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London Borough of Newham (202445184)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202445184

London Borough of Newham

12 August 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 leaks, damp and mould in the resident’s home.

Background

  1. The resident has been a tenant of the landlord at the property since May 2023. The property is a 2-bed flat on the 14th floor of a tower block. The resident lives there with her mother.
  2. On 6 November 2023 the resident reported a leak at her flat. On 9 November 2023 she said the leak was in her bedroom, saying “the wall is peeling off”. A landlord operative attended on 28 November 2023 and said that a surveyor was required.
  3. On the same date the resident issued a formal complaint. She was concerned that she had to “push for an appointment” to deal with the issue.
  4. The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 20 December 2023. It said an inspection was due to go ahead that day. It said it would then repair the roof, remedy the damp and mould, and repair the damage to the bathroom wall.
  5. Between 23 and 29 January 2024 the landlord completed works on water damage in the lounge, dining room, bathroom and one of the bedrooms.
  6. On 10 February 2024 the resident asked to escalate her complaint to stage 2. She said the landlord’s internal work had been damaged by a further leak (the second leak) from the roof. She said she had anxiety and expressed how the situation was affecting her. An inspection on 29 February 2024 found the water damage had spread to the hallway and second bedroom. It recorded that the lounge wall and dining room required redecorating and further works were needed to remedy the new areas.
  7. On 12 April 2024 the landlord provided its stage 2 response. It apologised for its delay in responding. It said the roof inspection on 20 December 2023 had not revealed any visible damage but had recommended further repairs. The landlord said it had completed these works on 24 February 2024. It said it had then arranged a further inspection for 22 March 2024. If this inspection showed that the roof did not need any further work, it would contact the resident to complete internal work to the hallway and second bedroom.
  8. The landlord offered the resident compensation of £1250. It said this included £600 for not resolving the repair sooner, £450 for delay and inconvenience and £200 to acknowledge the impact of its delayed complaint response. The resident accepted the compensation.
  9. The resident brought her case to the Ombudsman in February 2025. She said the landlord had not contacted her to deal with the damp and mould, the roof was leaking again, and she had been living with black mould since April 2024. She said she had asked the landlord to complete a damp and mould inspection in February 2025, but it had not attended or rebooked. She said she had been unable to use the dining or living room and wanted further compensation.

Assessment and findings

  1. The evidence seen in this investigation shows that after the resident’s initial leak report on 6 November 2023, it took the landlord 32 working days to inspect the roof. It then took 45 working days to complete the recommended works.
  2. The landlord recognised, with its April 2024 stage 2 complaint response and compensation of £1250, that there had been failings in its handling of the repairs and leaks. It apologised and explained what it intended to do to rectify the problems. In circumstances where a landlord has acknowledged failings, the Ombudsman looks at whether it has sufficiently remedied those failings.
  3. The landlord’s compensation policy says it will offer £400-£500 for delay and distress in very significant or exceptional circumstances. Its offer of £1050 for delay and inconvenience was in line with this. Its offer of £200 to acknowledge its delayed complaint response was also in line with our guidance on remedies for service failure of this type and was reasonable. Along with the landlord’s acknowledgments of its failings and apologies, its remedies would have been reasonable if it had completed the necessary work as promised.
  4. However, in its final complaint response the landlord explained that it had arranged a roof inspection for 22 March 2024. Following that it said it would resolve any further repairs identified and then complete internal work on the hallway and second bedroom. There is no evidence confirming the inspection happened, what its conclusions were, or confirmation the internal work was completed.
  5. In response to our enquiries about this the landlord confirmed the March 2024 inspection went ahead and identified further work was needed. That work was completed by 6 December 2024. It has not explained the reason for the lack of action between March and December or said whether the subsequent internal work has also been completed. Nor has any evidence been seen of updates to the resident by the landlord about its intentions and timescales. In the absence of any such information the time taken by the landlord to complete what it promised in its final complaint response was not reasonable.
  6. The resident contacted the landlord in January 2025 reporting worsening damp and mould problems. She has told us that because of the problems her family cannot use their living and dining rooms. The landlord has told us it scheduled a new inspection for 4 August 2025 to address any further damp and mould or leak issues.
  7. Overall, the landlord recognised its service failures up to the point of its stage 2 response in April 2024. Its offer of payment of £1250 was reasonable for its actions up to the end of the complaint process. However, it has failed to provide evidence that it has completed all the follow-up actions it said it would complete to resolve this complaint. In the circumstances of this complaint involving ongoing damp and mould problems with a significant impact on the resident and her family, that failing was a significant one.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of the complaint.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of this report the landlord must pay the resident £500 (this is in addition to the £1250 it previously offered) compensation to acknowledge its prolonged failure to remedy the issues with the damp and mould at the property.
  2. Within 6 weeks the landlord must confirm the outcome of its August 2025 inspection and share it with the resident, along with its action plan to address and resolve any damp and mould and problems it finds. The landlord must also include in its plan the steps it will take to rectify any internal decoration damage related to the damp and mould. If the resident subsequently has concerns about the landlord’s fulfilment of its action plan she is entitled to make a new complaint to it, which she can then bring to the Ombudsman if she remains dissatisfied.
  3. Evidence of compliance with these orders must be provided by their respective deadlines.