London Borough of Waltham Forest (202400816)

Decision
Case ID	202400816
Decision type	Investigation
Landlord	London Borough of Waltham Forest
Landlord type	Local Authority / ALMO or TMO
Occupancy	Secure Tenancy
Date	10 December 2025

Background

The resident lives with her partner and child. They all have respiratory conditions and skin irritations. The resident has reported damp and mould issues throughout the whole property, with water entering through the window frames. Some repairs remain outstanding.

What the complaint is about

The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of:
1. reports of damp and mould in the property.
2. The associated complaint.

Our decision (determination)

We have found the landlord responsible for:

Severe maladministration in its handling of reports of damp and mould in the property.
Reasonable redress in its complaint handling.

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

Summary of reasons

The landlord’s handling of reports of damp and mould in the property

The landlord did not instruct an expert to identify the cause of the damp and mould. There were unreasonable delays and record keeping failures, as well as a failure to complete the works, which had a significant impact on the resident’s use and enjoyment of the property. The landlord accepted some errors and offered compensation but the compensation it offered was not enough to put things right for the resident.

Complaint handling

The landlord accepted failings in its handling of the resident’s complaints. The initial complaint response was lacking in detail and the final response was delayed. It apologised and offered appropriate compensation.

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 15 January 2026
2	Risk assessment The landlord must: establish the risks to the household, considering the condition of the property and any relevant reported vulnerabilities of the household. Write to the resident and the Ombudsman, outlining the actions it is taking to mitigate or reduce any risks.	No later than 15 January 2026
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 15 January 2026. What the inspection must achieve: The landlord must ensure that the surveyor: Inspects the damp and mould throughout the property and produces a written report with photographs. The survey report must set out: Whether the property is fit for human habitation and whether there are any hazards. The most likely cause of the damp and mould. Whether the landlord is responsible to repair or resolve the issue together with reasons where it is not responsible. A full scope of works to achieve a lasting and effective repair to the issue (if the landlord is responsible). The likely timescales to commence and complete the work. Whether temporary alternative accommodation is necessary either because of the condition of the property or during the works.	No later than 15 January 2026
4	Compensation order The landlord must pay the resident compensation of £1000 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its failure to effectively deal with the damp and mould. The landlord may deduct the £350 it has previously offered if it can provide evidence, it has paid this.	No later than 15 January 2026

Our investigation

The complaint procedure

Date	What happened
18 February 2024	The resident raised a formal complaint to the landlord, stating: She had reported damp and mould since 2022. There was mould on the walls in the hallway and bathroom. Previous repairs had been to strip, treat and repaint just one wall in the hallway. In 2023, a damp and mould specialist inspected the home, but made no further contact. On 23 January 2024, another inspection took place, and the landlord said it would be in touch to book repairs. However, this did not happen. The resident chased this with the landlord, it said it had no record of this happening. She and her husband were always getting sick and their baby was always sneezing, causing them concern about their baby’s long-term health. In 2023, a basic paint repair of the bathroom window took place. She was unhappy with the handling of window replacements to tackle the mould and condensation issues on the windows.
4 March 2024	The landlord issued a stage 1 complaint response. It confirmed the repairs it had carried out previously in 2023 and 2024 to resolve the damp and mould. It upheld the complaint and apologised for: failings to act quickly following the resident’s report of damp and mould in May 2023. The failure to raise work orders following the inspection in September 2023. The inconvenience caused to the resident by the failure to address the underlying issue from May 2023 to the works order completed on 20 January 2024. It offered compensation of £275. This was made up of £100 for not responding to the report in May 2023 and £75 for not raising the works, £50 for inconvenience and stress and £50 for time and trouble.
4 March 2024	The resident escalated the complaint, and explained that: She wanted assurance the landlord would fix issues. The compensation offer was insulting considering how long the damp and mould had gone on for. The landlord failed to address the issue of window replacements. She could not ventilate the hallway. She was unable to make full use of the home. The family were experiencing health issues which she believed were caused by damp and mould. She wanted the landlord to fix the issues and get the extractor fan into the bathroom as soon as possible.
17 June 2024	The landlord issued a stage 2 complaint response that said: Windows: The only window repairs completed were to the bathroom on 30 January 2024. These were aesthetic improvements as the window was not in a bad condition. The repointing carried out under the window was to a good standard and it painted and decorated the window. The main issue was ventilation, which was why it installed 2 airbricks. It explained that it cannot replace windows based on a resident’s requests or needs. It replaces them periodically at block level as part of planned works. If it replaced the resident’s windows, then others would want theirs replaced too. Hallway: The landlord visited the property on 10 April 2024 and found that it did not need to seal the brickwork as there was no evidence of damp or water ingress. The landlord offered compensation of £75 for the delay to the stage 2 complaint response. It agreed to arrange a surveyor to visit the property to see if sealing the brickwork would be a solution.
Referral to the Ombudsman	The resident brought her complaint to us and has said she wants: The root cause of the damp and mould around the windows to be addressed. Repairs by a qualified carpenter to the broken/worn out windows. An investigation of the damp in the living room. An investigation and to treat the cause of mould on the wall behind the kitchen sink. Any works recommended by the April 2025 surveyor report that are still outstanding to be completed.

