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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202405211)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202405211

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

17 September 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. A bathroom water leak and associated damp and mould and electrical issues.
    2. The associated complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has a secure tenancy of a 2-bedroom flat on the third floor. The tenancy started in January 1989. The resident lives at the property with her daughter and has told us she has mobility issues and osteoarthritis. The landlord has noted she needs washing facilities and has “back issues”.
  2. The resident told us she has had issues with a bathroom leak and relating damp and mould in her small bedroom since September 2021. The resident said the tiles surrounding her bath are letting water through to the walls which has caused damp and mould. It is unclear when the resident first reported this, but the landlord’s records indicate it was aware of a bathroom leak on 15 July 2021 and damp and mould on 4 February 2022.
  3. On 13 February 2022 the resident complained about an outstanding bath replacement. She referred to 2 repair visits the landlord made on 25 October 2021 and 23 December 2021. The landlord provided the resident with 2 responses both at stage 1 of its complaint process on 15 February 2022 and 10 June 2022 relating to the bath replacement. In these responses it apologised for the delay. It said this was due to a high demand and told the resident it had asked a contractor to deal with this. The landlord said it provided another stage 1 complaint response to the resident on 1 September 2022 but has not provided a copy. On 4 July 2023 the resident made another complaint about damp and mould following the bathroom leak and bath replacement. In this she also said the landlord’s tiling repair was ineffective and the damp and mould and leak had caused damage and affected the electrics.
  4. The landlord provided the resident with a stage 1 response on 5 July 2023 and said:
    1. It upheld the complaint and expected to update the resident by 19 July 2023
    2. It offered £230 as a goodwill gesture for the distress and inconvenience it caused the resident, including time and trouble
  5. On 13 July 2023 the landlord provided a response at stage 2 of its complaint process and said:
    1. It had sent the resident a stage 1 response on 1 September 2022 in relation to a complaint the resident made about a bath replacement, and it had addressed each point with the resident over the telephone on 13 July 2023
    2. It acknowledged the complaint the resident raised on 4 July 2023 and its compensation offer of £230
    3. It accepted the tiles around the bath had come loose and there was debris
    4. It accepted there had been poor communication and inconvenience caused to the resident by its handling of repairs and awarded £340. This was made up of the £180 it said it offered at stage 1, £20 for a missed appointment, £50 for the delay at stage 2, £50 for time and effort and £40 for stress and inconvenience
  6. The resident told the landlord on 27 July 2023 her belongings were damaged, she could not use all her property and her daughter had to take time off work to attend repair appointments. On 19 September 2023 the resident raised another complaint about the same issue she raised on 4 July 2023. The landlord said it sent the resident another stage 1 response on 19 February 2024 but has not provided a copy. The landlord provided the resident with a response at stage 2 of its complaint process on 28 March 2024 and said:
    1. It accepted its operative’s standard of work to the bathroom was poor and the water ingress had continued with no plan to address it
    2. It agreed to regrout the bathroom tiles and reseal the bath on 2 May 2024
    3. It apologised for not completing work within a reasonable time and offered £340 for its failures (£80 for distress, £80 for inconvenience, £80 for time and effort and £100 for service failure) and a decoration voucher of £45
    4. The resident could make a claim for any damaged belongings on either her home insurance or through the landlord’s insurance team
    5. It had learnt that it needed a clear monitoring process for when repairs were outstanding
  7. The resident told us that she still has a leak under her bath affecting walls and believes her bathroom tiling is not watertight. She also believes there is a defect with the bath drainage pipe. While the resident said there are no ongoing issues with damp and mould, she said the property remains undecorated following repair work. The resident confirmed she had received £950 in compensation to date and £100 in decoration vouchers, but the vouchers had expired because she could not use them due to the continuing issues. The landlord said it sent the resident £45 in decoration vouchers which expired after 12 months. The resident said the damp and mould has damaged her personal belongings and has affected her use of the property. The resident would like the landlord to find the cause of the leak and fix it. She would like more compensation to reflect distress and inconvenience, including damage to belongings and time taken to attend appointments.

Assessment and findings

The scope of investigation

  1. The resident has said she had a bathroom leak since September 2021 which created damp and mould conditions in her property. We note the landlord was aware of a bathroom leak since 15 July 2021.Therefore, this investigation has considered the landlord’s handling of these leaks since then until the landlord’s final response on 28 March 2024. This includes any commitments the landlord made in this and the issues the resident raised in her latest complaint on 4 July 2023.
  2. The resident said this situation had a detrimental effect on her and her household’s physical and mental health. The courts are the most effective place for disputes about personal injury and illness. This is largely because independent medical experts are appointed to give evidence. They have a duty to the court to provide unbiased insights on the diagnosis, prognosis and cause of any illness or injury. When disputes arise over the cause of an injury oral testimony can be examined in court. While we cannot consider the effect on health, consideration has been given to any general distress and inconvenience which the resident experienced because of any service failure by the landlord.

