London Borough of Lambeth (202509527)

Background

1. The resident lives with her 4 children. The landlord is aware that several household members have disabilities including respiratory health conditions. She complained to the landlord about delays in resolving damp and mould in her bathroom.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Reports of damp and mould in the bathroom.
   2. The complaint.

Our decision (determination)

3. We have found service failure in the landlord’s handling of:
   1. Reports of damp and mould in the bathroom.
   2. The complaint.

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

Summary of reasons

Reports of damp and mould

4. The landlord failed to demonstrate that it responded to reports of damp and mould in line with its damp charter.

Complaint handling

5. There were delays in the landlord’s complaint handling which it failed to acknowledge 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.

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.

What we did not investigate

6. The resident raised concerns about the affect of the damp and mould on her children’s health. It would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a claim for any illness caused via the courts. The courts are best placed to deal with this type of dispute as they will have the benefit of independent medical advice to decide on the cause of any illness and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can, however, decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

What we did investigate

7. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Damp and Mould (published October 2021) recommends that landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue. Landlords should consider appropriate timescales for their responses to reflect the urgency of the case and set these out clearly for residents to manage their expectations. They should also ensure that they clearly and regularly communicate with residents on actions taken to resolve damp and mould.
8. The landlord’s initial response to the resident’s report of damp and mould on 3 January 2025 was timely. It inspected the bathroom within the timescales set out in its damp charter. It has not provided us with its inspection notes. However, it is reasonable to assume that the repair work it raised, to complete a mould wash and repair the bathroom extractor fan, was a result of this inspection.
9. There is no evidence that the landlord agreed an action plan with the resident following its inspection of the damp and mould as set out in its charter. Its repair records indicate that it completed both repair jobs by 12 February 2025. It completed the mould wash 2 working days outside its published timescales. It would have been good practice for the landlord to arrange a post inspection of repair work as part of its investigation. Doing so would have demonstrated it was committed to resolving the issue and had listened to her concerns.
10. The landlord’s repair records indicate that the issue in the bathroom was a recurring one. Its damp charter sets out that where this is the case, a surveyor should remain in touch with the resident until it resolves the issue. Given it was aware of the household vulnerabilities, it should have reviewed its records and adopted this approach. There is no evidence that it did so, which caused the resident avoidable time, trouble, distress and inconvenience in attempting to get the matter resolved.
11. In its complaint responses the landlord apologised for its delay in completing the mould wash. It offered to arrange a further inspection of the damp and mould in the bathroom to identify the root cause of the problem. It asked the resident to make contact to arrange this. Given her frustration in getting the matter resolved, it would have been more appropriate for it to contact her to make this arrangement.
12. The landlord’s complaint responses failed to acknowledge that it had not adhered to actions set out in its damp charter. It failed to keep her informed or provide a lasting resolution. It also demonstrated no learning from the complaint. The resident has told us that the damp and mould is an ongoing issue. We have made orders in relation to this.

13. The landlord operates a 2-stage complaint process. It acknowledges complaints within 5 working days. It responds to stage 1 and 2 complaints within 10 and 20 working days respectively. This is compliant with the Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
14. The landlord provided no evidence to show that it acknowledged the resident’s complaint or escalation request. This was not in line with its policy.
15. The landlord’s stage 1 response was 11 working days later than the timescale set out in its policy. There is no evidence that it contacted the resident to inform her its response would be delayed. Although it apologised, it failed to offer any redress or identify any learning to prevent delays in the future.
16. The landlord issued its final response 5 working days later than its policy timescale. It did not acknowledge, apologise, or offer redress for its complaint handling failures. We have made an order for the landlord to apologise and pay compensation.

Learning

17. The landlord should ensure that it refers to the approach set out in its policies when assessing its actions in complaint investigations. This is particularly relevant when it is aware of residents’ vulnerabilities as these may compound the effects of any failings.

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

18. The landlord did not demonstrate that it reviewed its records to consider the damp and mould was recurring. It is important it keeps a robust record of contact and action taken relating to repairs. This is because clear, accurate, and easily accessible records provide an audit trail and enhance landlords’ ability to identify and respond to problems when they arise.

Communication

19. The landlord failed to communicate delays throughout the complaint process with the resident. It is important that it effectively manages residents’ expectations about how it intends to respond to concerns and that it keeps them informed of any delays and how it intends to mitigate the impact of these.