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London & Quadrant Housing Trust (202428808)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202428808

London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q)

7 August 2025


Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this.

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

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

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
  2. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord. She has lived in the property, a 2 bed first-floor flat, since 2016.
  2. The resident first reported concerns about damp and mould in the property in February 2023. She then made a formal complaint to the landlord about its handing of her reports of damp and mould. The landlord provided its final response on 15 October 2024.
  3. The resident referred her complaint to this Service on 31 October 2024 as the landlord had not, at that time, resolved the damp and mould issues.
  4. The landlord has made us aware that the resident accepted a settlement offer under Part 36 of Civil Procedure Rules in relation to the issues of her complaint.
  5. The landlord paid the resident the settlement figure of £1,750 (less approximately £298 for rent arrears) on 21 April 2025.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 42.e. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion concern matters where a complainant has or had the opportunity to raise the subject matter of the complaint as part of legal proceedings.
  2. The resident had the opportunity to have the issues of complaint heard as part of her legal proceedings. Therefore this complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the Housing Ombudsman and is not one we can investigate.