 

The landlord’s handling of the bathroom leak

  1. Under the resident’s tenancy and its repairs policy the landlord is responsible for repairing and keeping in order any pipes for the supply of water or drainage. This includes installations related to sanitation or water supply like baths. Under its repairs policy the landlord must deal with any emergencies reported out of hours within 4 hours or within 24 hours otherwise. It also aims to complete routine repairs within 25 calendar days. Uncontainable water leaks and electrical faults are emergencies because they can be an immediate danger to residents. The landlord’s damp and mould policy commits it to offering mould washes and treatments. It must assess any damp or mould within 20 working days of a report and raise any jobs within a further 10 working days of the assessment.
  2. Although the resident said the landlord completed repair work in October 2021 and December 2021, we cannot verify what work it completed. This is because the landlord has not provided us with reports of the work, which is a failing. We also note that the landlord was aware of a leak going into the property below the resident’s flat and affecting the neighbour’s ceiling on 21 September 2022. As the landlord cancelled this job, we cannot be satisfied it acted reasonably in relation to this.
  3. The landlord’s repair records show that it raised the following jobs:
    1. On 15 July 2021 a job to repair a rotten bath panel and floorboards from a leak (completed on 15 July 2021)
    2. On 3 August 2021 a job to repair damaged tiles in the bathroom letting water in (completed 17 August 2021,11 working days from the date raised)
    3. On 4 February 2022 a job to deal with damp and mould on the living room walls and ceiling (completed 24 February 2022, 15 working days from the date raised)
    4. On 7 November 2022 a job to mould wash the whole property and to make the electrics safe (noted as completed within 6 working days on 14 November 2022 and 7 November 2022 respectively)
    5. On 17 November 2022 a job to seal the bath, check the tiles for regrouting and cracks,  repair any broken tiles, and make watertight, together with a job to repair or replace the bathroom flooring (completed 28 November 2022, within 8 working days of the raised job)
    6. On 2 December 2022 and 21 February 2023 a job to deal with faulty sockets and lights affecting the fuse board (completed 2 December 2022 and 21 February 2023 respectively)
    7. On 13 February 2023 a job to deal with mould in a bedroom behind a wardrobe through a mould wash (completed 6 March 2023, within 18 working days of the raised job)
    8. On 15 February 2024 a job to deal with an electrical failure because of a circuit board cutting out (completed 15 February 2024)
  4. The landlord completed these jobs in line with the timeframe in its repairs policy. The landlord’s damp and mould policy had not come into force at the time the landlord raised the mould related jobs in November 2022 and February 2023, but it nevertheless completed them within a reasonable time. This is because the mould washes were both completed within 20 working days which the landlord’s current damp and mould policy provides for. In contrast it took the landlord:
    1. 2 working days to deal with a report of faulty sockets and lights affecting the fuse board (reported on 28 February 2023 but completed on 1 March 2023)
    2. 5 working days to restore all power sockets in the flat (raised on 9 March 2023 and completed on 15 March 2023)
    3. 24 working days to inspect the resident’s property for damp or mould and to complete a mould wash (between 4 July 2023 when raised and 5 August 2023)
    4. 117 working days to deal with the continuing leak and complete a job which involved resealing the bath and taps and replacement of the bath panel and tile regrout (reported 4 July 2023 to 14 December 2023)
    5. 53 working days to deal with a further report of continuing leaks affecting her walls by regrouting the bathroom tiles and sealing the bath (16 February 2024 to 2 May 2024)
  5. The landlord’s response to these reports amounted to a failure. This is because it did not complete the jobs within the timeframes outlined in its repair and damp and mould policy. We note that the landlord inspected the resident’s property on 5 August 2023 and then again on 12 October 2023 and referred to an asbestos survey on 13 November 2023. It also said it attempted to contact the resident on 29 September 2023, but the resident disputed this, and we have not seen evidence to verify the landlord’s account. The landlord also attempted to access the resident’s property on 29 November 2023 but did not show it gave the resident notice of this appointment. The resident said the contractor failed to attend again on 30 November 2023 and the landlord did not challenge this.
  6. While the landlord made attempts to complete an inspection and survey between 4 July 2024 and 14 December 2023, there is no evidence to explain or justify the length of the delay to complete work to the bathroom. There are also questions over the effectiveness of the landlord’s repairs. The landlord re-grouted and resealed the bath on 28 November 2022, 14 December 2023, and 2 May 2024. The resident also told us it reinstalled bathroom pipework 3 times, but the work was ineffective.
  7. It is acceptable for landlords to complete patch repairs or reattend repairs. However, in the absence of a detailed plumbing or drainage report, we cannot be certain that the landlord took reasonable steps to address the leaks and related damp and mould. The failures noted above amounted to maladministration which adversely affected the resident.
  8. The delays and multiple reattendances likely caused her distress and inconvenience but there was limited evidence of the level of detrimental effect. The resident disclosed she has mobility issues and osteoarthritis. As stated in the scoping paragraph, we have not assessed a connection with this and the leaks and so she should seek legal advice on this issue.
  9. When there are failings by the landlord, as is the case here, we will consider whether the redress offered by it puts things right and resolved the resident’s complaint satisfactorily in the circumstances. When considering this we will have regard to whether the landlord’s offer of redress was in line with our dispute resolution principles; be fair, put things right and learn from outcomes.
  10. The resident said she has received compensation of £950 and decoration vouchers of £100 to date. The landlord also said in its final response it had learnt that it needed a monitoring process for escalated repairs to avoid delays. This showed the landlord learnt from the complaint. However, while it offered compensation to acknowledge its failures and to put things right, the resident said the leaks continued thereafter. The sum is therefore not proportionate to the impact on the resident of the level of failure as the landlord only calculated the compensation and paid this up to its final response.
  11. The landlord completed the work it promised in its final response on 2 May 2024, but the resident told us on 18 June 2024 she still had a bath leak. She added on 11 October 2024 the landlord had repaired this but then told us more recently that she has an ongoing leak. It is unclear when she reported this to the landlord. However, the landlord has not provided evidence to show the work it completed on 2 May 2024 was an effective and lasting repair or that the landlord resolved the leak. We have therefore made an additional order of compensation of £200 in line with our remedies guidance to acknowledge the significant and ongoing effect of the leak on the resident.
  12. This guidance allows for awards of this amount where a landlord has acknowledged failings and made some attempt to put things right but the offer was not proportionate to the failings identified by our investigation. While the decoration vouchers have expired, we have seen evidence that the landlord told the resident they were only valid for 1 year (until 2 April 2025). The resident said that she could not use them as the leaks continued so the property was not in a condition in which she could decorate. While we acknowledge her position, this would not have prevented the purchase of materials in anticipation of the landlord reinstating the property. It was therefore reasonable of the landlord to offer the vouchers on the terms it did, but we have made a recommendation concerning this. As the leak is ongoing and the resident has raised the possibility of a defective bath drainage pipe, we have also made an order for the landlord to complete an intrusive plumbing or drainage survey.
  13. The resident told us that she has not received compensation for any damage to her personal belongings. The landlord told the resident she could claim on her home insurance or contact its insurance team to make a claim. Therefore, we find no fault with the landlord not paying compensation for this. This is because the landlord’s position was in line with its compensation policy. The resident also expressed dissatisfaction at the time her daughter had to take off work for repair appointments. As the resident needed to allow the landlord access for these under her tenancy agreement compensation is not payable for this.
  14. The resident said she had been unable to use parts of her property due to the damp and mould. While we acknowledge the resident was affected the landlord completed at least 3 mould washes during the complaint process. These were all completed within a reasonable time, except for the 1 completed on 5 August 2023 which the landlord completed 4 working days outside policy. This was a short delay, and we have not seen evidence to verify parts of the property were uninhabitable. Therefore, we cannot consider compensation for loss of the property use.

