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London Borough of Newham (202406771)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202406771

London Borough of Newham

14 May 2025

 

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration,’ for example, whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice, or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman, and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
    1. Damp and mould at the resident’s property.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord.
  2. The resident is being represented by her daughter on this complaint. For ease of reference, the resident and her daughter will both be referred to as “the resident” in this report.
  3. On 10 November 2023, the resident reported damp and mould in her property and submitted a complaint to the landlord. She explained the damp and mould started a couple of years ago, and she took regular precautions, such as cleaning with mould remover, airing all rooms, and keeping her heating on during cold months. However, the resident explained that the damp and mould issues had become worse over the year and resulted in a large amount of black and green mould in the bathroom, bedrooms and living room. In addition, the resident stated the lack of an extractor fan in the bathroom was causing a build-up of condensation and mould. She also stated her eldest son had asthma and her daughter was suffering from a persistent cough due to the mould.
  4. On 13 December 2023, the landlord’s surveyor carried out a damp and mould inspection at the resident’s property and recommended works to the bathroom and the 2 bedrooms.
  5. The landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 21 December 2023. It apologised for the delay in resolving the damp and mould issue, and it confirmed it needed to review the surveyor’s feedback from the inspection report. The landlord explained it would complete any outstanding action based on the recommendations from the inspection after the festive period. It confirmed it would contact her after 2 January 2024 with an update.
  6. On 23 February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. She explained she had not received any communication or updates from the landlord since the damp and mould inspection. The resident stated that the damp and mould had become worse and was impacting the bathroom light. She also requested a copy of the schedule of works and explained that the surveyor told her that work was required to the bedrooms, living room and bathroom.
  7. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 5 April 2024. It acknowledged there was a delay in it arranging a contractor to complete the damp and mould works. The landlord confirmed it had booked an appointment for the contractor to start the works on 3 April 2024 and it stated the works should be completed around 17 April 2024. It also acknowledged and apologised for its delay in providing its complaint response. The landlord offered the resident £500 compensation, which included £400 for the delays in completing the damp and mould works and £100 for its complaint handling delays.
  8. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and submitted her complaint to the Ombudsman. She stated her desired outcome was for the damp and mould issues to be resolved at her property.

Assessment and findings

Scope of Investigation

  1. The resident raised concerns that there have been issues with damp and mould at her property since 2021. The Ombudsman acknowledges the resident’s comments about the length of time the issue has been ongoing for. We acknowledge it is a longstanding issue which has caused difficulties for her and her family. However, there is no evidence of her raising a formal complaint to the landlord until November 2023. In view of the time periods involved in this case and considering the availability and reliability of evidence, this report will not consider any specific events approximately more than 12 months prior to when the resident submitted her complaint to the landlord in November 2023. This is because paragraph 42(c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (available on our website), explains that this service may not investigate complaints that were not brought to the attention of the landlord as a formal complaint within a reasonable period, normally within 12 months of the matters arising.
  2. The resident has mentioned as part of the complaint her eldest son’s asthma was impacted by the damp and mould and her daughter had developed a persistent cough. We acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for the resident. However, it is outside the Ombudsman’s role to determine whether there is a direct link between the landlord’s actions or inaction and any specific impact on the resident’s son and daughter’s health. It would be more appropriately suited for a court or liability insurer to investigate this as a personal injury claim. Courts can award damages in a different way to the Ombudsman and review medical evidence. However, it is generally accepted that damp and mould can pose a significant health risk, particularly for those with respiratory conditions such as asthma. This service can consider the general risk, and distress and inconvenience caused by any errors by the landlord as well as the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about her son and daughter’s health.

Policies and Procedures

  1. The landlord’s repairs policy states that the landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and the outside of the property in a good state of repair.
  2. In addition, the landlord’s repairs policy includes the following response timescales for the following repair categories:
    1. Emergency repairs – the landlord will attend within 4 hours and carry out the repair within 24 hours.
    2. Urgent repairs – the landlord will respond and complete the repair within 3 or 7 days depending on the work required.
    3. Routine repairs – the landlord will respond within 20 working days.
    4. Planned repairs – the landlord will respond within 42 working days.
  3. The landlord’s repairs policy also explains that it has a dedicated damp and mould task force to respond quickly and effectively to damp and mould issues, with the aim of intervening early to prevent issues developing into major health and safety risks. In addition, the policy also states it will acknowledge a service request made in relation to the damp and mould within 48 hours of receiving the request. Then an inspection will be scheduled within 2 weeks of the initial contact, and the timing of the works will depend on the complexity of the issue.