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 reports of damp and mould in the property
Finding	Severe maladministration

Windows

The resident has complained about the condition of the windows in the living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and hallway.
The landlord repaired the bathroom window in January 2024. The landlord did not address the windows again, until the stage 2 complaint response in June 2024 where it said that it could not simply replace windows at a resident’s request. To leave it so long to address this was unacceptable and then not to carry out repairs, was unreasonable and may have contributed to the damp and mould.
On 21 March 2025, the resident issued the landlord with a letter of claim around the properties condition, because the issues remained outstanding. The landlord should have acted much sooner as the resident had been raising the issues for several years and the previous repairs had not resolved the damp and mould.
In response, the landlord instructed a surveyor to carry out an inhouse report of alleged defects. The surveyor found that all windows in the property were defective and recommended that, all windows be repaired. The repairs started from 21 July 2025, however we have seen some confusion from the landlord as to the extent of the works required and number of windows due for repair. This reflects record keeping issues and resulted in delays to completion of the work until November 2025. The repair notes show that the landlord did repair the windows in line with the recommendations specified in the surveyor’s report. However, this was greatly over the 21 calendar days its repairs policy suggests for a routine repair, by a total of 18 months until completion. It left the resident with water ingress with the potential to cause more extensive problems, which is unacceptable.
The resident has since raised concerns that the repairs to the windows are not satisfactory. This occurred since the complaint exhausted the landlord’s complaint procedure. In line with our scheme, we have no power to investigate complaints which the landlord has not had the chance to put right first. There is no evidence that the resident has raised this as a complaint. If the resident wants to pursue this further, she can raise it as a new complaint to the landlord. We may be able to investigate if she remains dissatisfied once she has received the landlord’s final response to the complaint.

Bathroom

The landlord’s repairs policy said it was responsible to maintain the walls, ceilings, and window frames. Its repairs policy outlined a response time of within 21 calendar days for routine repairs.
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA) requires landlords to keep the structure and exterior of their properties in good repair and ensure defects (including damp and lack ventilation) do not cause them to be unfit for human habitation.
The resident reported mould in the bathroom on 6 September 2023 and on 18 September 2023, the landlord carried out a damp and mould inspection. However, the repairs did not happen and resulted in the resident resubmitting another damp and mould report. On 24 November 2023, the landlord explained that it could not find any information about the inspection and would re-inspect the property on 13 December 2023, but we have no records of its findings. As we have seen no evidence of such inspections taking place, this demonstrates poor recording keeping.
The landlord raised a repair on 20 December 2023 to install an extractor fan in the bathroom, and to repair and redecorate the bathroom window. However, on 15 January 2024, the landlord installed the fan in the wrong room, affecting the resident’s confidence in the repairs and further frustrating her. These repairs were re-raised a further 4 times by the landlord and the correct installation of the fan in the bathroom only took place 17 months later, which is unacceptable.
The landlord carried out a mould wash on the bathroom ceiling and around the window on 30 January 2024. Whilst it was appropriate the landlord did this to treat the mould, it did not address the damp or assess the cause of the damp and mould. This is unreasonable.
The surveyor’s report identified that the radiator in the bathroom was defective and so required a replacement. The resident has informed us that the landlord did this on 12 May 2025, which was a positive as it was within its repair timescales for routine repairs.
The resident has said there are still damp and mould issues in the bathroom, plus, further reports of mould in the bathroom as recent as October 2025, suggest that the root cause is still outstanding, which is unacceptable. This is why have made an order to carry out an inspection and raise further works.