The landlord’s complaint handling

  1. The landlord has a 2 staged complaint process. It must respond to complaints at stage 1 within 10 working days and to complaints at stage 2 within 20 working days. The landlord defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction. While the landlord responded to the resident’s complaint of 4 July 2023 the resident did not regard the complaint as resolved. She raised a new complaint about the same issue on 19 September 2023. While the landlord said it provided a stage 1 response to this on 19 February 2024 it has not provided us with a copy, therefore:
    1. It is not possible for us to be satisfied the landlord complied with the requirements of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, specifically clauses 5.12 and 6.9
    2. Based on the landlord’s account, which the resident has not disputed, that it sent a stage 1 response on 19 February 2024 it took it 107 working days to respond from the resident’s complaint of 19 September 2023, against a target of 10 working days
  2. This delay was significant and likely caused the resident distress and inconvenience and amounts to a service failure. We have therefore made an award of compensation of £50 to reflect this. This is in line with our remedies guidance which allows for awards of this amount where a landlord’s failure has adversely affected a resident.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of a bathroom leak and associated damp and mould and electrical issues.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52. of the Scheme, there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling.

Orders

  1. Within 4 weeks of the date of this determination the landlord must:
    1. contact the resident and arrange an intrusive plumbing or drainage survey and provide a copy of this to us and the resident. This should consider the extent the tiles around the bath are watertight and the functionality of the bath pipes. The landlord should arrange for any repairs recommended by the survey and provide the resident with a start and completion date for these within 2 weeks of receiving the survey
    2. pay the resident without deduction £250 compensation made up of:
      1. £200 for the likely distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the bathroom leak and associated damp and mould and electrical issues
      2. £50 for the likely distress caused by its complaint handling
  2. The landlord must provide us with evidence of compliance with these orders within 4 weeks of the date of this determination.

 Recommendation

  1. We recommend within 4 weeks of this determination the landlord contact the resident to explain if it will offer further decoration vouchers.