Damp and mould at the resident’s property

  1. In November 2023, the resident reported damp and mould in her property and submitted a complaint to the landlord. The resident stated that there was damp and mould in the living room, bathroom and the 2 bedrooms.
  2. Following the resident’s report, the landlord responded appropriately by arranging for its surveyor to carry out a damp and mould inspection at the resident’s property. The landlord’s surveyor carried out the inspection on 13 December 2023. However, the landlord has not provided the Ombudsman with a copy of the surveyor’s report and only provided a copy of the schedule of works.
  3. The schedule of works recommended works to the bathroom and 2 bedrooms. The recommended works included mould treatment, plastering and redecoration works and repairs to the windows, including repointing them, bath renewal, extractor fan renewal and vent installation. The schedule of works did not include any works to the living room, although the resident mentioned as part of her complaint to the landlord that there was damp and mould in the living room. The resident told the Ombudsman that she believed the schedule of works referenced replacing some of the windows. However, from reviewing the schedule, it only mentions different repairs to the windows, such as repointing. Therefore, we would not expect the landlord to replace the windows in this instance as there is currently no evidence that they need replacing.
  4. Shortly after the inspection, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response, and it confirmed it would update the resident with information about the works at the start of January 2024. This was reasonable, as it is likely there would have been limited contractor availability to complete the works at the end of December due to the Christmas period.
  5. The landlord failed to contact the resident in January 2024 with an update on the scheduled works and a start date for the works. The Ombudsman recognises this may have been distressing for the resident and her family, as the damp and mould was still present in the property. Due to the lack of communication from the landlord about the damp and mould works, the resident contacted the landlord in February 2024 and asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage 2 of the landlord’s complaints process.
  6. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 2 complaint response issued in April 2024 that there had been delays in booking a contractor to complete the works. It apologised for the delay and offered the resident £400 compensation to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the delays in completing the repairs. The compensation amount offered was sufficient to recognise the delay.
  7. The compensation offered by the landlord was in line with the Ombudsman’s approach to compensation, which is set out in our remedies guidance (published on our website). The remedies guidance suggests awards of £100 to £600 where there has been a failure by the landlord, which adversely affected the resident, but there may be no permanent impact. In this case, there was no permanent impact as some damp and mould works were carried out, although there was distress and inconvenience for the resident before some of the works were completed.
  8. The landlord also confirmed in its stage 2 complaint response that an appointment had been booked for the contractor to start the works on 3 April 2024, and it stated the works would be completed around 17 April 2024. The landlord included a copy of the schedule of works with its response but did not specify which rooms the works were related to. The landlord took the appropriate steps by arranging an appointment for the works to be completed. However, the Ombudsman would have expected the landlord to have booked the appointment sooner, particularly as the damp and mould had been outstanding for several months and was in multiple rooms in the property.
  9. The landlord completed the damp, and mould works in the bathroom and 2 bedrooms on 24 April 2024. The resident also confirmed to us in May 2025 that the landlord had completed the works in April 2024. However, she explained no works were carried out in the living room and there was still damp and mould present in the living room. In addition, she also explained one of the pipes had become loose in the bedroom after the landlord’s contractor carried out the works.
  10. On 2 May 2025, we contacted the landlord and asked for a copy of the surveyor’s report from the damp and mould inspection. However, the landlord has not responded to our request. As we have not been provided with a copy of the surveyor’s report, we cannot conclude if the living room was included as part of the inspection, and it is evident from the resident’s complaint that she stated there was damp and mould in the living room. Therefore, there has been a service failure by the landlord in its handling of damp and mould at the resident’s property.
  11. The Ombudsman requires the landlord to arrange a surveyor to carry out a damp and mould inspection at the resident’s property. The surveyor should inspect the living room as no works have been carried out in this room. In addition, the surveyor should also inspect the bathroom due to the resident informing us that the damp and mould has reappeared in the bathroom. It is also recommended that the landlord arrange for the loose pipe in the resident’s bedroom to be fixed.

The associated complaint

  1. The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for landlords’ complaint handling practices. The Code states that a stage 1 response should be provided within 10 working days of the complaint. It also explains that a stage 2 response should be provided within 20 working days from the request to escalate the complaint. The landlord’s complaints policy includes the same timescales referenced in the Code.
  2. The resident submitted her complaint to the landlord on 10 November 2023. Following this, the landlord provided its stage 1 complaint response on 21 December 2023. It took the landlord around 29 working days to provide its stage 1 complaint response. The response was late and not compliant with the 10-working day timescale referenced within the Code and the landlord’s complaints policy.
  3. On 23 February 2024, the resident contacted the landlord and requested her complaint to be escalated to the next stage of the landlord’s complaints process. There was a slight delay in the landlord providing its stage 2 complaint response. The landlord provided its stage 2 complaint response to the resident on 5 April 2024, which was approximately 8 working days late. This would have caused inconvenience for the resident, as she was delayed in progressing her complaint to the Ombudsman because she needed to wait for the landlord’s final response before contacting our service.
  4. The landlord acknowledged in its stage 2 complaint response that there were errors with its complaint handling. It explained it had booked in training on complaint handling for all its staff members to ensure they comply with the timescales. This was a positive step by the landlord. The landlord also apologised and offered the resident £100 compensation in its stage 2 complaint response for its complaint handling errors. The compensation offered to the resident complies with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance referenced above. The compensation proportionately reflects the impact of the delay on the resident, and it amounts to reasonable redress for this aspect of the complaint.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was a service failure in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould at the resident’s property.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 53 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to investigation, which in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the concerns about the landlord’s complaint handling satisfactorily.

Orders

  1. The landlord is ordered to arrange for a surveyor to complete a damp and mould inspection of the living room and bathroom at the resident’s property and draw up a schedule of any required works to resolve the damp and mould issues. The schedule must include timescales of when the work will be completed. A copy of the schedule should be sent to the resident and the Ombudsman.
  2. The landlord must comply with the above orders within 4 weeks of the date of this report, providing evidence to the Ombudsman that it has done so by the same date.

Recommendations

  1. We recommend that the landlord pay the resident its original offer of £500 compensation offered during its complaint process if it has not already done so. The Ombudsman’s finding of reasonable redress for complaint handling is based on the understanding that this compensation will be paid.
  2. We recommend that the landlord repairs the loose pipe in the resident’s bedroom in line with its published repair timescales for routine repairs.