Bedroom, Kitchen, and living room

The resident said that there was damp and mould in these rooms. A surveyor has also confirmed the presence of mould in these areas. However, despite this, there has been record that any repair related work has taken place to resolve these issues. The resident and her family have been living in the property for a long time with unresolved damp and mould in multiple rooms.

Hallway

The resident made reports of damp and mould in the hallway on 6 September 2023. Following 2 inspections, a repair order was raised for December 2023 to cut out 2 vents in a cupboard under the stairs, to allow for ventilation. Discussions about potential resolutions for ventilation were frequent through January, March and April 2024, but despite this, the repairs are outstanding.
The landlord has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) introduced by the Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its properties. Damp and mould growth are a potential hazard. The landlord is required to consider whether any damp and mould in its properties amount to a hazard and require remedying.
The resident had reported concerns about the impact of the damp and mould on her husband and child’s health, 3 times. The hallway was a particular focal point as the resident had explained that the smell was so bad it was affecting her breathing. So, it would have been reasonable for the landlord to have had regard to HHSRS and completed a risk assessment. There is no evidence it did this, at any point. We will order the landlord to complete a risk assessment now to address this.

Putting things right

The landlord had apologised for the delay in responding to the reports of damp and mould and offered compensation of £275. The resident told us that the damp and mould has caused respiratory and skins issues. We acknowledge the resident’s comments, but it would be fairer, more reasonable and more effective for the resident to make a personal injury claim for any injury caused. 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 injury and how long it will last. We’ve not investigated this further. We can decide if a landlord should pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.
We have considered our own remedies guidance (published on our website) in respect of compensation. Our guidance suggests awards of £1000 plus where there have been significant failings by the landlord which have had a serious impact on the resident, often over a long period of time, as in this case. The landlord’s offer is well below this threshold and does not go far enough to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by its errors.

Complaint	The handling of the complaint
Finding	Reasonable redress

The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) sets out our expectations of landlords’ complaints processes and requires landlords to acknowledge a complaint or escalation request within 5 working days. Landlords must issue a stage 1 response within 10 working days. They must issue a stage 2 final response within 20 working days of the resident’s escalation request. The landlord’s policy includes the same timescales as the Code.
There is no evidence that the landlord acknowledged the complaint, but it issued its stage 1 complaint response just 1 day outside of 10 working days from the original complaint. This was a minor delay.
The response was incomplete, as it did not address the issues of the rot and water ingress to the windows, or the ongoing mould in the property. The landlord should have addressed this in its stage 1 complaint response. However, it did so in its complaint stage 2 response, therefore, the impact of this error was minor and short lived.
The landlord stage 2 complaints response was 53 working days out of the 20-working day timescale, which was a long delay and frustrating for the resident.
During its complaint procedure, the landlord offered the resident £75 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by its complaint handling failures. Our guidance suggests awards of between £50 to £100 where there has been a failure by the landlord, but it was of short duration and did not affect the overall outcome of this complaint. This amount aligns with this, therefore, the landlord offered reasonable redress for its complaint handling failures.

Learning

Knowledge information management (record keeping)

The landlord should ensure its future investigations and staff training in response to damp and mould are in line with Awaab’s Law, which took effect from 27 October 2025.
There was a lack of record keeping throughout. So, it was unclear what works were outstanding.

Communication

Our spotlight report on repairs and maintenance explains that failures can be avoided when the landlord keeps residents informed of the status of their repair. In this case, the records do not show if the landlord regularly updated the resident on the status of repairs.