final response. This was contrary to its 20-working-day policy timescale. Although the landlord apologised for the delay, this did not fully reflect the detriment caused to the resident.
20. This was a service failure. We have ordered the landlord to pay the resident £50 compensation for the time and trouble caused.

Learning

21. The landlord should act with greater urgency when dealing with reports of damp, making sure it considers the household circumstances.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

22. The landlord should maintain clear and accurate records of all inspections, contractor visits, and agreed actions.
23. The landlord should document all scheduled appointments and cancellations, including reasons.

Communication

24. The landlord should inform residents promptly about any changes to scheduled works, including delays or cancellations.
25. The landlord must acknowledge and respond to escalation requests within its policy timescales.